SASEC) Power System Expansion Project (SPEP
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Environmental Impact Assessment February 2014 NEP: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Power System Expansion Project (SPEP) Prepared by Nepal Electricity Authority for the Asian Development Bank. This 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. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation 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. Asian Development Bank Nepal: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Power System Expansion Project (SPEP) On-grid Components ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Draft – February 2014 i ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page 1 Executive Summary 1 2 Policy, Legal, and Administrative Framework 4 3 Description of the Project 19 4 Description of the Environment 28 Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation 5 96 Measures Information Disclosure, Consultation, and 6 112 Participation 7 Environmental Management Program 115 8 Conclusions and Recommendations 12 8 Appendices 1 Important Flora and Fauna 13 7 2 Habitat Maps 15 9 3 Summary of Offsetting Activities 16 9 Routing Maps in Annapurna Conservation Area and 4 17 2 Site Photos List of Figures Figure 3.1 Country and Sector Context 20 Figure 3.2 Project Components 22 Figure 3.3 Daily Load Curve for Peak Day 23 Figure 3.4 Electricity Load Forecast 24 Figure 4.1 Project Location Map 28 Figure 4.2 Location Map and Elevation Profile of Kaligandaki and 29 Marsyangdi Corridors Figure 4.3 Soil Map 36 Figure 4.4 Earthquake Magnitude Map 38 Figure 4.5 Seismic Hazard Map of Project Area 39 Figure 4.6 Monthly Temperatures of Kaligandaki Corridor 40 ii ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 Figure 4.7 Monthly Rainfall of Kaligandaki Corridor 41 Figure 4.8 Vegetation Period for different stations of DKBB Line 41 Figure 4.9 Monthly Wind Speed of DKBB Line 43 Figure 4.10 Wind Power Potential Map of Nepal 43 Figure 4.11 Monthly Temperatures of Marsyangdi Corridor 44 Figure 4.12 Monthly Rainfall of MKMB Line 45 Figure 4.13 Vegetation Period for different stations of MKMB Line 46 Figure 4.14 Monthly Wind Speed of MKMB Line 47 Figure 4.15 Monthly Temperatures of Marsyandgi-Kathmandu 48 Line Figure 4.16 Monthly Rainfall of Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line 48 Figure 4.17 Vegetation Period for different stations of 49 Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line Figure 4.18 Monthly Wind Speed of Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line 50 Figure 4.19 Monthly Temperatures Along S-T Line 51 Figure 4.20 Monthly Rainfall of S-T Line 51 Figure 4.21 Vegetation Period for Different Stations of S-T Line 52 Figure 4.22 Monthly Wind Speed of S-T Line 53 Figure 4.23 Monthly Average Discharge of Kaligandaki River 54 Figure 4.24 Important Bird Areas in Nepal 58 Figure 4.25 Seasonal Variation in Vultures at Rupandehi VSFS 62 and Fire Occurrences provided by NASA Figure 4.26 Fire Occurrence in Project Districts between January 64 2012 and July 2013 Figure 4.27 Chitwan Annapurna Landscape 66 Protected Areas In and Adjacent to Chitwan Figure 4.28 67 Annapurna Landscape Figure 4.29 The Terai Arc Landscape 68 Figure 4.30 Potentially Sensitive Ecosystems 71 Figure 4.31 Land Use Map of Annapurna Conservation Area 73 Land Use Zones in the Annapurna Conservation Area Figure 4.32 74 with respect to Project Components Schematic of Pollutant Sources, Pathways, and Figure 5.1 96 Receptors iii ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 Figure 5.2 Types of Transmission Towers 98 Figure 5.3 “Stacked” Conductors 10 4 Figure 6.1 GRM Complaint Flow 114 List of Tables Table 2.1 Ambient Air Quality Standards 16 Table 2.2 Generic Industrial Wastewater Standards 17 Table 3.1 Project Components 21 Table 4.1 Administrative units traversed by the DKBB Line 31 Table 4.2 Administrative units traversed by the MKMB Line 32 Table 4.3 Administrative units traversed by the Marki Chowk – 33 Kathmandu Line Table 4.4 Administrative Units traversed by the S-T Line 34 Table 4.5 Protected Areas in and Adjacent to the Chitwan 66 Annapurna Landscape Table 4.6 Important Protected Species in the Annapurna 76 Conservation Area Table 4.7 Summary of Potentially Sensitive Project Locations, 79 Impacts, and Mitigation Options Table 4.8 VDC Population of Kaligandaki Corridor 79 Table 4.9 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in 80 Maligandaki VDCs Table 4.10 Ethnic Composition by VDC for Kaligandaki Corridor 82 Table 4.11 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in 83 Marsyangdi Corridor Table 4.12 VDC Population of Marki Chowk - Kathmandu Line 85 Table 4.13 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in 85 Marki Chowk - Kathmandu Project Area VDCs Table 4.14 Ethnic Composition by VDC for M-K Line 86 Table 4.15 VDC Population of S-T Line 87 Table 4.16 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in S-T 88 Project Area