Environemntal Imapct Study of the Project “Ligações Transfronteiriças – Ponte Internacional sobre o Rio Sever”

The Road Network project refers to the preliminary study phase of the construction of the International Bridge over the Sever River and Accessibilities, to be located on the border between Portugal and Spain, namely between Montalvão and Cedillo. Considering accessibilities, this project represents a fundamental component of the road offer for the municipality of Nisa and an improvement in access, safety and circulation conditions.

The work takes place in two phases, firstly for submission of the Request for Prior Appreciation for submission to the Environmental Impact Assessment and later the development of the Environmental Impact Study. BoG is responsible for the development of the components “Socioeconomy and Human Health”, “Biodiversity”, “Land Cover” and “Superficial Water and Groundwater”. Development of the water resources component includes an analysing using the Driver & Tasker model (1990) adapted for use in Portugal (LNEC, 2004) to determine the impacts resulting from the increased concentration of road pollutants, both at the main points of discharge foreseen in the project and in the waterways that receive them. In the context of Water Resources, BoG is also responsible for verifying the Project’s compliance with Article 4(7) of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (Article 51(5) of the Water Law).