2. PROPOSED SITE LOCATION & DESCRIPTION

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "2. PROPOSED SITE LOCATION & DESCRIPTION"

Brett Mitchell
5 years ago
Views:

2. PROPOSED SITE LOCATION & DESCRIPTION 2.1 PROJECT LOCATION/SURROUNDING The subject site consists of a plot of land of 19, 974 m 2 at Mer Rouge in the Port area and is within a reclaimed area.

1 2. PROPOSED SITE LOCATION & DESCRIPTION 2.1 PROJECT LOCATION/SURROUNDING The subject site consists of a plot of land of 19, 974 m 2 at Mer Rouge in the Port area and is within a reclaimed area. The Location, Site & Topographical Plan at Annex B1, illustrates that the subject site earmarked for the proposed project. The plot of land for the proposed fuel depot is depicted in Plate 2.1. Plate 2.1: The subject site The North-western boundary of the proposed site, over a length of m, adjoins a road access and thereafter an existing rock revetment and sea. Plate 2.2 depicts this road access and the north-western boundary of the proposed site, while Plate 2.3 depicts the existing rock revetment and the sea.

2 Plate 2.2: The road access along the North-western boundary of the proposed site Plate 2.3: The existing rock revetment and the sea from the north western boundary of proposed site

The South-western boundary over a length of 188.19m adjoining a plot of bare reclaimed land belonging to LP Gas Terminal Ltd and Escol. Plate 2.

3 The South-western boundary over a length of m adjoining a plot of bare reclaimed land belonging to LP Gas Terminal Ltd and Escol. Plate 2.4 depicts the bare land adjoining the proposed site and thereafter the Petredec Ltd. Plate 2.5 depicts the bare land and the Petredec ltd building. Plate 2.4: Bare land adjoining the South-western boundary of the proposed site and thereafter the Petredec Ltd building.

Plate 2.5: Bare land adjoining the south-western boundary of the proposed site The South-eastern boundary of the site adjoins a tarred road access of 7.

4 Plate 2.5: Bare land adjoining the south-western boundary of the proposed site The South-eastern boundary of the site adjoins a tarred road access of 7.0 wide over a total length of m and thereafter the Coal Terminal Management. Plate 2.6 depicts the road access adjoining the South-eastern boundary and thereafter the Coal Terminal Management site.

5 Plate 2.6: The tarred road access adjoining the south-eastern boundary of the proposed site and thereafter the Coal Terminal Management site. The North-eastern boundary over a length of m adjoins a plot of land belonging to the Indian Oil Terminal. Plate 2.7 depicts the Indian Oil Terminal adjoining the north-eastern boundary of the proposed site.

Plate 2.7: The Indian oil terminal adjoining the north-eastern boundary of the proposed site A context plan showing the subject site and its surroundings are enclosed in Annex B2.

6 Plate 2.7: The Indian oil terminal adjoining the north-eastern boundary of the proposed site A context plan showing the subject site and its surroundings are enclosed in Annex B2. The context Plan (Annex B2) illustrates the following features, worth mentioning in the context of this EIA report, that exist in the surroundings of the subject site. Environment sensitive areas (ESAs) such as: Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary. Riviere Lataniers. Roche Bois Housing Estate (Residential area). Cultural Heritage areas such as Fort George Fort William Appravasi Ghat

7 Industrial Activities such as MCFI Le Moulin de La Concorde Existing depots Petredec Ltd LPG depot Coal Storage area The Indian Oil Ltd fuel depot The CEB HFO depot The Vivo Energy Ltd fuel depot The Total Ltd fuel depot The Engen Ltd fuel depot Ports activities such as the: Oil Jetty Mauritius Container Terminal Other Container Parks Ship building Areas Coal Storage Terminal The Quays Commercial activities like the: Caudan waterfront commercial centre Tourism facilities Labourdonnais Hotel Cruise Terminal Table 2.1 shows the minimum distance between subject site and some selected surrounding features. These minimum distances are indicated in the Context Plan (Annex B2).

