E-416 VOL. 2 World Bank Proiect - Hubei Hydropower Proiect Public Disclosure Authorized

Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province Environmental Impact Assessment Report (First Draft) Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences October 2000 Public Disclosure Authorized

Project: Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County

of Hubei Province, P.R. China

Document: Report for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA, First Draft)

Project Manager: ZHANG Yutian Research Fellow

Team Member: MAO Wenyong Research Fellow

SONG Fu Research Fellow

SU Yibing Associate Research Fellow

SUN Xueli Engineer

JIANG Hua Engineer

NIE Yihuang Engineer

LIANG Zhenming Engineer

ZHOU Yun Engineer

JIAO Yang Assistant Engineer

Reviewed by: LI Yanwu Associate Research Fellow

EIA Unit: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

Present: CHEN Fu Research Fellow

Chief Engineer: XIA Qing Research Fellow

EIA License No. National EIA License Grade A No. 1001, issued by SEPA

Entrusted by Hubei Provincial Planning Commission Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajilan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Iubei Proince

CONTENT

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND. 1.2 EIA CATEGORYAND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT .2 1.3 REFERENCES...... ; .2 1.4 ASSESSMENTSCOPE AND ASSESSMENT STANDARD .4 1.5 ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION TARGETS AND FOCUS OF THE EIA .5 CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEWOF THE PROPOSED PROJECT...... 7 2.1 BASICSITUATIONS OF THEPROJECT .7 2.2 TASKSAND SCALE OF THE PROJECT .7 2.3 LAYOUTOF KEY BUILDINGS .8 2.4 IMPLEMENTATIONPLAN FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT .9 2.5 TOTALINVESTMENT OF THEPROPOSED PROJECT. 8 2.6 ANALYSISFOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT . 18 CHAPTER 3 REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTALSTATUS OF THE PROJECT...... 22 3.1 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT...... 22 3.2 ECO-ENVIRONMENT...... 28 3.3 SOCIALENVIRONMENT ...... 33 3.4 QUALITYOF LIFE ...... 36 CIIPTER 4 ASSESSMENT ON STATUS QUO OF ENVIRONMENT ...... 39 4.1 STATUSQUO AND ASSESSMENT ON WATERENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ...... 39 4.2 STATUSQUO ANDASSESSMENT ON AMBIENT AIR QUALITY...... 43 4.3 STATUSQUO AND ASSESSMENT ON ACOUSTICENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ...... 44 CHAPTER 5 ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED PROJECTAND COUNTERMEASURES...... 46 5.1 IMPACTSOF THEPROPOSED PROJECT ON ECO-ENVIRONMENT .46 5.2 FORECASTINGAND ASSESSMENT ON AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTALIMPACT .66 5.3 ANALYSISFOR IMPACT ON HYDROLOGICAL REGIME .73 5.4 ANALYSISFOR IMPACT OF SEDIMENT.75 5.5 ANALYSISFOR IMPACT ON GEOLOGICALENVIRONMENT .78 5.6 ANALYSISFOR ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT .79 5.7 ANALYSISFOR IMPACT ON AMBIENTAIR .80 5.8 IMPACTON SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT .83 5.9 ANALYSIS FOR ENVIRONMENTALIMPACT OF RESERVOIR SUBMERGINGAND RELOCATIONOF EMIGRATION...... 86 5.10 ENVIRONMENTALRISKS ANALYSIS ...... 94

CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS FOR ALTERNATIVES...... 100 6.1 NO-ACTIONALTERNATIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT...... 100 6.2 COMPARISONWITH POWERSTATION ...... 100 6.3 COMPARISONIN ALTERNATIVESOF SITE SELECTION...... 101 6.4 COMPARISONIN DAMLINE ...... 102 CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENT PLAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PLAN...... 103 7.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN...... 103 7.2 ENVIRONMENTALMONITORING PLAN...... 104 CHAPTER 8 PUBLIC CONSULTATION...... 108 Reportfor EnWronmenJalhnpartAsesmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

8.1 FORMSOF PUBLICCONSULTATION ...... 108 8.2 ANALYSISFOR THE COMMENTS PROPOSED BY THE PUBLIC...... 10...... i CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ...... 113 9.1 CONCLUSIONOF THEENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ...... 113 9.2 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 1171

ii Reportfor Enironmentai ImpactAssessmentfor LaJitawHydropower Project in Laifeng Couny of HubeaProvince

CHAPTER 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Background

1.1.1 Brief Introduction Of the Proposed Project

"Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province" (Lajitan HPP) is proposed to be constructed in the upper reach of Youshui River located in Baifusi Town, Laifeng County of Hubei Province. The total investment for the proposed project amounts to RMB 330 million yuan. The gross storage capacity of the proposed reservoir reaches to 442.8 million m , occupying an area of 3.07 km2 with an overall length of backwater for 33.1 km. The proposed Hydropower station is to be built with a total installed capacity for 36 MW. Lajitan HPP initiated its, preparation in 1995, lasting for 5 years. The major tasks conducted in the preparation include:

* Proposal for Lajitan HPP completed in 1995 * Feasibility study for Lajitan HPP completed in May 1999. 1.1.2 Advance of EIA The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for this proposed project started from 1999, and according to the EIA procedure applied in China, the following steps has been made: * In June 1999, Hubei Provincial Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (HRAES) was instructed by the project owner, Lajitan Hydropower Development Co., Ltd, of Laifeng County, Hubei Province to prepare the EIA Report for Lajitan HPP; * In July 1999, the outline for the EIA Report, prepared by HRAES, was approved; * In May 2000, the EIA Report was completed by HRAES. 1.1.3 Origin of this EIA Since this proposed project is planned to be funded by the World Bank (WB), the EIA for this project has to meet the requirements of WB. According to the comments provided by WB in February 2000', Hubei Provincial Planning Commission (HPPC) recruited the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) to make contribution to the consulting of this EIA with focus on revising and complementing the EIA report. Since April 2000, on the basis of the EIA report prepared by HRAES2, CRAES has mainly made the following contribution to the report: * According to the comments and requirements to this proposed project provided WB, CRAES determined the main part to be revised and complemented, and got

'See Attachment B "Comments on EIA Report" to the minute of the Identification Group for Hydropower Project in Hubei Province, February 2000. 2 This report is prepared on the basis of the EIA Report prepared by HRAES, and uses tremendous data, tables and text of the original EIA report. Reportfor Environmental Impact AssessmentforLaj:tan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei ProWnce

contact with the project unit for preparing necessary materials;

* CRAES made necessary site visits as a part of complement, such as reconnaissance of dam site, collecting biological samples, gathering materials for complementation and conducting on-site consulting and investigation in various terms;

* Based on the above tasks completed, CRAES discussed with the experts from WB on the outline3 and EIA report4 to be revised, and finished the revision on the EIA report for this proposed project. In the light of the EIA approval procedure applied in China and the requirements of WB, the new version of the EIA report, revised and complemented, will be submitted to the related governmental bodies of China and the representatives of WB for review, in both Chinese and English. 1.2 EIA Category and Purpose of the Report

1.2.1 EIA Category Based on the "Notice on Enhancing the Administration of EIA for Construction Projects Funded by International Financial Organizations" issued by Chinese Government and the classifying principles for EIA category provided by. OP4.01 of WB, the EIA category of Lajitan HPP is identified as Category A, according to the nature and characteristics of the proposed project. 1.2.2 Purpose of the Report Through the EIA for the proposed project, the following purposes are to be achieved: the status quo of natural enviromnent, eco-environment and social economic environment of the region where Lajitan Hydropower Station is to be located will be detected, the scope and extent of environmental impacts brought by the proposed project will be assessed, the potential environmental impacts brought by the proposed project will be examined and identified, measures and recommendations for reducing environmental pollution and preventing the destruction on eco-environment will be proposed and plans for environmental protection management and monitoring will be prepared; while the public being involved, the public under the potential impact of this proposed project should understand the roles of the proposed project, potential negative impact to them and the prevention measures, the comments and recommendations on the construction of the project provided by the public should be properly integrated into the EIA report, so as to give scientific basis to the appropriate decision and environmnentalmanagement of the proposed project. 1.3 References

1.3.1 Policies and Laws (1) Item 13, "Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China";

(2) "Water Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China";

3See the comments on the outline provided by Mr. Scott Hanna, expert from WB, June 22, 2000. 4 See the comments on the EIA report provided by Mr. Scott Hanna, expertfrom WB, September 2, 2000.

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(3) "Water and Soil Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China";

(4) "National Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China"; (5) "Wildlife Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China";

(6) "Forest Law of the People's Republic of China"; (7) Command No. 253 issued by the State Council, "Regulations for Environmental Protection of Construction Projects"; (8) "Rules for Implementation of Environmental Protection Management of Construction Projects in Hubei Province", Hubei Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, Er Huan Zi Document 5 [88]. 1.3.2 Other References

(1) Working Guideline of WB - Environmental Assessment OD4.01; (2) "Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment" (HJ/T2.1-2.3- 93);

(3) "Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment - Acoustic Environment"(HJ/T2.4- 1995); (4) "Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment - Non-pollution Ecological Impact"(HJ/T 19-1997); (5) "Notice on Implementation of the Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment - Non-pollution Ecological Impact", Hubei Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, Er Huan Zi Document No. 20 [1998];

(6) "Request for Instructions on the Assessment Standards of EIA for Lajitan Hydropower Project" by the Environmental Protection Bureau Laifeng County, Hubei Province, Lai Huanbao Document No. 03 [1999], July 2, 1999; (7) "Notice on the Water Quality Standard for Pidu River Involved in the EIA for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County" by the Environmental Protection Bureau of Longshan County, Long Huan Zi Document No. 7 [1999], June 25, 1999; (8) "Conmnents on 'EIA Outline for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, Hubei Province"', Er Huan Han No. 117 [1999], August 5, 1999; (9) "EIA Outline for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, Hubei Province", July 1999; (10) Comments on "EIA Outline for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, Hubei Province" provided by the experts in the examining meeting, July 22, 1999; ( 11) "Proposal for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, Hubei Province" and the written approval by HPPC, Er Ji Nengyuan Zi Document 1178 [1995];

3 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan HGydropowerProject in Laifeng Countyof Hubei Province

(12) "Report for Feasibility Study on Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, Hubei Province" and its atlas and the geographic atlas, Hubei Provincial Hydraulic and Hydropower Reconnaissance Survey and Design Academy (May 1999); (13) "Written Approval for Report for Feasibility Study on Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County" by HPPC, Er Ji Nengyuan Zi Document 0291 [2000]; (14) "Report for EIA for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, Hubei Province", by HRAES, May 2000. 1.4 Assessment Scope and Assessment Standard

1.4.1 Assessment Scope The specific assessment scope of this EIA covers the entire reservoir area from the site of Wachangba to the end of the backwater, with an overall length for 33. Ikm; the relocation districts with concentrated emigration and the individual relocation points backward from the original sites; the construction site of the proposed project, raw materials storage, excavated spoils storage and residential zones for the workers involved in the construction; and the downstream from the site of Wachangba to the river outlet of Qiedao River. 1.4.2 Assessment Standards Applied (I)GHZBI-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water", in compliance with the Water Environmental Quality Standard Class II; (2)GB3096-93 "Standard for Noise of Urban Ambient Environment", in compliance with Standard Class I;

(3)GB3095-1996 "Standard for Ambient Air Quality"; (4)GB 12523-90 "Limits to On-site Noise of Construction Site";

(5)GB8978-1996 "Comprehensive Discharge Standard for Polluted Water", in compliance with the Standard Class 1;

(6)CJ3020-93 "Water Quality Standard for Domestic Drinking Water Source"; (7)GB5084-92 "Water Quality Standard for Agricultural Irrigation Water"; (8)GB 11607-89 "Water Quality Standard for Fishery"; (9)GB16297-1996 "Comprehensive Standard for Air Emissions", in compliance with Standard Class 1.

1.4.3 Assessment Duration

(1) Construction Period: from the start to the completion of the proposed project; (2) Operation Period: filling of reservoir and parallel power generation

(3) Decommissioning and rehabilitation of construction camps, works yards,

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maintenance areas, etc.

(4) Reclamation of quarry sites and spoils disposal sites 1.5 Environmental Protection Targets and Focus of the ELA

1.5.1 Environmental Protection Targets Lajitan HPP should pay attention to the conservation of the surrounding eco- environment during its construction and operation, and the environmental protection targets have been set on the following respects:

(1) Land resource In view of the serious water and soil loss in the region where the project is located, in order to effectively conserve the limited land resources, the impacts on the cultivated land and woodland should be minimized as much as possible from the construction and operation of the proposed project. As for especially the site of Wachangba and Baifusi Tree Plantation, effective measures for conserving the lands should be taken for preventing new loss in water and soil. (2) Wildlife resources According to "Catalog of Major Protected Wild Animals At National Level", "Catalog of Major Protected Plants at National Level", "Catalog of Major Protected Wild Land Animals at Hubei Provincial Level" and "Catalog of Major Protected Wild Aquatic Animals", the bio-species listed in the catalogs and the local animals and plants with high economic values should be protected. For instance, the rare wild animals to be protected include macaque, oriental civet cat, lesser civet cat, pangolin, darwins pheasant, golden pheasant, otter and andrias daridiancs. and the rare species of land plants cover metasequoia, ginkgo, plum fruited cluster flowered yam and eucommia ulmoides, etc.. (3) Water quality The general water quality of the reservoir area and the water quality of the lower reaches have to be kept same as the present quality after the reservoir is filled. The project is not allowed to bring any impact on the current beneficial use of Youshui River and its branch Pidu River, which should be controlled under the Standard Class II of GHZB 1-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water". (4) Acoustic environment During the construction of this proposed project, the acoustic environment of the residential districts of Baifusi Town should be controlled according to Standard Class I of GB3096-93 "Standard for Noise of Urban Ambient Environment".

(5) Life standard The life standard of the emigration from the construction site of the proposed project should be guaranteed. After the relocation of the emigration, the level of their income per capita, living condition and public facilities should be kept not lower than before.

(6) Health of human beings

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The targeted group mainly involves the residents surrounding the construction site and living in the reservoir area, workers for the construction and emigration, and great efforts should be put into preventing outbreak of some specific diseases and contagion. 1.5.2 Focus of the EIA (1) Impacts on the land eco-environment and hydro eco-environment, especially the rare animals and plants, brought by the construction of dam and reservoir; (2) Analysis for the positive benefits on abasement of natural disasters, such as flood, and further regional economic development, which resulted from operation of the proposed project; (3) Analysis for potential, long-term and negative impacts from the construction and operation of the project. 1.5.3 Assessment Principle (1 )To meet the regulations related to environmental protection for construction projects stipulated by the environmental protection agencies at national and local level and the sectoral administrations, as well as satisfy the ""Notice on Enhancing the Administration of EIA for Construction Projects Funded by Intemational Financial Organizations" released by China and the concerned requirements of WB on EIA; (2)Based on the specific characteristics of Hydropower projects, to highlight the assessment on key protection targets; (3)To analyze the impacts in details on the land eco-environment and hydro eco- environment, especially the impacts on the rare hydro-bios, resulted from the proposed project in construction and completion. (4)Referring to the feasibility of the construction of the proposed project, to reach a conclusion from the view of environmental protection, and make every effort to ensure that environmental measures are workable, so as to provide firn foundations and references to the approval agency during decision making. to the project designer during designing, to the constructor during construction and finally to environment management of the proposed project.

The Executive Summary is incomplete. It should also include a brief description of the key impacts that are predicted to accrue as a result of the project; the measures that will be taken to mitigate or compensate for these impacts; whether there will be any residual impacts that cannot be mitigated; and a brief description of the Environmental Management Plan that will be used to address the more serious impacts. The Executive Summary should also provide a synopsis of the Public Consultation that has been undertaken to obtain input from various stakeholder groups.

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CHAPTER 2 Overview of the Proposed Project 2.1 Basic Situations of the Project 2.1.1 Project Name and Project Unit

A) Project Name The proposed project is named as "Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province", hereafter known as Lajitan HPP for short.

B) Project Unit The project unit for the proposed project is the Lajitan Hydropower Development Co., Ltd., Laifeng County, Hubei Province. The unit is responsible for the daily management and operation of the completed Lajitan Hydropower Station, in the position of legal body.

2.1.2 Location of the Project Lajitan HPP is designed to be located in the upper reach of Youshui River, 1 km upstream from Baifusi Town of Laifeng County. The dam site is 22km away from Tangkou Hydropower Station located in the upper reach, and 53 km away from the proper of Laifeng County, in North Latitude 29°12'and East Longitude 109°14'. The station is close to Youyang County of Chongqing City and Longshan County of Hunan Province.

The detailed geographic location of the proposed project has been shown in Figure 2.1.1. 2.1.3 Feature

Lajitan HPP will be a newly-built Hydropower station within Youshui River Basin. It will be the third cascade power station on this system. 2.2 Tasks and Scale of the Project 2.2.1 Tasks The major task of Lajitan HPP is to generate Hydropower, and in addition Lajitan HPP will also provide some other benefits, such as small-scale shipping, tourism, irrigation and aquaculture (i.e., cage aquaculture).

* Hydropower generation The power station proposed for Lajitan HPP is designed with a total installed capacity of 36MW, whose output is guaranteed to reach to 5.56MW (P=80%), and the annual power generated amounts to 151 million kWh on average.

* Shipping The overall length of backwater of the proposed project is 33.1km, including 22.3km in You River, which will link the two important towns of Laifeng County, Manshui Town and Baifusi Town, together via water, and 10.8km in Pidu River to enhance the

7 Report for Environmental Inpact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei ProWnce

friendly relation and trade links between Laifeng County of Hubei Province and Longshan County of Hunan Province. 0 Irrigation There are vast farmland in the downstream and surrounding of the proposed Lajitan Reservoir, forming one of the major agricultural zones of Laifeng County. The construction of the reservoir will facilitate the irrigation of farmland for 330km2 . [How much of this area is already irrigated? What is the incremental irrigation benefit that will result from the Lajitan Project (i.e., is the 330 km2 of irrigated land presently without irrigation?]

* Tourism and Aquatic Cultivation A water surface for 3.07km2 will come into being after the proposed Lajitan Reservoir is filled by water, which provides favorable conditions for fish cultivation in net- cages. In addition to the marvelous natural view along the reservoir and the famous Cave Fanmnao,all of these will benefit the development of tourism in Laifeng County.

2.2.2 Scale Lajitan HPP controls an overall area for 3,369km2 with a total length of river course for 174 km and backwater for 33.1 km. The proposed reservoir covers a total area for 3.07km2. The average annual flow is 115m /s and the gross storage capacity of the reservoir reaches to 442.8 million mi2 . The normal pool level will be 370m, with a corresponding capacity for 29.42 million m2. The storage coefficient is 0.27 and the dead storage amounts to 19.7 million m2 . The proposed reservoir will be a ten-day regulating reservoir. The total investment for the proposed project is expected to be RMB 330 million yuan.

2.3 Layout of Key Buildings

Major buildings to be constructed in this proposed project include: concrete gravity dam, bottom outlet for sand scouring and emptying, diversion tunnel for power generation. power-house and switch station. The detailed layout plan can be found in Figure 2.3.1.

The lowest datum plane of the proposed concrete gravity dam is 334.0m, the crest elevation 373.0m. maximum height of dam 39m, and the bottom of dam maximizes 33.98m. The crest of dam will have a length of 115.60m, divided into 7 monoliths. The structures for sand scouring are arranged on monolith of river bed, including 6 surface scouring outlets and I bottom outlet for sand scouring and emptying. The surface outlet is wide for 12m, and the weir crest elevation reaches to 356m, with 6 radial gates installed in size of 12x14m. The weir is designed as WES, and a plunge pool is located downstream of the dam, from which the energy is dissipated through underflow. The bottom emptying outlet will be built in the right side of overflow dam, close to the water inlet of power tunnel, in size of 3x3m, which will also play a role in scouring sand. The water-diversion structures will be located in the right bank, consisting of water inlet, pressure tunnel, surge chamber and box culvert pipe. The inside diameter of water diversion tunnel is 8.2m, and the overall length of the tunnel amounts to

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264.85m. At the water inlet, an emergency gate is to be installed. Behind the surge chamber, a valve and penstock will be installed for controlling incoming water flow. The power-house will be constructed on the ground, the root of hill slope just along the river course, with rock foundation. Three power generators are planned to be installed in the proposed power station, with a unit capacity of 12MW for each. In order to facilitate defense of floods and minimize investinent, the switch station will be built separately from the main transformer. 2.4 Implementation Plan for the Proposed Project

2.4.1 Construction Plan for the Proposed Project 2.4.1.1 Preparation for Construction

(1 )Transportation The proposed Hydropower station will be situated approximately 1 km from Baifusi Town, and the latter 54km away from the urban area of Laifeng County, which is 134km away from Enshi City via the National Road 209, and 231 km from Dayong Station on Jiao-Liu Railway in Hunan Province. Enshi City is apart from Yichang City for 286km via National Road 318, and from Badong Port on Yangtze River for 214km via the National Road 209. Materials for construction of the proposed project are mainly transported depending on roads, and part of equipment can be sent to the site of construction via railways and then roads. [Will the roads require upgrading in order for large or heavy components (e.g., transformers, turbine parts, generators, etc.) to be transported to the dam site? If so, what impacts (both positive and negative) will accrue as a result of road upgrades?J (2)Electric Power Supply The Power Supply Company of Laifeng County is responsible for supplying electric power to the construction of the project, with a specification of power supply in 2000kV/A. (3)Water Supply Water used for the construction of the project will be pumped from Youshui River and the water supply volume reaches to 300m /h.

(4)Major Raw Materials Wood: 1808m2 of wood is in need to use, which will be provided by the Forestry Bureau of Laifeng County.

Cement: the construction needs cement for 44,493 tons, to be purchased from Enshi City. Reinforcing bar and steel: 4250 tons of these materials are needed, to be bought from other places in China.

2.4.1.2 Division Works for the Construction

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The proposed dam is located in a U-type river valley, whose banks are high and precipitous, being comprised of vertical limestone cliffs. The riverbed is wide for about 70m, and there is no overburden layer on the riverbed, with rocks uncovered. The datum plane of the dam to be constructed amounts to 334m, and the crest elevation to 373m. The elevation of the bottom inlet for emptying and sand scouring reaches to 346m. A division method in two phases is to be adopted. In the first phase, the division works is designed for defending a flood encountered once in 3 years, and the second phase, it will defend a flood that occurs once in 10 years. The cofferdam will be made in concrete core-wall, enveloped by cement-rubble. It is estimated that the total cubic capacity of the cofferdam reaches to nearly 28,064.8m3 , including concrete for 2,321.4m3, cement-rubble for 9,243.4 m3, and earth-rock for 15,300 m3.

2.4.1.3 Construction of Main Works

(1) Quantity of Main Works The main works for the proposed Hydropower station cover dam, water diversion tunnel, power-house and transformer substation. The quantity of these main works can be found in Table 2.4.1. Table 2.4.1 Quantity of Main Works

Item Unit Dam Diversion Powerhouse Transformer Total Tunnel Substation

Earth Excavation M 3 364927 112377 118530 29000 624834

Underground m 3 995 22800 23795 Excavation

Concrete M3 93442 26883 29018 480 149823

Reinforcing Bar T 1429 1187 1065 15 3696

Steel T 11 11

Backfill Rock Residue M 3 14600 22862 15300 7600 60362

Cement-rubble M3 580 580

Curtain Grouting M 2400 2400

Consolidation Grouting M 1750 4220 5970

Contact Grouting M2 1500 1500

Joint Grouting M2 1700 1700

Backfill Grouting M2 3212 3212

Sprinkling Anchor M3 50 50

New-built Roads M 500 500

Note: the diversion works include water inlet, surge pipe and pressure pipe. The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

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(2) Major Machines for the Construction The major machines and equipment to be used in the construction of the proposed project include air drill, excavator, backhoe (face-hoe), loader, push dozer, dump truck, air compressor, concrete mixer, horizontal concrete can, crusher, concrete pump, gantry crane, and tower crane, etc.. 2.4.1.4 General Layout of the Construction Since the transportation towards the outside mainly depends on the facilities on the right bank of Youshui River, the main body of the construction is generally arranged on the right bank of Youshui River. See Figure 2.4.1 "General Layout of the Construction of Lajitan HPP".

As for on-site transportation, in addition to the existing roads, facilities in Baifusi Town and Shangba Road, 2 main roads will be built in field of the construction. One is located in the right bank of Youshui River to link the existing roads, which connects both ends of the power-house via the Small River Mouth and go straight upstream towards the foundation pit of the dam. And the other is to be constructed on the left bank of Youshui River. The total length of the roads to be built for the construction amounts to 3.2km. [Will the existing county road system require upgrading in order to transport large and heavy materials to the site?] As for auxiliary works and living facilities, they are planned to be arranged in Wachangba. It is located on the way from Baifusi Town to the urban area of Laifeng County, and 500m away from the powerhouse. It has a low surface relief and wide ground surface, occupying an overall area for nearly 60,000 m2. It is to be developed as the major auxiliary yard for the construction. The auxiliary works and living facilities will cover an area for 2440 m2 . * Sand borrow sites: there are 3 sand borrow sites located in the upper reaches of Youshui River, 15km away from the site of dam. _ Rock quarry: the Wachangba Rock Material Quarry is apart from the site of dam for 1500m

* Spoils disposal areas: the spoils disposal areas along the right bank of the river from the 500m lower than the site of dam to Baifusi Bridge and the valley of the dam are to be used as the spoils sites. 2.4.1.5 Progress Schedule for the Construction The proposed project is initially planned to finish in three and a half years (totally 42 months). The preparation for the construction covers the first 7 months, in which each preparation for the construction will be completed and the right dam abutment and the plunge pool start to be excavated and scaled to the water surface (with the elevation for 342m). During the first drought period, 3 monoliths will be constructed on the right bank, and 2 opening gaps will be prepared for diversion in the following phase. In the flood period, the construction will be continued and all works completed except for the opening gaps. In the second drought period, the whole construction will be completed. Finally, the three generators will be tested for trial power generation, which indicates the wind-up of the proposed project.

11 Reportfor Envronmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube Province

2.4.2 Plan for emigration 2.4.2.1 Scope of Submerged Area and Target for Submerged Materials In Kind

Lajitan HPP is located in Baifusi Town, in the south of Laifeng County of Hubei Province. The proposed project will bring impacts on totally 15 administrative villages located in 5 towns of 2 counties in 2 provinces, including the villages of Xingongqiao, Sujiaping, Sheliba, Tongzi, Zhaojiapo and Fengmu in Manshui Town, Meiziau, Nanhe and Heguang in Baifusi Town of Laifeng County in Hubei Province, and Kuda and Zhangjiacao in Huoyan Town, Dongkan in Laoxing Town, Zhangjiawan, Yanjia and Maojiang in Guitang Town of Longshan County in Hunan Province. A total of 64 villager groups in these villages will be involved. The clearance project will cover 397 villagers in 84 families, with 16,126.1 m2 of houses to be removed. A total of 1710.5 mu of land will be completely requisitioned and 35 mu for temporary use during the construction, which will actually influence 2404 villagers in 540 families. Based on the existing Law for Land Requisition, an agricultural population for totally 640 will be rearranged. The project will also produce some impacts on facilities for special use, including road in Class 4 for 8 km, communication cable for 8 km, four small-sized bridges, and various transmission and transformation wire for 13 pole-km. 2.4.2.2 Plan for Relocation of Emigration In September 29, 1999, the "Investigation and Planning Team for Relocation of Emigration from Lajitan HPP" under the Party Committee and the government of Laifeng County proposed the "Plan for Relocation of Emigration from Lajitan HPP". In April 4, 2000, the potential relocatees [check to make sure that this is correct] compiled their "Plan for Relocation of Emigration from Lajitan HPP" as well. The main content of the planned relocation includes: (1) General Guideline and Principles for the relocation Concerning the natural and economic status quo of the region to be involved in Lajitan HPP, the general guideline for the relocation is to put focus on guaranteeing the current production and life of the relocatees is unchanged, and make the relocatees be relocated in scattered sites within a large area, with precondition to benefit the state, the people, and the development of China. During the relocation, the relocatees should be removed as a whole, and their original administration relationship not rearranged, and still remains in the original administrative villages. In addition, some relocatees will be moved up and back from their original located sites, which is an auxiliary means for the relocation in this proposed project. As for the development of these relocatees in the future, their primary occupations should still be in agriculture, with focus on developing surrounding water area. In the meantime, various types of business should also be operated for Improving their economic well-being. The whole relocation process should match the pace of the construction of Lajitan HPP. The relocation efforts will be subsidized in the initial stage and obtain economic support from their economic production in the following stages.

(2) Planning for Relocation of Agricultural Emigration 1 Planning for Production

12 Reportfor EnvironmentalImpactdAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countyof Hubel Province

In this proposed project, totally 645 villagers need to be relocated. Still as farners, all of them will be reallocated with cultivated land within the scope of the villager group that they are administrated by, and be primarily involved in agriculture. Due to this, the types of crops and the cropping system will remain unchanged. Two different crops will be continuously planted in one year, such as naked oats and rice, wheat and corn, in which grains are major. With regard to garden plots, citrus, white-skin pomelo and Chinese cedar should be considered as the focus to plant, which can be operated by the family itself or subcontracted to others. Integrated into the "Plan for Chinese Cedar Base for 10,000 mu in Manshui Town", the 6 villages of Manshui Town to be involved in land requisition will build Chinese Cedar gardens to improve their production level and life standard, except for developing part of cultivated land. Some villages in Baifusi Town of Laifeng County and villages in Longshan County will also develop part of land as fruit gardens, based on the local status quo.

* Plan for Land Reclamation The plan for land reclamation in this proposed project is to reclaim cultivated land and gardens in the places where it is convenient to take water, with low surface relief and short distance between the residential area and the cultivated land (garden). At the same time, part of dry land will be properly modified to paddy field and the cultivated land with low and medium output will be improved. Both new-reclaimed land and existing land should be jointly shared by the villager groups, and during the transition period, the subsidy for living should be equally shared as well.

? Measures for Recovering the Production of Relocated Emigration

In order to facilitate the recovery of economic production and life of the relocatees as soon as possible, the following specific measures will be adopted: a) Opportunities to provide labor services on the project should first be given to the relocatees. b) For the living subsidy provided to the emigration at the early stage of relocation, each emigration will receive RMB 400 yuan annually for 5 years, mainly considering the low output and less retums from the new-reclaimed land at the initial stage and no returns from the new-built fruit gardens before the fruits are ripe. If the emigration receive the land that is rearranged within the scope of the villager group, and the new-reclaimed land and existing land are jointly shared, the subsidy should be shared by the whole group. c) Necessary plans and actions should be taken to improve the quality and output of crops planted by the emigration, so as to increase their income.

2 Planning for Relocation Sites for Emigration

* Arrangement of Relocation Sites a) Principles for the arrangement In addition to the general principles that the whole relocation project has to conform to, the followings criteria have to be complied with as well during the arrangement of

13 ReportforEnWronmental Impact Assessmet for Lajitan HYdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube, Provinee

relocation: * The original residents in the planned relocation sites are willing to accept and welcome relocation. * The relocation sites have spare environmental capacity and enough land resources. * It is convenient in traffic, with completed infrastructure and social service system in the planned sites. * It is easy for relocatees to cultivate land. Normally it should be no longer than 2 km from the residential area of the emigration to the cultivated land.

* It is safe to live. * The new location for the relocatees should be arranged appropriately according to the local situation, and for each site, it is better to relocate 3 to 5 families. b) Plan for the Arrangement On the basis of the above-mentioned principles, and fully taking the thoughts of emigration into consideration, a large majority of relocatees should be moved up and back to level sites near to their original living site and roads, and also close to some other villages with comparatively concentrated population, so as to facilitate the relocatess being involved in group life. The remaining smaller number of relocatees will be moved to town area.

* Planning for Land Used for Construction of Lajitan HPP Based on the survey on the impacted area by Lajitan HPP, and complying with the local real status and related regulations for house sites provided by Hubei and Hunan Provinces, a quota of 50 m2 for house site per person is used in the planning for land used (including the spare room in front and back of the house to be built and the land for traffic). Calculated on the basis of the estimated population of 405 in the design level year (2003), the total acreage of house sites amounts to 30.3mu. * Planning for Infrastructure a) Land Leveling Due to the scattered relocation sites for resettlement in this proposed project, the waste hills and waste land belonging to the villager groups involved will be used for constructing new houses. The waste land will be leveled by using both means of cutting and filling. The sites resettlement from Manshui Town and Baifusi Town are comparatively flat, so 80% of the land used for relocation will be excavated. The on- site investigation and estimation provide that the land for 100 m2 of house will need 70 m2 of earth to be excavated and similarly 70 m2 to be filled. As for the sites resettlement from Longshan County of Hunan Province, there is more rock excavation than earth. The scattered relocation sites determine that a large majority of land for relocation will be leveled manually, whose cost is much lower. The land leveling fee will be calculated on the basis of 400 yuan per person, and used in ratio during the construction.

14 Reportfor Envtironmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProject in Laifeng CountyofH ubeiProvinee b) Public Works Water supply: Since the relocatees will be relocated within the original village and villager group, water will be taken via the same means as before, from either drilled wells or hill springs and streams. Villages of Meiziau and Zhangjiacao have a large number of hill springs and streams, so during the relocation, water storage tanks can be built and the relocatees can directly take water from the tanks via PVC pipe.

Power supply: The existing power supply capacity of each village to be involved in the proposed project can satisfy the demand for power after the relocatees are resettled. The only thing they have to do is to switch in the wire of 220V. And the terminal distance should be ranged from 50 to 300 m. c) Broadcasting and Television Broadcasting will be wired with the surrounding villages. The previous TV receivers of the relocatees can be re- installed in the new location. Otherwise, the existing TV receiving facilities used in the relocation sites can be utilized by the relocatees. d) Access Roads The resettlement sites in this proposed project will be selected along the existing roads, which overcomes the difficulties in mobility of relocatees, and meets their willingness to relocate as well. The relocatees can just build a short access road to link with the exiting road system.

