Environmental Assessment Report Initial Environmental Examination for Davitashen Bridge to Ashtarak Highway Upgrade (Project 1) Document Stage: Draft Project Number: 42417 July 2010 Yerevan Sustainable Urban Transport Program Tranche 1 Prepared by Municipality of Yerevan of the Republic of Armenia for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The initial environmental examination document is that of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of A DB’s Board of Di rectors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank EA Executing Agency EARF Environmental Assessment and Review Framework EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan ERT Emergency Response Team IA Implementin g Agency IEE Initial Environmental Examination IMF International Monetary Fund IFI International financial institution IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature LARP Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan Master Plan Yerevan City Master Plan, Vol.5, 2004 MNP Ministry of Nature Protection MOC Ministry of Culture MFF Multi-tranche Financing Facility NO2 Nitrog en Dioxide NO Nitrog en Oxide NPE Nature Protection Expertise NGO Non -governmental organization PIU Project Implementation Unit PPMU Program Preparation and Management Unit PPTA Project Preparatory Technical Assistance RAMSAR Ramsar Convention on Wetlands RA Republic of Armenia REA Rapid Environmental Assessment SEI State Environmental Inspectorate SNCO State Non-commercial Organization SO2 Sulfur Dioxide UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Bk/kg Berkelium per kilogram dBA deci bel (A-weighted) km kilomet er(s) km2 squ are kilometer(s) m meter(s) mg/m3 milligram(s) per cubic meter NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. In preparing any cou ntry program or strategy, financing any proj ect, or by making any de signation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Project Background and Purpose of Report 1 1. Project Background 1 2. The Project 2 B. IEE Report Outline and Methodology 2 C. Armenian and ADB Environmental Assessment Requirements 3 1. Armenian Laws Governing Environmental Management and Assessment 3 2. ADB Environmental Assessment Requirements 4 D. Extent of the IEE Study 4 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 5 A. Type of Project 5 B. Project Location 5 C. Magnitude of Operation 5 D. Project Description 6 E. Alternatives to the Proposed Project 7 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT – BASELINE 7 A. Physical Resources 7 1. Air Quality, Climate, and Noise 7 2. Surface and Groundwater 9 3. Topography, Soils, Geology and Seismology 9 B. Ecological Resources 10 C. Economic Development 11 D. Social and Cultural Resources 11 IV. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION 12 A. Environmental Parameters that may be Impacted 12 B. Impacts due to Location 13 C. Impacts Related to Design 13 D. Impacts During Construction 14 1. Site Preparation Activities 14 2. Vehicle Movements, Machinery Operation, Excavation, and Grading 15 3. Vehicle Movements on Local Roads; Altered Access 17 4. Solid and Liquid Waste Generation 17 5. Site Reinstatement 18 6. Summary of Construction Impact 18 E. Impacts Related to Operations 18 F. Cumulative Environmental Effects 19 V. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN 19 A. Environmental Management Plan 19 B. Environmental Monitoring Plan 38 C. Institutional Arrangements and Responsibilities 44 1. Institutional Arrangements 44 2. Responsibilities 44 3. Recommended Environmental and Social Safeguard Clauses for Civil Works Contracts 45 D. Cost of Implementation 46 VI. CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 46 A. Stakeholder Meetings 46 B. Public Consultation 46 C. Information Disclosed 47 D. Future Consultation 47 VII. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 47 VIII. CONCLUSIONS 48 IX. REFERENCES 49 APPENDIXES 1. Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) – Roads and Highways 2. Ecological site investigation 3. Archaeological site investigation 4. Noise monitoring results and predicted operational noise impacts 5. Consultation Meeting Advertisement and Attendance Sheet iv Figure 1: Armenia showing the location of Yerevan Yerevan Figure 2: Map of Yerevan showing program project locations Project 1 - Davitashen Bridge to Ashtarak Highway Road Link Project 4 - Metro Opera House Project 2 - Entrance Upgrade Argavand (Yeritasardakan) Highway to Shirak Street Road Link Project 3 - Shirak Street to Artashat Highway Road Link Source: Municipality of Yerevan Master Plan (2004) Figure 3: Locality map - Davitashen Bridge to Ashtarak Highway Upgrade (Project 1) DAVITASHEN Ashtarak Highway Yeghvard Gevorg Highway Chaush Street AJAPNYAK Haiabyan Davitashen Street Bridge Source: Collage (2001) Figure 4: Project layout Source: Municipality of Yerevan (2010) vi 1 I. INTRODUCTION A. Project Background and Purpose of Report 1. The Republic of Armeni a is a landlocked count ry between the Black and the Cas pian Seas, bordered on the n orth by Georgia, to the east by Aze rbaijan, on the south by Iran, and to the west by Turkey as shown in Figure 1. Yerevan covers an area of 260km2 extending 18km north-south and 16km east-west with the centre and the south of the City at a lower geographic level. 