8 Table 2.1: Minimum distance between the plot of land and selected features Types of Distance Direction from surrounding Features (m) site Features Environment The Shoreline 35 West north west Sensitive Areas Settlement boundary line 1180 East south east The Oil jetty 230 North north west Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary 1160 East north east Riviere Lataniers (ESA) 1400 East south east Cultural Heritage Fort George 170 South east area Appravasi Ghat 2080 South east Fort William 930 South Industrial Petredec Ltd 69 West south west activities MCFI 442 South east Le Moulin de La Concorde 1550 South east CEB Thermal power plant 270 East Existing fuel Coal storage terminal 18 South east storage areas Indian Oil Ltd Adjoining North east Vivo Energy Ltd 1270 East south east Total Ltd 1600 East south east Engen Ltd 1560 East south east CEB 385 East Port Activities Mauritius Containers Park 150 North east Quay South south east Quay South south east Quay South south east Quay South south east Quay A 1700 South East Quay D 1400 South East Commercial areas Caudan Water front 2000 South south east Tourism Hotel Labourdonnais 1900 South south east Cruisers Terminal 1770 South south east As seen in Table 2.1, it can be confirmed that the subject site complies with all buffer zones.

9 The subject site has thus been carefully and strategically earmarked by the promoter not only because it complies with all buffer zones, but also it is within the earmarked National Petroleum Storage Area as well as a segregated site from normal port activities, and more importantly due to the proximity of the project site within the existing oil jetty that is in operation since November The activities of the proposed project, including the transhipment of oil from the jetty, will not disturb or cause any inconveniences to the normal Port activities. 2.2 The Existing Oil Jetty Port Louis Harbour handles around 1.1 million MT of petroleum products annually, comprising white oil (Motor Gasoline, Gas Oil and Jet Aviation Fuel), Fuel Oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Petroleum products were unloaded at different locations in the inner harbour of the Port with its inherent risks, with the proximity of storage tanks near residential area, thus representing potential safety and security hazards. Accordingly, MPA decided to construct an Oil Jetty at Mer Rouge, away from the inner Port, as a dedicated facility for petroleum products to enhance safety and security measures. With the increased alongside depth of m, berthing of bigger tankers of up to 50,000 DWT is now possible. The Oil Jetty, having a throughput capacity of about 4 Million tonnes per annum, is equipped with 8 Pipelines and it was inaugurated on 12 November This dedicated facility, equipped with state of the art fire fighting equipment, will drastically reduce the current safety and security risks associated with the handling of petroleum products at various berths in the inner harbour.

10 Plate 2.8 depicts the Oil jetty and Plate 2.9 shows unloading activities from a petroleum ship. Plate 2.8: The Oil jetty (Source MPA website) Plate 2.9: A petroleum tanker at the Oil Jetty (Source: MPA website)

11 Plates 2.10 and 2.11 depict the various pipelines from the oil jetty. Plate 2.10: Pipelines along the oil jetty Plate 2.11: Different Pipelines along the oil jetty

12 Plate 2.12 depicts the various accessories used for unloading petroleum products from petroleum vessels. Plate 2.12: Accessories for unloading oil products from petroleum tankers on the oil jetty platform 2.3 ZONING The subject site is located within earmarked National Petroleum Storage Area in the Port Louis Harbour Zone and its activities are fully compatible with the zoning of the area.

13 2.4 EXISTING SURROUNDING LAND USE Under the Port Master Plan 2002, the Port Louis harbour in terms of land use has been classified into 6 sectors. Table 2.2 details these 6 sectors, while Annex B3 is the land use map of the Port Louis Harbour area, which depicts all activities within the area. Table 2.2: Port Louis Land use sectors Sector Number Description 1 Mer Rouge reclaimed area 2 Terminal II & surrounding areas 3 Peninsula Area 4 The sea front & Caudan 5 Les Salines 6 Fort William In terms of port activities, the Port Louis harbour is divided into 3 main zones, namely Terminal I, II & III. Because of scarcity of land in the Port Louis Harbour area coupled with the fast developing port activities, major dredging and land reclamation works had been carried out during in As such, 110 ha of land had been reclaimed at Mer Rouge. Most of the land therein have either been developed or earmarked for vital installations. The subject site falls within the sector 1, i.e. the Mer Rouge reclaimed area. The main activities within this sector include the following. Unloading of fuels & containers Storage & distribution of the following. fuel such as MOGAS, gasoil, jet fuel, HFO & coal fertilisers cement Container parks. Thermal power production.