* Social Service Facilities The relocatees moved to the involved villages can use the existing social facilities. such as schools, clinics and service networks, so there is no need to build new facilities like these. The rest of the relocatees that are moved to town areas have rights to use the existing social service system in the target town, including schools and clinics. * Building of House for Relocatees The houses to be built for relocatees should take their living habits into consideration. fit for agricultural activities, as well as leave enough room for further development. Preferred by the relocatees, the houses in which those being resettled are living should be removed by themselves, and the houses in which the relocatees are going to live should be constructed by themselves as well. The govemment will compensate them on the basis of the cost for rebuilding houses, according to the structure and floor space area of original houses. The cost will be reimbursed in phases, based on the preparation of materials for the houses and the progress made in the building of the house. Because most of the relocatees are to be relocated within the village where they previously lived, and the relocatees moved to town areas will be no furthers than 3 km away from their original living sites, all of the relocatees in this project can use the previous houses to live during the building of new houses. Therefore it is not needed to build up temporary houses for living. Furthermore, there is no subsidy for temporary houses listed in this proposed project.

15 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProject in Laifeng Countv of Hubd Province

(3) Planning for Recovery of Production and Living Facilities The original facilities for production and living that need to be recovered should be re-constructed, and those facilities not necessary to recover should be compensated reasonably. Since the plants for vermicelli made from bean starch and wine that are located in the impacted area of Lajitan HPP are all privately owned, these plants will not be re-built. The families owning these plantswill be allocated with more house sites and compensated for the production facilities, losses caused by the stopage of operation and relocation. The private shops will be given priority to re-start their operation at the site near to roads, where it is suitable for its business. They will likewise get compensation for losses from house removing, stopage of operation and relocation.

(4) Planning for Removing and Construction of Special-use Facilities 1 Roads in Class 4 The proposed reservoir will submerge the Huoyan-Guitang Road in Class 4 located in Longshan County for 7 km, and the Yutangxi Section in Laizhi Road Line and Tangkou Special-use Road for 1 km, which are located in Laifeng County. According to the plans prepared by the road administrations of the two concerned counties, as for the section in Huoyan-Guitang Road in Class 4 to be submerged, it will be elevated from the section 300 m down away from Lianyudong, go through the hillside behind the villages of Kuda and Zhangjiacao, cross over the river at the down stream of Lianghekuo via a newly-built bridge with a span of 60m, and then climb up the hill after passing Dongkan, finally connecting with the original main road at Maojiangba. The road sector to be rebuilt is 8km in length. As for Yutangxi Section in Laizhi Line and Tangkou Special-use Road, it will be completely moved to higher elevation accordingly, with a total length for 3km, which requires a I Om-bridge and a 20m- bridge to be built. 2 Communication Cable

Based on the plans for re-constructing communication cable, which is provided by the telecom administrations of Laifeng and Longshan Counties, the cable will still be suspended on poles. In order to facilitate the construction, the cable will be constructed along side the roads to be rebuilt. The cable will be rebuilt for 9.8 pole- km including 8 pole-km in Longshan County and 1.8 pole-km in Laifeng County. 3 Transmission and Distribution Facilities for Power The plans prepared by the power administrations of these two counties indicate that the power wires of 35kV and lOkV that will be submerged, will be moved to higher elevation. In Laifeng County, the power wire of 35kV is required to be rebuilt for 7 pole-km, the wire of lOkV for 4 pole-km. In Longshan County, the power wire of I OkVis to rebuilt for 3 pole-km.

4 Transport surrounding the Proposed Reservoir

With purpose of ensuring un-impeded movement of traffic in the villages surrounding the proposed reservoir and connecting the resettlement sites of relocatees with main roads, the plans of the traffic administrations require that a 5 km long machine-made road be constructed, along with 13 ferries or docks, including 6 in Manshui Town and

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5 in Baifusi Town, Laifeng County, and 1 ferry and 1 dock in Longshan County, and access road for 20 km to link villages around the reservoir.

(5) Plan for Clearing Bottom of Proposed Reservoir The proposed reservoir will occupy an overall water surface area for 3.07 km2 and its dead water level is 366.5 m. 397 persons are presently living under the proposed submerged margin of a flood that is calculated to be encountered once in two decades and the acreage of various houses to be submerged amounts to 16126 m2. In order to clear up every hidden danger existed before the normal operation of the proposed reservoir, it is required to clear the bottom of the proposed reservoir before water filling, including removing all buildings, sanitation, removing tombs and clearing up woodland.

1 Planning for Removing Buildings and Structures

All of houses and its out buildings within the scope of clearance project have to be removed. Walls (except for earth walls) have to be pushed over. And the useless waste materials that are easier to float should be burned on the spot. As for the buildings on the ground, such as facilities for power transmission, telecom and broadcasting and its appurtenant works, when they are in the way of the operational safety and utilization of the proposed reservoir, they have to be removed, and the equipment and materials should be transported outside of the reservoir. After the clearance, the remainders of large-scaled buildings should not be higher than 0.5 m above ground level. Wells and earth pits located in inundation area should be sealed, filled in or covered over. 2 Planning for Sanitation and Epidemic Prevention Sanitary and epidemic prevention treatment should be made to manure pits, pen barns, toilets and garbage. The filth from these places should be transported outside of the proposed reservoir, or laid on the ground for insolation lincineration?i and sterilization. Calcium lime will be used for sterilizing the pits, with I kg for per square meter. And the cesspits should be filled by earth. 3 Planning for Removing Tombs

All of the tombs that were built no longer than 15 years ago have to be removed Each tomb site should be sterilized by 1 kg of calcium lime. For those tombs that have been in existence for more than 15 years, it should depend on the local custom to decide whether it will be removed or not. The tombs for the departed persons who died of communicable diseases and burying yards for ill domestic animals should be specially treated and cleared up [Identify the process that is to be used to specially treat these sites].

4 Planning for Clearing up Woodland Before the water filling of the proposed reservoir, plants in gardens, commercial forests and individual fruit trees should be cut from the surface of ground as much as possible, and shipped out of the reservoir area. The remains of stumps and stubble should not be taller than 0.3m above ground level. Firewood should be cut and then transported out of the reservoir area. The floatable residuals, such as branches and

17 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Count of Hubei Province dead wood, should be piled up and burned before the water filling of the reservoir. 2.5 Total Investment of the Proposed Project The total investment of the proposed project is expected to be RMB 333.2159 million yuan, includingstatic investmentfor RMB 262.933million yuan. 2.6 Analysis for the Proposed Project

2.6.1 Analysis for the Construction of the Proposed Project During the constructionof the proposed project, various constructingactivities, such as occupation of land, earth-rock excavation, mechanical works, wastewater and spoiling of wastes, will doubtlessly bring adverse impacts on the natural eco- environment of the assessed area, which will be mainly distributed within the constructionsite of the main works of the proposed project and last for a specific limited period. (1) VegetationDestruction and Waterand Soil Loss During the preparationand constructionof the proposed project, land will be leveled. Roads will be built for 3.2km to facilitate the construction. Earth and rock will be excavated for 624,834 m3 , and undergroundrock excavation for 23195 m3 . The constructionplants and residential facilitieswill occupy an area for 24400 m3 . All of these will destroy part of vegetation on the banks of YoushuiRiver in Lajitan and Wachangba. If there is no measureto recover the destroyedvegetation, water and soil will be largely lost when it is in rainy season. There is no virgin forest in the constructionarea of the proposed project, which is normally covered by secondary shrubberyand wasteland. Few farm land has been developedhere. So the destruction on vegetationresulted from the constructionof the project is limited. (2) Wastewater The wastewater from the construction mainly contains the wastewater from the constructionplants and the domestic sewageproduced by the constructionstaffs. The former includesthe wastewaterfrom filling of cofferdam,water dischargedfrom foundation pits, rinsing water for sand and rock materials processing system. curing water for concretemixing and placement,water for cement grouting and rinsing water for construction mechanical equipment (polluted slurry by oil). etc.. The principal pollutantin the wastewateris suspended solids (SS). Shown from analysis for similar projects, the concentrationof SS in the wastewater discharged from foundation pits is around 2000mg/L, pH value is 11 to 12, and the discharge volume of the wastewater amounts to 250 m /h. As for the sand and rock materials processing system, when rinsing the sand and rock materials by water, slurry and fine sands whose diameter is less than 0.15mm in quarry sand and rock materials will be carried away, which makes the concentration of SS in the used rinsing water reaches to 30000mg/L. The rinsing water dischargedfrom the sand and rock materials processingsystem amounts to nearly 270 m3 /h. Calculated on the basis of 800 construction workers, with 200L of water used per person per day, and 90% of used water to be discharged,the domestic sewage will be

18 ReportforEnvironmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in LawfengCounty of Hubei Provnce

3 144 m /d. The concentration of major pollutant BOD5 is from 250mg/L to 500mg/L, and that of CODCris from 300mg/L to 600mg/L.

(3) Waste Gases The construction activities in Lajitan HPP will chiefly bring following impacts on the ambient air of the construction area: dust emissions from foundation excavation of main works, backfilling of earth and rock, sand and rock processing and screening, materials loading and unloading in cement storage, filling materials into concrete mixing tower, etc; dust emissions and waste gases from the operation of construction mechanical equipment, transportation process inside and outside of the construction site; and dust emissions and waste gases from rock blasting.

The major pollutants in the waste gases cover TSP, S02, NOx, CO, hydrocarbon compounds and lead compounds. TSP is mainly produced from excavation, transportation, blasting and grinding of rock materials. According to the actual measured data on the construction of similar Hydropower projects, the concentration of TSP emitted from the construction site can be as high as 150mg/mi3, and that of IP as 0.45-0.6mg/m3 .

It can be learnt from the type and category of construction machines used in this proposed project that the principal fuel used in the project is diesel oil. It is estimated that during the construction period the diesel oil will be used for 1410 tons and gasoline for 35 tons (the specific gravity of diesel oil is ranged from 1.05 to 0.96, and that of gasoline is 0.75). The emissions from the above mentioned fuels used in the project can be found in Table 2.6.1.

Table 2.6.1 Emissions from Construction of the Proposed Project

Fuel Consumption Pollutant Emission Emission Total (t/a) of Fuel (m3 /a) Coefncient Amount (L/a) (kglm')

Gasoline 6.6 SO, 0.3 0.001

NO, 21A 0.139 S02: 1.505

CO 169.0 1115 NOx: 21.007

Hydrocarbon Compounds 33.3 0.220 CO: 13.805

Lead Compounds. 2.1 0.014 Hydrocarbon Compounds: Diesel oil 470 SO, 3.2 1.504 2.288

NOx 44.4 20.868 Lead Compounds: CO 27.0 12.69 0.296 Hydrocarbon Compounds 4.4 2.068

Lead Compounds. 1.6 0.282

Note: The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

(4) Noise

19 Reportfor Envronmentai InactA ssessmentfor Lajifan HYdropowerProject in Laifeng County of Hubel ProWnce

Sources and intensity of noise generated in the construction of this proposed project have been listed in Table 2.6.2. Table 2.6.2 Sources and Intensity of Noise Generated in the Construction of This Proposed Project

Type of Noise Source Generation Section Sound Level dB (A)

Fixed Point Source drill, air compressor. excavator, 95-120 vibrating, mixing machine

Mobile Line Source Crane, bulldozer, auto truck and 85-95 other transportation vehicles

Noise from Blasting Blasting of hills and rocks 130

Note: The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. The noise generated from the construction of Lajitan HPP involves the followings: * Fixed and continuous noise produced by drills, compressors, and other construction machines, mainly from the activities, such as excavation of earth and rock, processing of sand and rock materials, grinding and mixing of concrete. This kind of noise always has characteristics like high grade of sound level and continuous impact from the sources. * Noise from blasting at fixed time and fixed sites. This kind of noise is mainly generated from the blasting of hills and rocks during the rock excavation (for example, underground excavation, and quarry rock excavation), which has characteristics such as high grade of sound level and short duration of impact. 3 Mobile noise from transportation. The noise is mainly caused by the transportation vehicles, with characteristics of high intensity of noise sources and high mobility.

(5) Solid Wastes The solid wastes of the proposed project are mainly composed by the spoils from the construction and lesser amounts of domestic refuse. The total amount of earth and rock excavation (including underground excavation) in this proposed project adds up to 648,629m3 , but only 60,924m3 is to be used for backfilling and placed rock fill and the rest 587,687m3 of earth and rock will be spoiled. That is to say over 90% of the total earth and rock excavated will be disposed of in spoils areas. The planned spoils disposal sites are located on the right bank down strean of the proposed dan site and Wachangba, which may cause jam in river course and water and soil losses if there is no proper countermeasures taken for the spoils. 2.6.2 Analysis for Operation of the Proposed Project

Water is one kind of clean energy, which determines Hydropower generation to be a cleaner technology and basically bring no pollution to the environment. The impact brought by the operation of this proposed project mainly contains the followings:

20 Reportfor EnWronmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan RvdreopoerProject in LaifengCounty of Hube Province

(1) Reservoir Filling

After the proposed reservoir is constructed and filled by water, it can be used for power generation, irrigation, cultivation, and transportation, etc, all of which will benefit the social economic development of the assessed area. In the meantime, the filled reservoir will change the hydrological regime of the original rivers, and generate some specific impacts on the eco-environnent of the reservoir area and involved rivers, on the water flow, water temperature and health of human beings. The proposed reservoir will also produce irreversible impacts on those land plants to be submerged and those aquatic organisms that are not fit for living in deep water. The migration and breeding of some certain creatures will be influenced as well.

The filled reservoir may bring some environmental risks, such as karsts leakage, small-sized caving of bank, and reservoir-caused earthquake (i.e., induced seismicity).

(2) Loss from Submergence Based on investigations, the major loss from the submergence covers land requisition for 1710.5mu and houses to be removed for 16126.1m2 .

21 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projedcin Laifeng Countyof Hubei Province

CHAPTER 3 Regional Environmental Status of the Project 3.1 Natural Environment 3.1.1 GeographicLocation Laifeng County of Hubei Province is quite close to Youyang County of Chongqing City and LongshanCounty of Hunan Province. LaifengCounty is 134 km away from Enshi City via the National Road 209, and Enshi City is 286 km away from Yichang City via the National Road 318. Laifeng County is geographicallylocated in North Latitude29012'and East Longitude 109°14'. 3.1.2 Topographicand GeomorphicFeatures Laifeng County is long and narrow in north-south,and its northern part is wider than its southern part in direction of west-east, just like a leaf of robur. In general, its surface relief is highest in the southeast and lowest in the northwest. The edge of Wuling Mountains passes through the whole county from the southwestto northeast, which makes the topography of the county complicated, covered by continuous mountains and hills and crossed by rivers and streams. The topography of the northeast and southeast of the county along the banks of YoushuiRiver is mainly dominated by low hills, basins and valley plains, belonging to valley basin. The absolute elevation of Laifeng Basin is from 400 to 460 m, and that of the region in south of LaifengBasin lower than I OOOm,which belongsto low-reliefterrain. Except for Laifeng Basin and some small-sizedpartial intermountain basins and unclosed valleys in low and flat relief, most of other regions are in steep terrain. Youshui River Basin is located in Wuling Mountainous Region along the joint- boundaries of Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Chongqing City and Guizhou Province, which belongs to uplift zone in neotectonic movement. The absolute elevation of the basin is normally ranged between 360m and 700m, with depth of cut for 150m to 305m, and the movement has eroded the low-reliefterrain. Karst has been developed within the basin, which produces a large number of solution caves and undergroundrivers. The famous karst features include Feng Cave, Popo Cave, Nianyu Cave, Remi Cave, underflow stream of Mao Cave and surrounding solution cave groups. The proposed reservoir area is generally higher in the north and east and lower in south and west, and the upper stream of the reservoir is located in a small-sized opening valley,and the downstreamhas many U-shapedriver valleys. The hills along the banks of the river are high for 600m to 800m, and the elevation of valley bottom ranges from 340m to 365m. The first terrace is obvious along the river, higher than the water surface of the river for more than 10 m. The site of dam in the proposed project has been decided to arrange in a canyon section, with river flowing from east to west. The riverbed is wide for 70 m and the elevation of the dam is from 337m to 342m. The average depth of water through out the entire year is 2.5 m. The river valley looks like a "U", with steep limestonewalls. The elevationof the hills is 540m to 700m. 3.1.3 GeologicalFeatures

22 Repor for Enwronmental Impaci Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

Laifeng County is located in the vermicular region from Suan'enjiaoyuan, one of the four biggest fracture zones in the west of Hubei Province, to the southern edge of Xianfeng Fracture Zone. It belongs to a part of umbones in the neocathaysian structural system. Nearly all stratums are of outcrop, most of which are sedimentary rocks, and dominated by Triassic calcareous rock.

Lajitan HPP is located in the southwest mountainous area of Hubei Province, in the ruche of Bamian Mountain Platform of Shangyangzi Platforms, Yangzi Metaplatform, and the south edge of fold of Enshi Mountain. Within the area, there is the cutting area of Xianfeng Active Major Dislocation and Baifusi Major Dislocation. According to "Zoning Map for Earthquake Intensity of China" (1990), the basic earthquake intensity of this area is lower than VI degree. Except for the Devonian stratum and carboniferous stratum, all of the other stratums from Cambrian to Quatemary have been in outcrop, mainly composed by a set of carbonate rocks and fragment rocks. The bearing of trend of the mountains along the banks of Youshui River is being controlled by the structural system, and the folds and major dislocation are distributed in N250-45E'. Youshui River has developed along the structural line, flowing from northeast to southwest.

The folds in the proposed reservoir area are simple and mainly belong to syncline. There are Xiaojiaba Syncline and Lianghekou North-directed Syncline in the northwest edge of the reservoir area. The synclines are located in the edge of the mountainous area, in small scale. The major dislocations in the reservoir area are Lianghekou Dislocation, Manshui-Shadaowan Dislocation, Baifusi Dislocation, Yangjiachang-Hongyan Dislocation and Yangjiaping Dislocation. The ground water in the reservoir area mainly consists of phreatic water from pores and fissures and karst groundwater. The chemical content of the ground water is bicarbonate fresh water, without any erodibility to concrete.

In the site of the proposed dam, calcareous rocks under very-thick system have been of outcrop, and scattered alluvium of Quaternary System has been distributed on the hillside. The site of the proposed dam is located on a homoclinal terrene whose dip of attitude is 80°-110°with angle of dip of 4°-8°. The attitude has been changed partially. Except for the Baifusi Major Dislocation, the other dislocations at the damsite are small scale, without any development. Karst at the damsite has been already developed, but distributed intermittently. The development attitude of the first layer of karst is around 342 m, which is the datum plane of eroded river bed, and the solution caves (KI-K4) in this layer have been developed in small scale with short extending. The second layer has developed to an attitude of 355m to 365m, which is the first terrace in this area, and the solution caves (K3, K5 and K8) have been developed in large scale. The third developed layer is on 380 m of altitude, at which there exists phreatic water, with many springs cropped out. However only the Solution Cave K2 (Spring q7) has undercurrents, with water flow throughout the entire year (the flow volume reaches to 0.1-0.3m3/s), and water flows in spring q8 year in and year out. The other springs belong to seasonal and intermittent springs.

3.1.4 Climate Decided by the non-zonal impact, a special climatic zone has been formed in Laifeng County, different from the normal climate in the plain lake area. In the area with low hills and plains whose elevation is less than 800m, the climate belongs to monsoon-

23 Reportfor EnvWronmental Impacd Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province

humid mountainous climate of subtropical zone, under which the four seasons have been clearly demarcated with spring longer than autumn and summer longer than winter. In the secondary high mountainous area where the elevation ranges from 800m to 1200m, it is similar to the monsoon-humid mountainous climate of subtropical zone under the South Temperate Zone, and various seasons are clear with late spring and early autumn. In the high mountainous area whose elevation is no less than 1200m where it is a similar climate like the monsoon-humid mountainous climate of the South Temperate Zone, with short summer and long winter, and the winter normally lasts for 5 months. The Youshui River Basin is located in a monsoon climatic zone of the Subtropical Zone where the winter is cold and summer is hot, but the seasons are still clearly distinct. This basin is always controlled by the polar continental air mass in winter. When cold wave is coming, the temperature will decline below zero centigrade degree, mixed by heavy wind and rain and snow. In spring, while the oceanic warm- humid air mass goes north, it will conflict with the polar continental air mass, which results in plum rains. After May, the warm air mass from the southwest grows fast, followed by the main rainy season during the mid June to mid July, and quite heavy storm rainfall is always formed, lasting for a long time and covering a large area. During August and September, the western pacific anticyclones begin to control the basin, and it is always dry. From October, the polar continental air mass becomes stronger and stronger until the winter. The mean annual temperature of this basin is 38.9E (July 26, 1991), and the lowest temperature ever reached to -8.30 (January 30,1997). The average annual precipitation is 1353mm, average annual amount of evaporation 1005mm, average annual relative humidity 82%, annual average atmospheric pressure 16.2mb, and the average annual wind speed is 0.7m/s. The highest wind speed in this basin reached to 20m/s (August 1, 1997).

The natural precipitation of this basin in various seasons is mainly deternined by the monsoon circumfluence, and has clear seasonal changes. The precipitation in winter amounts to 81.6mm, accounting for only 6% of the entire precipitation in a year. It will increase to 411.7mm in spring, accounting for 30%. During April to May, the low-temperature spring rain occurs frequently. From the mid June to mid July, it enters into the period of plum rains, with an average duration of 37 days annually. During the period of plum rains, the average annual precipitation reaches 276.4mm, but may increase up to 500mm to 600mm in the years with "heavy plum rains". In the last 3 decades, the maximum monthly precipitation has been 500-1 000mm, the maximum daily precipitation (in 24 hours) 250mm, the maximum precipitation in one hour 90.8mm, and the maximum precipitation in 10 minutes is 28mm. During June 7 to 14, 1983, the precipitation of the whole county even reached to 600mm. 3.1.5 Hydrologic Feature and Water Systems There are 25 rivers going through Laifeng County, with an overall length for 485.7m. Youshui River is the major one, crossing the east part of the county from north to south. The main river branches upstream of the Jilongtan are Jinjia River, Chayuan River, Kada River, Shuanjian River, Longshan River, Xinxia River, Laoxia River, Qiedao River and Pidu River. All of these branches, together with Youshui River, form a water system in the shape of a comb. Youshui River originates from Youyuan Mountain in Hefeng County, Hubei Province.

24 Reportfor EnWronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProjet in Laifeng County ofHubei Province

Its source consists of water from caves, springs and underground currents. The river comes into being at Luoguchuan, and then goes through Suan'en County and Laifeng County from north to south. From Leping, the river starts to wander through the boundary of Hubei and Hunan Province until Jilongtan of Laifeng County, and comes into Chongqing City. The river then goes across Shidi and Liye, and after entering Hunan Province, turns to go east. It finally joins in Luanshui River at Luanling of Hunan Province. The river is 427km in length, draining an overall area of 18,530km2 . The average falling gradient of the river bed is 1.1%o.

Youshui River is cut into upper stream and down stream by Youshui Stone Embankment, and Lajitan HPP is planned to be constructed in the former. The total area controlled by the dam amounts to 3369km2 . Based on the land form and junction status of the river course, Youshui River upstream of the Jilongtan has been divided into 3 sections. One is the section upstream of Shuitianba in Shadaoguan County, which is a desolate remote mountainous area with quick water and great falling gradient. This section is about 38km in length from Baishui to Shuitianba, with an average falling gradient of 6%o. The second section is from Shadaoguan to the urban area of Laifeng County, with some large branches joined in. It turns calm and wide in this section, and is an area with low hills and discontinued valleys, with a length for 39km and average falling gradient of 2.8%o. The last section covers the reach from Lianghekou of Laifeng County to Jilongtan, with an overall length for 103km and average falling gradient of 1.16%o. From Lianghekou in north to Longzui in south, it is a basin within hills, 30 km from north to south and 20 km from west to east, in which the relief is calm and plain, with cultivated land for nearly 50,000 mu. It is tableland in the hills between Longzui and Yutang, and the area down from Yutang to Baifusi is valley. There is a large volume of rains in this basin, and the runoff of the river mainly comes from precipitation, whose distributed volume in different seasons is mainly associated with the precipitation in the same season. The central area of storm rainfall in Youshui River Basin is located in the middle and upper stream of the river, mainly in terms of frontal rain, followed by heat thunderstorm. There are 4 hydrologic stations located upstream of the Jilongtan in Youshui River Basin, including Laifeng Hydrologic Station, Gaoluo Hydrologic Station. Daheba Hydrologic Station and Maodong Hydrologic Station. The proposed project chooses the Maodong Hydrologic Station as its major calculation station. and Laifeng Hydrologic Station as the reference station for extended data. Maodong Hydrologic Station is located 1.0 km upstream of Baifusi Town, and 80km downstream of the site of the proposed hydropower station. This gauging station has systematic actual monitoring data on water flow from 1972 to 1988.

At the site of Lajitan HPP, the average annual water flow is 115m3/s, average annual volume of runoff 3.63 billion m3, and the average annual depth of runoff is 1076mm. The volume of runoff within the basin changes little year by year. Referring to the annual runoff, the maximum volume occurred in 1980, whose average volume of water flow is 183m3/s, and the least in 1981 with an average water flow of 64.0m3 /s. However the runoff is distributed unequally within one year. The runoff during April to September accounts for 77.9% of the total volume in an entire year. The month with maximum monthly runoff on average is July, reaching to 250m /s. The runoff in November to March occupies only 14.8% of the total, in which the least monthly

25 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubel Province

runoff on average occurs in January with a runoff of 20.8m3 /s. Maodong Hydrologic Station got its maximum monitoring data on water flow on July 4, 1980, which amounted to 4470m3/s, and least monitoring data of 3.03m3 /s in 1974.

3.1.6 Soil Laifeng County is located in the mountainous area at the southwest edge of Hubei Province, which is the joint point of Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Chongqing City. There are various kinds of soil in Laifeng County, totally including 126 soil species in 46 soil genus in 15 subcategories in 8 soil groups ( i.e., red soil, yellow soil, yellow-brown soil, lime soil, red porcelain clay, bog soil, tidal soil and paddy soil). Among these kinds of soil, the red soil, yellow soil, yellow-brown soil and paddy soil dominate the whole county in acreage, accounting for 10.9%, 55.91%, 22.45% and 9.2%. The total acreage of soil resources in the whole county adds up to 115,084.5hM2, occupying 85.34% of the total area of land. The acreage and basic physical and chemical characteristics of various soils in the proposed reservoir area can be found in Table 3.1. 1.

Table 3.1.1 Characteristics of Soil in Lajitan ReservoirArea

Item Yellow Soil Red Soil Yellow-Brown Soil Paddy Soil Tidal Soil Red porcela in clay

Acreage (hm2 ) 13809 10551 1520 1977 38 10

Percentage in 49.49 37.81 5.45 7.08 0.13 0.04 Acreage (%)

Depth (cm) 0-100 0-60 0-100 0-100 0-76

PH 4.3-5.6 4.3-6.6 4.5-8.4 4.7-8.2 7.6-8.0 /

Organic Matter (%) 0.34-3.09 0.34- 0.77-3.08 0.29-4.49 0.79-1.81 3.09

Total Nitrogen (%) 0.038-0.116 0.038- 0.040-0.145 0.025- 0.044-0.096 0.135 2.245

Total Phosphor (%) 0.010-0.041 0.011- 0.014-0.044 0.010- 0.023-0.033 / 0.028 0.043

Total Kalium (/) 0.73-4.72 1.20- 0.83-L.75 0.73-3.47 0.97-1.07 2.21

Volume Weight (%) 1.41-1.80 1.41- 1.05-1.63 1.29-1.74 / 1.80

Content of Gravel 3.7-60.0 2.7-39.8 19.5-42.0 2.0-68.0 60.0 (%)

Note: The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. The Laifeng Basin in the northeast of the county is mainly covered by red soil and paddy soil, which is the base of the county for crops and citrus, accounting for 26% and 97.7% of the total in the whole county respectively. Red soil, yellow soil and paddy soil are largely distributed in the low hills and valleys in the south of the

26 Reportfor Enwronmental ImpacAssesentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province county, and the soil is mainly originated from arenaceous shale. This area is one of the bases for forestry, in which the output of tung oil nut and oil tea occupy 60.4% and 44.6% of the total in the county respectively. In the low hill area of the middle Laifeng County, it is chiefly covered by yellow soil and paddy soil, and the quality of the cultivated land ranks a position over the medium level. Paddy, rape seed and cured tobacco are the major products from this region, and the average acreage of cultivated land per capita in this region is 1.34 times that in the whole county. Limited by the characteristics of the soil in this region, more than 45% of cultivated land produces less output of crops, but it is quite suitable for developing forestry here. The western edge of the county, covered by low, medium and high mountains, is a region where the relative elevation changes most largely in Laifeng County, with a large number of mountains but few population. This region is largely covered by yellow soil and yellow-brown soil, with rapid gradient. So there are a lot of disadvantages to developing farming. There exits small-sized paddy field in this region, and the dry land with low output accounts for 85% of the overall dry land. Therefore, it is fit for reforming the cultivated land to forest, so as to conserve water and soil through the development of forestry. The proposed reservoir will be constructed in a platform along the river, where the soil has mainly originated from arenaceous shale, quartemary clay and alluvium of river in recent times. Yellow soil and red soil also dominate this region, followed by paddy soil and yellow-brown soil. These soils have less fertility. Along the banks of the river, paddy, potato, sweet potato and vegetables should be considered as the major crops to plant, and on the hillside, corn, potato and fruit trees can be cultivated. From Luoyintan of the reservoir area down to 500m away from the site of dam, it is surrounded by low hills in height of 600-700m, which are all fallen sharp with a normal gradient of 70°-90°. The hills consist of calcareous rocks, covered by thin soil layer, which is mainly yellow and red soils. There is no crop on the hill less trees, but a large quantity of bushes.

3.1.7 Mineral Resources Laifeng County has few kinds of mineral resources with little reserves as well. Except for the coal mines, the other kinds of mineral resources are not valuable to extract. Coal mines are mainly distributed in Tianba, Longzui, Wutai and Xita in south of the county, with an already discovered reserve for 7.6 million tons. Iron mines are scattered in Ganxi, Tianba, Guangguo, Labisi and Gaodongxupu, with small reserves. Gypsum is largely distributed in the piedmont of Banbiancheng and Shatuo, with high quality but small reserves. Limestone and dolomite are chiefly reserved in Zhuba, Tianba, Shiliping, Sanhu and Jiusi, with comparatively larger reserves and pure quality. Alum clay mines are distributed in Wutai, Ganxi and Shazitian, with a reserve of over I million tons. Barite reserves are found in Cizhucao of Sanhu, Sanbaoling and Meiziya, with high quality and a reserve of 0.33 million tons. Lead-zinc ores are mainly located in Tongmuwan of Geleche and Qianchangping of Sanhu, with high quality and large reserves. Manganese minerals are distributed along the two veins of Lasa-Jingzhu and Tianjingba-Jingzhu in Baifusi Town, but with small reserves. Sulfur mainly comes from Mucheba of Baifusi with small reserves. Quartzite is largely distributed in Liujiapo of Dahe with a reserve of 0.5 million tons.

27 Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Lawfeng County of Hubel Prowice

3.2 Eco-environment

3.2.1 Terrestrial Eco-environment

(1) Terrestrial Plants The proposed reservoir is located in the low hills in the southern area of the county, within the administrative districts of Manshui Town and Baifusi Town. The major vegetation growing below elevation of 800m includes mixed forests with both deciduous woods and broadleaf woods and shrubbery. Broadleaf evergreen forest, mixed forests with both deciduous woods and broadleaf woods and needle leaf wartn forest dominate the mountainous area at the elevation from 800m to 1200m where the forest cover rate amounts to 45%. The major vegetation in the proposed reservoir area has been described in Table 3.2.1. Table 3.2.1 Major Vegetation in Proposed Lajitan Reservoir Area

Category Major Vegetation

Natural Cunninghamia lanceolata. Pinas massoniana. Pinus arrnandii. Cupressus. Cinnamon. Phoebe. Vegetation Ginkgo biloba, Taxus wallichiana. Cephalotaxus hainanesis. Quercus aliena. Firmiana platanifolia. Pterocarya stenoptera. Sapium sebiferum. Camptotheca. Robinia. Paulownia fargesii, and Ligustrum lucidum. etc.

(Chinese fir. Massons pine. Armand pine. Cypress. Camphor tree. Nanmao, Ginkgo. Yew. Plum-fruited cluster flowered yarn, Quercus aliena. Phoenix tree.

Cash Vegetation Metasequoia glyptostroboides. Vemicia fordiii. Toxicodendron vemiciftuum. Trachycarpus fortunei, Musa basjoo. Castanea mollissima. Diospyros kaki. Citrus sinensis. Prunnus. Camellia oleifera. Camellia sinensis, Eucommia ulmoides. and Magnolia offEcinalis.

Crops Paddy. Com. Wheat. Sweet potato, Potato. Sunflower. Giantarum. various vegetables and Tobacco Within the involved region of the proposed project, Metasequoia glyptostroboides belong to the first-class key protected plants at the national level, ginkgo biloba. Cephalotaxus hainanesis and Eucommia ulmoides are the second-class key protected plants at the national level, and Phoebe, Chinese douglas fir. Chinese redbud and Magnolia officinalis belong to the third-class key protected plants at the national level. [Although you state below that there is nearly no virgin natural or old forest vegetation cover remaining in the project area, you do not state whether any of these listed species are found (or likely to be found) within the project area, particularly within the inundation zone, construction areas, new road alignments, or resettlement sites. Having seen the area, I think it likely that due to the amount of land development for agriculture in the inundation zone there are few, if any, of these listed species still growing within the project setting. However, this needs to be confirmed and stated in the EIA document if this is the case, and sources of information (field studies, discussions with local forestry officials, published reports, etc.), need to be referenced.]