VDCs Table 4.17 Ethnic Composition by VDC for S-T Line 89 iv ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 Table 5.1 Potential Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures for 101 Overall Project Table 5.2 Potentially Sensitive Locations, Impacts, and 103 Mitigation Options Table 5.3 Summary of Footprint in the ACA 103 Table 5.4 Compliance with ADB requirements for Sensitive 109 Habitats Table 5.5 Greenhouse Gas Emissions 11 0 Table 7.1 Minimum Provisions for Environmental Monitoring 117 Table 7.2 Preliminary Environmental Management Plan 118 Table 7.3 EMP Work Plan – Key Activities 124 Table 7.4 Preliminary EMP Cost Estimates 127 Abbreviations and Units ACA Annapurna Conservation Area ADB Asian Development Bank CARE Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere CBS Central Bureau of Statistics CFUG Community Forest Users Group CHAL Chitwan Annapurna Landscape CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species DDC District Development Committee EA Executing Agency EBA Endemic Bird Area EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Program EPA Environmental Protection Act EPR Environmental Protection Regulations ESSD Environmental and Social Studies Department of NEA v ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FECOFUN Federation of Community Forestry Users in Nepal FRP Fire Radiative Power Gal 0.01m/s2 GLOF Glacier Lake Outburst Flood GON Government of Nepal GRM Grievance redress mechanism GWh Giga-watt hour (a measure of energy output) IBA Important Bird Area ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IEE Initial Environmental Examination IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature km Kilometer kV Kilovolt LDOF Landslide Dam Outburst Flood m Meter MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MW Megawatt (a measure of power capacity) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NEA Nepal Electricity Authority NTNC National Trust for Nature Conservation PCB Poly-chlorinated biphenyls PIU Project Implementation Unit REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation ROW Right- of-way TAL Terai Arc Landscape TCL Tiger Conservation Landscape tCO 2e tons carbon dioxide equivalent USAID United States Agency for International Development VDC Village Development Committee WPD Wind Power Density WWF World Wide Fund for Nature 1 ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction The proposed South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Power System Expansion Project (the Project) is included in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Partnership Strategy 2010-2012 for Nepal, and the Country Operations Business Plan 2013-2015. Project Components. The project includes 3 components: (i) Transmission system expansion, including new transmission lines and substations which will facilitate cross-border power exchange and future power exports, and augmentation of existing substations to improve grid efficiency; (ii) Distribution system expansion; and (iii) Renewable energy (RE) based mini-grids in remote villages. Project implementation services will be provided, including support for design, bid specifications, procurement, environmental and social safeguards implementation, and livelihood improvement in the transmission corridors. Detailed project description is presented in Section 3. This draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was prepared on behalf of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the Executing Agency (EA) for the Project, by consultants retained under ADB TA-8272. Under the Nepal environmental regulatory framework, the proposed transmission lines require an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) except for lines in protected areas which require an EIA. This report content and format are consistent with ADB Environmental Assessment Guidelines 2003 and Safeguard Policy Statement 2009. This report covers the on-grid project components. The off-grid RE based mini-grids component was developed under a separate project preparatory technical assistance; the IEE for the off-grid component is presented as a companion report. 1.2 Summary Findings The proposed Project comprises clearing of right-of-way, construction of new high-voltage transmission lines, construction of new substations, and augmentation of 2 ADB TA 8272-NEP working draft – February 2014 existing transmission substations. Potential impacts during construction will arise from temporary access road construction, clearing of vegetation, equipment staging, construction of substations, erection of transmission towers, stringing of conductors on the towers, and temporary construction camps. Potential impacts could also arise from improper management of decommissioned equipment. The anticipated impacts are localized, minimal, temporary, and reversible. Any loss of trees and other vegetation will be directly offset by reforestation and indirectly offset by reduction in fossil fuel powered generator sets.