Presentation #2 of 9: Kathryn Watson, Marine Management Organisation, sharing a review of post consent monitoring and the regulators response.

1. Review of Post-consent Monitoring (PCM)
and Regulators Response
Kathryn Watson, Marine Licensing Case Manager

2. Overview
 Post Consent Monitoring – why is it required?
 Recommendations from “Independent Review of Post-
Consent Offshore Wind Farm Monitoring Data
Associated with Licence Conditions” Report (MMO
1031, April 2014)
 Marine Management Organisation Response
 Implications for Recommendations into OWF licencing

3. Why require Post-Consent Monitoring?
Incorporated into Licence Conditions to:
• Validate, or reduce the uncertainty in predictions made in the
EIA or HRA
• Provide evidence on the effectiveness of mitigation measures
• Allows the identification of any unforeseen impacts.
• Be proportionate, targeted, and based on actual risk
Uncertainty – that is the extent of error or assumptions
that were made in calculating the impact. The higher the
degree of uncertainty, the greater the need to monitor
Significance – the extent to which the identified impact is
deemed significant.

4. PCM Review Project
When:
Started November 2012, Completed end 2013. Report published
April 2014
Who:
Undertaken by
Funded by
Managed by MMO and Cefas
Project Steering Group comprising regulators, advisors, and industry,
including members of the Offshore Renewable Energy Licensing
Group (ORELG) advised the project team.

5. Key Focus
• Seek ways of reducing burdens on business while
maintaining the integrity of the purpose of the Habitats
and Wild Birds Directives.
• Work towards development of strategic approach to
PCM – better designed and targeted to inform future
development proposals, mitigation measures and
licence conditions.

6. Some Key Questions Addressed
• What lessons have been learnt regarding best
practice monitoring and assessment techniques
applied?
• What have we learnt regarding the environmental
impacts associated with offshore wind farm
development which has been informed by PCM?
• Should standard licence conditions be maintained/
revised/ removed?

7. Topic Specific Recommendations
Review broken down into 6 topic areas:
Benthos Coastal
Processes
Seabirds Fish &
Shellfish
NoiseMammals

8. Regulators Response
• MMO response provides recommendations on how
future PCM should be undertaken for the receptors
included in the review.
• MMO has reviewed recommendations made within the
Independent report and has set out its
recommendations for the individual receptors
• 22 recommendations in total

9. General Recommendations
To be considered for PCM on all receptors:
• Recommendation 1 – Regional approach to PCM
• Recommendation 2 – Minimum effort required to
detail change
Themes throughout receptor specific recommendations:
• PCM not always required
• Use of best-practice
• PCM needs to be targeted to its aims

10. Receptor Specific Recommendations
(Briefly)
Coastal Processes:
• PCM not always required since significant impacts on
receptors not evident.
• May be required where sensitive receptor is present in order to
validate predictors / inform adaptive management
Underwater Noise:
• UK interim guidance (NPL 2014) and ISO standards (once
published) should be used to ensure representative noise
profiles are obtained
• Focus on validating EIA model predictions – consideration of
“worst-case” piling events
• Aim to demonstrate validity of marine mammal mitigation
zones and soft-start
• No requirements for monitoring operational noise

11. Receptor Specific Recommendations
(Briefly)
Benthic Ecology:
• Use of grab samples should focus on areas/receptors
predicted to be impacted
• Cost-effective monitoring should be adopted
• PCM may not be required in absence of sensitive or
ecologically important habitats
• Monitoring colonisation of foundations considered on a case
by case basis.
• Temporal scale should be modified - >3 years with 5-year
substantive reviews
Fish and Shellfish:
• Cefas (2012) guidelines used as “best practice” data
acquisition
• EMF monitoring not ordinarily required for PCM of OWFs

12. Receptor Specific Recommendations
(Briefly)
Birds:
• Use of radar (or other techniques) should be used for tracking
where barrier affects need monitoring
• Annual monitoring should be undertaken at same time/season
each year
• Application of model-based approaches to improve
characterisation of development areas
• Rapid developments in survey methods – should be
considered in future PCM
Marine Mammals:
• PCM should validate predictions in terms of levels and
duration of construction noise
• Development of registry for impulsive underwater noise –
cumulative effects
• Natural variables must be considered and whether PCM has
sufficient power to detect change

13. Licence conditions (1)
• Conditions typically developed between the regulator
(advisors and stakeholders) and developer as a project
evolves.
• Terms of conditions translated into monitoring
specifications which are required to be undertaken for
defined durations.
• Conditions require that the outcomes of these
monitoring programmes are subsequently reported to
the MMO

14. Licence conditions (2)
• National Planning Policy Framework 2012 Paragraph
206:
“Planning conditions should only be imposed where
they are necessary, relevant to planning and to the
development to be permitted, enforceable, precise
and reasonable in all other respects.”

15. Implications of Recommendations on
licence conditions
• Standardisation of approaches / Best Practice
– Aids enforceability of conditions
– Allows precise conditions to be included
– Comparison of results – temporally and spatially
• Standardisation of licence conditions
– Provides more certainty to developers in terms of regulatory
expectations
– Aids enforceability and demonstrates a reasonable
approach

16. Implications of Recommendations on
licence conditions
• Adaptive Monitoring (ie use of Substantive
Reviews)
– Conditions removed/varied if deemed to be no longer
necessary
– Conditions removed/varied if no longer relevant to
development
– Power analysis – can changes be measured?
• PCM not always required for specific receptors in
relation to individual projects
– PCM conditions only required if necessary
– Conditions remain relevant to the development
– Allows for a more reasonable approach to monitoring

17. Implications of Recommendations on
licence conditions
• Strategic/Regional Approach
– MMO supportive of regional approach to monitoring – used in
Aggregates sector
– Challenges remain regarding how to licence PCM conditions
using a regional approach in terms of:
• Relevance to development
• Relevance to marine licensing
• Enforceability
• Precision
– Need to work with industry/advisors to ensure regional
approach can be implemented into marine licensing framework
– Approach needs to be adopted by Industry and not imposed
by Regulator

18. Questions/Comments/Discussion
Enquiries to offshore@marinemanagement.org.uk

19. References
• Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) (2012)
Guidelines for Data Acquisition to Support Marine Environmental Assessments of
Offshore Renewable Energy Projects. Available from:
http://www.cefas.defra.gov.uk/our-science/assessing-human-impacts/offshore-
renewable-energy.aspx
• Marine Management Organisation (MMO) (2014) Review of Environmental Data
Associated with Post-consent Monitoring of Licence Conditions of Offshore Wind
Farms. Report commissioned by MMO. Available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-environmental-data-mmo-
1031
• Marine Management Organisation (MMO) (2014b) Response to an Independent
Review of Environmental Data Collected at UK and European Offshore Wind farms
and 22 Recommendations for Future Post-Consent Monitoring. Available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-environmental-data-mmo-
1031
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL) (2014) Good Practice Guide for Underwater
Noise Measurement. Available from:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/559036/ei-good-practice-guide-
underwater-noise-measurement.pdf and
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/Licensing/marine/guidance
•