Affected by the circumfluence of monsoon, the natural precipitation clearly changes according to season, so the vegetation shows vertical distribution geographically. The basins in hills and wide tableland in river valleys (with elevation of 360m to 390m) have been cultivated to farmland, on which some crops are planted, such as paddy, soybean, sweet potato and vegetables. On the hillsides, corn, potato and some

28 Reportfor EnwronmentalImpaa Assessmentfor Lajitan 1JvdropowerProject in LairfengCounty ofHub., Prownce

cash crops like vernicia fordii and fruit trees are mainly planted. As for the distribution of vegetation, the valleys are covered by broadleaf and deciduous forests and shrubbery, the hillsides by broadleaf evergreen forests, mixed forests with broadleaf and deciduous woods and warm needle leaf forests, and the top of mountains by deciduous forests and warm needle leaf forests. The forest cover rate of the involved area in this proposed project reaches to 45%. and the amount of growing stock of living trees is 9.6m3 /hm3 on average, most of which are young plantation growth and natural secondary growth. There is nearly no virgin mature (i.e., old growth) forest in this area. Therefore it is obvious that the eco-environmental function within the proposed reservoir area has less sustainability, and the water and soil loss in medium intensity can not be ignored.

(2) Terrestrial Animals The wild animals in the surrounding area of the proposed reservoir are listed in the following Table 3.2.2. Table 3.2.2 Major Wild Animals in the Surrounding Area of Lajitan HPP

Category MajorWild Animals

Beasts Susscrofa moupinensis. Lepus capensis auriqineus, Meles. Viverricula indica. Erinaccus europaeas, Mustela sibirica. Microtus arvajis, Tamiops swinhoei pyrrhomerus,Macaca mullatta. Moschus spp. Lutra spp,etc.

Birds Pica. Acridotheresccristaellus. Corvus macrohynchus.Passer montanussaturatus, Streptopelia orientalis, C. Poliocephalus, Picus canus, Egretta qarzetta, hirunndo rustica.Chrysolophus spp.. etc.

Reptilia Colubridae, Trionyx sinensis. Chinemys reevesii, etc.

Second-Class Key Protected Macaca mullatta, Moschus spp. Oriental civet cat. Pangolin. eagles, Darwins Animals at National Level pheasant, Red-abdomen Golden pheasant. Lutra and Andrias daridiancs

Key Protected Animals at Fawncoloured fox, Coloured-face fox. Fallow deer, Goral. Hare, Meles. Mustela Hubei Provincial Level sibirica. Tamiops swinhoei pyrrhomerus, Grey-breast bamboo partridge, Hirundo rustica. Pica, Acridotheresc cristaellus, Streptopelia orientalis, C. Poliocephalus, Egretta qarzetta, common merganser, acutilingual pallas pit viper, coral snake, batrachia, and Chinese Giant Toad (3) Assessment on the Current Status Quo of the Terrestrial Eco-environment It is quite convenient in traffic accessing the site of the proposed project, with concentrated population. The region where the proposed project is located has been developed early, and it is quite common and frequent to take economic activities. All of these have brought considerable impact on the ambient eco-environrnent. The large-scale felling of forests on the low hills along Youshui River, cultivation and immoderate hunting of wild animals have destroyed the virgin forest system, which now has not existed any longer. Along the river banks in which Lajitan HPP is to be built, the plants protected at the national level are seldom found, nor are the large wild animals. Andrias daridiancs, one of the aquatic animals, has disappeared for 10 years. Within the construction scope of the proposed project and the area to be submerged, there are no rare wild animals and plants found. Only a few of the rare wild animals and plants protected by the state are distributed on steep cliffs and untouched remote mountains in the upstream of the river, but the species and volume are quite limited. These animals and plants are also in danger, threatened by dying out due to low population numbers.

29 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubed Province

3.2.2 Hydrologic Eco-environment

(1) Phytoplankton

Based on the on-the-spot sampling and analysis, the phytoplankton living in the assessed area can be categorized into 14 genus in 4 phylum, including 1 genus in cryptophyta, 1 in pyrrophyta, 9 in bacillariophyta and 2 in chlorophyta, which has shown in following Table 3.2.3.

Table 3.2.3 Phytoplankton in Lajitan Reach of Youshui River

Species Volume (10'/L)

Cryptophyta Chroomonas Hansg 5.64 5.64

Pyrrophyta Peridinium Ehr 2.82 2.82

Bacillariophyta Cyclotella Sp 11.28 47.94

Diatoma De Cand 5.64

Cymbella Ag 8.46

Novicula Bory 5.64

Achnanthes Bory 5.64

Anomoeoneis Pfitz 2.82

Nitzschia Hass 2.82

Synedra Ehr 2.82

Cocconeis Ehr 2.82

Chlorophyta Scenedesmus Mey 11.36 14.1

Selenastrum Sp 2.82

Total 70.5

From the above table, it can be seen that among the phytoplankton in Lajitan reach of Youshui River, bacillariophyta occupies the most in terms of not only species but also volume, accounting for 69% of the total species and 68.0% of the total volume. The water body dominated by bacillariophyta belongs to clean water. The total volume of cells is 0.705 million per liter, less than the standard of I million per liter, which indicates the water quality is good and acceptable.

(2) Zooplankton

Zooplankton in the water body of the site of Lajitan HPP consists of 4 phylum, including 2 genus in protozoa, 4 in rotifer, 1 in cladocerans and 1 in copepoda, shown in following Table 3.2.4.

Table 3.2.4 Zooplankton in Lajitan Reach of Youshui River

Species Volume(I/L)

30 Reportfor Environmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitam Hfydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

Protozoa Strombidium Sp 80

Epistylis Sp

Rotifer Pedalia mira 160

Keratella cochlearis

Polyorthra trigla

Platyias quadricomis

Cladocerans Bosmina longirostris 2

Copepoda Mesocyclops leuckarti I

Total 243 The zooplankton in Lajitan Reach of Youshui Rive is mainly composed by the genus that is able to withstand medium pollution or is not able to endure any pollution. Especially the pedalia mira and platyias quadricornis in rotifer have high requirement on water quality. The total volume of zooplankton in the target water body is 243/L, far less than the standard of I OOO/L.That is to say the water quality of Lajitan reach is comparatively clean. (3) Zoobenthos Historically, zoobenthos in Lajitan reach consisted of 5 genus in 3 phylum, including Pelopia Sp, Polypedilum leucepus, Limnodrilus helveticus, Branchiura Sowerbyi and Hippeutrs Sp. The first four genus dominated the composition of zoobenthos in the target water body, which can not prove the water is clean. The major reason is because the sampled water body has been affected by cultivation activities, which causes a large number of nutritive substances to accumulate in the bottom mud of the water body. However, generally speaking, the species of zoobenthos in Lajitan reach are rich. Particularly, the existence of hippeutrs spp. indicates the good quality of the water. Measured by the diversity index, that of the zoobenthos in Lajitan reach is 3.95. Normally if the index exceeds 3, the target water body can be considered as clean water. The detailed species of zoobenthos in Lajitan reach have been included in Table 3.2.5. Table 3.2.5 Zoobenthos in Lajitan River Reach of Youshui River

Species Volume(I/L) Biomass(gIm 2)

Pelopia Sp 120 0.4040

Polypedilum leucepus 40 0.1400

Limnodrilus helveticus 800 4.2800

Branchiura Sowerbyi 280 2.4440

Hippeutrs Sp 80 3.3680

(4) Fishes Historically, the Youshui River had rich resources of fish. According to the historical records, fish were represented by 42 genus of which 8 were bagridae. Four orders,

31 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofiHubei Prownce including 30 genus in cyprinidae, accounted for 71% of the total. There were 34 genus of commercial fishes, mainly involving cyprinus carpio, carassius auratus, megalobrama terminalis, hemiculter leucisculus, opsariichthys bidecs, parasilurus asotus, misgurnus anguillicaudatus, monopterus alaus and siniperca chcatsi, etc.. In Youshui River, there also exit some rare genus, such as onychostoma sima and siniperica chcatsi, which are tasty and valuable in commercial sense. In the past, there lived anguilla, one of migratory fishes, however due to several already constructed cascade hydropower stations upstream and downstream of the proposed Lajitan HPP, the migration pathway for anguilla has been blocked, so anguilla has disappeared in the river reach where Lajitan HPP is located.

The above analysis shows that historically there were rich fish resources in the Youshui River, mainly represented by cyprinidae, which had specific commercial value but low abundance. The construction of cascade hydropower stations has caused the migratory fishes to disappearin this river reach.

[you have still not indicated what the relative abundance of the various fish species is at the current time. You need to do this in order to determine the magnitude of impacts that will be brought about by creating another impoundment on the river in the form of the Lajitan reservoir.] (5) Amphibian Andrias daridiancs is the maximum caudiferous amphibian in China, belonging to the second-class protected animals at national level. It normally lives in clear hill torrents and springs at the elevation from 200m to I O0Om. Its living requires the water with high quality, high content of dissolved oxygen, high speed of water flow and without any pollution. The water quality of the river reach where the proposed Lajitan HPP is located is suitable for the living of andrias daridiancs. But unfortunately, the activities of human beings in recent years has made the volume of andrias daridiancs declined sharply, and it is hard to find them in the river reach of Lajitan now. Rona spinasa is also a large bodied amphibian, belonging to genus batrachian. Its body may be long (100-120mm), and accustomed to living in hill torrents and waterfalls in the shade. The meat of rona spinasa is delicious and also has pharmaceutical value. However, over-exploitation of rona spinasa by man in recent years has directly resulted in a rapid decrease of of this amphibian, and it is seldom found in the river now. (6) Assessment on the Status Quo of Hydrologic Eco-environment The phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos in the hydrologic ecosystem of Lajitan mainly consist of clean-enduring species, but with little volume. The diversity index of the zoobenthos is over 3, indicating that the water is clear and clean in this river reach with less pollution. Various commercial fishes and amphibian have historically been found in the Youshui River, but due to over-exploitation by human beings the presence and abundance of these species has caused them to decline rapidly, and it is hard to recover in short time. Especially, the construction of cascade hydropower stations upstream and downstream of Youshui River makes it impossible for migratory fishes like anguilla to complete its spawning migration such that it has finally died out in this region. It is clear from the above analysis that the hydrologic ecosystem in Youshui River has been effectively destroyed by past and recent human

32 Reportfor Environmental Impacd Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projed in Laifeng County of Nl4bel Province

interference.

3.2.3 Status Quo of Rare Species Based on the investigation on the submerged area of the proposed reservoir, there are no rare wild animals and plants in this area, so the construction of the Lajitan HPP will not directly bring impact on rare species. On some untouched steep cliffs in this region, there still grow some rare species of tree, such as Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Ginkgo biloba, eucommia ulmoides, magnolia officinalis, and phoebe. During the construction of this proposed project, some effective measures will be taken into effect and then benefit the protection and further development of these rare species. [What effective measures will be taken? These should be clearly stated in the EIA Environmental Management Plan] Andrias daridiancs belongs to the second-class protected animals at the national level, and is the largest caudiferous amphibian in China. Within the involved area of the proposed project, it is believed to have died out or been removed by over-exploitation years ago.. Andrias daridiancs mainly lives in higher mountain tributaries upstream of Youshui River and also in other rivers in Laifeng County. It is obvious that the key reason extinction of andrias daridiancs from the project area is the over exploitation by human beings, instead of the loss of habitat. As long as the regulations for protection of wild animals are executed completely and enforced strictly, and the importance of protection of wild animals and maintenance of ecological balance have been actively and fully disseminated, various rare species including andrias daridiancs can be protected and grown in Laifeng County. 3.3 Social Environment

3.3.1 Population and Social Economy According to the Statistic Yearbook of Laifeng County, 1997, by the end of 1997, the total population of Laifeng County amounted to 299,000 million in 86,813 families, including 69,086 agricultural families. Among the total population, the non- agricultural population reached to 45,000 and agricultural population to 254,000, accounting for 15.1% and 84.9% of the total respectively. There are 144,200 females and 154,800 males, accounting for 48.2% and 51.8% respectively. In 1997, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Laifeng reached to RMB 998.97 million yuan, increased by 12.5% on the basis of the GDP in 1996. The total industrial output value was RMB 708.85 million yuan, 15.3% higher than that in 1996. The total agricultural output value amounted to RMB 278.66 million yuan, increased by 8.23% compared with that in 1996. The net income of farmers per capita was RMB 1,361 yuan and the disposable income of township citizens per capita was RMB 3,867 yuan.

The proposed Lajitan Reservoir is located in Baifusi Town and Manshui Town. In 1997, Baifusi Town had 6,857 families with a population of 26,812. The total acreage under agricultural production was 6703.87hm , with a total output of 16,229 tons and total output value of RMB 26.12 million yuan. The total industrial output value of Baifusi Town reached to RMB 13.09 million yuan in 1997, the total agricultural output value to RMB 41.99 million yuan, and the annual net income per capita was RMB 1,569 yuan. Manshui Town had 5,312 families with a population of 20,138.

33 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hfydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubei Province

The total acreage under agricultural production was 56,811 mu with a total output of 10,988 tons and total output value of RMB 11.96 million yuan. The total industrial output value of Manshui Town amounted to RMB 5.41 million yuan, the total agricultural output value to RMB 27.53 million yuan and the annual net income per capita was RMB 1,407 yuan.

3.3.2 Status Quo of Industries By the year of 1997, Laifeng County had had nearly 90 industrial enterprises, involving food processing, cigarette, textile, fertilizer, cement and printing, etc.. The industrial set-up is dominated by food processing, together with the development of textile, building materials, chemical industry and energy generation. Among the total industrial output value, the output value of light industry occupies 85.35%, and that of heavy industry only occupies 14.65%. In 1997, the output of major industrial products shows as follows: raw coal 186,800 tons, cement 53,500 tons, raw silk 26 tons, cigarette 116,800 boxes, soft drinks and wines 5,535 tons, brick 50.23 million and power generated 97.28 million kwh.

The whole county had cultivated land for 17.346 million hM2 in 1997. With precondition to ensure the production of grains, the county also developed some other agricultural fields with local characteristics, like cultivation of pigs, fishes, ducks and silkworn, and planting of ginger, tobacco and citrus reticulata. The output of major agricultural products has increased steadily. For instance, in 1997, the county produced 136,000 tons of grains, 11,900 tons of vegetablw oila, 5,630 tons of tobacco, 484 tons of tea, and 10,312 tons of fruit. In the entire year of 1997, the county planted trees for a total area of 2036.8 hm2 , renewed for 106.7 hm2, and scattered trees for 950,000. The main forest products include 607 tons of tung oil nut, 299 tons of rapeseed, 1027 tons of raw lacquer, 24 tons of palm fiber and 39 tons of gallnut. Meanwhile, the livestock raising and aquaculture fishery have also developed in Laifeng County. In 1997, the livestock raising produced a total output value for RMB 84.47 million yuan, and aquaculture fishery produced as 1032 tons. 3.3.3 Traffic and Communication Laifeng County is located at the boundary of Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Chongqing City, which is a major distributing center for materials. At present, the county mainly depends on the National Road 209 and some provincial roads to access Enshi City. Longshan County and Zhangjiajie of Hunan Province, and it is convenient in traffic. Laifeng County is 134 km away from Enshi City via the National Road 209, and 231 km away from Dayong Station of Hunan Province on Jiao-Liu Railway. Enshi City is 286 km from Yichang City via the National Road 318, and 214 km from Badong Port on Yangtze River via the National Road 209. Within the administration of Laifeng County, the overall length of road is 317.4 km, including national roads for 9.01km, provincial roads for 93.35km, county roads for 54 km and town road for 161.05km. There are 187 villages linked with the roads. And the annual freight turnover reaches to 56.02 million ton.km, and the annual passenger miles to 61.81 million person.km.

Digital transmission has been finalized in the entire communication system of the

34 Reportfor Environmental InmacAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countryof Hube, Province

county. In 1997, there were 7869 users of telephone in the county, increased by 27.45% on the basis of that in 1996, including 1463 users in rural area, which is raised by 51.61%. The output value in postal sector reached to RMB 10.29 million yuan in 1997. The county has 9 post offices, and 117 public telephone booths. The post road in rural area is long for 2374km. In recent years, the mobile communication has been developing as well. The access of the proposed project will mainly depend -on a single lane road. The road from Baifusi Town to Laifeng County seat belongs to a Class 4 road, which is presently being reconstructed . 3.3.4 Status Quo of Land Utilization

The total acreage of the proposed reservoir area, together with the surrounding land administrated by Manshui Town, Baifusi Town and Huoyan Town, is approximately 40,OOOhm2. By the end of 1995, 29,677 hM2 of land had been utilized, accounting for 74.18% of the total. The details can be found in the following Table 3.3.1 and Figure 3.1 "Map for Land Utilization of Laifeng City".

Table 3.3.1 Land Utilization of the Lajitan Reservoir Area and Surrounding Area (Statistics in 1995) Unit: hmb2

Town Manshui Baifusi Huoyan

Category

Total Acreage of Land 13571 19057 7376

Forests 6554 8146 5673

Cultivated Land 2751 3239 841

Garden Plots 175 461 0.2

Villages and Towns 289 326 69

Land used for industries and mines 15 26 4

Land used for traffic 90 113 20

Water area Rivers 237 326 44

Others 114 145 20

Unutilized Land 3346 6275 706 Since the local economy of this region is dominated by agriculture, the output value of cultivated land will directly influence the standard of living of the local people. However, the cultivated land only occupies 23% of the total utilized land, with poor quality. Of this, 81.79% of the paddy field in Manshui Town and Baifusi Town is graded in Grade 3 or 4, and 87.23% of dry-farmed land in Grade 4, 5 or 6 (dry-farmed land accounting for 43.5 1% of the total cultivated land, and for 67.66% if including terraced field). So the productivity of the cultivated land is quite low. The acreage with output of corn less than 250kg/mu occupies 72.63% of the total land for corn planting. The average output value of various grains is around RMB 438 yuan, and the net income per capita is RMB 1,488 yuan. The cultivated land in Huoyan Town can only produce grain for 198kg/mu, among which the land with dry-land corn (with

35 Reportfor EnvironmentalImpad Assessmentfor Lajitan IHydropowerProject in Laifeng Countyof HubedProvince an average output of 233kg/mu) and potatoes (with an average output of 197kg/mu) planted accounts for 57.16% of the total crops field. This region has a large forest area, covering approximately 20372hm2, accounting for 51% of the total acreage of land, and 69% of the total utilized land. But the forest land is primarily distributed on low hills and secondarily on the highest mountains which are covered by secondary forest and shrubbery. Of this, 67.23% of the overall forest land is covered by commercial forests, which is a sound result from closing of hillsides to facilitate afforestation in the last decade.

There is little land used for garden plots, occupying 2% of the total utilized land. Based on the local plan for land utilization, while continuing planting of trees and creating more forests, the local government is planning to increase an area of 2hM2 per year to plant fruit trees and commercial forests, so as to raise the income of farmers. Among the utilized land in this region, only 0.7% of land has been used for transportation corridors. Except the roads between Manshui Town and Baifusi Town and between Huoyan Town, Lianghekou and Baifusi Town which are constructed at town level, the other roads at village level are all in poor conditions. Water courses are also used for traffic in this region, mainly depending on the main and branches of Youshui River, but it is greatly influenced by the change of season, and only fit for traveling of small-sized ships. Water flows quickly in the Maodong reach on the main Youshui River, so ships cannot pass this reach. Water area dominated by Youshui River only accounts for 3% of the total utilized land, including 607hm2 of river acreage, occupying 2.3% of the total utilized land. The volume of fishes harvested from the river is about 143 tons per year, with a corresponding income of RMB 0.7 million yuan. Only 45hm2 have been used for mines in this region, largely for stone quarry. Stones from these quarries are used for building and paving. The residential area for villages and towns is 684 hm2, accounting for 2.3% of the total utilized land, including houses, pens and courtyards. The acreage for this use has been rapidly increased by 30 hm2 annually, which poses a potential danger for the decrease of cultivated land. There are 10327 hm2 of land having not been used in this region, accounting for 25.82% of the total land, which is dominated by uneven ground, bare soil, bare conglomerate rocks and raised paths through the field. Currently the local government and involved administrations are putting great efforts on planting trees, revising cultivated land on slops to terraced land and paving roads to do their utmost to fullv utilize the land resources and improve the status quo from its poor economic condition.

3.4 Quality of Life

3.4.1 Culture and Education Altogether, 99.59% of the school-aged children in the entire county have been enrolled in school, and the quota of enrollment into middle school reaches to 79.98%. Laifeng County has a total of 158 schools at various levels, including I ordinary technical secondary school, 11 ordinary middle schools, 144 ordinary primary schools

36 Reportfor Environmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hsbe Prownce

and 2 middle schools for farmers. In Baifusi Town and Manshui Town where the proposed Lajitan Reservoir is located, both primary schools and middle schools are in existence, and the quota of enrollment into middle school is 79.98%.

There are 41 cultural institutions in the county with an overall staff of 150. The library at county level collects various books for 0.101 million copies. Seventeen persons work in 98 broadcasting and TV stations, and the audience covers 90% of the total population in both broadcasting and TV systems.

3.4.2 Medical and Health The medical and health systems have been well planned and developed continuously in Laifeng County. By the end of 1997, there were a total of 12 hospitals in the county, with 540 sickbeds and 1008 specialized health personnel, including 447 doctors. The county has 61 clinics with 118 sickbeds. In addition, there is I health and epidemic prevention station, I health center for women and children, and I institute for drug control in Laifeng County. (1) Epidemic Situation of Infectious Disease According to the information provided by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Laifeng County, in Manshui Town and Baifusi Town where the proposed reservoir is located: 1 The major acute infectious diseases basically show a declining trend in its incidence rate;

2 The main infectious diseases occurring in resent years include hepatitis, enteric infectious diseases like dysentery and infectious diseases in respiratory tract like pulmonary tuberculosis, all of which are related to the poor sanitary condition and bad health habits of the residents in the reservoir area. (2) Natural Focal Disease There is no malaria, hemorrhagic fever or ancylostomiasis encountered in this region. (3) Native Disease The principal native disease of Laifeng County is the iodine deficiency disease. The data provided by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Laifeng County shows that in the general investigation in 1982, the incidence rate of iodine deficiency disease was 3.15% with a seelling [ceiling?] rate of 24.5%. In the investigation in 1999, only 3 persons got the disease among the 400 investigated persons, in which the incidence rate is 0.75% and the seelling [ceiling?] rate is 7%. It is obvious that through the treatment and education on the prevention measures by the health institutions, iodine deficiency disease has been effectively controlled.

In Baifusi Town, the medical and health network at both the town and village levels has been initially established, in which 12 health stations at village level have been set up with both doctors and nurses for a total of 17 health care professionals. In Manshui Town, there are 10 health stations at village level with 16 health care professionals (doctors and nurses). 3.4.3 Income and Consumption of Citizens

37 Reportfor Environmental Impac Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projecl in Lawfeng Countv ofHubei Province

The economy of Laifeng County depends on its agriculture, and 84.9% of the population in the county are farmers. The major industries in the county are light industry including food processing, cigarette, textile, fertilizer and cement. The output value of the light industrial sector accounts for 85.35% of the total industrial output value. Baifusi Town and Manshui Town where the proposed project is located are the major agricultural zones of Laifeng County, and its total agricultural output value amounts to RMB 27.53 million yuan. The annual net income of farmers per capita is around RMB 1400 yuan, far lower than the national average of RMB 2400 yuan and the provincial average of RMB 2100 yuan in Hubei Province. Therefore, the involved area of the proposed project is a poor area in west of Hubei Province. The net income of farmers per capita is RMB 1361 yuan per year and the disposable income of citizens per capita is RMB 3867 yuan per year.

38 Report for EnWronmentalImpacr Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Ldfeng Countv of Hube Province

CHAPTER 4Assessment on Status Quo of Environment 4.1 Status Quo and Assessment on Water Environmental Quality

4.1.1 Monitoring and Assessment on Status Quo of Water Quality (1) Arrangement of Monitoring Section

After the Lajitan HPP is completed, the water will back up to within 200 m of the Tangkou Hydropower Station. Therefore the scope of monitoring on water quality status quo should cover the river reach from the site of 200 m down from Tangkou Hydropower Station to Baifusi Bridge that is 500m down from the proposed Lajitan damsite. A total of 5 monitoring sections will be established.The detailed arrangement can be found in Table 4.1.1 and Figure 4.1.

Table 4.1.1 Arrangement of Water Quality Monitoring Sections

No. Location of the Section Remarks

I 200m down from Tangkou Hydropower Comparison Section in Upstteam of the Proposed Project Station

2 Nanheren Ferry Control Section of Submerged Area

3 Branch of Pidu River Control Section of Tributary Branch

4 Original Hydrologic Station at Lajitan Control Section of the Site of Proposed Dam

5 Baifusi Bridge Reduction Section in Downstream of the Site of Proposed Dam (2) Monitoring Items and Analysis Method

Based on the beneficiary uses of the water body in the assess region and the characteristics of the impact brought by the proposed project, the monitoring items will include: water temperature, pH value, SS, BOD5, permanganate index, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorous, N0 3 , NO02, nonionic ammonia, Kjeldahl nitrogen and total coliform group. These analyses conform to the related provisions in "Monitoring and Analysis Method for Water and Wastewater" (Third Version).

(3) Time Schedule and Frequency of Monitoring Water quality monitoring will be conducted twice during low water period (January 2000, which is also the time of fertilizer application in the assessed atea). Water in each monitoring section will be sampled at the surface on the central vertical line of water body.

[Status quo water quality monitoring should also be undertaken during the flood season and during the period between the dry and rainy seasons prior to commencing construction of the project and the results compared with those shown below for the dry season.]

(4) Results from Monitoring To date, status quo water quality monitoring has been carried out on the following dates: ?????????????????. The results from the monitoring are shown

39 Reportfor Environmental Inpact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Habei Province in Table 4.1.2.

40 Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajilan HyrdropowerProject In Laifeng County offHubel Province

Table 4.1.2 Results from Monitoring on Current Water Quality of Lajitan HPP

Items 200m down from Tangkou Nanheren Ferry Pidu River Branch Site of Lajitan Dam Baifusi Bridge llydropower Station

Time of Sampling 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average pi] 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.6

Water Temperature[l 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

DO mg/L 8.92 9.04 8.98 10.16 9.76 9.96 9.48 9.62 9.55 9.64 9.44 9.54 9.20 9.48 9.34

Total P mg/L 0.022 0.024 0.023 0.043 0.037 0.040 0.038 0.040 0.039 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.012 0.011

SS mg/L 12.00 12.34 12.17 12.00 12.50 12.25 13.00 12.82 12.91 12.00 12.42 12.21 13.00 12.62 12.81

Total coli group. /L 2000 2100 2050 2300 2300 2300 680 540 610 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300

BOD5 mg/L 2.84 2.04 2.44 2.20 2.62 2.41 2.72 2.36 2.54 2.28 2.64 2.46 2.52 2.34 2.43

CODM, mg/l. 2.36 2.42 2.39 2.26 2.56 2.41 2.23 2.47 2.35 2.40 2.62 2.51 2.34 2.48 2.41 nonionic ammonia 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 mg/L

NO3 mg/L 0.205 0.185 0.195 0.150 0.148 0.149 0.245 0.265 0.255 0.155 0.183 0.169 0.150 0.180 0.165

NO2-mg/L 0.091 0.083 0.087 0.062 0.048 0.055 0.046 0.058 0.052 0.052 0.046 0.049 0.040 0.042 0.041

Kjeldahl Nitrogen Not Not Not 0.5 0.5 0.5 Not Not Not Not Not Not Not Not Not mg/L detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected

Note: The abovedata is originatedfrom "EIA Reportfor l.ajitan I lydropowerProject of Laifeng County,I lubei Province"(prepared by HPRES,May 2000.

41 Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Province (5) Assessment on Status Quo of Water Quality 1 As for the item that is required to meet the standard for 100% in GI-IZB1-1999 "Quality Standard for Surface Water Environment" (i.e. dissolved oxygen), 100% of the monitoring values at each section have met the required. 2 As for the items that are required to meet the standard for 80% in GHZB1-1999 "Quality Standard for Surface Water Environment" (i.e. temperature of water, pH value, BOD5, permanganate index, total phosphor, N03-, NO2-, nonionic ammonia, and Kjeldahl nitrogen), 50% of the pH values at the Monitoring Section 1# meet the standards, which means that overall, the standard has not been met. The other monitoring value has met the corresponding standard for 100%, and satisfied the requirement of the Standard.

The major reason responsible for part of monitoring items at the Monitoring Section l# failing to meet the standard is because there is a large volume of hillside cultivated land in the mountainous area from Tangkou Hydropower Station to Nanhe, with low forest covering rate and heavy loss of water and soil. The acidic materials in the soil (mainly red soil) have been carried into the river, and cause the pH value to fail in meeting the standard.

Generally speaking, the current water quality in the river reach where the proposed reservoir is to be construction is good. Except for pH at the Monitoring Section 1# which fails to meet the standard, other monitoring items completely meet the requirement of water quality for water area in Class II on lindicate the dates sampling was conducted], provided by GHZB 1-1999 "Quality Standard for Surface Water Environment". 4.1.2 Investigation and Assessment on Water Pollution Sources According to the field reconnaissance investigation, currently there are no concentrated industrial mining zones or scattered industrial zones along the river banks of the proposed reservoir area. Only a few small scale town and village enterprises or private enterprises are located in the assessed area. The most significant of these include quarrying of quartzite and wood product, neither of which discharge any wastewater. The domestic sewage from rural residents has been mostly discharged into individual septic tanks. After biofermentation it will be directly used for fertilizing the cultivated land, instead of discharging into the river. Therefore these is no point source pollution in the assessed area at present. The dominant industry of Lajitan is agriculture, so the area pollution source is mainly comprised of fertilizers lost from the farmland together with soil. The principal pollutants from the pollution sources are N and P205 . The volume of loss can be calculated according to the predictive equation for the loss of nutritive substance in soil, provided by "Environmental Impact Assessment Code for Hydropower Project (Trial Version)" (SDJ302-88). The volume of loss of nitrogen and phosphorous in soil can be calculated as follows:

E=aSNp+bdcFNp (4.1.1)

In the above equation:

E- Total predictive volume of N and P lost from soil and entering into the proposed reservoir, t/a;

SNp--Total volume of N and P in the soil that enters into the proposed reservoir, which

.42. Reportfor EnvironmentaolImpact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province comes from the total volume of soil that enters into the proposed reservoir by the content of total N and total P in the soil; a - Depletion coefficient of N and P during the course from the original location to the proposed reservoir. That of N is 70% and that of P is 95%, so 30% of N and 5% of P will enter into the target water body;

FNP - Level of fertilizer application, t/a; b - Average content of N and P in fertilizer. The standard fertilizer contains 23% of N and 15% of P;

c - Rate of fertilizer absorbed by crops. The rate for N is 30% and for P is 15%, so the total volume of N and P entering the target water body is 70% and 85% respectively;

d - Rate of fertilizer loss after entering soil and water. The rate for N is 30% and for P is 5%. Based on an investigation, the average utilization rate of fertilizer (actual amount) in the reservoir area in recent years is 354t/a, including nitrogenous fertilizer for 240t/a and phosphorous fertilizer for 114t/a. After converting into available nitrogen (on the basis of N content for 23% on average) and available phosphorous (on the basis of P content for 15% on average), the total nitrogen and phosphorous will be 55.2t/a and 17.1t/a respectively. According to the feasibility analysis report, the total volume of soil loss in the reservoir area will use the annual average sediment load at the site of the proposed dam, which is 152.3x 104t/a. The average content of N and P in soil can be found in a general investigation on soil, which is 0.12% and 0.035% respectively. Therefore, the total volume of N and P in the soil that enters into the target water body are 1828t/a and 533t/a respectively. Substituting the above mentioned parameters into the equation (4.1.1), the total load of N and P entering into the proposed reservoir can be reached, which are 560.0t/a and 27.4t/a respectively.

The investigation on the status quo of pollution sources shows that the major water environmental issue existed in the proposed reservoir area is the area pollution caused by the eutrophic substances from water and soil loss. The loss volume of N and P together with water and soil loss accounts for over 98% of the total volume of N and P entering into the proposed reservoir. Therefore, water and soil conservation is quite important for the protection of water quality in the target reservoir area. 4.2 Status Quo and Assessment on Ambient Air Quality

Considering that there are no significant air pollution sources within the assessed area, monitoring on the ambient air quality is not included in this assessment. The air pollution is largely contributed by sources such as emissions from burning of coal, wood charcoal and fire wood in the daily life of the local residents. In addition, exhaust and dust emissions from automobiles have also contributed as sources of pollution. The low population and less developed traffic in the assessed area contribute to the low emissions from both area sources and point sources, which has little impact on the ambient air quality. The local environmental protection administration carried out a 7-day monitoring program on the ambient air quality of Baifusi Town in May 1995. The result shows that the

.43. Reportfor Environmental Inpact Assessmentfor Lajitan H(vdropowerProject in Lawfeng Countv of Hubei Province average concentration of TSP and SO2 was 0.012mg/m and 0.023mg/m, which has already met the requirement of the Standard Class I provided in GB3095-1996 "Quality Standard for Ambient Air Environment". Based on this evidence, it is concluded that the ambient air quality of the assessed area is good. In recent years, the population and traffic volume have not increased appreciably, and no new enterprises have been established that are likely to cause air pollution. Therefore, the current ambient air quality of the assessed area is expected to remain at acceptable levels.

4.3 Status Quo and Assessment on Acoustic Environmental Quality

4.3.1 Monitoring on Status Quo of Acoustic Environmental Quality

(1) Arrangement of Monitoring Points Taking the site of proposed dam as the center, totally 6 major monitoring points were sampled at the construction area on the right bank and the residential area of Baifusi Town on ?999999999 [indicate dates when sampling was conducted]. Details can be found in Table 4.3.1.

