E430 Volume 2 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized LiaoRiver Basin Project (LRBP) Public Disclosure Authorized EnvironmentalAssessment SummaryReport January2001 Public Disclosure Authorized MONTGOMERY WATSONV LUlfCRPOUA FILECOPY a Montgomery Watson/LUCRPO Liao River Basin Project quality required by its functional uses by 2005 and to achieve the sustainable utilization of water resources based Environmental Assessment on their functions by 2010. To meet these goals, the Plan calls for reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge by 600,000 tons by 2000, SUMMARY REPORT 140,000 tons by 2005 and additional 90,000 tons by 2010, making the total COD reduction of 830,000 tons over the 10- 1. INTRODUCTION year period. This would require the construction of 55 municipal wastewater treatments in the LRB (24 in Liaoning The Project consists of four wastewater treatment plants, province), as well as 225 industrial pollution source control industrial pollution control projects at two paper mills, urban projects (118 in Liaoning province). upgrading, institutional strengthening and several non- physical components related to environmental management. With the funding support of the European LUnion(EU), The wastewater plants are located in Shenyang (the Liaoning province launched the Liaoning Integrated provinicial capital), Jinzhou, Panjin and Yingkou. The paper Environmental Program (LIEP) in 1999. This is a mills are near Yingkou and Jinzhou. All except Jinzhou are comprehensive planning project to evaluate environmental located within the Liao River Basin (LRB), as shown in factors and develop strategies to redress the balance between Figure 1. the various demands for water in the LRB catchment and for sustainable environmental management in Liaoning The LRB, with a total catchment area of 220,000 kM2, has province. The LIEP has identified 15 municipal treatment four major rivers, the Liao, Hun, Taizi, and Daliao. One third plants in the basin as priority investments. of the Liao River catchment and the entire Hun-Taizi-Daliao network lie within Liaoning province, population 42 million The four municipal wastewater treatment plants, to be built people. The rivers drain through 11 industrial and population in LRBP are top of the lists of 15 priority municipal centers and rich agriculture areas in the province before treatment plants identified by the LIEP, and together with the discharging into the Bohai Sea. two paper mill pollution control projects, are part of the Plan of the State Council. As such, these treatment plants are a In 1997, the State Council of the Chinese central government pivotal part of the effort to meet the State and provincial announced "Decisions On Issues of Environmental goals for pollution control and sustainable water resources Protection" (the Decisions), which has since become a management. primary guide for the country's environmental protection and pollution control effort. One of the important initiatives An Environment Assessment (EA) was conducted for each under the State Council's Decisions is the "Three Lakes and physical component. A project wide environmental impact Three Rivers" pollution control program, referring to the six assessment (EIA) report and environmental management landmark and most sensitive water bodies and river basins in plan (EMP), collectively known as the EA documentation, China. The Liao is one of the three rivers and the LRBP is has been compiled by the Liaoning Provincial thus one of the highest priority pollution control programs in Environmental Research Institute, with the assistance from the country. the project DRA consultant, Montgomery Watson. This document is a summary of the EA documentation. The State Council approved in 1998 the Ninth Five-Year Plan and 2010 Program for Liao River Basin Pollution Control and Prevention (the Plan). The Plan sets a goal to eliminate below-Category V water quality from all LRB surface water bodies by the end of 2000, to recover the water ei Montgomery Watson/I,UCRPO Figure 1: Map of Liaoning Province _ iai C,', 1CC3;' N '>' .. _; LEGEND T'ew- Id 0CRe. IR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!iLOPBPCCC. 