Environmental Impact Of The Turkey Farm Project Assessment Sample

Introduction To The Environmental Impact Of The Turkey Farm Project

The complete assessment of the impact assessment of a certain project is essential for the sustainable development and protection of the environment as well. The completion of these assessments was even more important in today's world, as the threat of climate change is real. And could become serious in and around the project area. Another important aspect was the legal and social protection of the workers associated with the project. In this report, an assessment regarding the waste, water and air quality that were impacted by the construction of a Turkey Farm in Asfordby, Leicestershire, United Kingdom has been discussed.

Discussion

Overview of the Policies and Legislative Requirements to Design the Farm

The UK has a legislation namely, “Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017”, which deals with the EIA issues (Mangla, et al. 2021). The act is an amended version of the “Planning and Compensation Act, of 1991”. In this case, the project will be constructed on the riverside, and also have an impact on river water, the neighbourhood air quality, as well as the wastes generated by the turkey birds that were there.

The law talked about the consultation of proposed project management with that of the relevant consultation body of the local area. There was also a “marine management organisation”, which was formed by the UK government, which should be consulted. This provision of the law would apply only if the project site is located beside a water body, and it faces a seaward limit. In this case, the project had been located beside the river Wreake, in Asfordby, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

The project management authority should approach the local governing body of the area and should seek relevant permissions as per the EIA regulations. The goal is to determine if the project will have any significant negative environmental effects and to offer remedies to decrease or mitigate such effects (Aydo?du, et al. 2020). As per the regulations, if the turkey farm project is located in a geographically sensitive area, like in this case the riverside, the private owner of the farm should apply for an “Environmental Impact Assessment”. The act has a provision that marked the sensitive areas for a location, where the project should come up. The sensitive areas were defined as per the law, those areas notified under the “Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981”. Also, those areas present adjacent to the notified national park areas. In that case, the provisions of the “National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949”, would apply. If the project site is located near an archaeological site, then the provisions of the “Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act, 1979” should apply (Christmann, et al. 2022). All these provisions of the different acts would fall under the EIA regulations, which should be followed by the management authorities associated with the project.

In this case, the project's location isAsfordby, Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The site is just across the town of Asfordby. The site is located beside the high-density population area, which is considered sensitive in terms of industrial activities. Thus, the“Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981” provisions wouldapply. And, the design of the project structures should be according to the relevant provisions of the act. The site is also located within the 100-kilometre range of the Sherwood Forest National Park, the regulations of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949” should apply. And, the project's structural design should be in association with the act's provisions (Bellezza, et al. 2021). But, since no archaeological site is located within the 25-kilometre range of the project site, the management authority for the project does not need to obtain essential permission from the respective authorities. These were the criteria which need to be taken care of by the project management authorities to develop a potential industrial site in the United Kingdom. This should be following the mentioned laws in the above section.

The data baseline is the specific criteria to be maintained under the specific laws that were applied regarding the “Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017”. The project management authority should have permissions regarding the type of industry they are going to set up in that location, the size of the project, and the nature of the project from the local governing councils, and the environmental regulatory authorities of the location at Asfordby, Leicestershire. Schedule 2 of the mentioned act is relevant to the project (Mendoza, et al. 2019). Because, as per that section of the law, the British government was able to consider those projects that could have a significant impact on the local soil, water, air and the overall environment. The project management authority should have obtained the necessary permissions from the regulatory authorities. The “Neighbourhood Development Order” of the act should be the other important provision (Aydogdu, 2019). The management authority of the project should be able to pursue and make relevant permissions from the local authorities under section 61A.

The main building where the turkeys would be farmed should be constructed using the following guidelines, as per the “Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017”. Those are given in the table below.