Table 4.3.1 Arrangement of Noise Monitoring Points

No. Location Remarks

I The site of proposed dam

2 Residential house on the left bank. 300 m down from the site of Construction area dam at the elevation of 400m

3 Wachangba. 500m away from the plant buildings Construction area. processing system and storage

4 Surge chamber on the right bank. 200 m down from the site of Construction area dam at the elevation of 351 m

5 Plant buildings on the right bank. 300 m down from the site of dam

6 Baifusi Bridge. I km down from the site of dam Residential area, traffic

(2) Monitoring Frequency The monitoring will be carried out once in the morning, aftemoon, and night respectively. It will last for 3 days. While monitoring the traffic noise, the traffic volume will also be monitored.

(3) Monitoring Method According to GB/T4623-93 "Monitoring Method for Noise in Urban Area" and GB12523- 12524-90 "Limits and Monitoring Method for Noise on the site of Construction", the Equivalent Continuous Sound Level A will be monitored in units of decibels [dB (A)]. (4) Monitoring Results The results have been listed in details in Table 4.3.2.

Table 4.3.2 Results of Noise Monitoring for Lajitan HPP in Laifeng County, Hubei Province Unit: dB (A)

.44 . Reportfor Envronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan 1lydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province January 10 January II January 12

Morning Afterno Night Morning Afterno Night Moming Aftemoon Night on on

Site of Dam 39.4 41.2 24.1 38.8 41.3 23.8 39.1 10.7 24.2

Residential House 31.6 34.7 24.2 31.2 34.6 24.1 30.8 35.2 24.3 on Left Bank (300 m down from the site of dam)

Wachangba (500 m 32.1 36.6 23.7 32.2 35.8 23.5 32.5 35.2 24.1 down from the site of dam)

Surge chamber 34.2 36.2 23.6 34.3 36.4 23.4 34.5 36.3 23.8 (200 m down from the site of dam)

Plant buildings 35.6 38.5 23.2 35.2 38.3 23.5 35.7 39.2 23.4 (300 m down from the site of dam)

Baifusi Bridge 51.4 52.5 42.2 52.1 52.7 42.3 51.8 52.9 42.4

(10) (10) (1) (10) (10) (1) (10) (10) (1)

Note: the figure in bracket refers to the traffic volume in unit of set/h. 4.3.2 Assessment on Status Quo of Acoustic Environmental Quality From the above monitoring results, it is obvious that there is no large-scale noise point source within the assessed area at presednt, and the noise pollution from traffic is also minimal. The results indicate that the acoustic environmental quality of the assessed area is good at present, and all of the monitoring values are lower than the limits of Standard Class I in GB3096-93 "Monitoring Method for Noise in Urban Area".

.45 . Reportfor Environmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Provnce CHAPTER 5Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Project and Countermeasures 5.1 Impacts of the Proposed Project on Eco-environment 5.1.1 Landscape (1) Impactsof the ProposedProject During the constructionof the proposed project, a dam, diversion canals, power-houseand auxiliaryworks will be built. The main works will generate64.48x 10 4m3 of earth and rock excavationand fill, from which spoils will be disposed of in spoils dumps. In addition,-the construction workers and other related personnel will enter the construction site of the proposeddam. All of these will partially change the natural landscape. The proposedproject will also vary other landscapeswithin the scope of the constructionof the project, such as the secondaryforests, shrubbery,cultivated land on hillsides, houses in the involved villages and artificial gardens. Part of cultivated land or gardens may loose its capacity to produce agriculturaland forest products. In return, a yard busy in constructionwill come into being, covered by constructionsheds, mechanicalequipment, roads, transportationmotor vehicles, and workers constructingthe dam and other works. After the project is completed,the normal pool level of the reservoirwill be 370m, with an overall length of backwaterfor 33.1km, so a river-typereservoir in an area of 3.07km2 will be formed in the river reach of YoushuiRiver from Tangkouto Baifusi. The raised water level, widened river bed and reduced water velocities in the reservoir will change the originaleco- environment of the valley and turbulent river, and sharp relief of the hills along the river valley. The natural U-shaped river valley and cultivated land on hillsides will be varied, and new landscape in the form of a lake will appear. (2) Conservationand Constructionof Landscape 1 Established trees growing within the construction site that can be conserved should be maintained in the original location Those trees that cannot be conserved should be relocated to the nearest suitable place to the extent that this is possible. While quarrying earth and rocks, great attention shouldbe paid, so as to avoid destructionof the forests and vegetationin the constructionarea. The surface earth should be removed and stockpiled to facilitate the recovery of the eco-environment. As for the constructionsite and the site of proposed dam. afforestation should be made according to the requirement of design. which will beautify the new landscape. 2 Residential population of the reservoir area has to be strictly controlled based on the bearing capacity of I mu of cultivatedland per capita. On the cultivated land on hillside with a gradient below 25°, intercroppingmethod of cultivation should be used, or the method of cultivation on crossing slopes with isoheight plant fence to stabilize N can be also applied. These methodswill reduce the water and soil loss of hillsides by over 60%, as well as improve the quality of earth and maintain fertilizer. As for the cultivated land with a gradient over 250, it is recommended that as many trees be planted as possible so that the cultivatedland is replacedby forests. 3 At elevations of 300m to 1000m within the reservoirarea, the forest for conservationof headwaters,forest for conservationof water and soil and forest for bank protection will be

.46 . ReportforEnvironmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProject In LaifengCounty of HubelProWnce established accordingly from higher to lower elevations, so as to create protective forest for eco-environment. The forest covering rate of the proposed reservoir area will be enlarged to over 70% progressively. Therefore the landscape of the reservoir area will be conserved and improved. The whole landscape eco-system of the reservoir area will be rebuilt through the projects, such as modifying the cultivated land on hillside to terraced land, applying the bio-fences and planting forests.

5.1.2 Terrestrial Ecosystem

(1) Impacts of the Proposed Project The proposed project will occupy an area of 2.44hm2 permanently, which is mainly covered by shrubbery, waste hillsides and valleys with rocks, with few natural sectary l????] forest and scattered fruit trees in yards. During the construction of the proposed project, the human activities, such as land leveling, paving access roads, excavation of earth and rocks and spoils disposal, will cause unavoidable destruction of secondary forests and partially decrease the green land. Consequently, the amount of bare land surface will increase. But all of these factors will have little impact on the vegetation around the construction site. After the proposed reservoir is filled by water, 692.5 mu of cultivated land (including 209.2 mu of paddy land and 383.3 mu of dry farmed land) within the overall submerged area will be inundated and, therefore, lose its capacity to produce grains. About 369.4 mu of forest other terrestrial plants in the bottom land of valley will be submerged and vanished, and replaced by aquatic plants in the shallows of the reservoir. Other plants living around the proposed reservoir area are distributed widely and tied closely I???????I,which will not disappear after the reservoir is filled . Most of the terrestrial plants presently found in the area that will be inundated are mainly cultivated. Only a small proportion of the land that will be submerged in this project supports the wild (native) plants. Therefore, within the impacted area few native plants will be affected. Except for the increase in water area, other landscape of the eco-environment in the involved area will remain more or less in its current state. The major protected plants of Laifeng County include Chinese douglas fir, yew, eucommia ulmoides, cinnamon, phoebe, trachycarpus fortune, magnolia officinalis, Coptis chinensis, Schneider zelkova, bastard mahogany and henry emmenopherys. Since none of these plants are found growing in the proposed construction site or impacted area of the proposed project, the implementation of the project will have no adverse effect on the protected plants.

The concentration of human population in this area of China which forms a transportation crossroad for Hubei and Hunan provinces and Chongqing City has resulted in early economic development of this area, which generated obvious impacts on the natural eco-environment. Especially after the 1980's when the uncontrolled felling of forests on the hills along Youshui River, land cultivation and catching of wild animals contributed to the destruction of virgin forests and the local ecosystem. In addition to the impacts to the aquatic environment brought about by building of cascade hydropower stations in the upper reaches of theYoushui River, large-sized wild animals have seldom appeared in the surrounding area of the proposed reservoir. Andrias daridiancs has not been recorded in the area over the last ten years, likely as a result of over-exploitation by man being. There are no other rare wild animals or plants found in the proposed construction site and inundation area of the reservoir. Up to now only a few dispersed species of wild animals exist in the proposed project area, and there is no special habitat remaining in the project area which can offer protection. No specific route for migration of wild animals has been identified. Ionwhat basis are these conclusions made? There are no references or studies cited that lend credence to these statements.

.47 . Reportfor Environmental Impac Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Lawfeg County of Hubei Province Supporting documentation or evidence is required to support these statements, otherwise it remains simply conjecture on the part of the authors of this EIA document] As for those wild animals full of energy living in farmland and shrubbery, such as microtus arvajis, lepus capensis auriqineus, mustela sibirica, meles and Sus scrofa, they will move upward in the early stage of water filling, so the volume of these animals may increase around the reservoir. [Again, what is the basis for such statements? What habitat do these animals require to sustain themselves? I have not seen any information that suggests there will be more habitat available around the reservoir once it is created, so how can this statement that the numbers of these animals will increase, be supported?] But the wild animals living in the mountainous area along the river will be less influenced. Generally speaking, the construction of the proposed project will not result in large-scale negative impacts on the terrestrial ecosystem within the construction site and submerged area. By contrast, once the reservoir is full, a water area in 3.07km2 will be created. The existence of a wide water area and wetland and diversified hydro circumstance resulted from the fitting climate will become more productive for aquatic plants, aquatic birds and animals to live. Consequently, the species and volume of migratory birds and aquatic birds and other animals will increase [this will only be the case if the margins of the reservoir are sufficiently shallow to support rooted floating and emergent aquatic vegetation, and the reservoir margins do not suffer repeated drawdown and flooding, actions that will reduce the ability of shoreline vegetation to develop into viable wetland areas. If no such habitat is likely to develop, the claim that migratory birds, aquatic birds and other animals will increase in number is false and misleading. These claims need to be substantiated by information regarding reservoir morphology and operation].

(2) Conservation of Terrestrial Ecosystem 1 While the residents living in the proposed reservoir are being relocated, measures like prohibition of game-hunting and tree felling, closing of hillsides to facilitate afforestation and modifying cultivated land on the hillsides with a gradient over 25 should be brought into effect, so as to recover the original ecosystem and create a better habitat for terrestrial terrestrial plants and animals. 2 When the resettlees have been relocated, they should be allocated 0.67hm2 (,mu) of commercial forest, which is the goal listed in "Green Enriching Project of Hubei Province". Combined with the locate status I?????I,commercial woods that should be developed include: walnut, castanea mollissima, aleurites fordii, ginkgo biloba, ratherripe citrus sinensis, camellia sinensis and medicinal materials. In the initial stage, the purpose is to increase the income of the resettlees, but in the following stages, these commercial woods should be developed further Ifor the purpose of ????].

3 Related policies should be conformed to during the construction of the project. While developing the economy of the mountainous area, the vegetation and forests around the reservoir area should be protected and the habitat for wild animals should be conserved. "Forest Law" and "Wild Animal Protection Law" should be widely disseminated and strictly put into effect, so as to improve the protection of rare species in danger, especially those key protected wild animals and plants at national and provincial level, and further to guarantee the stability of the bio-diversity in the reservoir area IThis is a contradictory statement. In an earlier section it was indicated that there are no rare plants or animals remaining within the project setting so there were no significant impacts that would accrue to them. Now the statement is being made that policies should be implemented to protect and enhance species in danger. Either there are no species at

.48 . Reportfor Enironmental impactAssessment for Lajita, HydropowerProject in Lalfeng County f oHubeiPrownee risk, or there are, in which case the project will generate potentially significant impacts upon the few remaining rare plants and animals in the project area. Which is it?].

5.1.3 Aquatic Eco-environment

(1) Aquatic Eco-environment In order to make a comparison, a similar investigation has been done for the Tangkou Hydropower Station, located 30km upstream from Lajitan. The comparison of the results from both investigations shows:

(a) Phytoplankton The two river reaches have the same 4 phylum, i.e. cryptophyta, pyrrophyta, bacillariophyta and chlorophyta. The only difference is occurred in the number of genus in each phylum, as shown in the following Table 3.2.6. Table 5.1.1 Comparison in Phytoplankton between Lajitan and Tangkou

Cryptophyta Pyrrophyta Bacillariophyta Chlorophyta Euglenophyta Total

No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of genus cell genus cell genus cell genus cell genus cell genus cell

Lajita Surf 1 5.64 1 2.82 9 47.94 2 14.1 13 70.5 n ace

Tangk Surf 2 5.64 2 47.94 2 11.28 5 262.2 10 327.1 ou ace 6 2

Bott 2 155.1 2 11.28 2 33.84 4 141 1 2.82 l l 344.0 Om 4

Ave 2 80.37 2 29.61 2 22.56 7 201.6 1 1.41 14 335.5 rage I III 3 8

4 Note: The unit is 10 /L. Shown from Table 3.2.6, after the proposed Lajitan HPP is constructed, the number of genus in the reservoir will be similar to that in Tangkou Reservoir. The composition of genus in phytoplankton will be enlarged, and euglenophyta will appear in Lajitan, and total volume will increase from 0.705 million per liter at the current level up to 3.3558 million per liter. That is because the reservoir to be constructed will form stable water body, which turns lake-type water body from river-type. Water velocity in the reservoir will diminish, and the depth of the water body will increase. Nutritive substances, such as sediment load, carried from the upstream will be accumulated in the reservoir, benefiting the growth of phycophyta, so both genus and volume of phycophyta will increase. The volume of phycophyta reaching to 3.3558 million per liter in Tangkou reservoir proves the water body at medium nutritional level, which shows Tangkou Reservoir has been organically polluted to some extent. Therefore, great attention should be paid to the proposed Lajitan HPP as early as possible, to prevent the water body to develop towards eutrophication Iwhat sort of actions need to be taken to prevent Lajitan from becoming moderately eutrophied like Tangkou?J.

.49 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfer Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province (b) Zooplankton The increase in phytoplankton in the proposed reservoir to be constructed by Lajitan HPP will consequently result in the increase in zooplankton. The following Table 3.2.7 indicates that the genus of zooplankton in the surface of Tangkou Reservoir does not rise, and that in the bottom decreases. That is mainly caused by the deepening of water, which makes the temperature of each water layer differ from each other. So the bottom layer is not fit for propagation of zooplankton whose volume declines accordingly, shown in Table 3.2.8.

Table 5.1.2 Comparison in Genus of Zooplankton between Lajitan HPP (to be built) and Tangkou Reservoir (already existed) in Youshui River

Species Lajitan Surface of Tangkou (0.5m) Bottom of Tangkou (lOm)

Protozoa Strombidinm Sp + +

Epistylis Sp + +

Cinetochilum + margavitaceum

Rotifer Pedalia mira +

Keratella cochlearis + + +

Polyarthra trigla + + .+

Platyias quadricomis +

Asplanchna Sp +

Cladocerans Bosmina longirostris + +

Copepoda Mesocyclops leuckarti + +

Cyclops vicinus +

Table 5.1.3 Comparison in Genus of Zooplankton between Lajitan HPP (to be built) and Tangkou Reservoir (already existed) in Youshui River

Protozoa Rotifer Cladocerans Copepoda Nauplius Total

Lajitan 80 160 2 1 1 244

Tangkou 250 400 5 6 16 674 (c) Zoobenthos In the investigation on Tangkou Reservoir, only glabrous genus and midge larva are founded, the volume is about 350/m 2. In the deep water of the reservoir, due to oxygen depletion at the bottom, it is only suitable for glabrous ones and midge larva to live, because they are able to endure oxygen depletion. But in the surrounding area of the reservoir, the shallow and high quality water provides favorable environment for those clean-enduring hydrologic insects to grow, as well as mussels and spiral shells. In the meantime, the benthic fishes are also provided with a great number of food sources. (d) Fishes and Amphibian Along with the change of habitat in the target river, the species of those small-sized benthic

.50 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hube Provnce fishes loving the habitat with running water, living in the river reach where Lajitan HPP is to be built, will decline sharply. Some of them will move to the tail of the proposed reservoir, or go up to the upstream for finding out a better habitat [but if Tangkou is located at the backwater end of Lajitan, where will these organizms go?]. However as for those fishes who like to live in reservoirs on river course, such as the large commercial fishes like ctenopharyngodon idellus, cyprinus carpio, mylopharyngodon aethops, carassius auratus, parasilurus asotus and siniperca chcatsi, they will multiply fast, and the output will increase significantly [two species mentioned here (ctenopharyngodon idellus and mylopharyngodon aethops are not listed as being historically present in the river based on data provided in an earlier section of this EIA report. Therefore, how will they be introduced to the reservoir in such a manner as to become viable breeding populations?]. Batrachia, an amphibian will also grow faster. Especially the edge of the reservoir will be quite suitable for amphibians, whose species and volume will increase simultaneously. [earlier you indicate that batrachia lives in hill torrents and waterfalls in the shade, so how will this amphibian, that has not been seen in recent years in the river, benefit by the reservoir when this is not its preferred habitat?]

After the reservoir constructed, a water area of 3.07km2 will be formed. Aquaculture can be developed in the reservoir. The species of commercial fishes -will increase further. The volume of these fishes, such as mylopharyngodon aethops, ctenopharyngodon idellus, silver carp, cyprinus carpio, carassius auratus and parasilurus asotus, will also increase, and the output of these fishes will reach to 20-30 tons annually [on what is this prediction for aquaculture production based? From where will brood stock be obtained, and at what cost to the locals who are trying to develop an aquaculture industry?]. The dam to be built in Lajitan HPP will separate the upstream and downstream of Youshui River. Though there are no migratory fishes in the involved basin, the eco-environment for the semi-migratory fishes in this area will be changed, and cannot be soundly recovered in a short time. Therefore the fish resources of this basin cannot be reinforced as necessary. The volume of harvesting of native fishes will decrease to some extent within 2 or 3 years after the dam is constructed.

In order to minimize the declines in fish harvesting caused by the dam, in addition to the development of aquaculture within the reservoir, some actions have to be taken downstream of the dam, so as to enhance the conservation of fish resources. Firstly, after the dam is completed, a certain volume of water has to be guaranteed to reach to the downstream, so a balance between power generation and release of water should be reached, to ensure that enough water flow in downstream without any break and dry river bed. Secondly, to conserve fish resources downstream, it is required to release water with large volume for several times by the proposed reservoir during the propagative period, especially the period from mid-May to the first ten days of June. So the gain of water in downstream will be strengthened, which will create a satisfactory condition for spawning of fishes. [what volume of water is required to be released for fishery mitigation flows during different times of the day and different seasons? If water is already going to be spilled during the flood season when downstream fish populations are migrating, then there will be no sacrifice between energy generation and maintaining fish flows. The key concern is for fishery mitigation flows during the dry season when there is a potential during certain parts of the day to dewater the section of river between the downstream face of the dam and the tailwater from the power house. Is spilling necessary to provide water in this section of the river for part of the day during the dry season months and, if so, how much water needs to be spilled? If there are no fish populations to sustain, then it is not

.51 . Report for Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan HVdropowerProject in Laifeng County of Hlubet Province an issue.] Gas bubble disease of fish means fish dies of dissociative bubbles formed in blood vessel or some specific tissue when living in water body with over saturated resolvable dissolved gases, which is caused by the uncontrolled release of water from large-scaled hydropower stations upstream. Normally speaking, when the total gas saturation percentage exceeds 115%, it is quite easy for fishes, especially juvenile fishes, to be affected by gas bubble disease. The major gas responsible for the gas disease of fish is nitrogen gas. As investigated, the proposed Lajitan HPP as planned is small in size, and the project will use underflow to dissipate energy with sound effect on this issue. In addition the project has less requirement on water cushion under the dam. Therefore, the project will have less impact on the percentage of gas saturation, and it is hard to make the water body over saturated. In addition the output of natural fishes in this river is low. So the proposed Lajitan HPP will have less of an impact on gas bubble disease in fish.

Table 5.1.4 Life Habit of Related Fishes in Youshui River

Species Life Habit Feeding Habit Spawning condition Distribution in China

Cyprinuscarpio Benthonic fish, like Polyphagia, juvenile Spawning in April and May, Every water to live in the soft fish eating plankton, and the eggs with mucosity, system nation bottom and aqueous and adult fish eating attachedto floatgrass wide plants, with strong spiral shell, larva of adaptability insectand floatgrass

Carassiasauratus Eurvtopicity fish, Polyphagia.eating float Spawning during March to Every water able to live in various grass, plankton and August and the eggs with system nation kind of water body benthonic life mucosity. Spawned after wide and like to stay in one winter, the fish is able aqueous plants and to spawn. so it has strong shoal rivers and reproductivecapacity. lakes.

Ctenspharyngodon Live in medium and Eatingfloat grass Spawning in upstrean of Yangtze River, idellus substrate layer of rivers duringMarch to June, Zhujiang River water the eggs sink to the bonom and Heilongjiang River

Megalobrama Live in substrate Juvenile fish eating Spawning during May to Lakes in middle amblycephala layer of water, and plankton. and adult fish June. the eggs with and downstream stay in open water eating float grass mucosity. and attached to of Yangtze River. area with muddy float grass and it can also be bonom and emigrated submerged plants

Megalobrama Live in medium and Juvenile fish eating Spawning during April to Water systems in terminalis substrate layer of zooplankton and adult June, it requires flowing the northem water fish eating aquatic water to spawn. plains and plants Heilongjiang River

Onychostoma sima Live in rivers with Eating thallobionta Spawning in beaches with Main and quick water flow and quick water and sands and branches in gravel bottom, and rocks during April to May upstream of like to stay at the Yangtze River bottom

Siniperca chuatsi Live in rivers and Eating shrimps and Spawning during May to Widely lakes fishes August, requiring flowing distributed from water Heilongjiang to

.52 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajiten Hydropower Project in Lalfeng County of Hubei Provnce Species Life Habit Feeding Habit Spawning condition Distribution in China Hainan Island

Anguillajaponica Originally live in sea Eating fishes, shrimps, Spawning in seawater Every sea area water, go against spiral shell and insects and all water river to grow in fresh systems from water, and normally Liao River to stay in caves. Hainan Island

Opsariichtys bidens Like to live in Eating fingerlings and Spawning during March to Water systems flowing water in hill aquatic insects June from north China torrents with rocky to Hainan Island bottom

Hemiculter Live in the upper Polyphagia Spawning during May to Most in the water leucisculus layer of water along July. the eggs with mucosity system in the banks in flowing plains in east water or dead water

Monopterus alba Always stay in mud Eating aquatics animals, Spawning during June to Fresh water pits aquatic insect and August nation wide fingerlings

Misgumus Small-scale Eating invertebrate and Spawning during June to Widely anguillicaudatus benthonic fish thallobionta August distributed

Note; the above data mainly comes from the "Taxonomy of Backboned Animals" (Zuoxin NA. Agricultural Press. 1982) and -Animal Icon of China" (Baoshan ZHENG. Sciences Press, 1987) (2) Impact of the Proposed Project During the construction of the proposed project. the water and soil loss caused by the large volume of earth-rock excavation and piling up the spoils in the beach of the river will make the water in downstrean of the dam turbid. This may bring some specific short-term impact on the biologics living in the river that prefer clear water. ithen you need to design protective measures to isolate the spoils from the water course such that there is no release of fine textured materials that will result in turbid water. One way to do this is to construct a rock coffer dam between the river and the spoils, in effect creating a spoils dam. The spoils should not be placed on river bars such that the fines can be washed out of them, causing turbidity to increase by more than 25 mg/I. If TSS is likely to increase by more than this than appropriate mitigation must be recommended.1 However after the reservoir is completed, the previous river landscape will be modified to become an artificial lake area. The local hydrological regime will be consequently changed. including the slowed water velocity, enlarged surface of water area and relatively quiescent water body. The shallow water area along the edge of the reservoir will be propitious to growth and propagation of plankton and other aquatic fascicular plants, which will change the species structure of plankton and aquatic plants, and increase their volume. Great changes will also take place in the setup and volume of original benthic fauna, and these benthic fauna will become a superior species in the bottom of the shallow water in the reservoir, where there is distributed rich nutritive substances. [what is the percentage of shallow water habitat less than 2 m in depth that will be created along the reservoir margins, compared to the total area of the reservoir?] The banks of the reservoir and the tail water area will turn to the habitat for the mollusc like field snail, mussel and corb shell, and midge larva and aquatic insects, with greater species and volume than the current ones. The proposed reservoir will be a mixed reservoir without appreciable vertical temperature

.53. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province stratification. The water temperature will change following the change of season, just like natural rivers. So there is no impact on aquatics caused by water temperature differences with depth. Along with the change in circumstance of the river, small bottom fishes living in previous river reaches where the reservoir is located will decline sharply. But the circumstance with flowing water still exists in upstream of the river, so these biologics loving circumstance with flowing water can keep on living. tare you referring to the Youshoui River or its tributaries. Since the backwater of the Lajitan Reservoir will meet the tailwater of the Tongkou Reservoir, there will be no upstream habitat in which riverine fish species can take refuge, other than the remaining tributary streams. What is the available habitat in these tributaries, and to what extent is this habitat presently utilized?]. As for the fishes living in open area, especially those large fishes that can be cultivated in a river-course reservoir to produce commercial value, such as ctenopharyngodon idellus, cyprinus carpio, mylopharyngodon aethops, carassius auratus, parasilurus asotus and siniperca chcatsi, they will increase in productivity in the reservoir In addition the species of amphibian (batrachia) and aquatic reptilia (Chinemys reevesii and Amyda sinensis) will be also enlarged. [see my earlier comments on batrachia]

In general, the construction of the proposed Lajitan HPP will bring specific short-term impacts on some organizms living in wide area within the impacted scope of the project, as well as the terrestrial plants and some small fishes presently occupying sections of the river that will be submerged under the reservoir. However, the project will not threaten or cause these organizms to die out. [this statement contradicts earlier ones that indicates some species will be threatened and will not survive in the reservoir. Revise the document to be consistent. If some species will die out due to change in the aquatic habitat, then clearly state which ones you anticipate will be affected and whether they are currently of economic or ecological significance (e.g., due to their rarity, etc.) in the area.] Additionally, the newly-created manmade lake-type eco-environment in the surrounding hills and the circumstance with wetland areas that will be created by the reservoir will form a new ecosystem in the reservoir area, which will increase the species and volume of aquatics, and especially provide opportunities to develop the commercial fishes through aquaculture. Impacts on Aquatic Eco-environment downstream of the Dam as a result of restricted flowsDuring the course of dam construction and filling of the reservoir, the water flow will be interrupted between the upstream and downstream for specific period. Iwhat is the timing and estimated duration for this interruption in downstream flows? What mitigation measures are available to minimize or offset the consequences? What resources are at risk (fish species? Agricultural irrigation?)] If the flows are completely interrupted, and if no other measures are taken, the aquatic organizms will be threatened down in the river reaches downstream of the dam. Fortunately, from the data analysis and on-site investigation, it can be concluded that the proposed Lajitan Hydropower Station has the following features that can guarantee the living of the aquatics in the downstream:

0 In the downstream of the dam, there are several branches join in the river course (Table 5.1.5)

Table 5.1.5 Major Branches Joined in the downstream of the site of Lajitan Hydropower Station

Branch Distance down from the site Average Minimum Flow (kmn) Rate (m3/s)

.54 . Reportfor EnvironmentalImpact Assessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProject in Laifeng Countvof Hubei Province Laotangwan 0.2 0.1 Qiedaogou 0.4 4.0

* The minimum flow rate of Youshui River from actual monitoring in history is 3.03 m3/s (January 1974), and average minimum flow rate is 20.8 m3/s. The flow rate in driest period is still comparatively large; * The reservoir in Lajitan HPP is designed to regulate once in ten days, which provides reliable guarantee to continuous water flow in the downstream of the river.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the construction and operation of Lajitan HPP will not result in complete dewatering of the river course which would threaten the existing aquatic organizms located in waters immediately downstream of the dam.

(4) Conservation and Development of Aquatics 1 Enterprises producing heavy pollution should be forbidden from being introduced into the proposed reservoir area, especially the small enterprises in 15 sectors, like pulp and paper, fertilizer and smelting, which has been strictly controlled by the state. This action will avoid the pollution in the headwater of the reservoir and the degrading of the eco- environment.

2 Integrated with the comprehensive control and development of the small river basins, some protective ecological measures should be taken according to the real status of the reservoir area, including clearing up of dangerous rock masses, abstraction I????Jof drains, reducing the burden of the slope prevention j????], closing of hillsides to facilitate afforestation and returning land now used for farrning to forestry. Depending on the extent to which these measures are adopted, the area with water and soil loss in Youshui River Basin may be effectively controlled. Protection pits l?????] should be prepared for impound of water sources. Ecological construction should be carried out in large scale with great efforts. Therefore, the reservoir area will be enhanced in the function of water and soil conservation, and various disasters like flood, rock fall and mud rock flow, will be effectively decreased, so as to avoid the blockage of the reservoir, introducing large volumes of sediment into the reservoir, and degrading the habitat of aquatic organizms.

3 The natural cultivation (or eco-cultivation) should be developed progressively in the reservoir. If permitted by the conditions, cultivation of fish in net cages should also be encouraged in proper water area ( to cover no more than 1% of the water surface of the reservoir). However; it should be noted that while the economy of the reservoir is promoted, great attention has to be paid to the environmental capacity, so as to protect the aquatic eco-environment of the reservoir and ensure the water quality to satisfy the beneficial use in Class II water area, required by the standard G8ZB 1-1999.

5.1.4 Water and Soil Loss 5.1.4.1 Assessment on the Impacts of Water and Soil Loss

The water and soil loss in the reservoir area is mainly caused by soil erosion caused by runoff. Open slope erosion is the major concern, followed by gully erosion and gravity erosion. Open slope erosion largely occurs in sandy slopes with efflorescent shale and the places with earth coming from sandrocks. The gravity erosion takes place in valleys with steep cliffs.

.55 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province And the gully erosion occurs in plain area with low hills. There are several causes for the loss of water and soil. One is the natural cause, such as relief, precipitation and vegetation. The reservoir is located in an area with high mountains and steep slopes. The slopes have long face and thin earth layer. The covering rate of vegetable is low. In addition to the large volume of rainfall in a narrow period, it is quite easy to form overland flow and then result in loss of water and soil. The second cause is from human activities, for instance, construction of hydropower project works, paving of road, relocation of people to undeveloped land, and excavation of wasteland on which trees have been cut down . During the construction of hydropower project works, paving of roads and resettlement of project affected people large volumes of rock and earth spoils can be generated. If there is no prompt countermeasures to be taken, it will doubtless cause water and soil loss to different extent. (I) Assessment on Impact of Water and Soil Loss during the Construction

1 Analysis of General Equation for Water and Soil Loss During the construction of the proposed project, a lot of activities will destroy the original function of the area in water and soil conservation, including paving of roads for the construction, building of houses for production and living, leveling of land, building up of construction plants, excavation and construction of hydropower project works and resettlement of project affected people. In this period, a significant quantities of earth and rock will be moved, which will lead to distrubance of the surface earth, bareness of parent materials for soil and efflorescent rocks, confusion in the surface and ground water system, and finally reduce the erosion-resistance of the surface soil. The solid wastes from the construction provide a large quantity of loose accumulated material sources for the loss of water and soil. If these wastes are piled up and disposed of as spoils without properly control measures in place , serious loss of water and soil will be initiated in the construction site and downstream area. The general equation for water and soil loss is described as follows:

A=R-K-LsCP (5.1.) In the equation: R- Precipitation-Runoff Factor. The value of the precipitation factor in a region. Ry can be calculated from the following formula recommended by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization:

12 (IP51og8-0.8188) R., =11.735x10 P J=i

P-Average annual precipitation in this region (mm). Pi is the monthly precipitation on average in each year in the region. According to Table 5.1.6, the average annual precipitation factor Ry=259.98; K- Erodability factor. The reservoir area is largely covered by sand soil whose organic content is lower than 1%, calculated on the basis of 0.5%. From the Table 5.1.7 "K Value of Various Soils", it can be reached that KEO0.27;

.56. Reportfor Environmental Impac Assnummtfor Lajiian Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Prownce Ls- Landform factor. The difference in the elevation between the two sides of the construction site is 31m, the slop length LO400m, the gradient e04.4'.Based on the formula Ls 0E .07(L/22)°0 28(E/l 0) .45 provided by Zhongshan JIANG of Research Institute for Northwest Water and Soil Conservation, Chinese Science Research Academy, it can be reached LsDO.78; C- Crops management factor. The construction site is not covered by any crop, so CO 1; P-Erosion-protection factor. When there is no measure used, PE 1.