'hongPegCi o JilimProvino C.C ASS W:~~~~LURP LIAORIVER BASIN ,> RGu < 24i 1 9 -' l LPROJECT(LRBP) LIAONINGPROVINCE PR CHINA Localion of Project Ciiies DPRCi NoithKC0 - tCNSiWi-V 5T 0 20 40 60 oIGUmetres FIGURE2.I 2 Montgomery Watson/LUCRPO 2. SURFACE WATER STANDARDS Project, with design provision for the more stringent The most important assessment criteria and environmental ammonia-nitrogen criteria in future stages, target standards are the surface water quality classification of Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water, GHZB I - 1999. According to this standard, surface water quality has Other environmental discharge/emnission and ambient been divided into five categories depending on their environmental quality standards applied in the EA include: functional uses. These categories and key parameters within * Ambient Air Quality Standards, GB3095-1996; the standard are as follows: * Environmental Noise Standards for Urban Areas, GB3096-93; Table 2.1 Surface WaterQuality Classification * Standards for Noise at Boundaries of Constrmction Sites. GB 12523-90; and Category Description Key parameters (mg/f, except * Standards for Wastewater Discharge and Air Ermissions __ _ pH) COO NO3-N pH in Liaoning Province, DB21-60-89. Applicabl to sources of <15 0.5 6.5-8.5 watcr bodies and 3. EA COVERAGE inational niaturereserves Applicable to Class A is 0.5 6.5-8.5 According to the project TOR, the EA covers the following water resource protecti(on areas: for drinking watcr or precious fish * Shenyang section of Hun river; Applicable to Class B 21 0.5 6.5-8.5 * Panjin section of Liao river; water resource and * Jinzhou section of Xiaoling river; general fishing or * Yingkou section of Daliao river and estuaries; swimming9 VGeneralindustrial wate* 30 1.0 6.5-8.5 Immediately adjacent areas surrounding the wastewater supply or secondary interceptors, pumping stations and treatment plant sites; recLeational use and v Agricultural water 4!) 1.5 6-9 * Impacts to the LRB and to the Bohai Sea by the project. resource or general amenity purposes 4. CURRENT SITUATION There are two existing wastewater discharge standards Available water resources in the Liao Basin are limited. applicable in Liaoning province for discharge into surface Average water resources in the Liao catchment are 20% of water~ bodies: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Aeag aerrsure i h La athen r 2%o water bodies: the national average. Water resources available for * The national Comprehensive Wastewater Discharge agriculture are 12% of the national average. River flows in Standards for discharge into Category IV and Category the LRB vary dramatically in different months and seasons. V water bodies (GB8978.96); and In a typical year, July and August flows amount to 60% of * The more stringent discharge standards adopted by the annual flow whilst the flow in the driest month Liaoning Environmental Protection Bureau for the (February) amounts only to 0.1 % of the yearly total. In many province. rivers in Liaoning province, the dry season flow is mainly wastewater discharged from various industrial and municipal The most important difference between these two standards sources. are COD (120 mg/e for the national standards versus 100 mg/' for provincial standards) and ammonia-nitrogen (25 Water resources in Liaoning province are seriously over- mg/e for the national standards versus 15 mg/f for the utilized. While over 81% of surface water resources and 43% provincial standards). LRBP will adopt the more stringent of groundwater resources are utilized, water supply still Provincial COD standard as the design criteria for the cannot meet the demand. At the present, annual water supply 3 3 is about 7.8 billion m while the demand is 8.3 billion in . 3 ff) -Montgomery Watson/LUCRPO 3 leaving a 500 million m water supply deficit each year in exclusively, on shallow water wells as their primary the province. With the provincial priority set for the key state drinking water sources; industries, agriculture and municipal water supplies are often * Contamination of farm land and crops, as farmers in the sacrificed. The continued excessive exploitation of water LRB may have little choice but to use water with quality resources has caused significantly lowered groundwater exceeding irrigation water standards; and tables over a reported area of 389 square kilometers. * Adverse impacts on water quality and fisheries resources in the Bohai Sea, to which LRB rivers The Liaoning province is one of the most concentrated urban discharge; and and industrial areas in China. There is however only one * Adverse impacts on wetlands at the estuary. operating municipal wastewater treatment plant and limited industrial wastewater treatment capacity. In the meantime, The urgency for immediate improvement in the LRB wastewater from point sources in Liaoning province is environment is apparent. Not only has the province missed expected to reach a total 2.1 billion m3 containing over its year 2000 surface water quality and COD reduction goals, 643,000 tons of COD in the year 2000. Of this amount, the water quality in the LRB rivers is worsening. The LRBP approximately 70% of the wastewater and COD are from will start to reverse the trend of water quality deterioration industrial sources and 30% from municipal sources. With the and is an important first step in achieving the state and current lack of wastewater