17.
The assessment considers the impacts of disturbing pollutants which may already be present within the sea bed as well as accidental releases and spills that may arise when building and operating the proposed East Anglia THREE project. No significant impacts on marine water and sediment quality are identified in the assessment and best practice procedures will be put in place to avoid any accidental releases or spills.
3.1.3 Underwater Noise, Vibration and Electromagnetic Fields 18.
The activity which would cause the greatest amount of underwater noise would be pile driving the foundations on which the wind turbines would sit. Pile driving would involve knocking large cylinders of metal into the sea bed with a large hammer. Modelling has been used to show how far the underwater noise would travel and at what distances it may cause effects to fish and marine mammals.
19.
The electrical cables which would be installed as part of the proposed East Anglia THREE project could affect some marine species through the electromagnetic fields that they emit. The impacts of this are likely to be very small.
3.1.4 Sea Bed (Benthic) Ecology 20. Data from several different surveys were used to identify the species of plants and animals and the habitats that exist on the sea bed in the area of the proposed East Anglia THREE project. It was found that these were typical of southern North Sea sandy and gravelly habitats, with no ecologically sensitive areas identified.
21.
The features which may be impacted by the project include a number of sea bed habitats and species which are of interest due to their value as a food source to other marine species and their value to fishermen. Potential impacts on the Outer Thames Estuary Special Protection Area, which is designated to protect the red- throated diver (a seabird), were also considered as the red-throated diver feeds on animals that live on the sea bed.
22. Due to the small footprint of the proposed project, the effects on sea bed habitats and species wouldmostly be small scale and localised. East Anglia THREE Limited would, however, carry out sea bed surveys prior to any construction activities being carried out. If these surveys found any sensitive sea bed habitats, their disturbance would be avoided by not placing anything on the seabed in their vicinity.
23.
There is potential for the effects of the proposed East Anglia THREE, East Anglia FOUR and East Anglia ONE projects, other windfarm export cables and aggregate extraction activities to combine to increase the scale of impacts caused by the East
Preliminary Environmental Information May 2014
East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm
Non-Technical Summary Page 5
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