Document the existing (pre-development) environmental and ecological conditions of the proposed factory site and adjacent habitats and to enable the design team to make informed decisions regarding development projects and processes to minimize the short term, constructional impacts as well as the long term operational ecological impacts.

Project Title

Pre-development EIA and operational environmental monitoring for Malaysia chemical factory

Location

Terengganu State

Country

East Coast Malaysia

Client

Huntsman Pigments (Tioxide Malaysia Sdn Bhd)

Business Sectors

Chemical Industry

Services (Technical Disciplines)

Pre-development Environmental Impact Assessment:
During the EIA our staff were involved in the ecological assessment of the proposed factory site and adjacent natural/semi-natural habitats and the documentation of the baseline environmental and ecological conditions. This involved assessment of terrestrial and wetland/mangrove habitats as well as the baseline marine environmental survey associated with the proposed marine waste water discharge pipeline.

Operational Monitoring:
Annual ecological and physico-chemical surveys to monitor environmental impact of the factory activities and waste water discharges to demonstrate compliance with the factories “licence to operate” agreement with the Malaysian Government’s Department of the Environment.

Project Objectives/Outcomes

The EIA was designed to document the existing (pre-development) environmental and ecological conditions of the proposed factory site and adjacent habitats and to enable the design team to make informed decisions regarding development projects and processes to minimize the short term, constructional impacts as well as the long term operational ecological impacts.

The objectives of the annual operational environmental monitoring program are to assess the ecological effects of the waste water discharges on the receiving environments and to supply the factory with robust environmental management information to enable the waste treatment processes to be operated efficiently. This program has demonstrated compliance with the “minimal environmental impact” clause of the License to Operate Agreement and has enabled the factory to continue operating for over 20 years.

Our Role

Our staff provided:
–  terrestrial and aquatic ecological and taxonomic expertise;
– “state of the art” mathematical and statistical analyses essential for the correct interpretation of complex ecological and physico-chemical data sets;
– interpretative and reporting skills to supply the client and regulatory bodies with authoritative, yet accessible, information regarding the environmental impact of the factory’s activities on the local habitats and;
– an on-tap ecological information resource for the factory management to access whenever environment-related issues, incidents or concerns arise.

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Kevin Cleary – kevin.cleary@verde.ie