Table 5.1.6 Eigenvalue of Precipitation in the Youshui River Basin

above Maohe Hydropower Station

Month Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total

Average annual 30.7 38.6 72.7 135.7 214.6 258.3 266.9 193.5 156.4 114.2 65.7 32.8 1580.1 precipitation(mm)

Percentage in the overall 1.9 2.4 4.6 8.6 13.6 16.3 16.9 12.2 9.9 7.3 4.2 2.1 100.0 year(%)

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province'", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. Table 5.1.7 K Value of Various Soils

OrganicContent Typeof Soil 0.5% 2.0% 4%

Sand 0.05 0.03 0.02

Fine Sand 0.16 0.14 0.10

Very-fine Sand 0.42 0.36 0.28

Loamy Sand 0.12 0.10 0.08

Loamy Fine Sand 0.24 0.20 0.16

Loamy Very-fine Sand 0.44 0.38 0.30

Sandy Loam 0.27 0.24 0.19

Fine Sandy Loam 0.35 0.30 0.24

Very-fine Sandy Loam 0.47 0,41 0.33

Loam 0.38 0.34 0.29

Note: The above data comes from *EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province-', prepared by HRAES, May 2000. From the above, it can be calculated that the loss of soil in unit acreage A=54.75t/hm2 -a. The construction will occupy a temporary area for E2400m2 , so the annual water and soil loss in the construction site will be 133.59t. 2 Mechanical Analysis for Rock and Soil [with the exception of the last paragraph in section 2, this entire analysis should be moved into an appendix]

.57. ReportforEnvronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan lvdropowerProject in Laifeng Countv of Hube Province The total volume of the spoiled earth and rocks is estimated to be in the order of 717,100 m during the construction of the proposed project (including that from main works, building of roads, sand and rock material processing and storage yards and relocation of emigration), (see Table 5.1.8). Calculated on the basis of the unit weight of the spoils for 2.2t1m3, the total spoils will weigh approximately 1.5775 million tons. The spoils contain the surface soil, sands, gravel and pieces of bedrock left from the excavation of the works, brick rubbles from the removed houses and overburden and waste rock from the rock quarries. The surface water flow formed after precipitation will scour these substances. Under the conditions with same precipitation, water flow and gradient in the same region, the semi diameter (mass) of these substances decides its scouring-resistance. The increase in the semi diameter of the particle enlarges its cubage, as well as stress surface. The water in same flow rate generates different force at different stress surfaces. Based on the principle of dynamics, when the stress surface increases, the resistance to the water flow accordingly increases, i.e. the scouring force to the particle increases. As for the same kind of substance with same density, when the semi diameter increases, its gravitational force will accordingly increases, and the frictional force received by the substance will also increase, but the scouring forces to the substance increases in cube on the basis of the increase in the semi diameter. That is to say the increase in the resistance force will be bigger than that in scouring force. It is obvious that the bigger the semi diameter of substance, the harder it is washed out by water. The spoils in the construction site mainly consist of surface soil, sands, gravel and small pieces of bedrocks. The structural stability of the excavated soil will directly influence the volume of water and soil loss. The structural stability of soil contains dynamic stability, biological stability and hydrological stability. The soil in the construction site is largely sands, loam sands and little clay. Sands and loam sands have weak dynamic and hydrological stability in its structure, so the structure is easy to decentralize to small particles after being excavated and soaked by precipitation. Clay is strong in its dynamic and hydrological stability, but it accounts for less proportion in the soil. So once the structure of clay is destroyed, it is hard to re-centralize and form in new structure. Since the biological stability has less influences in the structural stability of soil in the construction site, it is not included into the analysis. Table 5.1.8 Volume and Distribution of Spoils in Lajitan HPP

Item of Volumeof Filling Volumeof Locationof Remarks Excavation Excavation Spoils PiledSpoils

Main Works 64.86 6.04 58.82 Spoils Yard 2'

Cofferdam 1.39 Spoils Yard lI

Roads 9.6 9.6 Spoils Yard 3a

Sand Material 6.0 1.0 Back filled nearby Yard

Rock Materials 1.2 0.2 Pilled up nearby Materials for Yard construction:

5.0x104m3

Removal of Houses 0.7 Spoils Yard 2a Materials for in Construction Site construction:

_Ox 10 4m3

Total 81.66 6.04 71.71

.58. Reportfor Enwronmental Impad Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of lbibd Province Note: Unit of the data is 104m'. The above data comes from "ELA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. In addition, analyzed from the erosion resistance, the clay, sandy soil and sandy loam with small diameter and loose structure binds together depending on binding power and frictional force of internal surface. Therefore, it is easy to separate in smaller particles affected by water flow, and become suspended load, which will produce great potential deleterious effect. Sands and gravel with large diameter and tight structure are formed by numerous fine rock crystals, which is uneasy to disperse affected by water flow. But it has poor erosion resistance, and is easily disturbed by water and lost. The lost sands and gravel will shape in bed load, and generate certain deleterious effects. The bared bedrock and shivers from the excavation all belongs to the very-thick calcareous rock under the Ordovician System, which has strong erosion resistance and is hard to effloresced and harassed by water.

lOnly the paragraph immediately below should be included in section 2. The preceding analysis should be moved into an appendix. From the comprehensive analysis for the erosion resistance, scouring resistance and stability including in Appendix ??, among the spoils in the construction, surface soil, sands, gravel and small pieces of bedrock are most easy to be eroded. From the on-site investigation, it is estimated that these kinds of substances in the spoils account for 55% of the total, and the loss of water and soil will reach to 867,680 tons. 3 Hydrological Analysis [this entire section down to the next bold note should be moved to an appendix. A paragraph summarizing the impacts should be included in the body of the report in this section] The extemal force causing the erosion of soil in the site of reservoir is mainly hydropower. The soil loss caused by precipitation can be divided into two processes, firstly soil particles separate from soil mass, and then the separated soil particles are scoured by water flow. Raindrops falling on the surface of the earth will sputter soil and make soil separate from the earth. Part of rainwater filters the ground and the other forms surface runoff. Most of the sediment during the loss of water and soil originates from the separated soil particles when rain drops on the earth. And the surface runoff will also carry part of soil particles, facilitated by the beating of raindrops.

When the runoff is caused by excess rainfall and over impoundment, the soil particles beaten and separated from the ground will move together with the surface runoff. Due to the difference in elevation, the runoff will flow towards the downstream river course effected by gravity. The following is an experiential formula for erosion by drop: E=kV4. 33d' .07iO.65 (5.1.2)

In the formula: E-Volume of Sputtered Soil in 300 min, gO

k-Soil Constant, that of fine sandy loam is 0.0007660 d-Diameter of raindrop]7mm] I-Rainfall intensity, cm/hO

.59. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Provnee v-End speed of raindropElm/sE

From the above, the volume of sputtered soil caused by a heavy precipitation is decided by the rainfall intensity, speed of raindrop and diameter of raindrop. The measures taken for the spoils can slow the end speed of rainfall, debase the rainfall intensity, so as to reduce the volume of sputtered soil by raindrops and furthermore release water and soil loss.

In addition, the calculation of sediment yield of slope runoff can consult the formula for sediment discharge f=0.4Q 2.5 (5.1.3)

In the formula:

8gRJ f= u2

r5Dl --r gD r

Q) rhJ (rS - r)D

g,-Unit sediment dischargeOkg/(s.m)O u-flow velocityOm/sO rs-Unitweight of sedimentO2650kg/m3[:1

D-Median size of sediment particleElm] r-Unit weight of sedimentE 1000kg/m3D

J-Water surface slope: R-Hydraulic radius EmL

g-Acceleration of gravity] 9.8m/s2 E

Equation (5.1.3) can be converted intoF]

5 3 0.05r,h2J2U 2 r _1)2 g2 DR r (5.1.4)

Substitute r,=2650kg/m 3Erl-000kg/m 3 into the equation and reach the followings:

5 3 2 15 .5 4 h2J2U (5.1.5 RD

Overland runoff rate isO

.60. Report for Environmental Impact Asssment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Prownce

1 2 u =-J 2 h 3 n

Hydraulic radius is:

R- 2ah 3(1+ a)

Substitute them into Equation (5.1.5)0 then the following is reachedO

23 5 g = 15.54 h 6 j 2 (5.1.6) n 2RD.

With regard to the construction site, the Water Surface Slope (J) (i.e. sin4.4°=0.0075) and the median size of the spoils from excavation are fixed values, and the a in Hydraulic radius R is parabolic spreading coefficient, which is decided by the slope flow and rate. It is obvious that the value of R is determined by the precipitation of the region, and the latter changes little from year to year, which can be considered as a fixed value. Therefore the final decisive factor for gs is the roughness of slope (n). If there is no special control measure taken for the spoils, the value of n will be 0.025. Otherwise, it will be raised to 0.15, increased by 6 times. Therefore from Equation (5.1.6), it can be seen that when gs will be reduced down to one thirtieth of the level when there is no special measures taken, and the total loss volume of water and soil in the construction site also to one thirtieth of the level before.

[the preceding part of section 3 should be moved into a separate appendix]

(2) Assessment of Impact of Water and Soil Loss during the Operation

During the operation of the proposed Lajitan HPP, water and soil loss will directly impact the water filling and power generation of the reservoir [refer to soil erosion and hydrologic analysis in the two separate appendices]. The planned area for the reservoir area is 245 kMn.2 Based on the data provided by the local water resources bureau (see Table 5.1.9), the overall area of Youshui River Basin under the administration of Laifeng County reaches to 307.45 km2 . As the greatest erosion occurs in the reservoir area (upstream of the site of dam), and the medium and light erosion is distributed equally in the Youshui River Basin within Laifeng County, it is initially estimated that the annual volume of water and soil loss in the reservoir area is 499.200 tons based on the percentage of erosion surface area in the total basin. Most of lost soil and sands will enter into the reservoir and be stilted up at the bottom of the reservoir, which will increase the elevation in front of the dam year by year. According to the sediment data in the Feasibility Analysis Report, the elevation in front of the dam will rise to 354.3m 50 years later. The current elevation of the dam site is 334 m. Therefore, 20.3 m will be sediment, which will continuously offset the water filling capacity of the reservoir, and shorten the life of the reservoir as well.

Table 5.1.9 Status Quo of Water and Soil Loss in Youshui River Basin

Grade Acreage with Annual Erosion Average Erosion Average Thickness Water and Soil Modulus (t/km ) Volume(Ot) of Lost Soil(mm) Loss (km2)

.61 . Report for Environmental Impact AssessmentfforLajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province Grade Acreage with Annual Erosion Average Erosion Average Thickness Water and Soil Modulus (t/km 2 ) Volume([t) of Lost Soil(mm) Loss (kM2)

Strongest 32.84 5000-8000 21.35 3.7-5.9

Medium 85.35 2500-5000 32.00 1.9-3.7

Light 25.66 500-2500 3.85 1.9

Total 143.86 57.2

Note: Unit of the data is 104m3. The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of LaifengCounty in Hubei Province",prepared by HRAES,May 2000. Based on the above analysis, effective vegetable and engineering measures for conservation of water and soil should be applied within the prevention scope of water and soil loss in the proposed project (construction site, spoils yards, sand and rock materials yards and relocation districts of emigration).

5.1.4.2 Scenario for Water and Soil Conservation (1) Engineering Measures

1 Prevention Measures for Spoils from Main Works The main works of the project will require a total excavated volume of earth and rock of 3 approximatgely 648,600 m3 , and embankment for 60,400 mi3 , with spoils for 585,200 m . The total earth and rock used for cofferdam amounts to 11,600mi3, including 2321.4 m3 of concrete, 9243.4 m3 of cement-rubbles, and the spoil from removal of houses is 13,900 m3 . In order to properly handle the spoils for the construction, 3 sites for spoils disposal are proposed. Spoil Disposal Site I # is located in wash land on the right bank of the river 500 m downstream from the dam site to Baifusi Bridge. Spoil Disposal Site 2# is located in Laotangwan on the right bank downstream from the damsite. Spoil Disposal Site #3 is located in wash land on the right bank from Baifusi Bridge to Qiedao River. Between Spoil Disposal Site l# and the river course, a cement-rubble gravity spoil-retaining dam 12 m to 14 m high will be built with a dam crest width of 2 m. The dam crest will be flush with or a little higher than the ground surface of Baifusi Town. The side slope facing the water will be constructed with a slope of 1:0.2-1:0.25. The side slope facing the spoils will also be constructed with a slope of 1:0.1.

A spoil-retaining dam will also be built in Spoil Yard #2 with a dam crest height of 1Om to 12m and a 45m long 3 m wide dam crest. at a design elevation of 370m. The side slope facing spoils is designed at 1:0.1, and the other side slope at 1:0.25. Drain holes will be arranged in the body of dam.

An earth-retaining wall is to be constructed in Spoil Disposal Site #3, which is 13 m in height, and 0.5m wide at the top. The side slope facing the water has been designed at 1:0.2 and the other side is at 1:0.2. All of these retaining dams (walls) will be arranged in parallel with flow filament.

2 Protection Measures for Spoils from Construction of Roads

The newly-built roads in the construction project will include the roads climbing up the dam, 2 roads used for the construction along river bank respectively within the construction site,

.62. Reportfor Environmental Impact AssessmentforLajitan HydropowerProject in Latfeng County of Hfbei Provinec temporary roads in auxiliary plants and residential district, and widened road sections on previous roads. The total length of the roads is 3.2 km. On the basis of the roads to be constructed in width of 8m on average, the on-site investigation shows that the spoils from the building of roads will reach to 960,000 m3 , which is to be piled up in the spoil disposal site behind the refueling station of Baifusi Town. A spoil-retaining wall will be built between the spoil yard and refueling station, to prevent the spoils from being scoured onto roads and lower plain area. The wall has been designed with a width of 0.4-0.6m, height of 1.2-1.6m and length of 150m.

In addition, drains will be installed along the two sides of the subgrade. The drains will be 0.3-0.4m wide, and 0.4-0.5m deep. The side slope has been designed at 1:2. The spoils from the excavation of drains will be used for hardening road surfaces.

3 Protection Measures for Spoils from Relation of Resettlement 7680 m3 of housing demolition debris will be removed from the construction site, including 6079.29 m3 of houses built in brick-concrete and rock-concrete. During inundation of the proposed reservoir, all of these houses will be required to be removed. Based on an investigation, spoils will be generated for 0.9 mi3 / m 3 , and 7,000 m 3 in total. All of these spoils will be transported to the spoil disposal site located on the right bank downstream of Baifusi Bridge. When the project affected people are relocated, they will be moved as a whole. Two new residential districts for resettlement will be located in a level and open area, so the earth and rocks excavated can be fully backfilled during the building of houses and fundamental agricultural construction. Consequently no spoils will be generated. Along the road of new residential districts for emigration, drains should be built along both sides of the road, with the bottom width of 0.4-0.6m, surface width of 0.4-0.6m, depth of 0.5-0.6m. (2) Vegetable Measures and Recovery of Cultivated Land 1 Land Temporarily Used for Construction

The construction will temporarily use land for 24,400 m2. After the completion of the project, all of the wastes should be cleared up. Soils stockpiled at the start of construction should be spread over areas that are to be revegetated, and grass and trees should be planted in the spare land between houses and roads. 2 Spoil Disposal Sites There are 3 spoil disposal sites in this project, occupying a respective area for 1.9 hm2 , 4.2 hm2 .and 0.8 hM2, totally for 6.9 hm2 . The 3 spoil yards will be located in the area between Baifusi Town and construction site. After the finish of the project, the spoils disposal sites should be leveled and cleared up, covered with soil and partially planted with trees. [why only partially plant with trees? Why not plant the whole area with trees and turn this area into a park? What will happen to the rest of the area not planted with trees?] The land can be re-cultivated, the town in which the spoils disposal sites are located can be greened and the air can be purified. Therefore a clear space is provided to the local citizens for relaxation and amusement. 3 Land Occupied by Domestic Refuse The total discharge volume of domestic refuse during the whole construction period will be approximately 1100-1200 m3 , occupying an overall area of 1800 m2 . The refuse is normally collected and disposed of at a centralized municipal refuse disposal site. Since the furthest

.63 . Repori for Envrovnmenal Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube ProWnce municipal refuse disposal site is 2km away from the spoil yards, and the nearest is 1km away, all of the domestic refuse can be transported to the spoil disposal sites, which will be finally leveled, cleared up and planted with trees and grass. [if there is any chance that the domestic refuse will generate leachate that can percolate through the spoils material and enter the river, then the spoils disposal sites should not be used for project related municipal disposal. Instead, a purpose built refuse disposal site should be constructed away from any surface water course or groundwater source used for domestic or irrigation purposes.]

4 Land Occupied by Construction Refuse

The overall construction will produce refuse for 300-400 m3 , which is distributed in scattered area with little individual volume. So it is better to choose low-lying land nearby for filling the construction refuse, which will then be covered by soil, with trees and grass planted. The overall area will be 250 m2. [Construction refuse should be inert material such as waste concrete and must not contain any toxic substances (i.e., no waste oil filters, oil or lubricant containers, batteries, etc. ) Any construction wood debris should be burned.

5 Road for Construction Trees should be planted at 4 m intervals on both sides of the 3.2 km of newly-built roads. This will require planting of 1600 trees in total. Sophora japonica and oriental plane can be selected to plant. As for the hillside with gradient over 250 in the reservoir area, farming land should be returned to be afforested, to gain ecological benefit and economic benefit at the same time. Commercial forest is recommended to greatly develop. Some fruit trees (such as citrus sinensis, castanea mollissima, and prunnus) and commercial trees can be planted.

(3) Requirements for Water and Soil Conservation On the basis of adopting the above mentioned measures for preventing water and soil loss, the following requirements are recommended for water and soil conservation: 1 Requirements for Handling the Spoils from Sand and Rock Materials Yards

The sand materials needed for construction mainly come from the 3 sand borrow sites located upstream 15 km away from the dam site, one of which supplied sand materials for the construction of Tangkou Hydropower Station. The sand materials are directly sorted in the quarries located in river course. If the spoils can be backfilled in time, no loss of water and soil will take place. Iremoval of sand from river borrow sites should only be done during the dry season when there is no water (and therefore no fish or fish eggs to disturb)] The rock materials needed in the construction are originated from the rock quarry in Wachangba, 1500m away from the site of dam. After the rock materials are sorted in the quarry, the spoils should be sent to the spoil disposal sites. . It should not be permitted to allow spoils to accumulate within the rock quarry for prolonged periods before the spoils are disposed of at one of the spoils disposal sites. 2 Requirements for Handling the Temporary-use Houses and Land If the temporary houses and barrier walls built during the construction have no use any more, they should be removed immediately. The waste materials should be carried to the spoil yards. The used land should be leveled, the surface of ground should be hardened, or covered with soil and planted with grass and trees for re-cultivation. When the temporary-use land is

.64. Reportfor Enwironmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projed in Latfeng Counsy of Hubei ProWnce retired, it should be cleared up, leveled, hardened or covered with soil and planted with grass and trees as well. 3 Requirements for Handling the Spoils from the building of roads on the left bank downstream of the Dam Site For the roads built on the left bank downstream of the damsite, the spoils left from the demolition should be transported to one of the spoils disposal sites. While the roads are built, the drains should also be excavated and constructed as well. Spoils from the excavation of drains can be used for hardening road surfaces, and are not allowed to pile up along the roads.

4 Requirements for Water and Soil Conservation in Resettlement Areas

The earth and rocks from excavation and that for backfilling during the construction of new residential districts will be equal in volume, so there is no spoils generated from the construction, and furthermore there is no impact of water and soil loss caused by the spoils. However, if the drains are not good enough, water and soil will also be lost in the surrounding area of the new residential districts. The new districts are close to low hills in the north-west and near to the river course in the southeast. With the purpose of preventing water and soil loss, earth-retaining walls, cutoff ditches and drains should be built on the west side of the new districts, and the water collected in drains will be discharged into the river. 5 Requirements for Reasonable Development and Use of Land Resources It should be forbidden to cultivate the steep hillsides having a gradient over 250 Instead, farmed hillsides should be reforested, and waste hillsides should be planted with trees. On hillsides with lesser gradients (i.e.,5°-25°) in the reservoir area, the real status of water and soil loss should be fully taken into consideration to modify the hillside into terraced fields, and then decide the length, width and space of terraced fields to be built, and the height of earth or rock cross walls. The cultivated land in areas with a gradient less than 50 including paddy land and dry farmed land should be well arranged, based on its irrigation condition, fertility of loam, intake of light and heat and precipitation. Ferries, plant-houses, storage and residential houses should not be built on the soft soil materials along the banks of the reservoir, and the human activities, like industrial production and storing and transportation of freights, should not be permitted to take place in this area as well. It is fit for building flower terrace and grassland and planting trees for viewing and admiring, so as to give local people a free space for relaxation. 6 Preventing Landslide and Avalanche of Reservoir Banks Two small-sized landslides have been idenfitied in the on-site investigation. One occurs on the right bank of dam site of Tangkou Hydropower Station. The deep excavation of dam foundation leads to a small scale landslide. A retaining wall has now been constructed at the foot of the mountain, which effectively prevents further mass wasting of the landslide. The other landslide occurs upstream of the new residential districts where only minor mass wasting occurs. It is caused by cultivation on steep hillsides, and now the farmed land on the hillsides has been reforested. The geologic framework of the reservoir area is stable, so natural landslides will not take place in general sense. If there is any landslide encountered, a retaining wall should be constructed at the bottom of the hill, so as to lighten the burden of sliding land, and cut off the flood from the top of hill to avoid it entering into the sliding land. The area with serious landslide should be fixed by anti-slide piles and slip band. The steep banks of the reservoir should be planted with trees, so as to divert and separate the .65. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province surface runoff formed from precipitation. Some other engineering facilities, such as placed stone pitching, should also be constructed to prevent failure of reservoir banks. As for terrace or plain-dam banks of the reservoir, grass and trees should be planted on the slopes, to reduce the erosion of water and stabilize the banks. The banks with-small scale mass wasting should be repaired to avoid enlargement of the slope failure. 5.2 Forecasting and Assessment on Aquatic Environmental Impact

5.2.1 Aquatic Environmental Impact during the Construction

Based on similar projects, during construction, the average discharge amount of wastewater from production has been 270m3 /h, and the discharge amount of major pollutant SS has been 90.7t/d. The concentration of SS in the wastewater discharged from the foundation pit can reach 2000mg/L, with high pH values (1 11-12). The concentration of SS in the waste water from sand and rock materials washing can reach 3000mg/L. SS in the production wastewater mainly consists of sediment. A large majority of wastewater is discharged directly into the downstream reaches of the river below the dam site. It is estimated that up to 144m3/d of domestic sewage will be generated, and the concentration of major pollutants, BOD and COD, can reach 250-500mg/L and 300-600mg/L respectively. This sewage is expected to be largely composed of washing water and rinsing water of construction workers. A part of domestic sewage is discharged into the river nearby, and the other part enters into a simple septic tank for treatment. [does this mean that grey water (i.e., from washing) is separated from sewage effluent (i.e., from toilets) with the former being discharged to the river and the latter being treated in septic tanks? All waste water from washing and human waste should be treated in septic tank systems. No domestic sewage, grey water or otherwise, should be released directly into the aquatic receiving environment] The total volume of wastewater generated from both construction works and domestic use during the construction period amounts to 6624m3 id, and annually to 21.6x I04 m3/a. Compared with the runoff amount of Youshui River in the dry period (P=80, 26.1 m3/s), the ratio of wastewater and clean water is 1:340. The directly discharge of wastewater generated from construction processing into the river is a short-term activity, which will end with the completion of the proposed project. The construction wastewater may bring short-term impact on the water quality of partial water area within the construction site. iconstruction water, especially that from aggregate washing, drilling operations, and concrete plants, should be processed through appropriately sized settling ponds to remove all suspended load and contaminants such as oil/grease. No untreated water should be discharged directly into the river]. After the completion of plant-houses, auxiliary facilities and residential districts, the domestic sewage will be completely discharged into simple treatment facilities and then discharged into Youshui River after being treated. Therefore, after the finish of the project, the beneficial use of the downstream water area will not be impacted in general sense. 5.2.2 Forecasting on Eutrophication of the Proposed Reservoir The forecasting will use the following model

L(1-R) Hp.

In the equation:

.66. Reportfor Ensronmenlal inact Assessment for Laiwan,Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of abei Province P-Concentration of N and P in the reservoirDmg/LO L-Load of N and P entering into the reservoir,g/m2a

H-Average water depth of the reservoirElmil

pu-Hydraulic scouring coefficient of]mE R-Retardation coefficient of N and P

Among the above, the calculation formula for the hydraulic scouring coefficient p,, is shown as follows:

pw=QN In the formula:

Q-Annual reservoir inflow[Im3 /aEl

V-Reservoir capacityElm3 0

R=0.246exp(-0.27 1Qi)+0.574exp(-0.00949Qi) In the formula: Qi-Hydraulit load7Qj=Q/A, m/aO A-Water Surface Acreage of the reservoirElm2 .

Under the worst condition after the completion of the proposed reservoir, i.e. where no consideration has been made to reduce water and soil loss and limit the use of fertilizer on land that will be submerged or used by humans, the inflow amount of N and P into the reservoir is calculated on the basis of the current level. Then the load of N and P is 182.4g/m2.aand 8.9g/m2.aEl

Table 5.2.1 Forecasting Parameters for Eutrophication of the Proposed Reservoir

Parameter Q(m3) V(m3) A(m2) H Pw Qi(m/a) R

Value 26.27xlO" O.297XlI0 3.077X106 9.45 125 1181 3.077XI04

Note: The above data comes from *'EIAReport for LajitanHPP of LaifengCounty in HubeiProvince", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. Table 5.2.2 Forecasted Concentration of N and P in the Proposed Reservoir

Benchmark Year of Forecasting 2005

Concentration of Total N (mglL) 0.15

Concentration of Total P (mg/L) 0.008

Note: The above data comesfrom "EIA Reportfor. Lajitan HPP of LaifengCounty in Hubei Province",prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

.67. Reportfor Environmental Impact AssessmentforLajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube Province Siergensew categorized lakes into 7 categories based on the degree of eutrophy, and formulated criteria for identifying eutrophication of lakes. These criteria can be used to assess the degree of eutrophication of a After Lajitan Reservoir is completed, the forecasted concentration of total P is 8mg/m3 . Based on this, it can be determined that after the start of operation of the reservoir, it be nutrient deficient, that is to say the area pollution will not lead to eutrophication of the reservoir. 5.2.3 Forecasting on the Water Temperature of the Proposed Reservoir Because there is no actual monitoring data on the water temperature of Youshui River, various methods will be used for calculating and analyzing the water temperature of the reservoir during its operation, including analogy method and empirical method. The water temperature of a reservoir is one of the important indicators for assessing the aquatic environment. China's fish resources are dominated by the fishes living in warm water, and the favorable water temperature for them is 15-300E. In the meantime, water temperature is also important for the growth and propagation of migratory fishes. The appropriate water temperature can promote their spawning and hatching, otherwise, it will play a negative role. It is clear that water released from a reservoir can change the water temperature greatly, which will bring great impact to the aquatic organizms downstream of a dam. Water temperature will also influence the quality of drinking water. The optimum temperature of drinking water ranges from 7 to 12D0. Within a specific scope, the higher the water temperature, the stronger the propagation capacity of microbes. Thereby the sanitation status of tap water be reduced. Rice is therrnophilic crop, so the water temperature in paddy lands also has an impact on growth and yield. The optimum water temperature for paddy is 28-32 E and the temperature is not allowed to be lower than 230. Otherwise the yield of paddy will decrease. The water temperature has a close relationship with water quality, especially has obvious impacts on the indicators, like DO, BOD5, COD and total coliform bacteria. In addition, water temperature of a reservoir can also provide indispensable data for study and monitoring on water seepage and leakage of concrete dams. Therefore, the study and analysis on water temperature of reservoir has significant role in comprehensive utilization of water resources, protection of water quality and bringing a reservoir into full utilization.

1 Water Temperature Structure of Reservoir Conditioned by solar radiation, reservoir capacity, water inflow and dispatching mode of reservoir, water temperature varies in reservoir at different depth of water. Normally the reservoir can be classified into 3 types, mixed, stratified reservoir and transition types.

* Mixed Type (Isothermal Type): At any time, the water temperature in the reservoir is distributed uniformly throughout the littoral gradient; * Stratified Type: While the temperature turns up, the water temperature of the reservoir surface is obvious higher than that of the middle and bottom layers, resulting in stratified water temperatures. The gradient of temperatures can reach to over 1.50/m. The water temperature of the bottom varies within 15 0 in a year. * Transition Type: This type of reservoir has both characteristics of mixed type and stratified type.

.68. Reportfor EnvironmentalImpact Assessmenlfor Lajitan Hydropower Projec in Laifeng Countyof Hubei Provine 2 Identification of Type of Reservoir based on Water Temperature and Impact Analysis With regard to the identification of the type of reservoir based on water temperature, the identification method with the values ofa and ,Bproposed by Japanese scholars is always applied in China, i.e. to get the value of a through the following formula and then to identify the type according to the values listed in Table 5.2.3 AverageAnnual Runoff (m 2/a) a iotaF ReservoirCapacity (nmJ

Table 5.2.3 Identification of the Type via the Value of a

Valueof a Typeof Reservoirbased on Watertemperature

<10 - Stratified Type

>20 Mixed Type

10-20 Transition Type

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. From the above data, the calculated value of a for Lajitan Reservoir is 123 (>20), so the proposed reservoir belongs to mixed type, i.e., it will not be thermally stratified.

3 Forecasting on Water Temperature 3 Forecasting on average annual water temperature and average monthly temperature of the reservoir surface In China there are various methods to calculate the water temperature of a reservoir, mainly including air-water temperature correlation method, latitude-water temperature correlation method and heat budget method. The latitude-water temperature correlation method is normally used when lacking water temperature observation data. Its principle is developed from the relation between the water temperature of a reservoir and the latitude in which it is located, which causes the water temperature to vary according to the change of latitude. Therefore the relation curve for latitude and water temperature can be established, and then on the basis of latitude interpolation method, the average monthly water temperature can be obtained.

Lajitan Reservoir will be located in North Latitude 29012'. Based on the above mentioned method, the average annual water temperature and average monthly water temperature of Lajitan Reservoir surface have been calculated and listed in Table 5.2.4. Table 5.2.4 Comparison between Forecasted Water temperature of Lajitan Reservoir Surface and the Average Monthly Temperature of the Site of Dam

Tem. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul, Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Ave.

T, 0.3 10.0 12.3 18.2 23.0 26.3 29.6 29.6 26.0 22.5 18.0 13.2 19.9

T2 5.6 6.9 11.5 17.0 21.0 24.7 27.5 27.1 23.1 17.5 12.2 17.4 16.8

T1-T2 4.9 31 0.8 1.2 2.0 16 2.1 2.5 2.9 50 5.8 5.8 3.1

.69. Reportfor EnvironmentalImpadA ssessmenifor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countyof Hubel Prownce Note: TI means the temperature of water surface and T2 means the average monthly air temperature in unit of O. The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province', prepared by HRAES, May 2000. Shown from Table 5.2.4, the lowest water temperature of Lajitan Reservoir will appear in January and February, and highest one occur in July and August. The annual temperature range is 19.60. compared with the average monthly air temperature observed in the site of the proposed darn, the average monthly water temperature is higher than the average monthly air temperature with a gap from 0.2 to 5.80, and the annual range is 3.10. After the completion of the proposed reservoir, the water temperature of the surface will bring some impacts on partial ambient climate 0 Forecasting on the water temperature behind (upstream) of the dam

The empirical formula proposed by the Northeast Hydropower Pioneering and Designing Academy is applied in the calculation of water temperature on the upstream side of the dam in various months with various water temperatures. The formula is described as follows:

Ty=(To-Tb)exp(-(Y/X)')+Tb In the formula:

Ty-Water temperature in front of dam, 3 i7

To-Average monthly water temperature of the reservoir surface, 3 E

Tb-Average monthly water temperature of the reservoir bottom. The monthly water temperature of the mixed reservoir bottom can be found in SDJ302-88 "Criteria for EIA on Hydropower Project (Trial Version)"

Y-Water depth in front ofdamf3mfC

n,X-Parameter related to month:

15 m2 m2 35

40 m 2 m 2.37(l + 0.1m)

In the formula:

m-Month

Then the results from forecasting have been listed in Table 5.2.5 0 Table 5.2.5 Forecasted Vertical Distribution of Water Temperature behind (upstream) of the Dam

Water Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Depth(m)

2 10.5 10.0 12.2 18.0 22.4 25.9 29.3 29.5 26.0 22.5 18.0 13.2

4 10.5 10.0 12.1 17.6 21.6 25.3 28.8 29.2 25.9 22.5 18.0 13.2

6 10.5 10.0 11.9 17.2 20.7 24.6 28.0 28.8 25.7 22.5 18.0 13.2

.70. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajilan Hydropower Projet in LasfengCountby of Hube Prownce Water Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Depth(m)

8 10.5 10.0 11.6 16.9 19.9 23.9 27.1 28.1 25.5 22.4 18.0 13.2

10 10.5 10.0 11.3 16.5 19.1 23.2 26.2 27.4 25.1 22.3 17.9 13.2

12 10.5 9.9 11.0 16.2 18.4 22.6 25.2 26.5 24.6 22.2 17.9 13.2

14 10.5 9.9 10.7 15.9 17.8 22.0 24.3 25.6 24.1 22.0 17.8 13.1

16 10.5 9.8 10.4 15.6 17.2 21.4 23.4 24.6 23.4 21.7 17.7 13.1

18 . 10.5 9.7 10.1 15.4 16.7 21.0 22.6 23.7 22.8 21.5 17.6 13.0

20 10.5 9.6 9.9 15.2 16.3 20.5 21.9 22.9 22.1 221.2 17.4 12.8

22 10.5 9.5 9.8 15.1 16.0 20.2 21.3 22.1 21.4 20.8 17.2 12.7

24 10.5 9.4 9.6 15.0 15.7 19.9 20.7 21.4 20.8 20.5 16.9 12.5

26 10.5 9.4 9.5 14.9 15.5 19.7 20.3 20.8 20.2 20.1 16.6 12.2

28 10.5 9.3 9.4 14.8 15.3 19.5 19.9 20.3 19.7 19.8 16.4 11.9

30 10.5 9.3 9.4 14.7 15.1 19.3 19.6 1 19.9 192 19.5 16.1 11.5

Note: The unit of the data in the table is [. The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES. May 2000. Based on the results from the forecasted vertical distribution of water temperature in front of dam, a vertical distribution curve based on the water temperature in typical months has been prepared as Figure 5.2.1.

Water temperature Jan. Apr Aug Nov.