Table 1: Requirements of a Turkey farm in the UK

(Source: www.gov.uk)

Identification and limitations of data needed for farm construction

For the designing of a turkey broiler poultry farm in the UK, several factors should be kept in mind during the designing of the structures. There are different structures of a turkey broiler farm that need to be mentioned. Those are,

As the development plan of the turkey farm should have a main building structure made primarily using different grades of steel and also an additional warehouse structure for the storage of relevant input materials regarding the maintenance of the turkey birds being produced in mass numbers. The Birds were also going to be released excretory materials, which should be handled carefully. These excretory materials if not processed and handled properly could lead to a massive amount of soil, and water pollution in the nearby river Wreake. Besides that, the dead birds could mix with the litter which further aggravates the pollution levels around the farm. For example, it has been estimated that if such kind of condition persists, it could lead to an increase in toxic chemicals, and biological wastes around the farm area (Jeswani, et al. 2019). As the location of the farm had located just beside the river Wreake, which is a local river and acted as the principal source of potable water for the people of Ashfordby. Hence, the management of the project should be able to learn about the potential facts and figures related to previously developed farm projects. The project management authorities should be able to estimate the potential size, and design of the main farm building structure, the warehouse structure, and the waste management system which should be associated with the project. The potential design and structures of the building structures are given below.

The main building structures consist of high-strength section steel, beams, and glass sheets for the roof. A warehouse on the side, that would store the food, water, and other relevant materials for the sustainability of the broilers (Clark, et al. 2022). The building should be as per the green building code, which was suggested under the law, “Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017”.

• Warehouse structure- There should be an additional structure on the side of the main building. That would mainly function as a storage facility for all other relevant materials required for farming. The walls and roof material and overall structure should be similar to that of the main building (Costantini, et al. 2021). But, there should be an additional space for the birds of that firm, especially those in the hatching stage, in case of any emergency.
• Attached waste management system- There should be a waste management system that is attached to the main building and warehouse structures of the farm. This facility would help to clean up the solid and liquid wastes generated by the broiler turkeys. Before, those were disposed off from the compound of the farm (TURHAN, 2023). For the management of liquid waste, a dewatering facility should be made, that consists of the motor pumps, large secondary clarifier structures that should be connected to the waste collection chamber.

Regarding solid waste management, the main wastes that will be generated from a turkey farm were the extra turkey foods used to feed the broilers in the poultry farm. For the management of such solid wastes, the company should have a composting facility. The facility would help to reduce the overall waste, and also some biowastes could be generated (Kacprzak, et al. 2023). In general, for 1 kg of the fresh foods a broiler turkey consumes, there is a commercial production of 15 kg of waste per year. So, a strong solid waste management facility would also help the owners of the farm to save a lot of money.

Limitations

The location of the farm site was along the river Wreake. Hence, an impactful waste management system was required (Rowe, et al. 2019). But, the designers of the farm site had developed the facility in accordance with the poultry turkey farm design those were applied to the United States and Europe.

There are several limitations those were being identified which require a detailed mention and analysis. First of all, the internal structure of the wall and ventilation facility of the main building structure, modifications specifically related to the development of the ventilation ducts, and connecting drainage system with the building (ÖZKAN, 2023). The drainage pipe should be at least 5 feet in diameter, that would connect the waste management system associated with the facility.

The second limitation was the design of the solid and liquid waste management system associated with the farm. For example, according to the plan, a dewatering facility would be constructed whose diameter would be around 200 meters in length. But, as per the regulations as per the “Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017”, the structure should be modified.

Another important limitation was the management of the solid waste generated by the birds present at the firm. Also, the rotten remains of the bird feedings, and dead birds. A sterilization facility should be added for the remains and wastes, so that the process of the solid wastes could be managed before pouring the water into the river.

Negative Impacts of the Construction during the Development of the Facility

The Turkey poultry farm was planned in the area of Ashforby town, in Leicestershire county, in middle England. The farm site was also located on the banks of the river Wreake. The negative environmental impact of the turkey farm is given below.

Increase in air pollution- The design of the turkey farm was as such that, as per the internal model of the main building, the ventilation system was not proper. As a result, there was a chance of death of a lot of birds, related to the infection and different diseases. There is a chance of an increase of the pathogenic microorganisms around the environment. For example, there was a significant chance of an increase in the cases of bird flu disease as a result of the increasing H1N1 virus. This could create a second-order effect which would increase the death of the birds further (Hafez, & Shehata, 2021). As the air passes through the main building of the farm, as a natural effect, the air would be filled with the odour, and microorganisms associated with the turkey would escape the poultry area, and spread to the surrounding area.

