Why scoping matters and what a 'receptor' means
Scoping sets out what topics and locations will be included in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). If a potentially
affected location or asset is not included in the Scoping Report, it can be harder to ensure it is assessed later. Also, if the
development goes ahead, it is possible that its absence from the Scoping Report could result in it not being monitored and
having no mitigation plans for problems that might occur.
For example, in a worst case scenario, private water supplies may dry up or be contaminated (with concrete, oil,
excess peat, etc). And if it isn't tested, it's harder to prove who is responsible for the problem later. Or residents
may be kept awake by noise on hot summer nights
due to temperature inversion, wind propagation, and land topography. Mitigation could include monitoring noise levels
and shutting the turbines down during summer nights.
In the EIA, there are three main concepts.
- The source of potential concern could be things like turbine operation, concrete, oil, or
construction materials from the turbines, their construction, connection to the grid, access roads, etc.
- The pathway shows how the source can have an impact, e.g. through displacement, transmission of contaminants
through water courses, visual intrusion, noise transmission through nighttime inversion, etc.
- The receptor is the person, place, or asset that experiences the effect. This might include your home,
or a favourite viewing point, or your water supply, or a cultural site, or a business that depends on tourism, etc.
The Scoping Report - and this page - is mainly concerned with identifying receptors and pathways, and the geographical areas
that need to be considered. The report will also include other technical details which we don't need to be concerned about at this stage.