35 30

25

20 _

15

10

5 IhWater

0 Depth (M) -2 --4 6--8-X10 12-14 16 18-20 22-24 26 28 30

Figure 5.2.1 Vertical Distribution of Water Temperature in Typical Month From the above table and figure, it is obvious that the general trend in variation of water temperature on the upstream side of the dam is as follows: the water temperature at various water depth of reservoir changes little in winter, spring and autumn. In winter the water temperature remains unchanged, and in spring and autumn, it declines along with the increase of water depth, but over a limited range. Only in winter, the water temperature significantly declines accompanied by the increase of water depth, with large difference, nearly raised by .71 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajilan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Coun(yof HubedProvince 10 0. Within a year, the water temperature changes greatly from season to season. The lowest surface water temperature occurs in January and February, and highest ones in August and September. The underwater temperature changes following the same rules. These features of water temperatures support the conclusion that the proposed Lajitan Reservoir is a mixed type reservoir.

0 Forecasting on released water temperature of reservoir The released water temperature of a reservoir is connected with the dispatching mode, elevation of the water intake and the time of flood discharge. The monitoring data for Xin'anjiang Reservoir, Danjiangkou Reservoir and Liujiaxia Reservoir of China indicates that the water temperature of a river course below a dam corresponds with the water temperature at certain depth of reservoir, which is normally 15-20m below the dam. Taking the water temperature at 16 m reservoir depth as the short-range water temperature downstream of the dam, the downstream water in each season is estimated and shown in Table 5.2.5. Comparing the predicted downstream water temperature with the temperature of the reservoir surface listed in Table 5.2.5, it can be seen that a small difference is predicted in water temperature between the released water and surface water in winter and spring, i.e. in January, February, November and December. But the former is lower than the latter during April to October, especially in June, July, August and September. The maximum temperature difference rises to 5.90 in July and August. The maximum released water temperature occurs in August, to be 23.70. E Forecasting the Impacts The construction of the reservoir will produce potential negative impacts on agricultural irrigation, mainly because the change in water temperature may affect the growth of some thermophilic crops that are irrigated by water taken from the river downstream of the dam. [Although you indicate below that there is little paddy land immediately downstream of Lajitan that would be affected by cooler irrigation waters, and you mention that by the time the river is used for irrigating paddy land 40 km downstream the temperatures will be back to normal, you have not estimated how far downstream of the tailrace discharge the water will have to flow before it reaches a temperature equal to that of the water flowing into the reservoir. Nor have you mentioned that during periods of reservoir spilling, a considerable volume of water will be taken from the reservoir surface and mixed with the tailrace discharge water, which will tend to off-set the temperature differential between cooler water discharged from 16 m depth and surface water spilled.] For example, during the grain filling stage of paddy (normally in June), the optimum water temperature for irrigation is 28-320, and can not be lower than 23E in general. Otherwise its yield may decrease. When using water from reservoir for irrigation, it is better to take out the surface water with higher temperature to meet the optimum irrigation water temperature requirement of paddy. Though the temperature of water released from the reservoir is lower than 23 f[ in June, the on-site investigation shows that due to the mountainous setting downstream of the proposed reservoir, most of the agricultural land is dry farmed land, with only limited scattered paddy fields located approximately 40 km downstrearn from the dam. As the distance from the reservoir increases, the released water from the reservoir will continuously warm as it receives sunshine along its course, which will increase water temperature. In addition, water from the Qiedao River which joins the Youshui River downstream of the proposed damsite, will mix with the cooler releases from the reservoir thereby ameliorating some of the effects of cooler reservoir water releases,

.72. Report for Enironmental Impact Assesmeni for Lajiaj Hydropower Projed in Lalfeng County of Hubei Provinee which will offset the impacts on crops. Therefore, the negative impact on irrigation brought by the change in water temperature is limited and within acceptable parameters. 5.2.4 Possibility of Heavy Metal Leaching after the Completion of Reservoir In regions where sulfide bearing mineral deposits are found, there is concern that fractured rock may be the source of acid leachate containing heavy metals. Fractured sulfide bearing rock that is disposed of in waste rock spoils disposal sites can produce acid drainage through biochemical processes. As sulfide bacteria attack the rock under aqueous conditions, sulfuric acid is produced. The acidic waters draining through the spoils can release copper, lead, zinc, arsenic, and other heavy metals that may be bound up in the mineral bearing sulfide rock These contaminants can contaminate reservoirs if spoils disposal sites are located within the inundation/drawdown zone. They can likewise affect downstream water quality if the spoils disposal sites are located adjacent to the river downstream of the dam.

Based on a review of the geology in the project area, it is not expected that acid rock leaching will result from excavation and disposal of waste rock on the Lajitan project, because of the following::

* The engineering geological investigations indicate that the bed rock of the reservoir area principally consists of carbonate rock and clastic rock, in which heavy metals are not present. la table should be presented that provides a breakdown of the mineral compomposition of bedrock in the area of the damsite and rock quarries.j

* Within the scope of the reservoir area, no heavy metal resource has been found; [provide references to indicate how this conclusion has been reached]

* The monitoring on the status quo of water quality of Youshui River shows no pollution caused by heavy metal. Therefore, the impact of heavy metal pollution leached from bed rock is not likely to be an issues once the reservoir is filled by water and the hydropower project is in operation.

[I don't see any discussion on the downstream effects of flow regulation on dissolved oxygen or nutrient availability, issues that are important for survival of aquatic organizmsj 5.3 Analysis for Impact on Hydrological Regime

(A) Assessment on Hydrological Status of the River Section A correlation analysis has been made on the hydrological data at Laifeng Hydrological Station and Maodong Hydrological Station for the same time period. Based on the results of the correlation analysis, the hydrological data collected from Maodong Hydrological Station over 17 years has been interpolated and extended to produce a series of flows at Maodong Hydrological Station (i.e. the site of proposed dam) covering a total of 31 years from 1958 to 1988. Frequency analysis has been carried out using the data at Maodong Hydrological Station to produce the following results: average annual flow rate is 115m 3/s, average annual runoff volume is 3.63 billion mi, and average annual runoff depth is 1076mm. The runoff within the river basin varies little year by year, and its variability coefficient is 0.26, but it is allocated unequally in one year, which conforms to the allocation of precipitation within the year. Details can been found in Table 5.3.1.

.73. Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Habe Province

Table 5.3.1 Internal Allocation of Runoff Volume at the Dam Site of Lajitan Reservoir

Month Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct Nov. Dec. Ann. Average Flo 20.7 27.6 61.3 122 201 238 250 131 128 99.8 65.0 28.7 114.5 (M3/S)

Allocation Rati 1.5 2.0 4.5 8.9 14.6 17.3 18.2 9.6 9.3 7.3 4.7 2.1 100

Note:The above data comes from "EIA Report for LajitanHPP of LaifengCounty in HubeiProvince". prepared by HRAES, May2000. Shown from Table 5.3.1, the runoff volume during April to October accounts for 85.2% of the total volume in the entire year, and that during December to March next year for only 14.8%. The maximum annual runoff is in July, followed by that in June, accounting for 18.2% and 17.3% of the total respectively. Minimum annual runoff is in January, accounting for only 1.5% of the total.

The damsite is located in a valley, with steep banks and bare bed rock along both sides of the river. The river bed is wide for 70m, the average annual water level is 343m and the average water depth is 2.5, (B) Analysis for Impact on Hydrological Regime Once the proposed Lajitan HPP is completed and in operation, a water area of 3.07 km2 will exist at the normal pool level (370m), which changes the original natural river course where the reservoir is located. In order to meet the need of hydropower generation and flood regulation during the flood season, the storage and released volume of the reservoir will be adjusted appropriately. Meanwhile, the sediment in the reservoir will be aggraded year by year. All of these factors will make the water level, flow volume and flow rate of the river section that the reservoir is located in changed accordingly. (1) Hydrological Characteristics of the Proposed Reservoir

* Runoff The proposed Lajitan Reservoir is designed to regulate once in ten days. After the reservoir is operational, the inflow runoff is still from the natural inflow, and the outflow is regulated by the reservoir according to the regulation rules. But in general, a balance will be met in the annual inflow and outflow. * Water level

The operation of the proposed reservoir will generate obvious impacts on the water level. The normal pool level of Lajitan Reservoir is 370m, the dead water level is 366.5m, and the maximum degrading depth of the reservoir is 3.5, which makes the water level of the river section within which the reservoir is located vary greatly. During the flood season, the normal pool level of 370m is the start point of regulation, and the water level of this river section will be elevated by 27m, compared with the pre-reservoir natural level (343m).

.74. Reportfor Environmental Impad Assessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng Countyof Hubel ProWnce * Flow velocity and flow rate After construction of the proposed reservoir, the flow velocity in this river section will be reduced compared to the former river flows. During the non-flood period, the water flow within the entire reservoir will tend to be sluggish when the reservoir is at normal pool level. The reservoir will abe regulated in flood period, starting from the normal pool level, and the water level of the reservoir will be maintained at 370m. At this time, the inflow is equal to outflow. And the flow velocity and flow rate is related to the flood at that time. The relation between water level and flow rate at the site of dam of Lajitan Reservoir is shown in Table 5.3.2.

Table 5.3.2 H-Q Relation Sheet for the Dam Site of Lajitan

Water Level (m) 342 343 345 347 350 354 358 364 368 370

Flow Rate (m3/s) 12 11 435 845 1545 2565 3710 6220 8750 10520

Note: Ale above data comes from "EIA Reporl for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. (2) Hydrological Regime Downstream of the Dam 3 Runoff The operation of Lajitan Reservoir cannot influence the annual runoff volume downstream from the dam in general. The only thing the reservoir will do is to regulate and allocate the runoff within a year. During the flood period, the released water flow is similar to the natural flow, but during non-flood period, the reservoir will play a significant role in regulating the runoff downstream of the dam. The released water flow from the reservoir during the non- flood period (November to March next year) increases marginally on the basis of the natural flow, and during other periods, the reservoir will regulate the released flow according to the need of power generation. Generally speaking, the average monthly flow rate downstream of the dam varies within the range of natural variation. * Water level

The water level of the river downstream of the dam is decided by the released flow from Lajitan Reservoir. The proposed reservoir is designed in normal standard to resist the flood encountered once in 50 years, and the corresponding water level in in the reservoir is 370m. At this time, the released flow rate will be 661 Om3/s, and corresponding water level downstream will be 364.75m. When the dam is verified by the flood that occurs once in 500 years, the water level ( downstream of the dam) will be 372.48m, released flow rate will be 9276m3 /s and corresponding water level downstream will be 368.62m. 5.4 Analysis for Impact of Sediment

(A) Status Quo of Sediment in the River Section where the reservoir is located Calculated from the data on sediment monitored by Maodong Hydrological Station, its average annual sediment concentration is 0.42kg/m3 , and the average annual sediment discharge is 49.7kg/s. The allocation of sediment load is similar to that of runoff within one year. The sediment load during April to October accounts for 98.5% of the total in the entire year, and that during November to March of the next year for only 1.5%. It is in maximum in July, accounting for over 30%, and in minimum in February. The sediment load varies

.75. Reportfor EnvironmentalImpad Assessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProject in Laifeng Countv of Hube Province considerably from year to year. The maximum load calculated for 1980, was 3.433 million tons, and the minimum in 1972 was 0.687 million tons. Based on the sediment data of Maodong Hydrological Station, it is estimated that the average annual suspended sediment load at the dam site of Lajitan Reservoir will be approximately 1.523 million tons and modulus of sediment transportation will be 452.lt/km . If the bed load is calculated on the basis of 15% of the suspended load, it will be 0.228 million tons.

(B) Analysis for Sediment Deposition in the Proposed Reservoir (1) Sediment Deposition in the Proposed Reservoir and Loss of Reservoir Capacity

* Sediment Deposition vs Sediment Elevation on the upstream side of the Darn

The drainage area upstream of Lajitan Reservoir is composed of Quatemary deposits and arenaceous shale, in low relief and developed vegetation. The head section of the proposed reservoir is covered by bare and hard bed rocks with strong resistance capacity to weathering. In addition, the reservoirs of small hydropower stations in the upstream reaaches, such as Wantang and Tangkou Hydropower Stations trap the sediments, so there is less bed load sediment entering into the proposed reservoir than into other reservoirs. On the other hand, construction of Lajitan Dam will change hydraulic elements, and slow the flow velocity in the river section where the reservoir is located. These sequentially make it easier for sediment deposition to occur within the proposed reservoir, and the sediment deposition will be much thicker than before. Table 5.4.1 Results from Calculation of Sediment Deposition in Lajitan Reservoir

Years of Deposition (years) 10 20 30 50

Deposition Amount (lO,OOOm3) 299.5 599 898.5 1498

Elevation of Deposition (m) 343 345.9 351 354.3

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province". prepared by HRAES. May 2000. Lajitan Reservoir is to be regulated once in 10 days with a storage coefficient of 0.27%. Supposing the dry unit weight of suspended sediment and bed sediment be 1.3t/m3 and 1.4t/m3 respectively, the annual sediment inflow into the reservoir is calculated in 1.335 million m3. If the sediment retaining rate is 0.224, the deposited sediment in the reservoir in different years can be worked out. The estimated rates are shown in Table 5.4.1. According to the experiential method of acreage subtracting, the elevation of sediment upstream of the dam in different years can be estimated This is shown in Table 5.4.1 as well.

From Table 5.4.1, it is clear that in the operational phase of Lajitan Reservoir, sediment is normally deposited at the same rate. Sediment deposition over a ten-year period is estimated amounts to be about 2.995 million m3. * Loss of Reservoir Capacity

Analyzed from the results of the calculation of sediment deposition in Lajitan Reservoir, the rate of deposition is generally even (except for a little faster in the beginning of operation). Therefore, little difference exists in the annual capacity loss of Lajitan Reservoir. However, since the capacity of the proposed reservoir is not large (totally 44.28 million m3 ), the

.76. Reportfor EnvironmentalImpad Assesmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Count' ofHubei Province capacity loss in ratio caused by sediment deposition is considerable. The detailed capacity loss of the reservoir is shown in Table 5.4.2.

Table 5.4.2 Estimation of Capacity Loss of Lajitan Reservoir

Yearsof Deposition(Years) 10 20 30 50

Loss of Capacity (lO,OOOm3) 299.5 599 898.5 1498

3 Remaining Capacity (l O.OOm ) 4128.5 3829 3529.5 2930

Ratio of Remaining Capacity (%)93.2 86.5 79.7 66.2

Ratio of Lost Capacity(%/o) 6.8 13.5 20.3 33.8

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province', prepared by HRAES, May 2000. Table 5.4.2 shows that after being in operation for 20 years, 86.5% of the reservoir capacity will remain, and after 50 years, it will decline to 66.2%. The loss of reservoir capacity will be increased by 6.8% annually on average. (2) Period of Time and Distribution of Sediment Deposition Most of sediment deposition will occur perennially in the dead storage located in the backwater zone. That is because this zone has deep water, slow flow velocity and poor sediment-carrying capacity, which determines most sediment is deposited in this zone. The sediment deposition is always distributed immediately upstream of the dam where the water is deepest, and the least in the end of reservoir.

The Tangkou Hydropower Station is located 22.3km upstream of the Lajitan Project. Part of the sediment is trapped by Tangkou Reservoir, so the bed sediment entering into Lajitan Reservoir is less than that entering into other reservoirs in the non-flood period. However, in flood period, the sediment discharge from the upstream reservoirs will increase the sediment load inflowing into Lajitan Reservoir.

On the other hand, the reservoir is regulated in the flood control level during flood season. A large volume of flood inflows in the reservoir and water in the river contains high concentration of sediment. The sediment carried down by the released water from upstream reservoirs and the deposited sediment in the end of Lajitan Reservoir will be pushed to the dead storage in perennial backwater zone by flood waters and then deposited. Therefore, it is estimated that a large quantity of inflow sediment load will enter into and be deposited in the reservoir during flood season.

(C) Analysis for Impact of Sediment Deposition and Countermeasures

The sediment deposition along the river course of the reservoir area will lead to a rise in river bottom elevation, and possibly to a rise in the surface profile of the backwater accordingly. In flood period, it may elevate the water level of the flood, and accrete the submerging risk brought by flood. Hence, effectively measures should be applied to minimize the deposition of sediment in the proposed reservoir, so as to reduce the negative impact resulting from sediment deposition.

The following countermeasures are recommended:

.77. Reportfor Envronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajiran Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Prownce (1) The most essential measure to reduce the sediment deposition in the reservoir is to control the sediment of Youshui River Basin scoured into Youshui River, so as to decrease the sediment content of river water. Therefore, great attention and efforts have to be made to the control of water and soil loss in the surrounding area upstream of the proposed reservoir.

(2) Regulation of the reservoir should be optimized, and flood release during flood period should be fully used to discharge sediment in the reservoir, so as to save the reservoir capacity and prolong the service life of the reservoir.

(3) Professional institution should be set up to enhance the monitoring on sediment, so as to learn the sediment content in the river water, sediment deposition rate within the reservoir and variation trend of water level. Any problem encountered should be settled in time.

5.5 Analysis for Impact on Geological Environment (A) RegionalStability Lajitan HPP is located in the southwest mountainous area of Hubei Province. Referring to its regional structure, it is located in the ruche of Bamian Mountain Platform of Shangyangzi Platforms, Yangzi Metaplatform, and the south edge of fold of Enshi Mountain. Within the area, there is the cutting area of Xianfeng Active Major Dislocation and Baifusi Major Dislocation. A region, not far from the site of dam, has been uplifted since Yanshanian Movement, with slow velocity in recent period, which belongs to interval phase. So the earth crust is relatively stable. There is no record of recent earthquakes over Degree VI in the surrounding area of the proposed project. According to "Zoning Map for Earthquake Intensity of China" (1990), the basic earthquake intensity of this area is Degree VI.

(B) Engineering Geology of the Reservoir Area

* Stability of Reservoir Bank The end of reservoir is covered by arenaceous shale and Quatemary deposit, with low relief and developed vegetation. At the head of reservoir, the reservoir walls are hard and uncompleted calcareous rock, which has strong resistance capacity to weathering. No unstable side slope is found, and the reservoir bank is stable.

* Reservoir Leakage The end of Lajitan Reservoir is composed by arenaceous shale under Silurian System, distributed with first deposit terrace along the river Leakage is not anticipated. Baifusi Major Dislocation cuts through the whole reservoir area and extends to the upstream, but this dislocation belongs to a compression fault. In the dislocation, the arenaceous shale under Silurian System has been weathered to clay, which can play a role in providing a water-tight joint. In the head section of the proposed reservoir, the reservoir wall consists of calcareous rock, with developed karst. The saddle of Lagua Col on the right bank is 600m away from Wachangba located in the neighboring valley. Based on the geological data, the groundwater level is the same as the maximum design water level, so there exists little possibility for the proposed reservoir to seep water to the neighboring valley. In the bay on the left bank, the massif is thick for 11OOm, and no large solution caves or outcrop of springs exist along the river section downstream, so the possibility is also little in the bay on left bank to seep water.

.78. Reportfor Enironmental InWact Assessmentfor Lajilan Hydropower Projet in Laifeng County of Hubel Province (C) Engineering Geology of the Dam Area From east to west in the river section where the dam will be located, the shape of valley is symmetric in both river banks, the river bed is wide for 70m and the water deep for 2.5m throughout the year. There is no cover on the river bed. The occurrence of rock. extends upstream and tends to the left bank, with an angle of inclination for 3°-8°. The dam foundation is thick calcareous rock under Ordovician System, which is hard in quality with strong resistance capacity to weathering. The rock structure is sound.

In the "Feasibility Analysis Report for Lajitan HPP", the engineering geological condition of the recommended bottom dam line is superior to that of upper dam line, with short power cave-wire. The bed rock has been lightly weathered in the bottom line, and is highly impervious. The elevation of the bottom of grouting curtain is comparatively higher. But the bottom dam line is near to the Solution Cave K8, and the Dislocation F2 extends to the dam foundation, so the leakage along the Dislocation F2 is an issues which should receive attention. By-pass seepage of the bottom line is not heavy. The ground water level of the right bank is lower than that of left bank. The by-pass seepage mainly depends on bedding solution cracks and crannies, and there is no pipe-type channel found for the seepage. The seepage can be controlled by grouting. 5.6 Analysis for Acoustic Environmental Impact (A) ConstructionPeriod (I) Noise Source Intensity During the construction, the noise sources can be categorized into two types, stationary source and mobile source.

(2) Forecasting and Analysis for the Impacts This proposed project applies the Standard of GB12523-90 "Limits to On-the-spot Noise in Construction", i.e. the noise should be controlled below 55dB(A) at night, 7OdB(A) in daytime, and 75dB(A) while concrete is being mixed

0 Stationary source

The following formula will be used in the forecasting: Lp=L,-A,-K Inthe formula: Lp-Sound pressure level at the site r m from the sound source, dB(A)E

LK-Sound pressure level, dB(A) E

Ar-Decrement of sound at the site r m from the sound source, dB(A)O A,=20gri

K-Correction coefficient of decrement. Here K is 8 D

When taking the maximum noise, i.e. demolishing in 130dB and pressing of sand and rocks in 120dB as the stationary noise source, the forecasting results are shown in Table 5.6.1 .

.79. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projed in Laifeng County of Hubei ProWnce

Table 5.6.1 Impacting Scope of Stationary Noise Source

Distance from the Noise Source (m) SourceIntensity 50 100 200 400 800 1600

130[dB(A)] 88 82 76 70 64 58

120[dB(A)] 78 72 66 60 54 48

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000. From the above table, it is clear that the noise value of maximum source intensity can be complied with the standard at the site 400m away from the noise source. Baifusi Town is more than 500 m away from the construction site of the main works of the proposed project, so the construction noise will have no obvious impact on Baifusi Town.

* Mobile source Since part of spoil yard is located within Baifusi Town, the noise generated from the motor vehicles transporting spoils will impact Baifusi Town. Compared with the similar project, it is estimated that the noise can be complied with the standard in the area 50m away from the both sides of mobile line source, so the impact field is narrow. After the project is completed, the noise impact on Baifusi Town caused by mobile sources will disappear. The noise generated from mobile sources in other area will mainly impact the construction workers, so the impact field and time duration is also limited. [if residents of Baifusi Town will be affected by mobile noise sources that exceed the standards within the zone 50 m of the road, what mitigation measures will be recommended to ensure that residents are not unduly affected? Will construction truck traffic be restricted to normal daytime operating hours (i.e., 7 am to 6 pm) to limit disturbance to residents?] (B) Operating Period During the operating period of the proposed project, except for the noise from power generators in the station (the impact area is limited within the site of the station), there is no other noise emitted, and no corresponding negative environmental impact will be generated. 5.7 Analysis for Impact on Ambient Air 5.7.1 Impact of Emissions during Construction Emissions and dust will be generated from the process of construction, such as earth and rock excavation and backfilling of main works foundation, processing and screening of aggregate and loading and unloading in storage. Construction machines and transportation vehicles will also produce dust and exhausts during its working. In addition to the waste gas from excavating, demolishing and coal burning in residential districts, all of these emissions will impact the ambient air. The emissions cover TSP, SO2, NO,, CO, hydrocarbons and lead. The amount of pollutants emitted from coal burned for domestic use and fuel used for construction machinery equipment during the construction can be found in details in the engineering analysis.

.80. Reportfor EnvironmentalImpact Assansmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projecdin Laifeng CountyofHubel Provine The concentration of TSP is estimated to be 150 mg/m', which will be emitted from the target spots within the construction site, including earth-rock excavation, demolishing, aggregate processing and transportation of earth and rock. In partial construction site, the concentration of TSP in air will exceed the requirement of the Standard Class II in GB3095- 96 "Standard for Ambient Air Quality". Because these target spots located are spread out over the construction area, such as the excavation of main works foundation, demolishing, backfilling of earth and rock, processing and screening of aggregate, loading and unloading of cement, mixing of concrete, the emissions are major area pollution. The major impacted targets are construction workers on within the construction zone. Some negative impact will also be generated on the scattered residents around the construction site, but few people will be involved. The exhaust and dust emitted from the construction machines and transporting vehicles inside and outside of the construction site will mainly bring a certain impact on the area surrounding the spots and along the transportation routes.

These activities during construction period only produce impact in short term. After the finish of construction, the above-mentioned impact will be eliminated, and the ambient air quality will be recovered. The completion of the proposed project will make the numerous construction workers and production equipment removed from the construction site, and then this land will be renewed. [if dust will be generated regularly as trucks pass back and forth along the road through Baifusi Town, what mitigation measures are being proposed to control the dust so that it does not become a nuisance and health problem for the residents living and working along the road? Will the Contractor be responsible for regularly spraying water on the roads in the area of residences and businesses during the dry season to keep dust under control?]

5.7.2 Impact of Greenhouse Gas during Operating Period The proposed project will use hydro resources to generate power, so there will be no air emissions from the project during the operating period, and no negative impact on the ambient air as well. As for the greenhouse gas generated from the reservoir once it is filled with water and for the period following this when submerged vegetation decomposes, the following forecasting and assessment on the possibility and intensity of the impacts have been made. Greenhouse gas generated within the reservoir area mainly comes from the following 3 aspects:

* Co2 released from vegetation via respiratory action at night;

* CH4 and CO2 generated from fertilizing of crops in paddy field;

* CH4 generated from the organic substance in the loam submerged under water, and * CH4 generated from grasses, shrubs and other vegetation that is inundated when the reservoir is filled, and which decomposes over time.

The completion of the project will reduce the volume of greenhouse gas listed in the first two items, because of the submerging, which will restrain the release of greenhouse gas in the reservoir area. The submerging will cover forests and vegetable for 24.63hM2, reduced by 0. 12%, compared with the current area of 203 73hm2 . It will also submerge cultivated land for 46.1 7hm2, decreased by 0.68%, compared with the current 6831 hm2.

The organic substance in loam submerged under water will be decomposed into anaerobic CH4 under the anaerobic condition. In nature, the generation process of CH4 is quite

.81 . Report for Envronmental Impact Assessmenffor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laufeng County of Iubi Province complex, including the acidation and decomposition of organic substances and the gas generation in further inverting process. The following conditions are necessary in the generation of C114: * Enough organic substance to act as nutrient for breeding of anaerobic bacteria and bacterial methane;

* Fitting anaerobic, acidity, temperature and humidity conditions; and

* Stable living surrounding for bacteria, etc. From the on-site investigation and analysis on concerned data, it can be forecasted that the generation of CH4 in Lajitan Reservoir area will decrease. The reasons include: * The local land resource is in shortage. Except for the submerged cultivated land, forest and garden, the other area submerged by the reservoir are mainly composed by rocks in steep cliffs or covered by yellow and red loam with little organic substance;

* The upstream of the reservoir contains shallow water, mainly in the previous river course, which makes little contribution to newly generated CH4 . In the medium and downstream of the reservoir, the water temperature is low at bottom, which will restrain the activity of anaerobic bacteria.

* As for the submerged cultivated land, forests and gardens, the stop of fertilizing will shut down the sources of organic, and destroy the condition for CH4 generation.

At present, there is no proper method to quantitatively assess the generation of CH4 in the submerging of reservoir. [but you can estimate the amount of green house gases based on available data on decomposition rates, methane production rates, etc.] According to a 5 study on emission of CH4 made by domestic experts , the emission rate of CH4 in paddy field is ranged in 0.028-1.352g/(m 2 d), which accounts for 31.02% of the total statistic emission sources in 1994. (Figure 5.7.1)

4-5 3.4% 0 1%

20 7% ~ i- ' .' .' ' .' . .' . ' .' .' .' ' .' .'31 4% 20.7 X u*.m. J......

31. 0°h ° ~~~3% ~rning of 01 andJ Paddy Livest Ainuira lJban Riral 0 M ninrs bi~06s EeliE d °ock sfCject a E ckbage E npt

Figure 5.7.1 Contribution of CH4 Emission in China in 1994

"Status Quoof Cl-b Emissionin China , RenjianZHAN, etc., Researchon Climateand Environment,Issue 2 ofVolume 4, June 1999.

.82 . Reportfor Envronmental Impact Assessmntfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube!Province Among the statistic emission sources, there is no data from reservoirs, which shows its impact is little. [because you can't find empirical evidence does not mean that the impacts are minor] When consulting the data for paddy field, the maximum generation volume of CH4 from Lajitan Reservoir is still far below 0.028g/(m2 d), with a total generation volume less than 0.086t/d, much less than the impact brought by the greenhouse gas from a thermal power station with the same capacity. In addition, even though small quantities of CH4 will be generated during the start of the reservoir operation, after a certain period, the condition for generation of CH4 will progressively decline as the submerged vegetation decomposes. Moreover, the clearance of reservoir before water filling will further destroy the condition for its generation. [while reservoir clearing will remove much of the organic material, there will still be a considerable volume of vegetation in the form of grasses, herbs and shrubs remaining. You should estimate the volume of material that will remain per square meter of area that will be inundated, and convert this to available grams of carbon that can be bound up through the process of decomposition to form methane. Then you should estimate how long (based on inundation in other reservoirs) how long it takes to decompose this material. From this, you should be able to come up with an estimate of kilograms of methane that will be produced from the reservoir per year over the operational life of the power project, and add this to the estimated volume of carbon dioxide that will be generated from aquatic vegetation in the reservoir. This number should then be compared with the volume of greenhouse gases that will be produced without the project, and with an alternative project (i.e, a thermal plant of equivalent generation capacity. You already have rates of methane production for rice paddy as a starting point.] Therefore, it can be concluded that the environmental impact of greenhouse gas produced by Lajitan Reservoir can be ignored. [possibly, but you have not adequately supported this statement with your analysis] 5.8 Impact on Social Environment 5.8.1 Impact on Human Health (A)Construction Period Currently the level of medical services available in the vicinity of the construction site is on low side, having only simple medical treatment equipment. During the peak time of construction, a total of 800 people will live in the construction area, with 1.8 kg of refuse discharged per capita per day, and the total discharge of refuse will amount to 1.44 tons per day. [these figures need to be included in the section that discusses domestic waste disposal impacts] The high intensity labor works, in addition to the noise and air pollution in the construction site have the potential to do harm to the health of construction workers. If the domestic sewage and construction process wastewater cannot be treated effectively, it will be easy for mosquito and butterfly to live and breed, furthermore some infections and dermatosis via these insects may occur and become epidemic. So it becomes quite important that the construction workers should receive sanitation quarantine and health examination periodically, enhance the management of water sources and control outsiders. [while mosquitos can carry malaria, I am not aware that there are any insect borne diseases spread by butterflies. Check to see whether this is a translation error.] (B)Operating Period * If the reservoir inundation zone cannot be completely cleared up before the reservoir

.83. Reportfor Environmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projec in Laifeng County of Hube! ProWnce filling, the water quality of the reservoir in the initial stage of operation may be polluted, and result in outbreaks of intestinal tract infections in the surrounding area of reservoir.[is there any chance that the reservoir could be filled before the area is effectively sanitized. My understanding is that provincial authorities will not issue the required approval for reservoir filling until reservoir clearing and sanitation has been examined by the appropriate agencies and approved.] * In the reservoir area, especially the resettlement sites where the population and rat density will rapidly increase, there exist greater possibility for human beings to be afflicted with the natural focal disease via rats (like hemorrhagic fever, ancylostomiasis, malaria and Japanese B encephalitis), which have died out in this region. [Malaria and encephalitis are spread by mosquitoes, not rats. Why will the rat population expand? What mitigation measures are proposed to control these vectors of disease?] * The completion of the reservoir will increase the water area, and slow the water velocity. The partial [?????] climate and aquatic environment will change in the reservoir area, which is much suitable for the growth and breeding of mosquito and butterfly, and the increased mosquito and butterfly will increase the possibility transmitting water borne diseases that depend on mosquitoes as disease vectors. lAgain, check the translation here. I know of no diseases spread by butterflies. I think that this is a translation error] In the construction of Lajitan Reservoir, the experiences and lessons gained from the established reservoir should be learnt for reference, nip in the bud. ithis does not make much sense. I suggest that you delete this sentence] 5.8.2 Impact on the Regional Economic Development

3 Power Generation In the "Ninth Five-year Plan" and Long-term Targets for 2010 prepared by Laifeng County. it is estimated that in 2000, the total industrial and agricultural output value will amount to 1.85 billion yuan, with an annual increase of 16.4%, including the total industrial output value for 1.4 billion yuan, and the financial revenue for 0.19 billion yuan. In 2010. the total industrial and agricultural output value is projected to reach 3.93 billion yuan. including 3.3 billion yuan of total industrial output value and 0.49 billion yuan of financial revenue. The fast development of industries has to depend on the development of power generation. The proposed Lajitan HPP will generate power for 151.02 million kWh annually, and guarantee an output of 16.7MW, which improves and guarantees the power supply of Enshi City and Laifeng County. The project will play a strategic role in the economic development of Enshi and Laifeng County.

* Flood Control The proposed project will raise the flood control capacity downstream of the dam. The darn is designed to resist a flood that occurs once in 50 years and verified by a flood that occurs once in 500 years. The design for flood prevention of the reservoir mainly considers the safety of the dam, but the holding back of flood waters by the reservoir will also reduce the threat of flooding in areas downstream. * Shipping

.84. Report for EnvironmentalImpact Assessmentfor LajulanHydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Povince Currently the proposed project area is only linked with the outside world by road Once the reservoir is filled, a water course 22 km [isn't it 33.1 km long] in length will be created from the site of dam to Tangkou. This water course will provide improved transportation links within the area, thereby improving local movement of goods and trading and benefiting the local people of the reservoir area. Therefore the exploration [exploitation??] of local resources and the development of local economy will be promoted.

* Irrigation

Lajitan Reservoir is located in a mountainous area, with cultivated land in upper location and water sources in lower. In addition to the scattered cultivated land, it is hard to irrigate the fields in this area, and the yield of crops is always less that would be possible if there was better irrigation. After the construction of Lajitan HPP, lift irrigation can be initiated in the reservoir area and surrounding area, so as to overcome the barriers of scattered irrigation and limited availability of water for human consumption and livestock. As estimated, the filling of the reservoir will increase the irrigation area upstream of the dam and improve the irrigation condition in 330hm2 of cultivated land. The villages along Youshui River will benefit from the project to varying extent. The regulation of storage by the reservoir during the dry season will make the released flow rate higher than the natural flow rate, which will also bring positive effects on the cultivated land in downstream areas.

