Unconventional oil and gas policy: SEA

4 SEA findings

4.1 The following sections of the environmental report set out the assessment findings of the alternatives and the preferred policy position. The findings are presented by SEA topic area and identify:

• effects for each topic area associated with unconventional oil and gas development and the activity which causes that effect;
• how the effects relate to current pressures and trends;
• current regulatory processes which control those effects;
• assessment of how the identified effect relates to each of the alternatives being considered;
• the overall significance of the effect; and
• cumulative, secondary and synergistic effects within each SEA topic area.

4.2 In section 14, Table 14.1 Summary of environmental effects provides a high level summary of all of the judgements of significance.

4.3 The order of the findings for the SEA topic areas is presented to reflect the interlinkages between the topic areas. The order is particularly relevant in relation to cumulative effects between topic areas, and those listed which come previously typically influence the subsequent topic areas.

• Air
• Water
• Soil
• Climatic factors
• Biodiversity, flora and fauna
• Cultural and archaeological heritage
• Landscape and geodiversity
• Material assets
• Population and human health.