The East Anglia ONE Offshore Wind Farm Order 2014

Pre-construction monitoring and surveys

17.—(1) The undertakers must, in discharging condition 11(b), submit details for written approval by the MMO in consultation with Natural England and JNCC of proposed pre-construction surveys, including methodologies and timings, and a proposed format and content for a pre-construction baseline report; and—

(a) the survey proposals must specify each survey’s objectives and explain how it will assist in either informing a useful and valid comparison with the post-construction position and/or will enable the validation or otherwise of key predictions in the environmental statement; and

(b) the baseline report proposals must ensure that the outcome of the agreed surveys together with existing data and reports are drawn together to present a valid statement of the pre-construction position, with any limitations, and must make clear what post-construction comparison is intended and the justification for this being required.

(2) The pre-construction surveys referred to in sub-paragraph (1) must, unless otherwise agreed with the MMO, have due regard to, but not be limited to, the need to undertake—

(a) appropriate surveys to determine the location, extent and composition of any benthic habitats of conservation, ecological or economic importance;

(b) appropriate surveys to determine the location and extent of any benthic communities/benthos constituting Annex 1 Habitat in whole or in part inside the area(s) within the Order limits in which it is proposed to carry out construction works;

(c) high resolution swath-bathymetry survey(s), to include a 100% coverage and side scan sonar, of the area(s) within the Order limits in which it is proposed to carry out construction works;

(d) appropriate surveys of existing ornithological activity inside the area(s) within the Order limits in which it is proposed to carry out construction works, and any wider area(s) where appropriate, which is required to test predictions in the environmental statement concerning key ornithological interests of relevance to the authorised scheme;

(e) low intensity information gathering of elasmobranch populations within the Order limits in which it is proposed to carry out construction and any wider areas where appropriate, to test predictions made in the environmental statement concerning impacts to elasmobranchs from electromagnetic fields;

(f) appropriate surveys of existing marine mammal activity inside the area(s) within the Order limits in which it is proposed to carry out construction works and any wider area(s) where appropriate which is required to test predictions in the environmental statement concerning key marine mammal interests of relevance to the authorised scheme.

(3) The undertakers must carry out the surveys agreed under sub-paragraph (1) and provide the baseline report to the MMO in the agreed format in accordance with the agreed timetable, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the MMO in consultation with Natural England and JNCC.