Environmental Impact Assessments
Introduction
Before drilling operations can commence, licence holders must conduct a full environmental impact assessment (EIA), required under the 1994 Minerals Ordinance (as amended). The document produced from this process is an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). EIS are reviewed by the Government and specialist advisors alongside a statutory public consultation period, and are also made available to local non-governmental environmental organisations. Licensees are expected to take account of the findings of any such reviews, and make any changes to the EIA considered appropriate by the Government. The EIS should contain a plan for minimising any potential environmental threats perceived as a result of planned operations, as well as a strategy for dealing with any adverse effect on the environment caused by the operations.
The Falkland Islands aim to have a transparent and accountable process for approving environmental documents. Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) are subject to a 42 day public consultation process and must be made publicly available throughout this and once the final document has been approved. In 2016 a guidance document was produced by FIG with input from industry and consultees. The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) and companies operating in the Falklands agreed at the Environmental Forum in 2015 that Waste Management Plans should also be made publicly available. This encourages greater understanding of operations and processes surrounding waste disposal from exploration drilling.
The first six wells drilled in the North Falkland Basin in 1998 were covered by a single EIA (prepared on behalf of FOSA* by ERT Ltd). This EIA does not automatically cover any further wells to be drilled elsewhere in the North Falkland Basin, nor future wells drilled in the same blocks as those wells drilled in 1998. However, it formed a good starting point for future EIA work-ups.
Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
Waste Management Plans (WMP)
Historical EIS Documents
The following documents were approved under previous legislation. They are now obsolete and do not represent legally compliant Environment Impact Statements under the current legislative regime.
*FOSA stands for the Falklands Offshore Sharing Agreement, an umbrella organisation comprising all operators working in the North Falkland Basin in 1998. FOSA ran a single supply base and rig management system, and all its members contributed equally to the EIA assessment and other environmental studies before drilling.