CARRARA. Regarding the port master plan and the Vas (Strategic Environmental Assessment), the opinions of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security – technical commission for verifying the Via and Vas environmental impact, and of the Ministry of Culture have not yet been officially filed , general direction for archaeology, fine arts and landscape (Service V – Landscape Protection), because the signature of the respective ministers. The opinion of the Ministry of the Environment is dated 19 April (and in fact the president Mario Sommariva he said he had an unofficial copy on which he had already started working to prepare the studies and in-depth information requested), that of the Ministry of Culture of 23 April. The Tyrrhenian Sea is now able to anticipate some essential points of the opinion of the Ministry of the Environment, 78 pages signed by the president of the Commission, the councilor Massimiliano Atelli.
«Potential effects»
The final chapter, after an extensive excursus, obviously addresses a key theme, namely the “Potential effects of the plan”. First of all, it should be noted that regarding «Port dredging, classification of sediments to be dredged, use of sediments, marine biodiversity and fish resources: the aspects linked to dredging and the generic movement of sediments and other materials in the marine environment are only mentioned» . Therefore, it should be noted, it is considered necessary «a detailed definition of all foreseeable port dredging operations and other movements of marine sediments and the introduction of materials into the marine environment both for the construction of new infrastructures or expansion of existing ones (piers , docks, yards, etc.) and for the maintenance of the seabed”.
The nourishment
The ministry also urges, among other things, «the verification of the objectives of any submerged nourishment with respect to the actual contribution of sediments on the emerged beaches of the Marina di Massa coast; the evaluation of possible interference with other projects related to coastal defense; the provision of alternative hypotheses for the use of sediments not suitable for nourishment; the analysis of risk factors and possible impacts on ecosystems, marine biodiversity and on biological resources”.
Coastal morphodynamics
It is a key topic, also in light of the fears expressed by the Apuo Versiliesi Paladins, the Municipality of Massa and various other subjects. The ministerial commission urges the Port Authority to «carry out a description of how the natural system has changed over time (in particular referring to the dunes, river inputs, the construction of the port and coastal works, sediment collection, etc…) . Not only that: «It would be appropriate to characterize the functioning of the current sedimentary system in more detail, describing the sedimentary exchanges between the different elements of this system: input from the rivers, beaches north of the port, entrance mouth, beaches south of the port , inserting the disturbances caused by dredging and nourishment”. And «it would be appropriate to clarify the methodology used for the comparison between the different shore lines in the years 2010-2020 and to expand the consultation period and the analysis by considering the data available on the Ispra coast portal (Higher Institute for protection and research environmental, ed) which presents the shore lines in 2000, 2006 and 2020″. The commission agrees that the Port Authority «adopts an adequate methodology, aimed at estimating the potential solid transport and its variations in two-dimensional space, allowing the evaluation of the changes induced by the modifications introduced to the port. However, it is considered appropriate to clarify how the pattern is obtained (the model, the scheme, ed) average circulation starting from the 4 hydrodynamic scenarios identified. It is considered appropriate to comment with greater precision and detail on the results of the potential transport and to relate the conclusive statements to the figures”.
The case of the two kilometers
The commission also observes: «The evaluation of sedimentary flows is exhaustive but from the comparison between what is written and the graphs presented (figures 5.9/5.10) it seems to emerge that the zone of influence is approximately 2 km south of the port, and not 500 meters as stated. It is considered appropriate to clarify the reasons for this discrepancy for the univocal definition of the zone of influence. In relation to the conclusions reported: “The works do not change the hydrodynamic pattern and therefore do not interfere with the redevelopment interventions of the Municipality”, it is considered appropriate to clarify the relationship with the redevelopment interventions and specify the characteristics of the interventions to which reference is made” .
Erosive aspects
The Vas commission adds: «With regards to the erosive aspects of the coastline, the proponent is asked to investigate: the possible effects induced by the new port configuration on the adjacent coastline, completing the analyzes conducted with an estimate of the sedimentary deficit induced locally by the new port configuration and possible further erosive effects; coastal nourishment activities aimed at containing the imbalance attributable to the planned works and managing the interference of the port infrastructure with coastal solid transport with the related monitoring plan for the evolution of the coastline; the compatibility of the breakwater works with the hypothesis of “de-engineering” of the coast, south of the Lavello ditch, proposed in the “Costa Lavello-Frigido Masterplan also with the aim of encouraging the restoration of longitudinal solid transport of this stretch of coast; the impacts of the planned works on the river dynamics at the mouth of the Carrione Torrent”. Ultimately, on this point (other issues are also addressed), the commission «considers it appropriate that in the implementation phases of the projects envisaged by the PRP a monitoring plan for the morphological evolution of the beaches (emerged and submerged) and of the grain sizes is defined in order to to evaluate the effects on the coast of the external pier extension project”.