1. Project Background 2. Like other New Independent States of the former Soviet Uni on, Armenia's economy still suffers from the lega cy of a centrally planned economy and the brea kdown of fo rmer Sovie t trading net works. Investment from these states in support of Armenian industry h as virtually disappeared, and consequently few major enterprises are st ill able to function. The structure of Armenia's economy has changed substantially since 1991 , with sector s such as construction and services replacing agriculture and industry as the main contributors to the economic growth. Other industrial se ctors driving industrial gr owth includ e energy, metallurgy, and food processing. 3. Steady economic progr ess ha s ear ned Armenia increa sing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fu nd (IMF), World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as other internation al financia l institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending con siderable gr ants and loans. These loans are targeted at reducing t he budget deficit; stabilizing the l ocal curren cy; developing private businesses related to energy, a griculture, f ood processing, transp ortation, and health and education sectors. In D ecember 2005, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation approved a 5-year $235 million contract with the Governm ent of Armenia, which was t o focus on rehabilitation of irrigation networks and upgrading of rural transport infrastructure. 4. There has been little traffic forecasting, with the last study conducted in 2007 through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, by engineering consultancy SWECO. That study used gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to forecast the future growth in car ownership. This is ba sed on car ownership of 80 per 1,000 of population in 2007, projected to incr ease to 344 per 1,00 0 by 2026. The carbon dioxide emissions related to passenger transport are expected to increase by 160% o ver this period resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. Other adverse effects of passenger transport such as air pollu tion, traffic congestion, and noise are also likely to increasingly affect t he environment and qua lity of life in a negative way. 5. Yerevan has seen increasing and rapid economic development, resulting in: (i) Growing car ownership and increasing congestion; (ii) Outdated public transport; (iii) Safety issues; and (iv) Decreased air quality linked to vehicle emissions. 6. Yerevan ha s a high ro ad traffic accident rate with the number of recorded accid ents increasing 65% from 2001 to 2006, with steady increases over these years. Approximately one- fifth of these accidents are fatal. 2 2. The Project 7. During 2007, The Mun icipality of Yerevan worked with th e World Ba nk on the p ublic transport network, traffic management, parking, and ticketing systems, and has s et relevant objectives. The Asian Developme nt Bank (ADB) is now working with Govern ment of Arme nia and the Municipality to address some of the objectives by improving municipal infrastructure and reducing ro ad transport ation constr aints on e conomic activity. The program aims to promote efficient an d effective urban transport service s with in centives and capacity to improve the quality, reliability, accessibility, affordability, integration, and coverage of transport services. The Yerevan Sustainable Urban Transport Program has been d eveloped and is to be fu nded by the ADB under a Multi-tranche Financi ng Facility (MFF) Investment Program. The fo ur proposed engineering projects under Tranche 1 of the Program, as shown in Figure 2, are: (i) Project 1 - Davitashen Bridge to Ashtarak Highway Road Link; (ii) Project 2 - Argavand Highway to Shirak Street Road Link; (iii) Project 3 - Shirak Street to Artashat Highway Road Link; and (iv) Project 4 - Metro Opera House Entrance Upgrade (Yeritasardakan). 8. The three road projects will complete the missing road links of the Yerevan west byp ass