The marine ecology component of the Environmental Impact Assessment was undertaken by MRF on behalf of Chemsain Konsultant Sdn Bhd for the 300MW Combined Cycle Gas-Fired Power Plant Project commissioned by Eastern Sabah Power Consortium Sdn Bhd.
The proposed Project comprised the installation of a 300MW net combined cycle dual-fuel (natural gas as main fuel/distillate oil as backup fuel) fired power plant together with all associated auxiliary equipment.
MRF was contracted to identify, analyse and describe marine features (coral reefs, seagrasses, fisheries and other key marine lifeforms (including mangroves, macrobenthos and meiobenthos) within a 5 km radius from the proposed site. Marine features were to be marked, mapped and documented. Other important marine based economic activities encountered during the survey were also to be highlighted.
MRF was also tasked with conducting surveys and interviews with fishermen and relevant stakeholders, particularly the Department of Fisheries to describe and determine the importance of the fishery industry in the area, and to identify important fishing ground area in nearby vicinity and list of typical catches (species composition, characteristics, and average catches, and convert image information (coral, seagrasses, sensitive fishing grounds, etc.) into individual GIS layers.
MRF was also tasked with determining the potential impacts of the
plants’ thermal and chlorine water discharge as well as seabed sediment disturbance (using the modeling results from another consultant) on the marine ecosystem, and to propose appropriate mitigating measures and monitoring programmes to minimise the anticipated impacts.
