26 Mw Shagharthang Hydropower Project
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26 MW SHAGHARTHANG HYDROPOWER PROJECT INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXAMINATION REVISED May 2012 IEE Report for Shagharthang Hydropower Project EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction: Initial Environmental Examination Report of 26 MW Shagharthang Hydropower Project presents the environmental assessment of the construction and the operation phases of the project. It is to ensure that the potential adverse environmental impacts are appropriately addressed in line with ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) 2009 as well as meeting the requirements of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997. The Project is covered by Schedule B of Energy Sector as per “Policy and Procedures for Filing, Review and Approval of Environmental Assessment” issued by Pak - EPA in August 2000 and Category “B” Under ADB's SPS 2009 which requires preparation of an IEE Report for submission to EPA Gilgit Baltistan for their approval. Project Description: The proposed 26 MW Shagarthang Hydropower Project is located on right bank of Kachura Lungma (stream), District Skardu which is about 50 km from the Skardu city. The Kachura lungma is a left tributary of the Indus River with its confluence located about 40 km northwest of Skardu. The project facilities will consist of a weir intake, a connecting channel, a de-silting basin, a daily storage pond, a spill channel, a headrace tunnel, a powerhouse, a tailrace channel, a surge tank, a penstock, transmission line and a grid station. To facilitate construction activities, partial widening and surface improvement of an existing road is also part of the project. Environmental Baseline: The project area falls in the Skardu district which lies in the southeast of Gilgit-Baltistan. The field surveys conducted in September 2011 collected primary and secondary data in respect of physical, biological and socio-economic environment. Meetings were held with officials of departments of revenue, agriculture, health, education, fishery and forest. Public consultations were held with locals including project affectees. The population of the 4 villages within the influence of the project is at present 5,592. The majority of the household size has electrical connection which however, is limited to lighting only. The water supply and sanitation conditions need improvement. Environmental Impacts and Mitigation: The project impacts have been discussed with reference to design, construction and operation related impacts and positive impacts. The design related impacts relate to loss of land and assets due to access road widening. Construction related impacts in particular relate to disposal of excavated material for which disposal sites has been identified. The construction related impacts will be manageable if the mitigation measures are implemented thoroughly. A total of 42.475 acres of Govt. and private land will have to be acquired for the project implementation. This land area consist of 13.669 acres of land needing permanent acquisition for access road, 9.694 acres for project structures and 0.22 acres for grid station including18.31 acres of land requiring temporary acquisition for construction camps, dumping sites and during stringing ES - 1 IEE Report for Shagharthang Hydropower Project operation of 66kV transmission line. No residential house will be affected by the project. Other than land, a total of 1150 fruit and shade/wood trees, and 62 structures of different types including 5 shops made up of stone masonry with mud roofing measuring 102.91 square meter, boundary wall 740.71 cubic meter and agriculture/livestock sheds measuring 160.50 square meter will also be affected by the construction of project components. 66 kV Transmission Line: A total of 97 towers will be constructed for 30 km transmission lines that will traverse from Shagharthang to Sondus in Skardu town. Tower foundation would require 0.582 acres of private land affecting 30 households with a total population of 350 affected persons. In addition, 11.77 acres of land would be acquired temporarily during stringing operation. An estimated 43 trees will be affected within 10m COI of the 66kV transmission line. Out of these, 40 trees are timber and fuel wood trees and only 3 are fruit trees. The project as a whole will affect 110 households with a total population of 1,196 affected persons (APs). All affected households (AHs) are Muslim and ethnically Balti and Shin. There are neither tribal nor minority people amongst the AHs. These households will be affected due to widening of road, lying of transmission towers and construction of a new grid station. The operation related impacts relate to mitigation measures in terms of environmental flow requirements to safeguard aquatic ecology and fisheries. The positive impacts enumerate the savings in annual green house gas emissions. Public Consultation A public consultation program and census survey held earlier in April, May & June, 2008 was followed up in Sep, 2011, when the consultant team assessed the correctness of the inventory of affected assets subject to final verification by the Revenue Department. The staff of land revenue department together with PMU and consultant staff have finalized the inventory of affected assets and actual demarcation on the respective sites. Institutional Requirements: Environmental impacts associated with construction and operation of the project need to be mitigated for which institutional arrangements have been proposed by establishing a project management unit (PMU) headed by a full time Project Director to ensure compliance with ADB policies and procedures. For addressing complaints and grievances of project affectees, a grievance redress committee (GRC) has been proposed. Environmental Management Plan: The environmental management plan (EMP) has been drawn up to address environmental concerns, recommend mitigation measures and assign responsibility to implement and monitor them. The environmental management plan should be used as a basis for environmental compliance programme and be included in the contract document. ES - 2 IEE Report for Shagharthang Hydropower Project I. INTRODUCTION For updating the IEE report already conducted in the year 2008 for 26MW Shagharthang Hydropower Project, Water and Power Department Gilgit Baltistan made arrangements in the year 2011 for consultancy services with Pakistan Engineering Services (Pvt.) Ltd. Lahore. In order to consider project financing, an Asian Development Bank Mission visited the project area during August 2011. Before detailed design is undertaken by EPC Contractor Environmental Assessment (IEE Report) and Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP) Reports are to be completed. It is mandatory that no objection certificate of the IEE Report is obtained from EPA GB before proceeding with the construction of the project. This Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) presents the environmental assessment of the proposed Shagharthang Hydropower Plant with reference to its design, construction and operation phases. This IEE has been carried out to ensure that the potential adverse environmental impacts are appropriately addressed in line with ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) 2009 as well as to meet the requirements of the Government of Pakistan for environmental assessment. The environmental assessment report is submitted to ADB by the Government of Gilgit Baltistan on behalf of Water and Power Department (GB-WPD). This report is to be submitted for review and approval by the Gilgit Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency (GB-EPA) as required by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997. A. Environmental Regulatory Compliance Section 12(1) of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 requires that “No proponent of a project1 shall commence construction or operation unless he has filed with the Federal Agency2 an initial environmental examination or, where the project is likely to cause an adverse environmental effect, an environmental impact assessment, and has obtained from the Federal Agency approval in respect thereof." The National Environmental Quality Standards are applicable to any process, emission or effluent from the project. However, no such emissions or effluents are envisaged from Shagharthang Hydropower Project. 1 Defined as "any activity, plan, scheme, proposal or undertaking involving any change in the environment and includes-(a) construction or use of buildings or other works; (b) construction or use of roads or other transport systems; (c) construction or operation of factories or other installations; (d) mineral prospecting, mining, quarrying, stone-crushing, drilling and the like; (e) change of land use or water use; and (f) alteration, expansion, repair, decommissioning or abandonment of existing buildings or other work roads or other transport systems, factories or other installations. 2 The Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan has delegated the power of the Federal Agency for EIA and IEE reviews for projects falling in different provinces to the environmental protection agencies of the respective provinces. Federal Agency in this case is the Gilgit Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency. - 1 - IEE Report for Shagharthang Hydropower Project Pak - EPA in August 2000 issued “Policy and Procedures for Filing, Review and Approval of Environmental Assessment”, which includes Schedules A, B and C defining development projects in terms of requirements for EIA and IEE. Schedule A defines projects which require an EIA. It deals with list of major projects which have the potential to affect