Increase of the water pollution in the river Wreake- As per the construction design of the farm, all the solid and liquid wastes generated from the farm would ultimately be dumped into the nearby Wreake river. This could had a severely negative effect on the nearby river sources for the local community. The degenerated remains of the dead birds, the solid wastes related to the rotten bird food, and excretory materials from the solid waste management system of the farm could lead to the situation where there is an increase in the wastes being directly dumped into the river water. The solid and liquid waste management system of the farm had some design issues. For example, the design of the waste collection chamber did not satisfy the standard criteria regarding the generation of sludge from the liquid wastes. As, the backflow from the main facility did not allow the wastewater to be stored for the required amount of time. Another flaw in the design was the absence of any emergency waste management chamber which could increase the river pollution. There is a possibility of a decrease in the level of BOD and COD, which is a measure of the level of dissolved oxygen in a sample of water is there (Bellezza, et al. 2021). Also, the possibility of increasing waterborne viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms.

Increase of soil pollution- The developmental design of the farm was as such which could increase the level of soil pollution of the local area. For example, if the turkey birds were died in a mass scale, due to the arrival of bird flu disease in the firm, the remains of those birds could have a harmful impact of the soil of that area. The turkeys could die in a mass scale due to a variation of temperature or other factors in the incubation condition. Since, the farm is located near the small town of Ashfordby, surrounded by farmlands (Peri, & Tal, 2020). It could hurt the farming at that area. The farm did not had any management facility regarding the disposing of remain of the dead birds. That could be another source of a potential source of soil pollution. Although over time the dead remains would be extracted into the soil, there is a risk of changing characteristics of the soil of the area, where the remains were buried in mass scale.

Preparation of schedule mitigation of the most serious pollution

As several negative impacts on the local environment were identified. The negative impacts range from the increase of pollution of local soil, water, and air among others. Among the most important type of pollution that should be urgently dealt with is the water pollution of the local river Wreake. It could also have a negative impact on the source of water that is used in agriculture farming (Solomon, et al. 2023). The mitigation strategies are given below.

Firstly, the turkey farm should design and develop an integrated wastewater management mechanism, before releasing the water to the river Wreake. The mechanisms are described below.

• Dewatering process- This is a process, that is used for liquid wastewater management. This mechanism helps to separate the solid material in the wastewater from the liquid portion. Generally, wastewater was parked in a large, open chamber, for a week to ten days. This helps the solid portions to sedimented on the bottom of the chamber. The upper portion of the chamber contains the wastewater, which was removed for further processing (Manikandan, et al. 2020). It had been found that in the above turkey farm, the available facilities were inadequate, which could be used for the mitigation of water pollution. Thus, the management of the farm should create the relevant facilities to reduce the water pollution level in the nearby area.
• Solidification of waste- This is the process in which the liquid wastewater was poured into a chamber, and by the use of external factors, the solid slide was created. Regarding the mitigation strategies that should be adopted by the management of the facility, the farm management should construct a chamber that would complete the solidification and removal of the solid wastes from the wastewater (Pandey, et al. 2019). The construction and mapping of the project site should carry this chamber.
• Disposal of water- The wastewater that was released from the previously mentioned steps, the water was poured into a trickling filter, oxidation pond, and nearby wetlands. And stored in the facilities for a sufficient period. In the oxidation pond, wastewater was subjected to interaction with different bacteria, algae, and sunlight. Algae help to convert the dissolved carbon dioxide of the water into inorganic compounds through the use of energy of the sun, and bacteria could help to reduce the CO2 content of the water (Deveci, et al. 2020). The farm management should develop a system of canals or other means to divert the wastewater with waste materials that could not be treated or various toxic chemicals or other materials were present. The bacteria, or algae present in the oxidation pond could improve the quality of water by reducing the toxic materials present, before it should be poured into the local river.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that the set-up and development of a turkey farm in the Ashford area, of the United Kingdom could have a detrimental impact on the local environment. There si a chance of increasing of the soil, water, and air pollution of the local area. The design of the farm building and structure should be done according to the “Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017”, which is used for the environmental regulation for an under-construction or planned project. In this case, it had been identified that as a result of the set-up of the turkey farm in that area, there is an immense risk to the soil, water, and air of the local area. And, a mitigation strategy needs to be initiated.

References

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