14 Ship construction/maintenance/repair Other associated port related activities Presently rock revetment works are being carried out in the project area by MPA as illustrated in Plate 2.13 as well as reclaiming land shown in Plate Plate 2.13: Rock revetment works

in the Mer Rouge area, and the present contractor for the rock revetment and reclaiming

15 Plate 2.14: Land reclaiming activities Such activities may have an impact on the sea water quality in the Mer Rouge area, and the present contractor for the rock revetment and reclaiming land works, is taking precautionary measures like use of buoys to contain sediments, as depicted in Plate Plate 2.15: Containment of sediments during land reclaiming work.

Other port related activities carried out in the Mer Rouge reclaimed area is the loading and unloading of containers from cargo ships onto the Container Park Terminal.

16 Other port related activities carried out in the Mer Rouge reclaimed area is the loading and unloading of containers from cargo ships onto the Container Park Terminal. Unloading & loading of containers activities are depicted in Plate Plate 2.16: Loading & unloading activities of containers from ship 2.5 OWNERSHIP OF LAND The proposed project site belongs to the MPA. Following a request made by the promoter, the MPA has earmarked the said plot for the setting up of the proposed oil farm as evidenced by a copy of MPA letter dated 28 th March 2014 (ref 58/2/112). A copy of the said letter is enclosed in this EIA report as Annex B ACCESS TO SITE The site can be easily accessed to and from the M2 Motorway through either the Roche Bois Round About or the Quay D Round about as depicted in Annex B3. It is be noted that access to the proposed site is restricted and controlled by the MPA. Necessary access permits are necessary to have access to that restricted zone.

17 2.7 EXISITING INFRASTRUCTURE & PUBLIC UTILITIES The Mer Rouge Reclaimed Area is well developed in terms of utilities and road infrastructure. Hence, all requirements in terms of utilities and access for the project site will be easily provided. Once the EIA licence is obtained, the promoter and his consultants will liaise with the relevant authorities such as Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA), Central Electricity Board (CEB), Central Water Authority (CWA) and Mauritius Telecom Services (MTS) to obtain approval of detailed design drawings for the implementation of proposed oil farm and its associated infrastructural works. 2.8 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS The Island of Mauritius as a whole may be characterised as having a moderately tropical climate. The warmer summer season is also the rainier and lasts from November to April, with February as the wettest month. The summer season is also characterised by tropical cyclones. The winter season, which is cooler and drier, occurs between May and October, with October being the driest month. On account of its relief, the island is also characterised by a number of distinct microclimates with varying levels of rainfall, temperature or humidity. No meteorological data have been recorded on the site. However, the data obtained from the Fort William Meteorological Station gives a fair and reasonable picture of the wind conditions that prevail in the project area. The rainfall gauge at Cite La Cure is the nearest from the subject site.

18 2.8.1 Air Temperature Table 2.3 gives the monthly mean & highest max as well as the mean & highest minimum temperature recorded during the year Table 2.3: Monthly temperature recorded in Fort William Temperature ( o C) Maximum Minimum Mean January February March April May June July August September October November December (Source: Mauritius Meteorological services) From Table 2.3, the minimum temperature during summer (from November to April) and winter (May to October) ranged from 21.4 to 24.1 o C and 18.7 to 21.0 o C, respectively. The maximum temperature recorded during summer and winter in the region varied between 29.7 and 31.3 o C, and o C, respectively. The highest maximum and lowest minimum temperature recorded in the region were 31.3 o C in February and 18.7 o C in August.

19 2.8.2 Rainfall Table 2.4 shows the long term monthly ( ) rainfall in mm recorded at Cite La Cure rainfall gauge station. Table 2.4: Long term mean monthly rainfall in mm at Cite La Cure rainfall gauge station Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec (Source: Mauritius Meteorological services) The highest rainfall was recorded in February at 276 mm. The driest months appeared to be June & September when a monthly mean of 69 mm and 72 was recorded, respectively. The wettest period of the year in the region was from December to April Wind Speed & direction Data from the Mauritius Meteorological services on wind speed and direction for the period of at Fort William were collected and assessed. These data are reproduced in Table 2.5. Table 2.5 shows that, irrespective of wind speed, the South East Trade wind prevailed over the region from 19% of the time in December to 55% of the time in the month of August. The average % of time the South East Trade Wind blew over the area was 38.0% of time. The next predominate wind direction was found to be the East wind with a minimum % of time of 23 in the month of April and a maximum of 35% of time in December. The average of time the wind was blowing in the Eastern direction was 29.1% of time. Table 2.6 lists in order of predominance the different wind directions in terms of average % of time they blew over the project area for the period of

