CLIENT:
Cork City Council
PROJECT NAME: REPORT TITLE:
Cork City Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy
SEA Environmental Report
1.3 Background to SEA and Legislative Context SEA was required under the EU Council Directive 2001/42/EC on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Plans and Programmes on the Environment (the SEA Directive) 4 . The SEA Directive requires that an environmental assessment is carried out of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment. The overarching objective of the SEA Directive is ‘ to provide for a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans….with a view to promoting sustainable development ’ 5 SEA is a process for evaluating, at the earliest appropriate stage, the environmental consequences of implementing Plan or Programme (P/P) initiatives prepared by authorities at a national, regional or local level or which have been prepared for adoption through legislative means. SEA is described within the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government’s (2004) Guidelines for Regional Authorities and Planning Authorities on the Implementation of SEA Directive (2001/42/EC) as the ‘formal systematic evaluation of the likely significant environmental effects of implementing a plan or programme before a decision is made to adopt the plan or programme’. SEA is intended to provide the framework for influencing decision-making at an earlier stage when P/Ps – which give rise to individual projects – are being developed. It is noted that SEA should result in more sustainable development through the systematic appraisal of policy options. 1.4 Purpose of this SEA The purpose of SEA in this case was to enable the local authority to incorporate environmental considerations into decision-making at an early stage and in an integrated way throughout the Strategy development process, and to: 1. Identify, evaluate and describe the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the Strategy. 2. Ensure that identified adverse effects are communicated, mitigated and that the effectiveness of mitigation is monitored.
3. Identify beneficial (and neutral) effects, and to ensure these are communicated. 4. Provide an opportunity for statutory and public stakeholder involvement.
4 Transposing Irish Regulations: S.I. No. 435 of 2004 (European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) Regulations 2004, as amended by S.I. No. 200 of 2011 (European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) (Amendment) Regulations 2011). S.I. No. 436 of 2004 (Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations 2004, as amended by S.I. No. 201 of 2011 (Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2011). 5 Implementation of SEA Directive (2001/42/EC): Assessment of the Effects of Certain Plans and Programmes on the Environment – Guidelines for Regional Authorities and Planning Authorities (Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, 2004)
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P23-206
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