Siddhanath Baijanath Water Supply and Sanitation Subproject
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Initial Environmental Examination Document Stage: Draft Project Number: 35173-015 July 2018 NEP: Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project – Siddhanath Baijanath Water Supply and Sanitation Subproject Package No. W-03 Prepared by the Ministry of Water Supply, Government of Nepal for the Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 2 July 2018) Currency unit - Nepalese rupee (NRe) $1.00 = NRs109.821 NRe1.00 = $0.009 ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank DSMC - d esign, supervision and management consultant DRTAC - Design Review and Technical Audit Consultant DWSS - Department of Water Supply and Sewerage EARF - environmental assessment and review framework EIA - environmental impact assessment EMP - environmental management plan EMR - environmental monitoring report EPA - Environment Protection Act EPR - Environment Protection Rules, 2054 (1997) (and amendments) ESS - Environmental Safeguard Specialist ESA - Environmental Safeguard Assistant GRM - grievance redress mechanism ICG - Implementation Core Group IEE - initial environmental examination MoWS - Ministry of Water Supply NDWQS - National Drinking Water Quality Standard PMO - Project Management Office RPMO - Regional Project Management Office ROW - right-of-way SPS - Safeguard Policy Statement UWSSP - Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project WTP - water treatment plant WHO - World Health Organization WSS - water supply and sanitation WUA - water users’ association WUSC - water users’ and sanitation committee WEIGHTS AND MEASURES m3 - cubic meter °C - degree Celsius dBA - decibel audible ha - hectare kgf - kilogram-force km - kilometer kph - kilometer per hour m - meter mg/l - milligram per liter mm - millimeter % - percent NOTE In this report, "$" refers to United States dollars. This draft 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. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s 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. CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Name and Address of the Individual Institution Preparing the Report 2 B. Purpose of the Initial Environmental Examination 3 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBPROJECT 4 A. Need for the Subproject 4 B. Relevance of the Subproject 4 C. Overview of the Subproject 4 D. Subproject Components 5 E. Implementation Schedule 9 III. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 10 A. ADB Safeguard Policy Statement 10 B. Government Environmental Impact Assessment Law 13 C. Other Relevant National Laws, Policies and Guidelines 15 D. International Environmental Agreements. 19 IV. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES 20 A. With- and Without-Subproject Alternatives 20 B. With Subproject’s Location Alternative 20 C. Alternatives Related to Technology, Materials and Implementation Procedure 21 V. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 21 A. Physical Environment 21 B. Biological Environment 22 C. Socioeconomic and Cultural Environment 23 D. Site-specific Environmental Condition of the Subproject Areas 25 VI. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 26 A. Beneficial Impacts 26 B. Assessment of Potential Impacts Due to the Subproject 27 C. Indirect, Induced and Cumulative Impacts 38 VII. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION 39 A. Information Disclosure, Consultation and Participation 39 VIII. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 40 IX. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 44 A. Institutional Arrangement 44 B. Environmental Management Plan 49 C. Environmental Monitoring Program 68 D. Institutional Capacity Development Program 69 E. Staffing Requirement and Budget 71 X. MONITORING AND REPORTING 73 XI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 74 XII. LITERATURE REVIEWED 75 APPENDIXES 1. Rapid Environmental Assessment Checklist for Chakkifanta Project and Preliminary Climate Risk Screening Checklist for Sample Subproject Towns 2. Siddhanath Baijanath Project 3. Relevant Environmental Quality Standards 4. Sample Grievance Redress Form 5. Sample Traffic Management Plan 6. Spoil Management Plan 7. Semi-Annual Environmental Monitoring Report Template 8. Sample Environmental Site Inspection Report 9. Reference for Plantation Cost Breakdown (Indicative) 10. Project Location and Service Area 11. Ibat Information on Biodiversity Sensitivity in Proximity of Project Area 12. Public Consultation 13. Chlorine Guideline Value 14. Water Quality Test Report 15. Checklist for Physical Environment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project (UWSSP) will support the Government of Nepal in expanding access to community managed water supply and sanitation (WSS) in 20 project municipalities by drawing on experiences and lessons from three earlier projects funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project will finance climate-resilient and inclusive WSS infrastructure in project municipalities and strengthen institutional and community capacity, sustainable service delivery, and project development. The project will be implemented over a five-year period (indicative implementation period is 2018 to 2023) and will be supported through ADB financing using a sector lending approach. The project will have the following impact: quality of life for urban populations, including the poor and marginalized, improved through the provision of sustainable WSS services. The project will have the following outcome: inclusive and sustainable access to WSS services in project municipalities achieved. The project will have two outputs: (i) water supply and sanitation infrastructure in project municipalities improved, and (ii) institutional and community capacities strengthened. The Ministry of Water Supply (MOWS) is the executing agency and Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) the implementing agency. The project management office (PMO) will be responsible for the overall management, implementation and monitoring of the project. There will be regional PMOs (RPMOs) to manage day-to-day project implementation at the subproject/municipality level. After construction including a one-year operations and maintenance (O&M) period by the contractor, subprojects will be operated by the water users’ and sanitation committee (WUSC) or municipality. Siddhanath Baijanath (Kanchanpur) town project is one of the subprojects proposed under UWSSP. There is no existing water supply scheme in the project town. People are using tube wells, dug wells, shallow wells, and river for their daily water use. Subproject Scope. The subproject is demand-driven by municipality and WUA, and selected based on transparent criteria, including population growth, poverty index, existing WSS infrastructure, formed WUA, community willingness for cost sharing and long-term O&M contract. The subproject is formulated to improve water supply service delivery in wards 6, 8 and 10 of Bheemdutta Municipality. Investments under this subproject include: deep tube wells, reservoir, transmission mains with distribution lines, household connections and office building. Environmental assessment has been conducted for the Siddhanath Baijanath water supply and sanitation subproject and selected based on (i) detailed engineering design, and (ii) most likely environmentally sensitive components. The environmental assessment used ADB’s rapid environmental assessment (REA) checklist (Appendix 1) and a “no mitigation measures scenario” checklist developed for UWSSP (Appendix 2). The environmental assessment of the Siddhanath Baijanath water supply and sanitation subproject shows it is not likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts that are irreversible, diverse, or unprecedented. Potential impacts are unlikely to affect areas larger than the sites or facilities subject to physical works. These impacts are site-specific, few if any of them are irreversible, and in most cases mitigation measures can be designed with uncomplicated measures commonly used at construction sites and known to civil works contractors. Therefore, the Siddhanath Baijanath water supply and sanitation subproject is classified as Category B for environment per ADB Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS). This initial ii environmental examination (IEE) report has been prepared based on detailed design and following requirements of ADB SPS and Government of Nepal Environment Protection Rules where the subproject is listed under Schedule-1 requiring an IEE. Description of the Environment. The project components are in Bheemdutta Municipality, bordering Kailali district in the east, Dadeldhura in the north and India in the south and west. The project components will be in municipality-owned sites and right-of-way (ROW) of public roads. There are no protected areas, forests, wetlands, mangroves, or estuaries in or near the subproject locations. Potential Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures. The subproject is unlikely to cause significant adverse impacts that are irreversible, diverse or unprecedented because: (i) the components will involve straightforward construction and operation, so impacts will be mainly localized; (ii) there are no significant sensitive environmental features in the subproject sites although careful attention needs