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KUALA BELAIT BREAKWATER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CLIENT: BRUNEI SHELL PETROLEUM COMPANY SDN. BHD. CAPITAL WORKS VALUE = B$21 MILLION
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All weather access to the South China Sea from Port Belait is necessary for Brunei offshore oil industry. An EA was commissioned to examine impacts on the coastline and river system arising from an ongoing dredging program and construction of a new breakwater, sedimentation basin with offshore disposal of sand.
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Field studies were undertaken for key sensitivity indicators (riverine salinity, water turbidity, sand particle sizes, macrobenthos, fisheries/wildlife habitat) supplementing previously collected baseline data. Evaluation of changes to the key indicators and the coastal beaches formed the main focus of the EA.
Preventative, mitigative and curative measures were described for the works contractor according to industry Best Practice and international regulations, particularly from PIANC, International Navigation Association, and OSPAR Guidelines for Management of Dredged Material.
Measures to reduce impact involve: shortening the channel dredging program to avoid king tide periods; creating settlement areas on beaches for pumped dredged material; extension of erosion control structures; beach nourishment scheme using excavated material; and offshore disposal of sand onto low bio-diversity seabed.
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An Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan followed the EA. Its main objective is to ensure that the breakwater improvements enable access to the Port without compromising environmental quality of the rivermouth and surrounds. The Monitoring Program gives an improved undertaking of the coastal dynamics by measuring changes to environmental indicators and providing data for computer modeling of shoreline evolution.
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