SUMMARY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT RAWALPINDI ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN July 2005 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 1 July 2005) Currency Unit – Pakistan rupee/s (PRe/PRs) PRe1.00 = $ 0.0167 $1.00 = Pre60.00 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank BOD5 – biological oxygen demand (5-day test) CDA – Capital Development Authority EA – executing agency EIA – environmental impact assessment EMP – environmental management plan EPA – Environmental Protection Agency EPD – Environmental Protection Department GIS – geographic information systems IA – implementing agency IEE – initial environmental examination IR – involuntary resettlement NEQS – National Environmental Quality Standards NGO – nongovernment organization OHSP – occupational health and safety plan O&M – operation and maintenance PMU – project management unit RCB – Rawalpindi Cantonment Board RDA – Rawalpindi Development Authority SEIA – summary environmental impact assessment TMA – Tehsil Municipal Authority WASA – Water and Sanitation Agency WHO – World Health Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES oC – degrees Centigrade cm/sec – centimeters per second oF – degrees Fahrenheit ha – Hectare kg/day – kilograms per day km – Kilometer m – Meter mm – Millimeter m3/day – cubic meters per day mg/L – milligrams per liter GLOSSARY nullah naturally occurring storm water channel Tehsil a local government unit under a corporate municipal administration NOTE (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government ends on 30 June. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends. CONTENTS MAP I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1 A. Environmental Sanitation 2 B. Improving Water Supply 3 C. Institutional Development 4 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 5 A. Physical Environment 5 B. Ecological Resources 6 C. Human and Economic Development 7 IV. ALTERNATIVES 8 A. With-Project and Without Project 8 B. Alternative Sewage Treatment Plant Sites 8 C. Alternatives for Wastewater Treatment 8 D. Alternatives for Sewage Transfer 9 E. Alternatives for Sludge Disposal 9 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATIONS MEASURES 10 A. Physical Environment 10 B. Biological Environment 13 C. Sociocultural Environment 14 VI. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT 15 A. Economic Benefits 15 B. Costs 15 VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 16 VIII. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE 17 IX. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 18 APPENDIXES 1. Environmental Management Plan for the Sewage Treatment Plant 19 2. Environmental Management Plan for the Sanitary Landfill Site 35 3. Pakistan National Environmental Quality Standards 46 o o 64 00'E 73 00'E NORTH-WEST FRONTIER to Peshawar o 35 00'N Tarbela ISLAMABAD Peshawar Mangla Rawalpindi Rawal Lake AFGHANISTAN Jhelum Jhelum R. IndusSargodha R. Chenab R. Lahore P U N J A B D.I. Khan Ravi R. Multan Quetta Sutlej R PAKISTAN B A L O C H I S T A N IRAN RAWALPINDI CITY Indus R. o o 26 00'N S I N D H 26 00'N Gwadar Kurang R. INDIA Hyderabad Karachi ARABIAN SEA o o 64 00'E 73 00'E PAKISTAN RAWALPINDI ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT National Capital to Lahore Provincial Capital City/Town Soan River Proposed Sewage Treatment Plant Proposed Landfill Site Proposed Slaughterhouse Proposed Outfall Sewer Main Water Pipeline Soan River National Road Other Road River N District Boundary Provincial Boundary International Boundary 05-3894a HR Boundaries are not necessarily authoritative. I. INTRODUCTION 1. This summary environmental impact assessment (SEIA) is based on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project. The project consists of (i) environmental sanitation, including a sewerage system, sewage treatment plant, solid waste management, slaughterhouse relocation, and public toilets; (ii) water supply improvement; and (iii) institutional development, comprising municipal management system development, environmental support services, asset management, and an urban development plan. The project falls under the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) environmental category A, because of the environmentally sensitive component, the sewage treatment plant. A comprehensive EIA addressing all components has been prepared according to ADB’s Environmental Policy Operation Manual Section F1; ADB’s Environmental Assessment Guidelines and Environmental Guidelines for Selected Urban Services Projects; and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency’s “Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Environmental Reports”. 2. The objective of this SEIA is to provide stakeholders with a brief description of potential project impacts and proposed mitigation measures, as well as environmental management and monitoring plans and recommendations for project implementation. 