Cost of environment impact study for proposed Vodka Distillery site

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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd NOVEMBER 2004

Question

Would the President inform members –

(a )  of the costs of the Environment Impact Study carried out in respect of the Vodka Distillery site

Application No.PP2004/2180?

( b ) w h e ther this sum of money is to be recovered from the Jersey Potato Export Marketing Board

(JPEMB), and, if not, the reasons why? and,

( c ) w h e ther the Committee will give details to members and the public regarding the outcomes of the

Environment Impact Study prior to the Committee making a decision on the planning application for the Vodka Distillery?

Answer

1. I refer back to the response to Question4,reproducedbelow,ofthe written questionssubmittedby Deputy T.J. Le Main ofSt. Helier to which the answers were tabled onTuesday 9th November 2004 –

Q  uestion 4

 W  ill the President confirm that his departmental officers are currently undertaking an Environmental

Impact Assessment of this proposal, and advise how many man hours have so far been spent carrying out this assessment and the financial cost?

A n  swer

 T h e Department does not carry out EIAs.  EIAs are the responsibility of the proposer who would bea

the cost should the application be progressed, the Department just co-ordinates the process and evaluates the Assessment once it is completed.  To date the Department has spent in the order of 1 day  (at a cost of£205) covering pre-application discussion about the project and the creation of a scoping  document  which  sets  out  those  issues  that  we  would  expect  the  Environmental  Impact Assessment to address.

T o  further clarify, as far as I am aware, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has not yet been carried

out by the developer for the Vodka Distillery. The report submitted with application no. PP/2004/2180 was a Scoping Report. At the scoping stage, the developer provides the Environment Department with a written proposal, which should include a brief description of the project including suitable drawings of the proposed site  and  development.  Sufficient  copies  are  provided  by  the  developer  (i.e.  at  their  own  expense)  for circulation to consultees, who are asked for comments on what environmental issues they would expect to see covered in the assessment. The Environment Department compiles the comments into a standard report format and issues it to the developer. As stated above, an officer has spent approximately one day on this process to date.

2. No costs, except the one dayof staff time mentionedabove,have been incurred.The administration of the EIA process is an integral partofthe role of the EnvironmentDepartment.
3. EIA  requires  effective  consultation with  key stakeholders throughout the  process  so  that  potentially contentious issues can bedrawnoutand addressed. Thefinished report will bemade available to thepublic

for consideration.