REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA MINISTRY OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS Public Disclosure Authorized MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE REPORT Public Disclosure Authorized LUDA YANA DAM Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Sofia, October 2007 Luda Yana Dam Environmmtul Due Diligence Report TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECURIVE SUMMARY P. 3 11. INTRODUCTION p.4 111. PROJECT DESCRIPTION P. 5 IV. OPTION ANALYSIS P. 7 v. STATUS ANALYSIS, BASELINE DATA P. 9 VI. FORECAST OF EXPECTED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF LUDA YANA DAM p. 15 VII. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT p. 25 VIlI ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MITIGATION PLAN p. 25 IX. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PLAN p. 27 X. PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCEDURES p. 28 Luda Yana Dam Environmental Due Diligence Report I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Environmental Due Diligence Report for Luda Yana Dam is part of the documents presented by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) to the World Bank for financing of the construction of Luda Yana Dam under the Municipal Infiastructure Development Project. The Environmental Due Diligence Report contains the following main studies and conclusions: Design support of Luda Yana Dam Detailed engineering designs have been developed for Luda Yana Dam and the related facilities. The construction was carried out by these designs till its suspension in 2000. for Preliminary studies were developed for the Potable Water Purification Plant (PWPP) in 1989. The designs were made in conformity with the prevailing regulation of Bulgaria in order to guarantee the security - structural, technological and environmental - of the dam and the related facilities. The site for the PWPP location has not been selected. Before commencement of the construction, an update of the dam design, site selection and design for the Potable Water Purification Plant (PWPP) will be required. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report has been developed for Luda Yana Dam. The EIA Report procedure was started however, after a public discussion in Pazardjik it was suspended due to the lack of a PWPP design. Environment condition The condition of the environment in the area of Luda Yana Dam has been subjected to the impact of the construction works performed and is defined as anthropogenically affected. The dam has been built up elevation 568,25 (30 m height against 43,50 m design height of the dam, or about 70%), the civil part of the intake tower works is ready, 70% of the anti-seepage precautions have been implemented, as well as other aux~liaryor temporary work sites, the bottom outlet is made, the quarry, the clay borrow pit and the humus storage site have been established, the excavation works for the spillway and the chute have been performed, the construction site is prepared. Currently it is used by the dam builder, Hydrostroy. The road to the Bunai Cottage is displaced but not asphalted. There 1s no design for PWPP. The river ecosystem is subjected to considerable negatively anthropogenic influence from the construction and due to a widely varying run-off regime. Since 70% of the dam is built, the river continuum is partly maintained by the bottom outlet. The sector in the ponding area goes partly dry during the summer low-water period. The ichtiofauna is at the verge of survival. Much of the forest is cleared and the humus has been raked up and deposited. That contributes to intensification of the erosion, especially on the right-hand bank, after 2000 (when construction was suspended). The herpetofauna, the mammals and the omitofauna are affected mainly by the severely eroded terrains, cutting of the ligneous vegetation, stripping of the humus layer and dewatering of the river. The suspension of construction of Luda Yana Dam leaves unsolved a basic social problem - water supply of the town of Panagiurishte, and the villages in the municipalities of Panagiurishte, Pazaradjik and Strelcha. Environmental impacts of the construction and operation of Luda Yana Dam A significant part of the negative environmental impacts attendant to the construction of Luda Yana Dam are over due to: opening of the quarry for rock till material, the clay borrow pit and the humus depot, already built service road network, developed construction site, 70% performed construction work on the dam and a significant part of the related facilities (the civil part of the intake tower, displacement of the road to Bunai Cottage, the excavation work for the spillway and the chute. The wall already built ensures precipitation of the construction effluent during the dam completion works without any risk of water pollution In the river. Due to the progress made in the construction work, the environmental impacts from completion of Luda Yana Dam will be limited and their mitigation and prevention are feasible. The main impacts of Luda Yana Dam will result from operation of the water power works. The river ecosystem is transformed into a reservoir ecosystem. 142,O ha of the area of cleared forest vegetation and Luda Yana Dam Environmentul Due Diligence Report former agricultural fund, where only a few fruit trees are left, with little probability of using the meadows and pasture land, will be permanently flooded. 2 km upstream of Panagiurishte there will be a dam classified as "large", and its safe operation has to be assured. At the same time, the run-off regime of the river Luda Yana will be stabilized with the minimum permissible discharge into the river (ecological releases). Prerequisites for development of a sustainable ichtiocenosis will be established, the erosion processes will be stabilized through implementation of the erosion control project. The impact on the herpetofauna, mammals and omitofauna will be negligible. Normal good-quality water supply will be provided to the population in the municipalities, and that will create opportunities for development of the vacation and tourist business. The possible alternatives at the design phase and at the present moment are reviewed herein. The regulation acts and methodologies used in the Environmental Due Diligence Report are enclosed. For the purpose of mitigation of the negative consequences from the construction M operation of Luda Yana Dam, an Environmental Impact Mitigation Plan and a Monitoring Plan are proposed. The results of the public discussion of the Project in Panagiurishte and of the consultations with administrative and competent authorities are presented. As a result of a review of the project studies performed by the Exploration and Design Institute (EDI) Vodproekt, the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the dam, and the meetings held in the municipalities of Panagiurishte, the extreme significance of Luda Yana Dam for overcoming the negative environmental consequences of suspension of the construction is emphasized. The analyses of the construction performance status, assessments and forecasts of possible impacts during the construction and operation of the water-power system prove the feasibility of mitigating the negative environmental impacts and of creating a health and comfortable living environment for the population in the municipalities concerned. 11. INTRODUCTION 2.1. General The government of R. Bulgaria requested the World Bank's assistance in financing of activities related to the Municipal Infrastructure Development Project which will help Bulgaria to comply to the European Union's directives on potable and waste water and the environmental protection factors in the investment arrangements that will be acceptable and eligible for financing from the European Union's Structural Funds and are not covered by other EU grants. The Project, the preparatory part of which is this Environmental Due Diligence Report (EDDR) encompasses the completion of three water-supply dams (Neykovtsi, Plovdivtsi and Luda Yana) where construction was suspended in the last decade, rehabilitation of the wall of an operating dam (Studena Dam), as well as rehabilitation of the water supply system of six companies providing water supply and sewerage services (Dobrich, Razgrad, Sliven, Smolian, Stara Zagora and Targovishte) 2.2. Purpose of the Project The purpose of the Project is to ensure better water supply and responsible use of the water resources underlying the state policy for sustainable development of the water sector. It is in the spirit of the National Strategy of Bulgaria for Environmental Protection (2005 - 2014) that envisages ,,provision of good-quality water and sufficient water supply for all purposes7'. The purpose of the Project will be achieved by means of: improvement of the conditions of water supply for domestic & drinking needs in selected regions;ensuring the required quantity and quality of potable wateqreduction of losses in the water supply network; improvement of the reliability and efficiency of water supply systems and facilities; provision for environmental requirements and regulations with respect to the systems; enhancement of the operators' management and operating capability, etc. Luda Yana Dam Environmentul Due Diligence Report 2.3. Bank's Requirements and Documents. The overall environmental category of the proposed Project is A in line with Bank policies with individual investments that belong to both category A (the proposed dam completion activities and category B (the rehabilitation of water networks). Based on the proposed Project Investments the following World Bank's safeguards