* Aquatic Cultivation After the reservoir is filled, a water area in 3.07km2 will be created. Combined with the resettlement of project affected people, various aquatic cultivation can be developed in the water area. Analyzed from the data of similar reservoirs in the area, if the proposed reservoir will produce an output of natural fishes for 375kg/hm2, the aquatic products in the proposed reservoir will increased by 115 tons per year, with an increased economic income near to 1 million yuan/year.

* Adjustment in Industrial Structure of Reservoir Area The construction of the proposed reservoir will reduce the relative amount of cultivated area in favour of an increase in forested area. [this is only the case if the project finances reforestation projects. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that any reforestation will take place as a result of the project. On its own, the project will not have any direct effect in increasing the amount of forested area, while it will definitely reduce the amount of land available for cultivation due to inundation] The large water area formed from the reservoir will be favorable to the development of aquatic cultivation, so the proportion of fish will also rise. [the proportion of fish will only rise if there are programs to train local residents in aquaculture techniques and funds are available for these persons to purchase the necessary fish stock and materials to develop fish cage culturing. Otherwise, the reservoir will not on its own start to produce large quantities of fish simply because there is a new body of water.] In the meantime, the proposed reservoir can promote the development of town and village enterprises and the third industry, such as tourism, food and service, which will improve the economy of the reservoir area. Therefore the construction of Lajitan HPP will bring active and positive impacts to the optimization of economic benefits of the reservoir area.

.85. Reportfor Enironmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province 5.9 Analysis for Environmental Impact of Reservoir Submerging and Resettlement

5.9.1 Plans for Compensating Losses from Submerging Land and Resettlement (A) Loss from Submerging Land According to the information provided by the preparation team for Lajitan HPP, for the proposed project, when it reaches its normal pool level of 370m, the backwater will extend for 33.1km, with a corresponding reservoir area for 3.07km2. The submerged area will cover 39 villager groups in 6 villages of Manshui Town, 11 villager groups in 3 villages of Baifusi Town in Laifeng County, Hubei Province, and 14 village groups in 6 villages of Longshan County, Hunan Province. A total of 692.5 mu of cultivated land and 369.4mu of forests (what is the breakdown between plantation forest, natural secondary forest, and original old forest?] will be submerged. A total of 16126.1m 2 of houses will be removed, involving 397 persons in 84 families. In addition, 11 km of Class 4 road, 8 km of communication cable, 4 bridges, and 13 pole km of various transportation and transformation will be submerged.

(B) Resettlement of Project Affected People According to the plans for resettlement proposed by the investigation and planning team for resettlement from Lajitan HPP in September 29, 1999 and by Lajitan Hydropower Station Development Co., Ltd of Laifeng County in April 4, 2000, resettlement will involve both comprehensive relocation and scattered relocation. That is to say, as for those villagers whose cultivated land and residential houses are both submerged, they will be relocated as a whole, and for those villagers whose residential houses will be submerged but land will not, they will be moved backward from the original location. The detailed plan is to select two sites for relocation. The first is the two sides of roads administrated by Guanyinping of Baifusi town, and the second is the bank of Youshui River behind Baifusi Town. The relocatees will basically live in the villages and towns in which they originally lived. As for the resettlement from Houyan Town of Longshan County, Hunan Province, the project affected persons will be m monetarily compensated for submerging and relocation cost by Laifeng County, which is implemented by Longshan County Government. The governments of these two counties will sign an agreement, based on the principle of ensuring the living conditions and standard of living of the relocated people is unchanged. The resettlement sites are been listed in Table 5.9.1. Table 5.9.1 Plan for Emigration Relocation of Lajitan HPP Numberof Numberof Town Village Impacted Impacted Target Location Families People (Family) (Person)

Sujiaping 8 35 Manshui New Town

Xingongqiao 2 13 Manshui New Town

Manshui Sheliba 7 pwle in I fimiy movebD Masi New bwn, 2 11 and 4 pwl in I rimymove lid fiun the

.88. Reportfor Enpvironmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province Tongzi 6 37 Moved backward from the original location

Relocated in the two sides along the road Meiziao 30 119 of Laizhi Line, Guihuashu of Meiziao Village, lOOOm away from the original Baifusi location

Nanhe 5 24 9 people in 4 families move to Xiaoba. and -4 people in I family to BaifusiTown

Huoyan, CKuda, Relocated in the calm hillside along Laoxing, and Zhangjiacao, 31 166 roads, 100 to 400 m away from the Guitang Dongkan and original location Guitang~ IZhangjiawanI

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000. 5.9.2 Analysis for Population-Environmental Capacity The population-environmental capacity of a region refers to the population sustained by the land in this region, with certain requirements for production level, standard of living and environmental quality. Once the population exceeds the limits, the eco-environment of the region will be deteriorated, it becomes hard in the regional economic development, and consequently the standard of living for the affected people will decline. The factor in closest relationship with the population-environmental capacity is the sustaining capacity of land, i.e. the impact on standard of living of the sustained population in the region brought by the volume and quality of cultivated land and output of agricultural products in this region. The standard of living for the population in villages can be measured by the occupying volume of grains per capita within the sustained population. So this report will estimate the population sustained by the cultivated land in the reservoir area and its variation, on the basis of the variation in the cultivated acreage, population, output of grains and occupying volume of grains per capita before and after the construction of the proposed reservoir. Furthermore, an analysis will be made for the population-environmental capacity in the reservoir. (A) Status Quo of Population Sustained by the Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Area and the Population-Environmental Capacity before the Construction of the Proposed Reservoir Calculated from the data provided by the preparation team for Lajitan HPP, the population sustained by the cultivated land in the reservoir area has been shown in Table 5.9.2 and the current population-environmental capacity of the area in Table 5.9.3. Table 5.9.2 Status Quo of Population Sustained by Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Area (in Year of 2000)

Acreage of Occupied Land Occupied Tow Village Population Cultivated Per Capita Total Output of Grains Per n 2Land M2 Grains (t) Capita(kg/pers L d(hm (hm /person) on)

Mans Xingongqiao 1637 94.33 0.058 707.5 432.2 hui Sujiaping 1423 73.93 0.052 554.5 389.7

Sheliba 1432 59.60 0.042 447.0 312.2

Fengmu 1458 79.07 0.054 593.0 406.7

.87. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Prownce

Acreage of Occupied Land Occupied Tow Village Population Cultivated Per Capita Total Output of Grains Per n Land(hrn) 2 Grains (t) Capita(kg/pers (hm /person) on)

Zhaojiapo 1264 81.83 0.065 614.5 486.1

Tongzi 1494 112.07 0.075 840.5 562.6

Subtotal 8708 500.93 0.059 3757 441.7

Nanhe 980 95.0 0.097 490.0 500

Baifus Meiziao 970 97.0 0.10 388.00 400 Heguang 1120 149.3 0.13 448.0 400

Subtotal 3070 341.3 0.11 1326 431.9

Longs Huoyan, Laoxing and 474 29.33 0.062 220.0 464.1 han uitang

Total 113116 934.3 0.071 5773.5 440.2

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000.

Table 5.9.3 Analysis for Population-Environmental Capacity in the ReservoirArea before the Construction of the Reservoir (2005)

Population-environmental Capacity Populati Grains Town Village Townonon Villae OutputOutpt 300400o)ifferen300 400500Differen Differen 600 Differen (Person) (t) kg/perso ce kg/Perso ce kg/Perso ce kg/perso ce n n n n

Xingongqi 1637 707.5 2358 +721 1768 +131 1415 -222 1179 458 ao

Sujiaping 1423 554.5 1848 +425 1386 -37 1109 -314 924 499

Sheliba 1432 447.0 1490 +58 1117 -315 894 -538 745 -687 Mansh ui Fengmu 1458 592 1976 +518 1482 +24 1186 -272 988 470

Zhaojiapo 1264 614.5 2048 +784 1536 +272 1229 -35 1024 240

Tongzi 1494 840.5 2801 + 1307 2101 +607 1681 +187 1400 94

Subtotal 8708 3757 12523 +3815 9392 +684 7514 -1194 6261 2447

Nanhe 980 490.0 1633 +653 1225 -245 980 0 816 164

Baifus Meiziao 970 388.0 1293 +323 970 0 776 -194 646 324 Heguang 1120 448.0 1493 +373 1120 0 896 -224 746 374

Subtotal 3070 1326.0 4420 +1350 3315 +245 2652 -418 2210 860

Huoyan of 474 220.0 733 +259 550 +76 440 -34 366 108 Longshan County

.88 . Reporffor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province Population-environmental Capacity Populati Grains Town Village on Output 300 400 500 600 (Person) D~ifferen Differen Differen Differen (Perston) (t) kg/perso ce kg/Perso ce kgJPerso ce kg/perso ce n n n n

Total 12252 5303 17677 +5425 13257 +1005 10606 1646 8381 3414

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000.

From the results of Table 5.9.2 and Table 5.9.3, it can be seen that the current standard of living of project affected people in the proposed Lajitan Reservoir area is on low side. Measured by the standard of "simply having adequate food and clothing"(300kg/person), "just being lifted out from poverty and backwardness" (400kg/person), "well-off' (500kg/person) and "relative comfortable life" (600kg/person), the people in the reservoir area fall into the category of just being lifted out from poverty and backwardness in general. The villagers in Tongzi Village of Manshui Town and Nanhe Village of Baifusi Town are relatively well-off, but the villagers in Sujiaping and Sheliba of Manshui Town have simply had adequate food and clothing. Analyzed on the population-environmental capacity in the reservoir area based on the above standards, an additional 1000 persons can live in the area if they are just lifted out from poverty and backwardness. If the standard of living tends to the well-off level, 1600 persons have to be removed from this area.

(B) Population Sustained by the Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Area and the Population- Environmental Capacity after the Construction of the Proposed Reservoir

Based on the schedule for construction and the current progress made in the proposed project, it is anticipated to start the proposed Lajitan HPP before 2001 and finish it before 2005. The data from the preparation team for this project indicates that the natural growth of population in this area is 10%o, the descending rate of land is 1% and the increase rate of unit output of grains is 2%. As calculated, the population sustained by the residual cultivated land and population-environmental capacity of the reservoir after the construction are listed in Table 5.9.4 and Table 5.9.5.

Table 5.9.4 Population Sustained by Residual Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Area after the Construction of the Reservoir (2005)

Acreage of Occupied Grains Occupied variation compared Cultivated Land per Grains Grains per with the volume in Town Village Population Land capita output capita 2000

(hm 2 ) (hm 2/person) (t) (kg/person) (kg/person)

Manshu Xingongq 1720 83.36 0.048 690.2 401.3 -30.9 i iao

Sujiaping 1495 68.41 0.046 566.4 378.9 -10.8

Sheliba 1505 56.37 0.037 466.7 310.1 -2.1

Fengmu 1532 75.01 0.049 621.1 405.4 -1.3

Zhaojiap 1328 78.38 0.057 624.1 470.0 -16.1

.89 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Latfeng Countyof Hubei Province Acreage of Occupied Grains Occupied Variation compared Cultivated Land per Output Grains per with the volume in Town Village Population Land capita P capita 2000

(hm2 ) (hm2/person) (t) (kg/person) (kg/person)

Tongzi 1570 103.41 0.066 856.2 454.4 -17.2

Subtotal 9150 461.94 0.052 3825 . 428.3 -13.4

Nanhe 1030 87.81 0.085 500.5 485.9 -14.1

Meiziao 1019 89.08 0.087 393.7 386.4 -13.6 Baifusi Heguang 1177 136.28 0.116 451.1 383.2 -16.8

Subtotal 3226 313.17 0.097 1345.3 417.0 -14.9

Longshan 498 22.82 0.046 188.9 379.4 -84.7

Total 12874 797.93 0.062 5358.9 423.9 -16.3

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province, prepared by HRASE in May 2000. Table 5.9.5 Analysis for Population-Environmental Capacity in the ReservoirArea after the Construction of the Reservoir (2005)

Population-Environmental Capacity

.w Vg Populat Grains 300 400 500 600 Town Village ion Output Differe differen Differe Differen (t) kg/perso nce kg/perso ce kg/perso nce kg/perso ce n n n n

Xingongqiao| 1720 690.2 2300 +580 1725 +5 1380 -340 1150 -570

Sujiaping 1495 566.4 1888 +393 1416 -79 1132 -363 944 -551

Sheliba 1505 466.7 1555 +50 1166 -339 933 -572 777 -728 Mansh uj Fengmu 1532 621.1 2070 +538 1552 +20 1242 -290 1035 -497

Zhaojiapo 1328 624.1 2080 +752 1560 +232 1248 -80 1040 -288

Tongzi 1570 856.2 2854 +1284 2140 +570 1712 +142 1427 -143

Youfangao 908 483.5 1611 +703 1208 +300 967 +59 805 -103

Subtotal 9150 3824.7 12749 +3599 9562 +412 7649 -1501 6375 -2775

Nanhe 1030 500.5 1668 +638 1251 +221 1001 -29 834 -196

Baifus Meiziao 1019 393.7 1312 +293 984 -35 787 -232 656 -363 Heguang 1177 451.7 1505 +328 1129 -48 903 -274 752 425

Subtotal 3226 1345.3 4484 +1258 3363 +137 2690 -536 2242 -984

Longshan County 498 188.9 629 +131 472 -26 377 -121 314 -184

Total 12874 5358.9 17863 +4989 13398 +524 10717 -2157 8932 -3942

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in

.90 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hbei Province May 2000. Table 5.9.4 shows that the occupied grains per capita in each village will decline to varying extent after the construction of the reservoir, but in general the villagers will still keep the original standard of living, i.e. just being shifted out from poverty and backwardness. The life in most villages have changed little in the reservoir area. Table 5.9.5 indicates that the population-environmental capacity of the reservoir area will decrease after the construction of the reservoir. If the villagers want to have a well-off life, over 2000 people have to be removed out of the area. (C) Comprehensive Analysis for Population-environmental Capacity in the Reservoir Area

The construction of Lajitan HPP will submerge little cultivated land, and not many people will be involved. The total submerged cultivated land amounts to 692.5 mu, accounting for 3.62% of the total cultivated land in the reservoir area. There will be 397 project affected people to be relocated, accounting for 2.52% of the existing population in the reservoir area. From analysis and forecasting, the occupied grains per capita in the area will be reduced for a little after the construction of the reservoir, but the population-environmental capacity will .not change too much. Except for few specific villages, the people living in this area will maintain their standard of living at the existing level in general.

After the construction of the reservoir, the relocatees will get some compensation and relocation cost from the government for the loss of their land, which will lay a specific economic foundation for the relocatees to cultivate wasteland, improve the existing cultivated land, develop the waste hillsides to gardens or forests and be devoted into the second and tertiary industry (e.g., tourism). The loss from submerged cultivated land can also be recovered via these approaches. Therefore the standard of living in the reservoir area can be maintained or improved. During resettlement, the relocatees should be properly distributed according to the real status of the relocated area (such as the existing population, volume of cultivated land, reclaimable land and reclaiming conditions), so as to ensure providing the relocatees with reliable production tools and essential conditions for life. Particularly those villager groups that currently have a lower standard of living and suffermore loss in cultivated land should receive more attention. Rational distribution of relocatees will balance the economy of various villages in the reservoir area, allowing them to develop at the same pace.

Based on investigations of the preparation team for Lajitan HPP, some wasteland (5852.85 mu) in the reservoir area can be reclaimed to farming land. But it should be noted that since the reservoir is located in mountainous area, in order to avoid any destruction on eco- environment caused by water and soil loss, the waste hillside should be reclaimed properly and rationally, in the meantime, the related national policies have to be conformed to. 5.9.3 Environmental Impact of Inundation and Resettlement

(A) Impact on Land Resources

The construction of Lajitan HPP will submerge 692.5 mu of cultivated land, which comprises 3.62% of the total cultivated land in the reservoir area. Based on the higher standard of 1.005 mu of cultivated land per capita, the land submerged by Lajitan Reservoir means more than 500 farmers will lose their land, on which their livelihood totally depends. It will doubtlessly put the farmers into a difficult situation, and affect the economy of the

.91 . Reportfor EnvWronmentalImpact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countyof HubedProvince region where there is a lack of cultivated land. However, the compensation to farmers for the submerged land will increase the input to the residual cultivated land in terms of capital, labor and scientific technology. The formation of the reservoir will also create a better irrigation condition to the remaining cultivated land. The improved conditions for cultivation makes it impossible [possible?] to modify the original dry farmed land to paddy field, and guarantees the improvement of the land quality. In the meantime, it also provides labor, financial input and materials to the reclaiming of wasteland, so as to lay the foundation for the increase of cultivated land in the reservoir area. Therefore, as long as the land resources of the reservoir area can be managed and developed scientifically, the loss of cultivated land due to inundation can be compensated to some extent, and the negative impact on land resources caused by the engineering construction can be minimized.

(B) Impact on Forests and Vegetation When at the normal pool level of 370m, not much forest (108mu) will be submerged by the reservoir, only accounting for 0.55% of the original forests in this area. [is this 0.55% of remaining lowland forest; remaining forest including lowland and upland forest; or historical forest area?] So inundation will have little impact on forests and vegetation. It should be noted that during the resettlement of project affected people, the building of new houses will use a large quantity of woods, which may impact the forests and vegetation In this proposed project, a total of 397 persons in 84 families will be involved in relocation, and 16126.1 m2 of houses will be removed. When the acreage of rebuilt house is equal to the original one, and on the basis of 0.05m3 of wood to be used for each square meter of house, totally 612m3 of wood will be in need in the relocation. If the rebuilt house is larger than original one, much more wood will be used, and greater impact will be generated on the forests and vegetable. Therefore, during the resettlement process, measures should be applied to purchase wood from outside of the project area, so as to protect the remaining forest resources in the reservoir area. The submerging of forest will also make it difficult for local villagers to get domestic-use firewood. So necessary steps have to be made to provide villagers with firewood, and prevent them from falling trees at will.

The negative impact brought by inundating remaining forest within the project area and resettlement requirements for wood can be offset by planting commercial trees. Specific local policies should be formulated to encourage the relocatees to plant commercial forests, fruit trees, tea trees and other kinds of commercial crops. The great efforts in developing forest can not only increase the income of the relocatees, but also play an actively role in recovery of forests and vegetations and protection of eco-environment. (C) Impact on Water and Soil Conservation The proposed Lajitan HPP may bring both negative and positive impact on the water and soil conservation in the reservoir area. The negative impact is produced from the reclaiming of wasteland by relocatees, such as paying less attention to the methods of contouring terraced fields. The waste hillside should be by terracing the slopes. Otherwise it will be quite easy for the new reclaimed land to lose water and soil, and then aggravate the water and soil loss in this area. With regard to the positive impacts on the water and soil conservation, due to the input of compensation funds and improved irrigation conditions, the relocatees will be

.92 . Report for EnWronmentalImpact Assessmentfor Lajitan HYdropowerProject in Laifeng Countv of HubeiProvnce provided with sufficient means to modify the original cultivated land to terrace field, and dry farmed field to paddy field. This raises the quality of the cultivated land and output of crops, as well as controls water and soil loss considerably.

There is another issue that has to be considered during the construction and resettlement of project affected people. When building roads, houses and other infrastructures, the exposed bare earth will result in one-off water and soil loss in short term, if the bare earth is not greened in time. Though this impact is limited, the construction unit should still attach importance to it. Greening measures should be taken into effect in time, so as to avoid the loss of water and soil, and ensure that the local eco-environment is rehabilitated as early as possible.

Hence, during the resettlement of project affected people and development process of land, great efforts should be made to strengthen awareness education on water and soil conservation and protection of eco-environment. Effective measures should be taken during the construction to control the existing water and soil loss and prevent the reservoir area from contamination by newly generated water and soil loss. Impact on Regional Social Economy The construction of the proposed project will submerge 692.5mu of cultivated land for, with 2404 person to be impacted including 397 relocatees. Due to the reservoir inundation, hundreds of villagers will lose their cultivated land and houses, and in turn have no reliable income. Though the governnent will provide them with proper relocation and reasonable compensation, they will still encounter hardships in their life and production during the removal to relocation (it normally takes 3 to 4 years). In the meantime, their income, housing, health care and cultural education will be affected to varying extent. The improper arrangement of resettlement will even make them much poorer. All of these changes may affect the stability of the society to function effectively. Hence the local government has to attach importance to the resettlement program while making efforts in the construction. To comply with related national policies and real local status, the relocation of project affected people has to be undertaken effectively. As for their difficulties, the government should do their utmost to help relocatees, so as to eliminate the potential negative impacts of resettlement. Lajitan Reservoir is located in a mountainous area, which is isolated. The villagers here are primarily involved in farming as their sole means of economic livelihood. The natural terrain conditions and economic structure in this area greatly restrains the economic development and restricts improvement in the standard of living in the reservoir area. The construction of the proposed project will improve the traffic, power supply and irrigation status in the reservoir area. The reservoir will also benefit the development of aquatic cultivation. The reclaiming of waste hillside will be favorable for the development of the forest industry. [if the purpose of reclaiming the hillsides by reforestation is to prevent further loss of soils through water borne erosion, then developing these areas for commercial forestry is contradictory to the aims of soil stabilization. It would appear that further analysis is required] Meanwhile, the building of hydropower station will play a more important role in promoting the development of town and village enterprises, the service sector and tourism in this area, so as to optimize its economic structure, and create opportunities for the economic development of the reservoir area. So it is obvious that the construction of Lajitan HPP will certainly push the economic development forward in this area.

.93. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Province 5.10 Environmental Risks Analysis Power generated from the proposed Lajitan HPP is cleaner energy than that produced by thermal power plants that are more polluting However, hydropowergeneration projects can trigger natural disasters like floods and earthquake during its operation, so there still exist risks in hydropowerstation. Thus, it is required to make analysis for environmentalrisks of the proposed Lajitan HPP caused by flood and earthquake,and furthermore to put forward countermeasuresto prevent the environmentalrisks, so as to facilitate the project to be well prepared in its design to keep away from the risks, and protect the regional eco-environment and safety of people in the proposedreservoir area. 5.10.1 Analysis for Risks of Flood (A) Characteristicsof Flood The dam site of the proposed project is located in the central area of rainstorm in Youshui River Basin, which results from the conflict between Pacific warm-humidair mass by south and polar cold air mass by north. The rainstorms primarily appear as frontal rain storms, followed by heat thunderstorms. The data for rainstorm recorded by Maodong Hydrological Station shows that the maximumprecipitation in one day and in three days are 187.7mmand 272.4mm respectivelyat Maodong Station. Rainfall is chiefly concentrated during the flood season from April to Septemberin this area. The runoff originates from precipitation,with same allocation as that of precipitation in a year, and the volume of runoff in flood season accounts for 77.9% of the total in a year. The core flood period starts from June and July every year, with frequent rainstorms and huge rainfalls, and the flood occurs frequently. Since the river basin is distributedwith high mountains,steeps hillsidesand deep valley, flood is always manifestedby sudden rising and sudden falling of flood waters and quickly joins together. Each flood will last for 3 or 4 days. About 12 hours later than the flood peak arriving at the site of dam, the peak flow reaches its maximum,and the kurtosis is nornally singlet. Based on the statistics on the peak flow at Maodong HydrologicalStation in 32 years from 1958 to 1989,the maximumpeak flow (Qm) of 2000-4000m3/soccurred in 65.4% of the total statistic years, that of 1000-2000m3 /s in 21.88%, Qm>4000m3 /s in 9.36% and Qm<.lOOOm3/s in only 3.12%. In 1927, the maximum peak flow rate was 4600m3 /s. The maximum flood in this river section in the history since 1927 occurred in 1940,and the peak flow at Maodong Hydrological Station reached to 7060m3 /s. It is obvious that the dam site of Lajitan HPP encountered few disastrous floods in the past, and the characteristics with disastrous flood in this river section is not remarkable. (B) Design Flood According to the characteristicsof flood and frequencyof flood in YoushuiRiver Basin where the proposed project is located, Hubei Hydro Prospectingand Designing Academy has made detailed technical analysis and assessment of the design flood at the dam site. A conclusion has been reached that "the flood series at Maodong have good representativeness,with high correlative precision in peak volume, and its results in design flood can be applied in periodical use". The design flood results of Maodong HydrologicalStation is directly used as the design flood of dam site of Lajitan HPP (see the followingTable 5.10.1). Table 5.10.1Results of Design Flood by MaodongHydrological Station

ProbabilityP(%) Item

.94 . * Reportfor Environmental InmactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Couny of Hube Protnce 0.2 1 2 10 20

Peak Flow Rate (m3/)s 9400 7520 6670 6670 3800

3 Flood Volume in I Day (0.1 billion mi) 5.977 4.804 4.301 3.072 2.495

3 Flood Volume in 3 Days (0.1 billion m ) 10.88 8.7 7.722 5.441 4.399

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000. Based on GB50201-94 "Flood Control Standard", the proposed Lajitan HPP is a medium project, so the flood prevention capacity of the dam and power-houses is designed in compliance with the standard to resist the flood that occurs once in 50 years, and verified by the flood that occurs once in 500 years. Flood control of the reservoir aims at ensuring the safety of the dam. Results from flood regulation of Lajitan HPP are shown in Table 5.10.2. Table 5.10.2 Results from Flood Regulation of Lajitan HPP

ProbabilityP(%) Item 0.2 0.5' 2

Peak Flow(m3/s) 9400 8330 7520 6610

3 Maximum Releasing Volume (0.1 billion m ) 9276 8269 7453 6610

Maximum Water Level in front of Dam (0. I billion m3) 372.48 371.18 370.13 370

Maximum Storage (10 thousand m3 ) 4428 3318 2983 2942

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County. Hubei Province". prepared by HRASE in May 2000. The proposed Lajitan HPP is designed in open spillway, and the spill curve is described in Table 5.10.3. Table 5.10.3 Spill Curve of Lajitan HPP

Water level(m) 356 357 360 365 368 369 370 371 372

Released Volume (M3/s) 0 113 1037 3896 6029 6742 7349 8152 8910

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province". prepared by HRASE in May 2000. The reservoir initiates its regulation from the normal pool level of 370m for purpose of flood control, the corresponding peak flow rate is 661 0m3 /s(P=20%), the maximum released volume is 6610m3/s and the maximum storage of the reservoir is 2942x104m3 . Furthermore, the dam of the proposed project is designed as a concrete gravity dam, which can be better adapted to the spill control facility. So the design flood of the proposed project indicates that it is able to control the flood risks. Diversion for the construction in this proposed project is prepared on the basis of the terrace and geographical condition and water and soil features in the site of dam. The diversion plan will be implemented in two phases, and the diversion standard is identified according to the engineering class and the grade of buildings. In initial diversion standard, the peak flow of 347.46m3 /s in the flood that occurs once in 3 years is used, and in the late phase, the standard

.95 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County8of Hubei Province for the flood that occurs once in 10 years is applied, with a peak flow of 1090m3/s. The diversion buildings are built in rigid cofferdam (concrete core-wall), and enveloped with concrete-rubble. The cofferdam will be built during the dry season from October to April of the second year following project initiation. The right side of cofferdam (Monolith 1 to 3) will be firstly constructed , and then the left side of the cofferdam (Monolith 4 to7). During the dry period, flood will go through the other side of cofferdam. During the late phase, the two gaps will be filled, and at this time the comb diversion will be applied. When pouring the first gap, flood will go through the other gap. And when pouring the second gap, the flood will go through the dam via the overflow channel and bottom scouring outlets. During the flood period without construction, the flood will pass via cofferdam. So the diversion plan for the construction period can meet the requirement of flood release.

(C) Genetic Analysis for Flood Risks The investigation and data indicates that to date tens of thousands of hydropower stations have been constructed in the whole world with hundreds of them having accidents. The accident of dam caused by flood can be categorized into two types, one is dam overtopped and the other is dam break. The probability of dam failure is about 0.01%. Based on statistics, 35% of dam failure in China is caused by the dam being overtopped. In addition, the poor construction quality of dam and improper design of project are also responsible for some dam failure when encountering a flood. Thus, during the flood period, especially the peak flood period, the dam will always face danger when the peak flows pass through the dam, and at this time effort should be made in the prevention of the risk to the dam. Indicated from the investigation and data collected: (1) There are two types of accidents in dam caused by flood, one is dam overtopped and the other is dam break after the dam is overtopped. The risks of the latter is far greater than that of the former; (2) The type of dam has close relation with the dangers caused by flood. Earth dams present the highest risk, which is quite possible to be overtopped by the excessive flood. Concrete face rock fill dam has a lower risk of failure than earth dams when encountering flood, but may still be overtopped by flood and then collapse. Concrete gravity dam has the least risk in this, and normally it happens to meet the risk of dam overtopped because of the excessive flood. (3) The impacted area of the dam overtopped or dam break involves the site of dam and the downstream area. Whatever the type of dam is, the loss from the accident is decided by the flood flow rate when the flood overtops the darn, and it will also be linked with the social economy and environmental status of the site of dam and its downstream area. (4) The hydropower stations may also meet the risk of dam break when it serves over its service life.

(D) Analysis for Flood Risk Hubei Hydro Prospecting and Designing Academy has made detailed technical analysis and argument based on the historical flood records and actual monitoring data for this river section. From the analysis, it is concluded that the recurrence interval is 63 years, and the academy decided to adopt the design flood results of Maodong Hydrological Station for the periodical use. According to the provisions in SDJ12-78 "Grade Separation of Hydropower Station and the Design Standard" and GB50201-94 "Flood Control Standard", final decision

.96. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube, Prownce has been made in the scale of the proposed project, the grade of the proposed project, the class of major buildings and the standard the proposed project uses for its dam, i.e. the dam is designed to resist flood that occurs once in 50 years and verified by the flood that occurs once in 500 years. The corresponding design flood water level is 370m and 372.48m. The dam is 373m in height, and the peak flow rate reaches to 6610m3/s and 9400m3/s respectively. Flood control measures used in the proposed project aim to ensure the safety of the dam. Considering that the peak flood period is from June to July, an additional storage of 14.86 million m3 will be left for flood control in advance, and -the reservoir is required to be controlled at the water level limit of 370 for flood control, with a release flow rate of 6610-7349m3 /s. The delay of flood by the reservoir will reduce the threat of flood to the downstream area. The dam is constructed in concrete gravity dam, so the proposed project will face little flood risk.

As for the regulation of flood by the reservoir, the proposed project will employ an open spillway design as its flood release works, with 6 overflow channels. From the overflow curve of Lajitan HPP, when the water level is fixed in 370m, the release flow rate via open gate will be 7349m3/s, which is much higher than the maximum flood flow rate of 6610m3 /s (P=2%). The proposed project will initiate its flood regulation from the normal pool level of 370m, and during the core flood period, 14.86 million m3 of reservoir storage has to be left for 3 retaining the flood. When the inflow peak flow rate QWf1 0,>7349m /s, the gate will be completely open, and let the flood go through the gate freely, which will elevate the water level of reservoir. When QinflfOw<7349m3/s, the gate will open partially, the flood will outflow as much as inflow, and the water level will be kept at the normal pool level. When the flood falls, the water level of reservoir will decrease down to the nornal pool level, and the outflow rate controlled by the gate is equal to the inflow rateO ,flo0 . The flood will be regulated based on the above-mentioned principle during the operation of the reservoir, which can guarantee the damnovertopped or dam break will not happen when the dam encounters a flood that occurs once in 50 years, while the reservoir finishes the power generation targets.

Once a flood occurs, which exceeds the design flood that occurs once in 50 years, the flood peak can be guaranteed to pass the dam smoothly. Because on the basis of the flood peak in this river section always rising suddenly but falling suddenly as well, the dam is designed as gravity dam with the elevation of dam crest for 373.0m, which is 0.52 m higher than the water level of 372.48m when the dam meets a flood that occurs once in 500 years, and 3.Om higher that the water level of 370m when the dam faces a flood that occurs once in 50 years. In addition there are three cascade hydropower stations in the river section to regulate the flood. Therefore there is little possibility for the proposed dam to be overtopped by flood. The flood will hardly bring impact to the downstream area of the dam. When the dam encounters a super flood (exceeding the design flood), the reservoir will be over filled. If encountering the verified flood that occurs once in 500 years, the water level behind (i.e., upstream of) the dam will exceed the normal pool level for 2.48m where it is still 0.52m away from the dam crest, but the risk of dam overtopped can not be eliminated. Under this circumstance, the cost of preventing dam break will be paid by the loss of upstream land along the reservoir due to inundation, so as to protect the social economy and environmental safety of the dam site and the downstream area. When a super flood is encountered, if the wild flood can be controlled and regulated by humans, the possibility of dam break will be minimized, but the risk intensity of reservoir over filling will increase. So it cannot be ignored that the flood may overtop the dam if it is released improperly, even there exists risk in dam break. In order to prevent the risk in the dam being overtopped or dam break, an early-warning and forecasting system for flood should be established. Once the dam faces a danger, the commander and decision-maker for flood control should undertake a comprehensive assessment on the

.97. Reportfor EnvWronmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropover Project in Laifeng Coun!y of Hube, Prownce overall picture, and adopt corresponding technical measures to control the risk intensity of over filling or flood inundation, so as to prevent the dam from being overtopped caused by over filling and improper flood release.

Summarized from the above analysis, the hydrological data used in the dam design of the proposed project, provided by Maodong Hydrological Station, has specific representativeness and reliability, so the appropriately designed and verified flood standard in the proposed project can satisfy the requirements in the Standard GB50201-94. Based on the grade of the proposed project, the type of the proposed dam and the mode of flood control and regulation, it can be concluded, with precondition of the construction quality in compliance with the standard and the proposed project in normalized management and operation, that the proposed dam has little probability in the risk of dam failure even encountering a flood that occurs once in 500 years, while the power generation targets have been achieved as well.

