Initial Environmental Examination May 2018 CAM: Fourth Greater Mekong Subregion Corridor Towns Development Project Stung Treng Subproject Kratie Subproject Kampong Cham Subproject Prepared by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport for the Asian Development Bank. This initial environmental examination 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. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a 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. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 7 May 2018) Currency unit = Riel (KR) KR 1.00 = USD 0.00025 USD 1.00 = KR 4,052 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank AP – affected person CEMP – site-specific environmental management plan CMAA – Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority CSO – combined sewer overflow DOE – Department of Environment DPWT – Department of Public Works and Transport EIA – environmental impact assessment EMP – environmental management plan EO – environment officer (of implementing agency) ESO – environmental safeguard officer (of executing agency) ESS – environmental safeguard specialist (of Project Management and Construction Supervision) GHG – greenhouse gas GMS – Greater Mekong Subregion GMS-CTDP-4 – Fourth Greater Mekong Subregion Corridor Towns Development Project GRM – grievance redress mechanism IEE – initial environmental examination MOE – Ministry of Environment MPWT – Ministry of Public Works and Transport PIU – Project Implementation Unit PMCS – Project Management and Construction Supervision PMU – Project Management Unit PMU-ESO – PMU Environmental Safeguards Officer PPE – personal protective equipment PPTA – project preparatory technical assistance SES – socio-economic survey SPS – Safeguard Policy Statement WWTP – wastewater treatment plant WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ha – hectare/s m – meter/s m3 – cubic meter/s km – kilometer/s tpy – tonne/s per year NOTES: (i) The fiscal year (FY) 2018 of the Government of Cambodia and its agencies ends on 31 December 2018. “FY” before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to United States dollars unless otherwise stated CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I A. Introduction i B. Project Scope i C. Key Findings i D. Environmental Management Plan viii E. Conclusion ix I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Background 1 B. Purpose of the Report 1 II. POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 1 A. Cambodia’s Safeguard Systems 1 B. ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) 5 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 5 A. Rationale 5 B. Impact, Outcome and Outputs 6 C. Proposed Project 7 1. Output 1: Urban environmental infrastructure improved. 8 2. Output 2: Institutional effectiveness, and policy and planning environment for regional connectivity enhanced 39 3. Project Implementation Schedule 40 D. Project Areas of Influence 40 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 46 A. Physical Environment 46 1. Geographic Location, Landform, Geology and Soils 46 2. Climate 46 3. Climate Change and Natural Disaster 49 4. Air Quality and Noise 51 5. Surface Water 51 6. Groundwater 53 B. Biological Environment 55 C. Physical Cultural Environment 63 D. Socio-economic Environment 63 1. Population 63 2. Employment 65 3. Water Supply 65 4. Sanitation 66 5. Drainage 67 6. Solid Waste Management 68 7. Power Supply 71 8. Health 71 9. Education 71 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 73 A. Environmental Benefits, Positive Impacts and Results 73 B. Anticipated Impacts/Issues/Concerns of Each Subproject 74 C. Anticipated Impacts/Issues/Concerns – Pre-Construction Phase 75 D. Anticipated Impacts/Issues/Concerns – Construction Phase 77 E. Anticipated Impacts/Issues/Concerns – Operation Phase 82 F. Cumulative Impacts of the Subproject 85 VI. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES 86 A. Kampong Cham 86 1. Combined Sewer 86 2. Wastewater Treatment 88 3. Solid Waste Disposal 90 B. Kratie 92 1. Drainage/Combined Sewer 92 2. Wastewater Treatment 94 3. Solid Waste Disposal 96 C. Stung Treng 97 1. Combined Sewer 97 2. Wastewater Treatment 100 3. Solid Waste Disposal 101 4. Town Center Enhancement 103 VII. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION 103 VIII. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 107 A. Purpose of the Mechanism 107 B. Proposed Set-Up 107 C. Access to the Mechanism 108 D. GRM Steps and Timeframe 108 1. Informal Approach 108 2. Formal Approach 108 IX. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 110 A. Institutional Capacity in Environmental Management 111 X. CONCLUSION 111 Appendices Appendix A Environmental Management Plan Appendix B Environmental Relevance of Other Laws Appendix C Environmental Quality Standards Applied in the IEE Appendix D Estimating GHG Emissions Appendix E Draft Terms of Reference Environment Compliance Audit Appendix F Stakeholders Consultation in August 2017 Appendix G Mekong River Water Quality Appendix H Sources of Information EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Introduction 1. The Fourth Greater Mekong Subregion Corridor Towns Development Project (GMS- CTDP-4 or Project) will support the Governments of Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) in enhancing the competitiveness of selected towns located along the Central Mekong Economic Corridor in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It is aligned with the Government of Cambodia’s Rectangular Strategy for national development. The third phase (RS- III 2013–2018) identifies integrated urban development as a priority and recognizes the need to manage environment and climate change to ensure the sustainability of Cambodia's economic growth and social development. The Project is also underpinned by Cambodia’s National Green Growth Road Map (2010) which promotes access to clean water and sanitation. In Cambodia, the Project will improve urban services and enhance regional economic connectivity in the participating towns of Kampong Cham, Kratie, and Stung Treng. 2. The project environment classification is confirmed as Category B. This report constitutes the initial environmental examination (IEE) and environmental management plan (EMP) for the proposed subprojects in Cambodia.1 The IEE was carried out in accordance with the Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Cambodia’s Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management (Preah Reach Kram/NS-PKM- 1296/36) 1996, and its sub-decrees and implementing guidelines. B. Project Scope 3. The Project outputs include: (i) centralized wastewater and stormwater drainage facilities to improve sanitation and control flood risks, (ii) controlled landfills for improved municipal waste disposal, solid waste collection vehicles to enhance collection activities, and the closure of existing dumpsites (Stung Treng and Kratie), (iii) town center landscaping and rehabilitation to create livable public spaces that foster tourism benefits, (iv) information and communication technology (ICT) based government systems to optimize operational transparency and resource efficiency in managing the new infrastructures, and (v) provincial five-year socioeconomic development plans to promote regional economic connectivity and coordinate their strategies (Table 1). Table 1: Summary of Project Outputs and Components Output/Component LWWTS MSWCE TCE PDS ICTPM PMCS 1. Urban environmental infrastructure improved 2. Institutional effectiveness, and policy and planning environment for regional economic connectivity enhanced ICTPM = information and communications technology (ICT) for public management; LWWTS = lagoon-based waste water treatment system; MSWCE = municipal solid waste-controlled landfill and equipment; PDS = provincial development strategy; PMCS = project management and construction supervision; TCE = town center enhancement. C. Key Findings 4. The Project is expected to improve the urban environment in the three towns, reduce their vulnerability to environmental and climate risks, and improve their climate resilience level and 1 The IEE and EMP (i) identify and assess potential impacts and risks from subproject implementation on the physical, biological, physical-cultural and socioeconomic environments, and (ii) recommend measures to avoid, mitigate and compensate adverse impacts, while enhancing positive impacts. ii quality of life. It will provide them with improved stormwater, wastewater and solid waste management services, and in all three, formulate a provincial development strategy and strengthen institutional capacities in resilience town planning. The Project also includes town center enhancements in Kratie and Stung Treng. The anticipated positive impacts and environmental benefits are presented in Table 5.1 of the IEE. 5. Kampong Cham Subproject. The proposed combined sewer system in Kampong Cham will be built in the main urban area to serve four communes, namely, (i) Krong Kampong Cham (100%), (ii) Veal Vong (100%), (iii) Sambor Meas (50%), and (iv) Boeng Kok (10%). The sewer lines will be laid along roads in the main urban area and will affect at least eleven schools, businesses, one hospital, an orphanage, two temples, two mosques, and one church along the roads in Boeng Snay and Boeng Bassac. The impacts of the combined sewer will primarily occur during the construction phase. The impacts will be temporary but will potentially affect community health