ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT BARDOLINO DEVELOPMENT

Bardolino Development Environmental Statement
5 EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
This section evaluates the relative significance of the potential environmental impacts that
might arise as a result of the various activities associated with the proposed Bardolino
Development. Its purpose is to identify those potential impacts that might cause significant
effects, so that they can be more fully assessed and mitigated as necessary. Potential effects
are evaluated in terms of the environmental impact or risk of the activity, the sensitivity of the
location (where applicable) and the time of year the activity is taking place. This evaluation
has been carried out for routine, non-routine and accidental/emergency events.
The proposed Bardolino Development has the potential to cause environmental impact in
several different ways, including physical disturbance of the seabed, emissions of gases to
the atmosphere, discharges of liquids and contaminants to sea, and the generation of wastes
for disposal onshore. These effects could occur throughout the life of the project, from
construction through installation and commissioning, to production operations. The
environmental effects of decommissioning the Bardolino facilities are not assessed in this ES.
As required under The Petroleum Act, 1998, they would be formally assessed towards the
end of field life, and such an assessment would be undertaken in accordance with the
legislation and policy in force at that time.
5.2 IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
The first step in the assessment of significance has been to identify the different activities or
sources of potential environmental impact or risk associated with each phase of the proposed
Bardolino Development, and the receiving environmental media that could be affected (Table
5.1).
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