20 Table 2.5: Percentage of wind frequencies at Fort William ( ) % wind frequencies Month Speed(k/h) N NE E SE S SW S NW January > February > March > April > May > June > July > August > September > October > November > December > (Source: Mauritius Meteorological services)

21 Table 2.6: Wind directions & their respective % of time Average % Wind Direction time of occurrence South East 38.0 East 29.1 North East 10.9 South 4.3 North West 3.8 South West 3.4 North 2.3 West 1.9 Table 2.7 shows the % of calm period, i.e. no wind at all, at Fort William for the period of Table 2.7: % of time of calm period at Fort William ( ) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec (Source: Mauritius Meteorological Services) The average % of time of calm period over the project site was found to be 6.6.

22 Figure 2.1 & 2.2 illustrate the wind rose for the period of at Fort William during the month of January June and July December, respectively Figure 2.1: Monthly wind rose over the period of at Fort William for January June (Source: Mauritius Meteorological Services) Figure 2.2: Monthly wind rose over the period of at Fort William for July December (Source: Mauritius Meteorological Services)

23 2.8.4 Cyclones The cyclonic season in Mauritius is declared from December to May, while February is the most active period. The % occurrence of observed cyclone is the highest in the month of February at 36%, and the lowest in May at 2.8%. Cyclonic winds usually occur in the month of December to March, during which period 39% of cyclones are classified as weak with gust speed less than 48 km/h, 42% as moderate with gust speed between km/h and 19% as strong with gust speed greater than 80 km/h. The highest cyclonic wind speed ever recorded in the island was 280 km/h when cyclone Gervaise passed over the country in February Other major cyclones observed in Mauritius were Jenny in February 1962 (275 km/h), Claudette in December 1979 (256 km/h), Carol in February 1960 (256 km/h), Hollanda in February 1994 (216 km/h) and Dina in January 2002 (209 km/h). 2.9 GEOLOGY, LANDFORM AND SOIL CHARACTERISTICS The proposed site is located in Sector 1 (Mer Rouge reclaimed area) within the Port Louis harbour. Given the scale of the proposed project, a detailed geotechnical investigation of the site is mandatory. The promoter has appointed Water Research, specialised firm, to carry out the geo-technical investigation. The geo-technical investigation report is enclosed in this EIA report at Annex B TOPOGRAPHY Annex B1 illustrates the Topographical Plan with a temporary bench mark. As illustrated in the Topographical Plan, the land is relatively flat.

24 2.11 WATER RESOURCES No streams, canals or rivers exist within the project site. However, as depicted in the context plan (Annex B2) the Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary, is located to the North East of the project site at minimum distance of 1.16 km. Also the Riviere Lataniers is located at a minimum distance of 1.4 km to the South of the subject site. The north western boundary of the site is approximately 35 m from the seashore FLORA & FAUNA No endangered or rare animal species exist in the project area. The sea biodiversity is detailed in Chapter 3: Marine survey VALUE OF PROJECT SITE AS DESIGNATED SITE The project site does not fall under a World heritage site, Biosphere reserve, National park CULTURAL HERITAGE The nearest cultural heritage of the island is the Fort George, which is located at a minimum distance of 170 m from the subject site. Moreover, the Fort William and the Appravasi Ghat are located within the Port Louis Harbour at a minimum distance of 930 m and 2.08 km from the subject site, respectively Similar Projects Similar fuel depots exist within the Mer Rouge Reclaimed area and these are currently and independently operated by Indian Oil (Mauritius) Ltd, Vivo Energy (Mauritius) Ltd, Total (Mauritius) Ltd, Engen (Mauritius) Ltd and the CEB. Of all these depots, the Indian Oil Terminal adjoins the proposed site on its northern boundary, as depicted in Plate 2.7. The location of all these similar projects can be depicted in the Context Plan (Annex B2).

8.1 Attachment 1: Ambient Weather Conditions at Jervoise Bay, Cockburn Sound

8.1 Attachment 1: Ambient Weather Conditions at Jervoise Bay, Cockburn Sound Cockburn Sound is 20km south of the Perth-Fremantle area and has two features that are unique along Perth s metropolitan coast