3. National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) prepared the EIA on behalf of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), which is the executing agency. The EIA began on 15 April 2004, when almost all of the project components were still at the feasibility study stage. In January 2005, an additional study was undertaken to evaluate alternatives for the sewage treatment plant and sewerage system. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to endorse the EIA by 31 July 2005. II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 4. The main project objectives are (i) improving living conditions and quality of life of the people of Rawalpindi by improving the water supply and sanitation facilities, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, and slaughterhouse; and (ii) ensuring sustainable urban investments by strengthening institutional capacities of the Rawalpindi Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), promoting policy reforms focused on greater devolution of authority, and involving all stakeholders in service delivery. 5. The project comprises the following components: (i) environmental sanitation; (ii) water supply services; and (iii) institutional development, including financial management system, database development for the TMA, RDA, WASA; asset management; project implementation support; and incremental administration support. 6. Most project components are located in Rawalpindi. The sewage treatment plant has been proposed to be located on the left bank of Soan River, 18 km away from the city near Jabbar Miana village. The project proposes shifting the existing goat slaughterhouse to the outskirts of the city. The project will also improve solid waste collection and disposal. A new 75- acre sanitary landfill site is proposed to be located in Mouza Losar, 30 km away from the city (see map). The project components are described below. 2 A. Environmental Sanitation 1. Sewerage System 7. The sewerage system currently covers only 30% area of the city, which was laid in the satellite town and Khayaban-e-Sirsyed in the 1950s and in 1969, respectively. Inappropriate subdivision of urban lots and increasing population density, as well as corrosion and deterioration of pipes and seals, have caused the network pipes to leak continuously. The project will install major sewerage networks which include (i) laying of a 160 km sewerage network (trunk & area sewers) in the West 1 Sewerage District (west of Lai Nullah) over an area of 384 hectares (ha) to benefit a population of 190,000, and secondary and lateral sewers in the catchment of existing trunk sewers SW02 and SW03, (ii) construction of a 24.5 km transfer/outfall sewer to the sewage treatment plant, (iii) replacement of undersized sewers in identified areas, (v) environmental mitigation works upstream of Rawal Lake filtration plant, and (vi) procurement of sewer cleaning equipment and machinery. 8. The project will also remodel existing drains and construct new drains at selected areas such as Asghar Mall Road, Jamia Masjid Road, the bus stand, Nia Mohallah, and Eidgah Road. This component will also include bank protection works at critical locations of Lai Nullah to mitigate negative impacts from floods. 2. Sewage Treatment Plant 9. The sewage treatment plant will treat sewage generated from Rawalpindi and suburban areas, which it will receive through a 24.5 km box conduit (2.3 by 1.7 meters) along the Lai Nullah and Soan River including above ground laying at some sections to avoid localized pumping. Waste will be treated in stabilization ponds. The quantity of sewage from municipal- and TMA-controlled suburban areas (with about 1.3 million population) is 141,000 cubic meters per day (m3/day) and is expected to increase to 272,000 m3/day by 2025. The sewage treatment plant will be designed for projected demand in 2025, but plant construction in this phase will be for the year 2015 for a projected flow of 199,000 m3/day. Treated effluent will be disposed of in the Soan River. The effluent must comply with the Pakistan’s National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS). About 250 ha will be required for the plant. Components will include inlet and outlet structures, forestation, laboratory, administration buildings, and protection bunds against the Soan River. The conceptual design and layout have been prepared for 4-meter- deep anaerobic ponds, 2.5-meter-deep facultative ponds, and 1.5-meter-deep maturation ponds (Appendix 1). 3. Stormwater Drainage 10. The stormwater drainage component includes (i) remodeling existing drains and construction of new drains at selected areas such as Asghar Mall Road, Jamia Masjid Road, the bus stand, Nia Mohallah, and Eidgah Road; and (ii) bank protection works at critical locations