Initial Environmental Examination February 2018 Maritime and Waterways and Safety Project Pre-Installation Assessment Report for Navaids package 3 Prepared by National Maritime Safety Authority for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This Initial Environmental Examination (or Pre-Installation Assessment) is a document of the Borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB’ 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 particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgements as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Project Number: 44375-13 Loan Number: 2978-PNG February 2018 Papua New Guinea: Maritime and Waterways Safety Project Pre-Installation Assessment Report for Contract Package No.3 (West Sepik, East Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Oro and Milne Bay Provinces). 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The Government of Papua New Guinea (the Government) has requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide further assistance in the maritime sector through replacement of existing or previously evident coastal navigational aids (navaids) as well as the installation of new navaids. The project was initially scoped to include 132 navaids including replacement (99) and new navaids (33), and for which site surveys and assessments are being undertaken to refine requirements and suitability. The Maritime and Waterways Safety Project was prepared in 2012 with the project executing agency and implementing agency being the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA). 2. It was initially anticipated by the PIU that the navaid project will be undertaken through four (4) separate contract packages. Contract Package 1 will involve a total number of 48 navaid installations in Milne Bay and Central Provinces distributed over eight (8) sites. Contract Package 2 will involve a total number of 20 navaid installation in the New Guinea Islands Region. 3. Contract Package 3 navaid locations will involve a total of 36 navaid installations across the New Guinea mainland coastline covering the Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Oro and Milne Bay provinces. Initially there were 45 navaid installations proposed for this package however 8 of the sites have been removed due to land dispute issues and will be implemented at a later date by NMSA. 4. Contract Package 4 was recently added to the project to include 15 navaid installations in the Port Moresby Harbour. The package was later removed again from the project when it was decided that it would come under NMSA funding. Contract Package 4 will now be implemented separately and at a later time. Separate PIA’s for navaid locations under contract packages 1, 2 and 3 are required to be prepared and submitted after the conduct of pre-installation site assessments. Contract Packages 1 and 2 have already been previously prepared and submitted. Hence the preparation of this PIA is for Contract Package 3. 5. The Pre-installation Assessment (PIA) addressed navaid locational requirements for engineering and marine safety, and environmental protection perspectives; habitat and bottom type identification for navaid installation and for the setting of anchors to determine specific locations to minimize environmental damage; and pre-installation community awareness. This activity for Contract Package 3 navaids locations took place intermittently from November 03, 2016 to March 09, 2017. 6. A Pre-Installation Assessment Checklist had been prepared to cover the minimum requirements provided in the Environmental Assessment and Review Framework (EARF). The habitat and bottom type identification involved diving and underwater photography, subject to safe sea and environmental conditions. 7. The pre-installation community awareness preparations have been based on the NMSA’s Community Engagement Program but followed the PIU’s process ultimately, including particularly the FPIC process that also involved representatives from the Provincial Government, Districts, and the Department of Lands staff. 8. Community awareness meetings resulted in signed FPIC forms that are considered significant outcomes under this PIA because it confirms community agreement and acceptance of the project and permission by the community for the installation of the navaids in advance of the finalization of an appropriate mode of land acquisition (purchase or lease agreement). 9. Majority of the proposed navaids under Contract Package 3 will be monopile type installations and driven into the substrate extending a focal plane height of 6-7m above mean sea 2 level (msl). Signal light, solar power panels, radar reflectors as necessary and day or top marks and related devices will be installed atop the pile which may be wrapped or otherwise protected in order to extend their useful life in the harsh seawater environment. A program of inspections and maintenance will be developed. 10. Throughout the Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Oro and Milne Bay provinces, environmentally sensitive areas that may be jeopardized by installation operations include corals and seagrass beds which abound in some identified sites. There are 4 marine protected areas in the Madang Province, particularly in the Madang Lagoon that have been nationally proclaimed in 2006 and now are locally-managed, one of which called the TAB Wildlife Management Area (WMA) will be near two proposed installation sites at the Rasch Passage about 6.5 km NNE of Madang. The others marine protected areas are found further away from the sites. Nevertheless, navaids in marine protected areas would be important support facilities for environmental protection since these will avert incidences of grounding and destruction of important marine habitats in these sensitive areas. 11. For the most part, however, there are either always available hard pavements or sandy patches within these habitats that present opportunities from which to place the navaids or purely sand and hard reef pavements that were previously navaids installation locations (in the case of navaids replacements). In addition, there are hard rock bottoms or soils on selected navaids options to be located on land with minimal terrestrial vegetation cover. Where there are options assessed to affect significant clearing of terrestrial vegetation, the option adopted is on adjoining reef with bare coral communities. 12. Nevertheless, it is important to adhere to precautionary principles and Navaid Installation Contractor (NIC) will be required to prepare a work method statement and installation environmental management plan during installation. No mangroves will be directly affected by the navaid installations. 13. The PIA indicates that the installation of the new navaids in the Sepik, Madang, Morobe, Oro and Milne Bay Provinces will result in unavoidable and permanent loss of very small areas of habitat during their lifetime. This physical loss, however, will be offset by the monopoles in water becoming habitats themselves for various marine organisms. 14. In addition, this physical loss will be offset by the avoidance of vessels running aground on reefs with the potential of extensive environmental damage (oil spill and physical destruction of habitat), as well as loss of human lives. Where sea conditions allow for safe underwater inspections, the PIU managed to inspect and identify most underwater substrates to be either sand, sandy patches in coral areas, hard reef pavements, rubbles and hard rocks. On a few number of installations (i.e. Star Reefs), sensitive habitats, especially vigorous coral reefs, were identified but will be further assessed during NIC pre-installation works to ensure these will not be significantly impacted. 15. The NIC will be required to prepare work method statement, and installation environmental management plan (IEMP) to properly manage the required pre-installation and installation processes and ensuring the avoidance or minimization of negative environmental impacts to the navaid locations. The Navaid Installation Contractor (NIC) is expected to provide a Marine Ecologist, and a Terrestrial Ecologist (in a few land-based installations) in its installation team to address potential issues and concerns of both water-based, and land-based installations. 16. The PIA concludes that potential adverse environmental impacts arising from replacement of existing or previously evident coastal navigational aids, and installation of new navaids in these provinces can be minimized to insignificant levels by selecting a NIC that will fully comply with the environmental requirements of the project. 3 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 2 ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................ 6 List of Tables and Figures ....................................................................................................................... 7 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 8 A. Project Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 A.1 Scope of the Pre-installation Assessment