How to manage marine environmental compliance for offshore wind
Reaching project consent is a major milestone, but after that comes consent compliance – and it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Learn why effective management is so important and what your project needs to do.
Kevin O'Connell
Why is environmental compliance necessary in offshore wind?
There are three main reasons to stay on top of environmental compliance, and all of them are compelling.
Firstly, adhering to regulatory requirements is mandatory. Developers need to satisfy the conditions of their project consent to comply with environmental standards and legislation. Poor consent compliance management can lead to legal and financial penalties, and it’s worth knowing that these can apply to individuals as well as companies.
Consent compliance is also part of protecting the environment since it’s closely tied to environmental management. Effective governance minimises the impact of development and operations on wildlife, habitats and water quality. What’s more, companies are responsible for operating sustainably, and they’re increasingly held accountable by the public. Compliance has twofold benefits: preserving natural resources while enhancing a company's reputation and social licence to operate.
Lastly, well-managed consent compliance translates to smooth project delivery. Its role in managing risks helps avoid project delays and associated costs. Managing consent compliance well can play a big part in staying in control of your project!
What’s involved in marine environmental consent compliance?
Consent comes with a multitude of different requirements and conditions, some requiring one-off discharge and others that repeat hundreds of times during certain phases of a project. This makes for a complex and ever-changing landscape, so it’s crucial to keep track of all the moving parts as an offshore development progresses.
Key activities include monitoring and reporting, but also regular audits/inspections and stakeholder engagement. It goes without saying that these should be aligned with regulatory expectations, but they should also be timely; generate insights (to inform ongoing management); and evidence compliance, while making it easy for users to retrieve the information.
As a discipline, environmental compliance requires a combination of organisational skill and experience managing appropriate systems (both in terms of project management practice and suitable tools). This needs to be tied to a scientifically rigorous but proportionate approach, i.e. balanced to avoid exceeding what is necessary to fulfil consent obligations.
Experience in the marine space is an additional strand and something of a specialist field, yet scientific and technical knowledge of this dynamic environment – and its complex consenting rules – is vital. Some examples are:
- Consent Management Plans: these need to be prepared for approval by consenting authorities, to agree how different elements of a development (e.g. cable installation, dredging or piling) will be managed. These typically comprise multi-disciplinary monitoring, mitigation and management to prevent pollution, conserve sensitive marine environmental features and minimise effects on human receptors (e.g. archaeology, commercial fisheries and other sea users).
- Marine Licence Applications and/or variations: a significant part of the compliance process for offshore wind. All necessary licences must be obtained in time for construction or maintenance activities to proceed.
What is needed to manage compliance effectively?
Our approach to delivering post-consent compliance services draws on considerable experience in offshore wind consent compliance management during the pre-construction, construction and post-construction phases. Below are some of the principles behind our delivery strategy. These best practices can help organisations ensure robust compliance management, mitigate risks and foster a proactive compliance culture.
Proactive compliance management
A proactive approach anticipates and addresses challenges before they impact budget and programme. We follow a Risk-Based Approach, focussed on identifying and prioritising compliance risks and implementing mitigation. This is backed up by clear working processes and procedures, such as carrying out regular audits and inspections. We also value Organisational Learning, applying ‘lessons learned’ to continually improve ways of working and minimise risk to compliance and the environment.
Communication and relationships
Strong relationships with consenting authorities and regulators are essential. Having established routine communication channels helps address any regulatory concerns promptly and ensures everyone’s aligned and working towards the same goals. Transparency also encourages pragmatic and proportionate responses from regulators when challenges arise.
Collaboration is another key tenet. We work closely with developers' construction and maintenance contractors to foster a sense of ownership around compliance (which promotes responsibility and accountability) and implement environmental best practices. On some of our projects, we have been embedded in our clients’ teams.
Drawing on specialist knowledge
Robust technical acumen is needed to discharge compliance conditions efficiently and effectively. This includes a deep understanding of regulatory requirements and the ability to translate these into actionable plans. To do this, our specialists call on many years of in-house UK marine consenting experience and multi-disciplinary scientific expertise from across the company.
Record Management
Last, but definitely not least, record-keeping must be on point. This isn’t just about providing evidence and transparency for regulators, but also supports effective, ongoing management and the ability to anticipate risk. To achieve this, your record and document storage system must be reliable and make records easily accessible, retrievable, auditable and securely maintained, in accordance with legal/regulatory requirements. Your approach may also include leveraging technology to streamline evidence gathering and record-keeping, helping to keep information accurate and current.
Questions about compliance? Get in touch
If you’d like to know more about how we support consent compliance for offshore wind, including our consent compliance management tool, please contact Kevin O’Connell.
Alongside our history in offshore wind, Tetra Tech RPS Energy also has significant transferable experience from other energy projects. We are the only consultancy experienced in marine environmental compliance on nuclear new-build energy projects in the UK and have offered environmental compliance services to the offshore wind sector since 2004, starting with the Ormonde Offshore Wind Project.
