Environmental Impact Assessment Project Number: 43031 July 2011 People’s Republic of China: Hunan Xiangjiang Inland Waterway Project Prepared by the Hunan Xiangjiang Navigation Construction & Development Co., Ltd. The environmental impact assessment is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the "Terms of Use" section of this website. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of October 2010) Currency Unit = RMB 100 RMB = $14.71 $100 = 680 RMB In this report, the rate used is the rate prevailing at the above date. ABBREVIATIONS ADB — Asian Development Bank AP — Affected person As — Arsenic BOD — Biochemical oxygen demand Cd — Cadmium CEMP — Construction environmental management plan CO2 — Carbon dioxide COD — Chemical oxygen demand Cr6+ — Hexavalent chromium Cu — Copper EA — Executing Agency EIA — Environmental impact assessment EIRR — Economic Internal Rate of Return EMP — Environmental Management Plan EnvSE — Environmental Supervising Engineer FYP — Five year plan GDP — gross domestic product GRM — Grievance redress mechanism Hg — mercury HGV — heavy goods vehicle HPDOT — Hunan Province Department of Transport HPEPB — Hunan Province Environmental Protection Bureau IA — Implementing Agency IEE — Initial Environmental Examination masl — metres above sea level MEP — Ministry of Environmental Protection Mn — Manganese MOT — Ministry of Transport na — not available NGO — Non-Governmental Organization NH3-N — Ammoniacal nitrogen NO2 — Nitrogen dioxide Pb — Lead PCC — Project Complaints Commission PIU — Project Implementation Unit PM10 — Particulate matter with a diameter 10µm ppe — personal protection equipment PPTA — Project preparation technical assistant PRC — People’s Republic of China RE — Resident Engineer RO — Resettlement Office Se — Selenium SO2 — Sulphur dioxide SS — Suspended solids STI — Sexually transmitted illness SWC — Soil and water conservation TSP — Total suspended particles XNCD — Hunan Xiangjiang Navigation Construction and Development Corporation Ltd Zn — Zinc WEIGHTS AND MEASURES о С — degrees celsius mm — millimetre cm — centimetre m — metre km — kilometre m2 — square metre hm2 — square hectometre ha — hectare km2 — square kilometre m3 — cubic metre MCM — million cubic metres mu — Chinese unit of area mg — milligram t — ton mg/l — milligram per litre mg/m3 — milligram per cubic metre kg/m3 — kilogram per cubic metre t/km2 — ton per kilometre squared m/s — metre per second km/h — kilometre per hour m3/s — metres cubed per second m3/hr — metres cubed per hour m3/d — metres cubed per day kW — kilowatt MW — mega watt kWh — kilowatt hour MkWh — million kilowatt hour dB(A) — ‘A’-weighted decibel l/cap/d — litre per capita per day NOTES (i) The fiscal year of the Government and its agencies ends on 31 December. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Critical Facts 1 1.3 Significant Findings 20 1.4 Recommendations 33 2. INTRODUCTION 38 2.1 Background 38 2.2 The Proposed Project 40 2.3 Previous Studies and Preparation of Consolidated Project Environmental Impact Assessment 41 2.4 Structure of EIA Report 42 3. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 44 3.1 Policy 44 3.2 Environmental Law 47 3.3 Environmental Impact Assessment Requirements 49 3.4 Administrative Framework 52 3.5 Environmental Management in Human Province 54 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 59 4.1 Type of Project 59 4.2 Need for the Project 59 4.3 Project Location 60 4.4 Description of the Main Project Components 65 4.5 Ancillary Facilities for the Tugutang Barrage 72 4.6 Construction-Related Issues for Tugutang Barrage 73 4.7 Reservoir Inundation and Resettlement 78 4.8 Operation Mode 82 5. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 83 5.1 Introduction 83 5.2 Physical Resources 84 5.3 Ecological Resources 105 5.4 Economic Development 121 5.5 Social and Cultural Resources 126 6. ALTERNATIVES 137 6.1 Alternative Analysis 137 6.2 No-PROJECT Alternative 137 6.3 Location Alternatives 140 6.4 Technological Alternatives 143 7. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 146 7.1 Introduction 146 7.2 Hydrological Regime 149 7.3 Water Quality 151 7.4 River Bed Sediments 158 7.5 Groundwater 160 7.6 Geology, Soils and Slope Stability 160 7.7 Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Zoobenthos 163 7.8 Fishery Resources 164 7.9 Terrestrial Habitats and Plants 168 7.10 Terrestrial Fauna 169 7.11 Air Quality and Micro-Climate 170 7.12 Noise 172 7.13 Socio-Economic Impacts on Resettlement 174 7.14 Regional Economic Impacts 180 7.15 Health and Safety Impacts 180 7.16 Solid Waste 187 7.17 Construction Camp Impacts and Management 187 7.18 Physical Cultural Resources 187 7.19 Cumulative and Induced Impacts 188 7.20 Impacts on Biodiversity 190 7.21 Climate Change Impacts 191 7.22 Transmission Line Impacts 192 8. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 193 8.1 Public Participation Process 193 8.2 Results of First Round of Consultation 193 8.3 Second Round 198 8.4 Public Feedback and Response 200 9 GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 202 9.1 Introduction 202 9.2 Current Practice 202 9.3 Proposed Grievance Redress System 203 9.4 Responsibilities of PCC 204 10. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 206 10.1 Environmental Safeguards 206 10.2 Mitigation Measures 206 10.3 Environmental Monitoring 219 10.4 Implementation 220 10.5 Cost of Implementing the Environmental Management Plan 226 10.6 Capacity Building 232 11 CONCLUSION 234 11.1 Project Level Impacts 234 11.2 Environmental Management Plan 236 APPENDIX 1 Environmental Management Plan 2 Water Quality Standards and Results 3 Terrestrial Ecology 4 Aquatic Ecology 5 Industrial and Domestic Wastewater Discharges 6 Environmental Quality Standards for Air, Water and Soil 7 Project Details 8 Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of the Transmission Line 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction 1. Purpose of the project. The Ministry of Transportation (MOT) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is encouraging investment in inland waterways to promote the movement of goods, which makes use of the large inland waterway system, is suitable for the bulk transport of non-perishable goods, and is environmentally-friendly compared with investment in road and rail. The Hunan Province Department of Transport (HPDOT) has been involved in the planning and execution of a cascade of nine multi-purpose barrages on the Xiangjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze1, over the last two decades. The main objectives of the cascade are to raise the navigation standard on the river to Class III and provide hydropower. The Hunan Xiangjiang Inland Waterways Transport Project (herein referred to as the Project) is the second to last of the complexes to be implemented and has been identified for financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 2. Scope of work. The preparation of the EIA has involved: the collection of information related to the environmental conditions in the study area; the preparation and critical review of the EIA methodology followed by the commissioning of special studies to evaluate the water environment, fisheries, terrestrial ecology, soil and water conservation, and physical cultural resources; the assessment of potential location specific environmental impacts; the development of preventive / mitigation measures for significant impacts; the evaluation of alternative locations for the Complex and alternative technologies; economic assessment of the environmental benefits and costs; preparation of the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plans; and extensive public consultations. 1.2 Critical Facts 1.2.1 Legal and Administrative Framework a. Legal Framework 3. The PRC’s environment legal framework is similar to international practices and is structured as shown in Table 1.1 below. Table 1.1: Key Environmental Legislation in the People’s Republic of China Name of the Law Year Adopted Constitution of the PRC 1982 Law of the PRC on the Evaluation of Environmental Effects 2001 Environmental Protection Law of the PRC 1989 Water Law of the PRC 2002 Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution 2008 Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution 2009 Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Noise Pollution 1997 Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste 2005 Law of the PRC on Water and Soil Conservation 1991 Land Administration Law of the PRC 2004 Law of the PRC on the Protection of Cultural Relics 2002 Law of the PRC on the Protection of Wild Life 1998 1 The name “Yangtze”, also spelled “Yangzhi” is commonly called “Chang Jiang” in the People’s Republic of China and often is denoted as such on Chinese maps. 2 Name of the Law Year Adopted Fishery Law of the PRC 2004 Flood Control Law of the PRC 1998 Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases 2004 Source: PPTA Consultants. b. EIA Requirements 4. The Project will be subject to the environmental requirements of both the PRC and those of the ADB. These requirements are as follows. 5. EIA requirements of ADB. The ADB EIA requirements are set out in Safeguard Policy Statement (2009). This Project has been screened for expected environmental impacts and categorized as Category A: projects with potential for significant adverse environmental impacts ─an environmental impact assessment is required to address significant impacts. This EIA reports has been prepared based on Appendix 1 of the Safeguard Policy Statement (2009). 6. EIA Requirements of the PRC. The EIA requirements of the PRC are regulated by the Law on the Evaluation of Environmental Effects. The EIA requirements are further elaborated in a series of technical guidelines and standards which cover general principles, a range of topic areas (surface water, air, noise, etc) and issues related to construction in general and the development of hydropower and water conservancy projects.