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EAB rules no environmental impact assessment needed for new DHB
Kaieteur News – The Environmental Assessment Board (EAB recently announced that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would not be required for the new Demerara River Bridge that will land between Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara and La Grange, West Bank Demerara.
A conceptual design for the replacement of the existing Demerara Harbour Bridge
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uploaded the decision made by the EAB on Tuesday, to its website.
A decision was made back in August last year that the environmental study was not required; however an appeal was made for the agency to review this decision. The appellant, environmentalist Simone Mangal-Joly argued in her oral presentations that the EPA needed the engineering designs for the bridge to draw conclusions on likely impacts, and that the EPA failed to justify the waiver with the reasons it published.
She explained that with a project such as the bridge, with an elevated access ramp road for vehicles to get up to the bridge, the impact assessment and design process must go together, as the design is often altered based on modelling of impacts. She argued that the EPA was putting the cart before the horse in waiving the EIA.
The Appellant’s presentation outlined arguments including areas such as the Hydromorphic dynamic and feeder roads impacts, siltation, and absence of a final bridge design, as reasons for an impact assessment to be done.
The EAB said it “upholds the decision of the EPA that no ESIA is required for the Project with the condition that there is no significant change to the conceptual design presented. Any significant departure from the design presented should trigger a further review by the EPA on the necessity of an ESIA.”
It was keen to note that the decision was made after considering the issues raised by the appellant as well as the information provided by the developer, the Ministry of Public Works. Specifically, the Board noted that the major impacts of the general structure of the proposed bridge were explored through the feasibility and other studies that were conducted and based on a conceptual design that is congruent to what the Ministry of Public Works indicated will be the final design.
In addition to giving the new Demerara River Crossing its blessing, the EAB also recommended that an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP)
be compiled for the project before construction commences. The document is expected to be informed by a comprehensive stakeholder engagement program and include key details regarding the project. This includes: identification of impacts, methodology for assessing their magnitude on receptors, and mitigation outcomes of the final design; detailed monitoring plan developed and finalised with stakeholder feedback; Assessment Reports for both construction and operation that address knowledge gaps on the influence of the bridge on sediment dynamics, river flows/velocity, establishment of hydrological baselines, air quality, surface water quality, and noise levels on the main roads that will receive traffic leaving the bridge, resettlement needs; complete updated analysis and projection of future road and marine traffic loads and patterns and a comprehensive inclusion of all feeder roads and bypasses reflective of current development plans in the national infrastructure programme.
The plan must also include information on the proposed location(s) selected regarding the susceptibility to flooding, the impacts of any increase/decrease in surface run-off and the intended mitigation measures; handling and disposal of waste generated during construction and operation; measures to address any relocation of residents within the nearby communities; river dynamics analysis and information on dredging required at the proposed location and mitigation measures especially for sediment discharge.
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