5.10.2 Analysis for Earthquake Risk (A) Earthquake Risk Earthquake can put a dam in front of danger directly and indirectly. One is the tectonic earthquake directly leads to a dam facing a danger, and the other is the reservoir places a premium on earthquake and then results in the dam in danger. Data shows the probability of the former is twice of that of the latter. Dam failure directly caused by earthquake only accounts for 6% of the total dam failure, and the rate of dam failure caused by -earthquake is 6 per million, which is far lower than that caused by flood. The consequences of the dam failure caused by earthquake mainly contain dam crack and destruction of facilities, and the station is not able to run normally. But the probability of dam break caused by earthquake is low. Induced earthquake by reservoir is mostly microseism, and inducing factors may be reservoir load, seepage pressure, variation of reservoir bottom and the interaction between water and rocks. In general, the induced earthquake by reservoir is located in a region that is just in its active stage of neotectonic movement. After the reservoir filling, the variation in reservoir load will act on the regional geologic structure and consequently induce microseism frequently. Once the reservoir area encounters destructive earthquake, the dam will be threatened with dam failure. The above indicates that there is quite low probability in dam failure caused by earthquake, but there still exists possibility in the risk of dam failure, which requires corresponding measures to be taken to prevent or reduce the environmental risk brought by earthquake to the dam.

(B) Analysis for Earthquake Risk Lajitan HPP is located in the south edge of fold of Enshi Mountain (IV), in the ruche of Bamian Mountain Platform (III) of Shangyangzi Platforms (II), Yangzi Metaplatform (I). As for its geological structure, the region belongs to a part of umbones of Cathaysian tectogenesis. Various epeirogenic movements make the depressed block, forned from folding and breaking of depressed zone and geological disaster, to be structured as Cainozoic era basin, where earthquakes happen in sudden frequently with shallow focus. From the historical records, a destructive earthquake took place in Laifeng County twice (one happened in magnitude of VI in Daluba of Xianfeng in June 10, 1856, and the other in magnitude of V in the area from Xianfeng to Lichuan in July 1, 1931.) Within the region, the high intensity earthquakes are always distributed in area of Changde, Hunan Province. There is no record on the earthquake with over magnitude of IV occurred in the area surrounding the reservoir.

.98. Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province Since the Yanshan Movement, the region is continuously rising, with in low rate in recent period, which belongs to a interval period now. According to "Zoning Map for Earthquake Intensity of China" (1990), the basic earthquake intensity of this area is identified to be lower than VI degree. Shown from the on-site reconnaissance on the proposed reservoir area and related geological data on the reservoir area, within the reservoir area in length of 22km 133.1 km?], the end of reservoir is composed by arenarceous shale of Silurian System, and the first accumulation terrace is distributed along the river, so there is no leakage in this area. As for the head of the proposed reservoir, it consists of calcareous rocks, the karst is developed in the wall of reservoir, with hard quality and complete rock mass, whose breaking resistance f=0.9 and c[l E0.65Mpa. At the site of dam, the river bed is wide for 70m, with average annual water depth of 2.5m. The rock mass of river bed is mainly nearhorizontal rock forrnation. Thus analyzed from the geological conditions of the reservoir area, including geological structure, lithologic character of stratum and landform of valley, though the possibility does exist in the induced microseism after the reservoir filling, the impacting intensity of earthquake wave passing to the site of dam is smaller than the basic earthquake intensity of this area. Summed up from the above analysis, as for the proposed project, little possibility exists in the dam failure caused by earthquake. However the reservoir filling will accelerate leakage, so there still exists possibility for the dam to encounter an induced microseism. Certainly the risks can not be excluded faced by the darn that after the reservoir filling, a destructive earthquake may take place in the surrounding area of the reservoir and touch upon the dam, consequently place a premium on the destruction of dam, power generators and the auxiliary facilities. In order to keep the dam from earthquake risks and consequently dam failure, in the designing of the proposed Lajitan HPP, the dam, power-houses and auxiliary engineering have been individually designed for resisting earthquake on the basis of the risks it may receive, in which the requirement for earthquake-resisting in GBJ 11-89 "Designing Criteria for Earthquake Resisting of Buildings" has been applied. The earthquake resisting design has provided the safety and reliability for the dam to resist an earthquake. During the construction, the owner system and inspect and control system for engineering construction of China have to be strictly executed to inspect and control the examination of the engineering quality and materials used, so as to ensure the dam to be constructed according to the design standard for earthquake resisting. Necessary monitoring tools should be used for earthquake in the darn area, aiming at monitoring and control the microseism induced by the reservoir filling. In case the microseism induced by reservoir results in damage of the dam, power houses and auxiliary facilities, effective technical measures should be put into effect as soon as possible to reinforce the defenses of the proposed project, and keep the dam from dam break and greater loss. The proposed project should be designed to withstand seismic forces and strengthened in its management, to avoid the formation of various risks and dam failure.

.99 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province CHAPTER 6Analysis for Alternatives 6.1 No-action Alternative of the Proposed Project

One of the alternatives for this proposed project is that the project not proceed. If the proposed project does not proceed, there will not be any eco-environmental impacts during the construction period and operating period Nor will there be any resettlement of project affected people. But the nonperformance of the proposed project will: * Interrupt the progress of the tertiary cascade hydropower station in the multi-stage hydropower development plan for Youshui River Basin, which will influence power generation, flood control, shipping, aquatic cultivation and tourism in this basin, and furthermore constrain the local healthy social and economic development; * The project is proposed to be built in minority region and the local people have been expecting construction of the proposed project for a long time. It has been considered as a good opportunity for the local people to be elevated from their current levels of poverty and become better off. If the proposed project is not implemented, social and national conflicts might be aroused. * If the project can not be performed, the natural ecosystem that already lacks protection by humans would continue in degradation and the destruction of vegetation, water and soil loss and natural disasters could not beeffectively controlled. * The nonperformance of the proposed project will restrain the rise in the standard of living of local people. And these people are doomed to continue their living mode in out- of-order utilization of natural resources to keep their life. As the proposed project is a project without any pollution, which depends on potential energy of river water to generate power, it has sound social, economic and environmental benefits. In the meantime, via approaches such as reasonable design and proper implementation of environmental protection measures, the project can improve the protection of eco- environment to be exploited and the life mode and standard of living for project affected persons. Therefore, it is not recommended to choose the no project alternative. 6.2 Comparison with Other Types of Power Station

Thermal power generation can ease the conflict between the supply and demand of electrical power, but it is difficult for thermal power generation stations to regulate the power utilization load of the local power network. The most important is the area in which the proposed project is located lacks coal or other fuel resources, which makes it impossible to build a thermal power station here. [this is not necessarily true. A thermal power station can be built in the area, but fuel would have to be transported to the site, which would be very costly. Alternatively, a thermal station could be constructed outside of the project area and the electricity transmitted to the region by electrical transmission lines. These issues should be discussed in the analysis of alternatives.] Additionally, since Laifeng County is located in a mountainous area, it is not easy for the air emissions from thermal power generation to diffuse, which may accelerate the air pollution. A coal fired thermal plant would also result in production of solid wastes and thermal contamination of cooling water.

Taking the thermnal power station with a capacity of 49MW built in Wuxue City, Hubei

.100. Report for Environmental Impact A4ssessmenfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubei Provnce Province in 1997 as a example, a comparison between the proposed project and this alternative is described as follows:

* The total investment of Wuxue Thermal Power Station is 6.826 million yuan/MW, and that of Lajitan HPP is 9.1667 million yuan/MW. The latter is higher than former for 34.3%, but its operating cost is quite low;

* The standard coal consumed by Wuxue Thermal Power Station is 368g/kwh, and Lajitan HPP uses water resource to generate power;

* Wuxue Thermal Power Station emits 2448.96t/a of SO2 , 382.45t/a of particulates (dust) and 77,742.6t/a of slag, and after being converted into the scale of Tongping Thermal Power Station, the emissions are 1799.24t/a of SO2, 280.98t/a of particulates (dust) and 57,117.0t/a of slag. Though it has not been fully convinced whether the proposed Lajitan HPP will produce enough greenhouse gas of CH4 to impact the ambient air quality, the impact is very little compared with the thermal power station in same scale. [you have not yet made a satisfactory comparison of the difference in potential greenhouse gas production from decomposing organic matter from the Lajitan Reservoir, a thermal plant of equivalent generating capacity, or the no action alternative, in which natural decomposition in the reservoir area produces greenhouse gases. This comparison needs to be made.] Meanwhile, thermal power station plays no role in providing secondary benefits of flood control, transportation and aquatic cultivation (aquaculture), and it can not promote the local tourism, development. The advantage of thermal power station is its lower one-off investment, but its operating cost is quite high.

From the above, it is obvious that though the one-off investment of hydropower generation station is relatively high, its operating cost is lower by comparison than thermal power generation. [you have not provided any cost figures that support this argument] In the meantime, the hydropower station can take full advantage of the local resources to solve the conflict between power supply and demand, as well as protect the environment and promote the local economy to develop in full scale. On the other hand, when a thermal power station releases the conflict between power supply and demand, it has a lot of shortages as well. [what does this mean. It seems to be an invalid argument] Thus it is fit for the local specific features to construct the power generation station as a hydropower station. 6.3 Comparison in Alternatives of Site Selection

6.3.1 Alternatives for Site Selection There is only one option for site selection, i.e. the hydrological station located upstream of Baifusi Town.

6.3.2 Comparison in Alternatives of Site Selection After a comprehensive comparison made in landform, geological status, arrangement and construction of the proposed project and traffic, the hydrological station located upstream of Baifusi Town is the best site for the dam, which is far superior to other sections. The major advantages include: (1) The site has better landforrn, favorable for the arrangement of buildings of the proposed project, which will save the investment to engineering. The river section where the dam

.101 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province site is located has a relatively wide and straight river bed. So it is suitable for the powerhouse to be arranged and largely decreases the earth and rock excavation. (2) The dam site is near to the mouth of the canyon on the right bank of the river, where it is convenient to separate the dam from power houses, and properly arrange the transformer substation as well. This will also reduce the load of civil engineering. (3) The available head can be fully utilized at this site to produce power. The river course that the proposed project is located in is steep in longitude, with many rapids and drops. In addition, the site is located near to mountain mouth, so the hydro energy can be utilized in maximum. And the reservoir capacity is easy to increase. Depending on the water flow, the regulating capacity of the reservoir will be enhanced. (4) The site of dam and reservoir is close to mouth of the canyon, so only a short length of access road to the dam and temporary construction roads are required. Meanwhile, the construction site is wide enough, with convenient access to the outside world. (5) Fresh bedrock is exposed in the hillsides of the two banks of the dam site, with complete rock mass and stable slopes. The geological condition is better at this site than at other potential sites. 6.4 Comparison in Dam Line 6.4.1 Alternatives for Dam Line Three damsites were evaluated including an upper damsite, a medium damsite and a lower damsite. The upper damsite is located 240m upstream of the original hydrological station. The medium site is located 60m downstream of the upper one, and the lower damsite is 70m downstream from the medium one. 6.4.2 Comparison of Damsites

Analyzed from the landform and geological condition, all of the 3 damsites are qualified to establish the dam. The differences are: as for landform, the upper damsite is located in a calm [???????J and wide slope, and then the medium one [???????I, the lower damsite is located in the narrowest riverbed with steeper hillsides along its banks . As for geological condition, the lithologic character of these 3 damsites are nearly same. but the lower damsite has more shallow weathered layer; and as for geological structure. though there are several small dissected faults in the lower damsite, the scale is small and easy to treat. From the overall view, the lower damsite has better geological conditions. The engineering load of dam excavation of the lower damsite is greater than that of other two alternative sites, but its diversion tunnel for power generation is much shorter than the others, which results in less input in engineering. So the comprehensive analysis shows the lower damsite is the best choice in the proposed project.

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CHAPTER 7 Environmental Management Plan and Environmental Monitoring Plan 7.1 Environmental Management Plan

7.1.1 Environmental Management Institution and Its Duties The set-up of environmental management institution can guarantee the realization of environmental management targets and implementation of various environmental protection tasks. The owner of the proposed project should set up environmental management and environmental monitoring institutions within its administrative body. It is recommended that there be 1 or 2 full-time staff working for environmental management and 2 or 3 for environmental monitoring and eco- environmental monitoring and control.

The major duties of the environmental management institution cover: (1) Ensure that the project complies with the national laws, regulations and standards for environmental protection and corresponding managerial regulations formulated by local environmental protection administrations, based on which the rules and regulations for environmental protection of the proposed project should be prepared and perfected, and the environmental protection responsibility system and the corresponding methods for encouragement and punishment should be clarified;

(2) Organize and coordinate each task proposed by this EIA report and approval comments, and finalize the funds for eco-environmental compensation and pollution prevention and control; (3) Make great efforts in environmental management of the construction of the proposed project, including conducting environrental management and monitoring during the construction, compiling environmental quality reports for the construction area periodically and submitting it to the local environmental protection administration; making efforts in prevention of destruction of eco- environment and pollution accidents during the construction, and in case environmental accident happens, it should be properly dealt with in time and reported to the local environmental protection administration; properly organizing eco-environmental protection and recovery in the construction site with duly greening of the site and recovery of vegetation; combining the clearance of reservoir bottom, making efforts in environmental sanitation and management of reservoir area, ensuring proper handling the spoils and the environmental protection of resettlement areas.

(4) Make efforts in environmental management of the proposed project during the operating period, including conserving water quality of headwater and reservoir to prevent eutrophication of water mass; conducting the monitoring on biologic biological organizms, water quality, hydrology and sediment during the operating period, and preparing corresponding environmental quality reports; making efforts in environmental management of tourism and aquatic cultivation; [generally, this activity is done during operation and is a longer term issue handled by the project owner outside of the construction issues] being

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responsible for dealing with the accidents like water pollution and destruction of eco-environment;

(5) Formulate and implement plans for eco-environmental monitoring;

(6) Establish complete environmental protection data files for the proposed project

(7) Organize professional training for environmental management and monitoring staff in the proposed project, reinforce the connection with local environmental protection bureau (EPB) and ask for guidance and assistance from the local EPB;

(8) Carry out education on environmental protection to raise the environmental protection awareness of the construction workers and the public surrounding the reservoir area.

7.1.2 Environmental Monitoring Institution and Its Duties Decided by the nature of the proposed project, it is recommended to set up a laboratory under Lajitan Hydropower Development Co., Ltd, of Laifeng County. There is no need to set up a special environmental monitoring institution, and when necessary, the Environmental Monitoring Station of Laifeng County can be consigned to do some tasks concerning monitoring. The duties of the laboratory involve: (1) Conduct regular environmental monitoring on time, and compile monitoring report and sheets;

(2) Monitor the quality and discharge amount of wastewater from local major polluting units on a routine basis; (3) Repair, maintain and verify the monitoring instruments. 7.2 Environmental Monitoring Plan

7.2.1 Plan for Environmental Monitoring during Construction Period (A) Monitoring on Aquatic Environmental Quality (1) Monitoring on River Water Quality

* Allocation of Monitoring Section: in order to understand the quality status of water inflowing and out flowing the construction site, a monitoring section will be allocated in the upstream and downstream of the river section in construction respectively; the section in upstream is arranged 100 m upward from the boundary of construction site and that in downstream is I 00m downward away from the boundary. [the same water quality monitoring stations should be sampled during construction as were sampled to obtain the pre-construction status quo water quality data.]

* Monitoring Items: water temperature, pH, SS, hypermanganate index, DO, BOD5, total P, total N, petroleum and total coliform bacteria. * Monitoring Method: each item will be monitored according to the method provided in GHZBI-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water". * Monitoring Frequency: once respectively in flood period, dry period and normal

.104. Reportfor Environmental ImpacdAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projectin Lalfeng Cosnty of Hubei Proince

period in a year, totally 3 times in a year; (2) Monitoring on Water Quality at Wastewater Outlets

* Monitoring Point: 1 monitoring point will be arranged at the wastewater outlets of sand and rock material process systems on right and left banks, wastewater outlet of foundation pit, wastewater outlet of concrete mixing station and domestic wastewater outlet.

* Monitoring Items:

Production wastewater outlets: ph value and SS;

Domestic wastewater outlets: DO, BOD5 , COD, total P, total N, petroleum and total coliform bacteria; * Monitoring Frequency: once respectively in flood period, dry period and normal period in a hydrological year, totally 3 times in a year, and in the peak period of construction, proper times of monitoring should be added. (B) Monitoring on Noise = Allocation of Monitoring Point: in order to learn the impact of construction noise on the ambient acoustic environment, I monitoring point is arranged in the construction site, and 1 in residential area for local people and 1 in residential area for construction workers, totally 3 to 4 monitoring points will be arranged.

3 Time and Item of Monitoring: once respectively at night and in daytime, dB(A) 3 Monitoring Frequency: once in a quarter. (C) Monitoring on Water and Soil Loss * Allocation of monitoring point: in construction site, sand and rock materials processing yards, spoils yards and resettlement sites;

* Item and Time of Monitoring: soil erosion modulus, erosion thickness and acreage of water and soil loss; the monitoring will be conducted before and after a precipitation and the peak time of construction.

* Monitoring Frequency: once bi-annually (D) Monitoring on Eco-environment In addition to the above-mentioned monitoring items, the focus of the eco- environmental monitoring should be put on the species, distribution and volume of aquatic plants, benthic organism and fishes. The monitoring should be conducted once in the midterm of construction, and during operation on an annual basis for five years following inundation. 7.2.2 Plan for Environmental Monitoring during Operating Period (A) Monitoring on Water Quality and Hydrology * Monitoring Section: monitoring on water quality and hydrology should be

.105 . ReportforEnvironmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajiian HydropowerProject in Laifeng Countyof Hubei Province

conducted in same pace with a monitoring section 200 m down from the dam of Tangkou Hydropower Station in Youshui River and sections in reservoir area (Nanhekou Section, site of dam, Baifusi Bridge Section in downstream of the dam); * Monitoring Frequency: once respectively in flood period, dry period and normal period in a hydrological year, totally 3 times in a year. * Monitoring Items: the special items for lake and reservoir provided in GHZB 101999 mainly including total P, total N, chlorophyll (a) and transparency (m), and water temperature, pH, total coliform bacteria. The hydrological monitoring covers the items of water level, flow rate, flow velocity and sediment.

* Monitoring and Analysis Method: the water quality monitoring and the analysis are based on Table 4 "Analysis Method for Basic Items in Quality Standard for Land Aquatic Environment" and Table 5 "Analysis Method for Special Items in Quality Standard for Surface Water". The monitoring of water level, flow rate, flow velocity, content of sediment will be conformed to "Criteria for Hydrological Monitoring and Analysis". * Laboratory and Monitoring Instruments: in order to ensure the conduct of water quality and hydrological monitoring, the proposed station should set up corresponding laboratory with necessary monitoring instruments, including flow meter, sampler, thermometer, refrigerator, oven, multi-connected electric stove, usual glassware, analytical balance, spectrophotometer and acidometer. After the finish of each monitoring, the data from the monitoring should be comprehensively analyzed, and a written report to summarize the results from the analysis should be prepared, filed and submitted to the local environmental protection administrations. Whenever necessary, the Environmental Monitoring Station and Hydrological Station of Laifeng County can be consigned to assist the laboratory to finish the monitoring or analysis.

(B) Other Involved Eco-environmental Items Other involved eco-environmental items and the monitoring content have been listed in Table 7.2.1.

Table 7.2.1 Content of Monitoring and Control and Arrangement Item MajorContent Monitoringand Control Units

Local Climate Major weather factors. such as precipitation and temperature Local weather administration

Biological Species diversity and abundance of microflora. aquatic plants. benthic Local administrations for Diversity organism, fishes and rare plants and animals, and forest cover Aquatic products. hydropower and forests

Conservation o Soil erosion modulus and erosion thickness Local water resource Water and Soil administration

Environmental Land slide, stability of reservoir bank, leakage of reservoir and Geology earthquake

Human Health Examination on the health of residents surrounding the reservoir and the Local health and epidemic

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target relocation districts for emigration, and epidemic situation prevention station

Emigration and Infrastructures, employment, standard of life Local government Residents Moved Backward

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000.

Ithis section is incomplete. A breakdown of costs is required for the environnmental management and monitoring program, including costs for manpower and equipment. There is no discussion or diagram to show the organization and reporting structure for the project Environmental Management Office. To be useful as a stand-alone document, the Environmental Management Plan needs to include a summary of the main activities that will be carried out as part of project construction, operation and decommissioning; the key impacts that will accrue; recommended mitigation measures; group or agency responsible for ensuring that mitigation is implemented; and the authority responsible for monitoring. This information could be developed in a table.]

.107 . Reportfor Environmental Impact AssessmentforLajitan Hvdropower Project In Lalfeng County of Hubei Provnce

CHAPTER 8 Public Consultation

In the preparation of the proposed project, the local residents have to be provided with information so that they may fully understand the importance of the proposed project, positive impacts and potential negative impacts brought by the proposed project and the prevention measures aiming at the negative impacts and its effects, so as to be completely involved in and supervise the local environmental protection, furthermore to support and cooperate with the construction of the project, and finally eliminate or reduce the negative impacts to the ambient environment. According to the national environmental protection laws and regulations and managerial rules of China and the requirements for EIA on the projects to be funded by the World Bank, the public should be involved in the proposed project. The comments and recommendations on the proposed projects proposed by experts, management agencies and the units and residents in the impacted area of the project should be learnt and integrated into the EIA. 8.1 Forms of Public Consultation

There are various forms to make the public involved in the proposed project, such as colloquia with experts and environmental management agencies, on-site visits to the reservoir area, release of public involvement questionnaire to the concerned people. Via these approaches, involved people with various occupations in the reservoir, submerged area and the county will be surveyed to obtain their opinions, concerns and recommendations. The involved people includes working staffs from the governmental bodies, social communities, schools and institutions in Laifeng County and its subordinated Manshui Town and Baifusi Town; commission members of the submerged villages' commission, villagers, teachers and private businessmen, etc.. The survey covered various governmental departments, like the planning commission, financial agency, power administration, land resource administration and civil administration, and other units, such as police stations, courts, environmental monitoring stations, agricultural technology dissemination stations, forest administration stations, poverty reduction office, family planning commission and schools. A large number of concerned people were consulted, covering a large scope. Therefore the involved people in the public involvement has wide representativeness. The content of public involvement can be found in the Public Involvement Questionnaire included as Appendix ???. Ithe questionaire should be moved into an appendix rather than included here as a tablel Table 8.1.1 Questionnaire for Public Involvement and Comments in Lajitan HPP

Name Sex Age

Nationality Degree of Occupation Culture

Employer Title

.108 . Reportfor Enwronmental impad Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofNlbei Provnce

Address Social Occupation|

Please write "4" in the o in right of your choice; List the species you know on 1. What is your attitude to the proposed Lajitan Hydropower Project? Agreeo Not Agreeo Basically agreeo

2. How do you think the site selection in the proposed project?

Feasible o Unfeasible o Re-selecto

3. How do you rank the current local economy?

Developed a Undeveloped o Semi-developed o

4. How do you feel the local economic status quo I

Excellent o Bad o Averageo 5. Do you think the construction of the proposed project will promote the local economic development? Yes o Yes but little o No o 6. How do you rank the environmental impact to the local area brought by the proposed project? Great o None o A little o 7. How do you think the environmental impact during the construction of the proposed project?

Great c None a A little c 8. How do you think the life standard of local people impacted by the proposed project? Raised o Remain o Raised but little o 9. If the construction of the proposed project needs your removal, are you willing to?

Yes a No o Yes but a little difficult in removal c

10. What is your suggestion on relocation of emigrations?

Relocated nearbyo Relocated in other placec Agree to the arrangement of goverrmento 11. What are the local rare species as you know? (1)Rare Animals (2)Rare Medical Materials

(3)Rare Plants

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(4)Rare Aquatics 12. What is the positive impact and negative impact brought by the proposed project in your opinion? (Such as the capacity to resist natural disaster and flood, economic development, standard of life, water and soil loss, forest and vegetation, geological structure of dam body and dam foundation, etc..

13. What is your most concern? 14. Do you have any requirement or recommendation for the proposed project? Please specify it.

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000 8.2 Analysis for the Comments Proposed by the Public

After being summarized and analyzed, the comments from involved public have been shown as follows: (A) The experts and environmental management agencies think that the construction of the proposed project will greatly promote the development of local social economy, improve the standard of life of the local people, and keep the life and belongs of local people from loss. But in the meantime, they also stress that during the construction and operation of the proposed project, great efforts have to be made to minimize the impacts brought to the eco-environment. (B) The results from the statistics of the questionnaire on the public involvement have been summarized as follows:

(1) Nobody disagrees the construction of the proposed project. 96.8% of the public agree to the construction, and only 3.2% basically agree to it; (2) As for the site selection, 99.2% think it feasible, and only 0.8% recommend to re-select the site of the project; (3) The public who think the local eco-environment is good and average accounts for 46.4% and 41.6% respectively, and there are 12% think it worse. (4) There are 96.8% of the public thinking the construction of proposed project will greatly promote the local economic development, and 3.2% think the role is little. No one think there is no promotion role. (5) The public who believe the construction of proposed project will raise the life standard of local people accounts for 96%, and the rest 4% think that the life standard will be unchanged or even decline;

(6) Concerning the removal and relocation of emigrations from the submerged area in the proposed project, 93.6% of the public are willing to remove, 0.8% are not, and the rest 5.7% think they will encounter difficulties in the removal. 85.6% of the public agree to the arrangement by government during the relocation, 12.8% think it better to relocate nearby, and 1.6% agree to

.110. Reportfor En',ronmental Impact Assessmgntfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in La,fe,g Countyof Hube Province

relocate in other places; (7) There are 78.4% of the involved public thinking no environmental impact will be produced during the operation of the proposed project, and the people who think there exist impact and great impacts occupies 10.4% and 11.2% respectively.

(8) During the construction period, the public who think there is no impact generated account for 56%, and 35.2% and 8.8% think there will be some impact or great impact brought by the project respectively.

(9) Shown from the questionnaire, the following species the local people know and think they are rare species in local area including some wild animals like Manis, Lepus capensis auriqineus, eagle, coral snake, colubridae, golden pheasant, trionyx sinensis and chinemys reevesii, and famous old trees, such as ginkgo biloba, phoebe, cunnighamia lanceolata, metasequoia glyptostroboides, and needle leaved trees The above comments indicate that the public has at least some knowledge of the proposed project. During the survey, most of the public think the proposed project will urge the development of local economy, improve the aquatic and land transportation, push forward the development of the third industry and related sectors, and finally improve the standard of living of local people. The public also think that the construction of the proposed project will bring some specific impacts to the local eco-environment, especially the negative impacts on water and soil conservation and forests. But they believe the technicians are able to properly solve the problems concerning eco-environment, water and soil loss and forests and vegetation, through the design, construction and overall planning. Therefore, depending on these efforts, the negative impacts will be minimized, and the environmental status will turn better. (C) Most concerned issues by the public are: (1) When the proposed project can be initiated after the assessment. They hope the project can start as early as possible.

(2) The quality of the constructed project. They stressed in the feedback to the questionnaire that great attention should be paid to preventing bribery and defalcate [?????]of engineering funds and relocations funds for emigration, so as to ensure the progress and quality of the project;

(3) The social security during the construction. Some of the public recommend the local government establish a steering team for public security with specific person in charge, so as to prevent the station materials and supplies from loss and ensure the fluent construction of the proposed project; (4) Development and utilization of the proposed project after its construction. The public hope that the decision makers have far-sight and great ambition to implement the proposed project indeed; (5) Issues concerning resettlement, compensation to the submerged land in reservoir area, returning farning land to be afforested along the bank of Youshui River and

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the life standard in the future. The public hope the government go down to the resettlement areas to understand the thoughts and requirements, and then settle these problems properly without any consequence. (6) The change of the project name. The public call for change the project name of "Lajitan" back to its original name "Najitan", which is a Tujia name. It is recommended to change the project name into "Najitan Hydropower Project".

(7) Flood release and flood control capacity of the reservoir during its operation and the issues related to water and soil loss. The public hope the government pay attention to these issues and seriously review the technical measures and countermeasures for these issues in its design and EIA.

[this section is still incomplete. There is still no discussion on when the public consultation took place; where it took place; how many people were consulted at each meeting or venue; how many surveys were completed; when the draft EIA document was submitted to the local county offices for public review. A list of officials and stakeholder groups should be included in an appendix, as well as the newspaper advertisements advertising the availability of the EIA document for review. Any news articles on the proposed project that appeared in the daily papers should also be included in an appendix. Comments provided by local stakeholders in response to the draft EIA document should also be discussed in the text. You also need to indicate how comments from stakeholders have been incorporated into the project design or other project activities.

.112. Report for Enwronmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube Province

CHAPTER 9 Conclusion and Recommendation 9.1 Conclusion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (1) Significanceof the ProposedProject

The major task of Lajitan HPP is to generate power. Secondary benefits include irrigation, transportation, tourism and aquatic cultivation (aquaculture). The completion of the project will play a significant role in pushing forward the economic development of Laifeng County and reducing poverty within the project area. The installed capacity of the proposed project will be 36MW, with an annual output of power of 150 million kwh. The completed project will improve the situation created by a limited power supply and and high demand in Laifeng County and improve the quality of power supply of the electric power network in Laifeng County and Enshizhou City. The town where the proposed project is located is one of the major bases for agricultural products in Laifeng County. The reservoir to be constructed will irrigate part of cultivated land around the reservoir and in the downstream area. When the reservoir is controlled at its normal pool level of 370m, a manmade lake with a total area of 3.07 km2 will be formed, and in addition to the beautiful natural scene of Maodong, an attractive tourism sight will come into being, which will facilitate the development of tourism in Laifeng County. The proposed reservoir is wider than previous river course with increased water depth and slower water flow, which provides favorable natural conditions for aquatic cultivation. After the reservoir filling, the previous torrented river will turn to a calm river course for 33.1km. It will not only provide convenient aquatic transporting access to the local people along the river, but also facilitate their economic production and improve the quality of life. In addition the reservoir will also improve the traffic connection between Laifeng County of Hubei Province and Longshan County of Hunan Province. Baifusi Town, in which the proposed station is located, is a joint point of Hubei, Hunan provinces and Chongqing City, and also an old town with long history. Therefore the construction of the proposed project will accelerate the information exchange and trading between these three regions, and benefit the exploitation of local resources. (2) Production Process

Hydro energy is one of the cleaner and renewable energy. The process of hydropower generation belongs to cleaner production process. Compared with thermal power generation station in the same capacity with Lajitan HPP, the latter has sound environmental benefits. (3) StatusQuo of EnvironmentalQuality in the AssessedArea

Natural eco-environmental status quo: Nearly 45% of the assessed area is covered by forests and vegetation, with an average accumulated living wood for 9.6m3/hM2, most of which are plantation forests or natural secondary forests. Youshui River is clear with few types of plankton, and the fishes in the river are mainly composed by small-sized polyphagous or predatory fishes that eat zoobenthos and phycophyta, which is not enough to be a commercially viable resource. The economic activities of human beings have resulted in obvious

.113 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countyof HubeiProvince impacts on the eco-environment, with frequent floods and heavy water and soil loss. The large volume of felling of trees, reclaiming and uncontrolled catching of wild animals on the low hills along Youshui River have made the rare wild animals and plants die out and disappear from the construction site and submerged area of the proposed project. The results from monitoring on the current environmental quality show that: The water in the river section of Youshui River that the proposed reservoir is located in and its branches are in good quality. Except for pH value, all of the other indexes have met the water quality requirements for the water area in Class II, provided by GHZ81-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water". There is no large-scaled air pollution sources in the reservoir area, and the ambient air quality of Baifusi Town where the proposed project is to be located is also in good quality, in compliance with the Standard of Class II in GB3095-1996 "Ambient Air Quality Standard". Within the assessed scope, the current acoustic environmental quality is fine, and all of the monitored values are lower than the limits to the Noise Standard of Class I in GB3096-93.

(4) Impacts on Eco-environment During the construction period of the proposed project, the construction activities, such as land leveling, earth-rock excavation, building of construction roads and spoils from the construction, will destroy the original vegetation, alter the natural landscape and enlarge the acreage of bare surface of ground. If these can not be handled properly, water and soil loss will be aggravated. Noise from the construction will disturb the wild animals living around the construction site, but the disturbance will not endanger these animals. [if noise will disturb the remaining wildlife populations, how can you state that this will not endanger these animals. If this disturbance causes them to move to less suitable habitat, or to stop breeding because of noise or other disturbance, then this has the potential to endanger these populations.] After completing the construction of the proposed reservoir, a new landscape comprised of a lake in a valley will come into being to replace the original river eco- environment. After the reservoir filling, the river section will turn to a lake-type warm water habitat, benefiting the growth of planktons and increase of saprophytic bacteria. The volume of bait organisms and zoobenthos will also rise. As for commercial fishes, the warm habitat provides them with favorable condition to be optimized. The amphibians and reptilian living in hill torrent will move upward to branches to live. [animals displaced due to the reservoir will not survive if they cannot find suitable habitat in which to relocate (i.e., if no such habitat exists), or if available habitat is already occupied in which case the carrying capacity may be exceeded and the species will become endangered.]

Affected by the stratified water temperature in the reservoir, the temperature of released water is a little lower than that of water in natural rivers, which will produce negative impacts to those thermophilic fishes living in downstream reaches. After the build-up of the reservoir, a few of aquatic plants growing in the bottomland

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of valley before the construction of reservoir will be submerged and die out, which will be replaced by hydrophilic and moisture resistant grass vegetation. The project will have no impacts on the vegetation living in the elevation over 370m. The wild animals living in the original hillsides along the valley will move upward, but be impacted a little. [see my point above regarding habitat concerns and carrying capacity]

(5) Impact on Aquatic Environment If the wastewater from production and domestic sewage directly discharge into Youshui River without any treatment, the SS, pH value and organic substances will significantly increase. After being treated, the wastewater will hardly impact the current beneficial use of the downstream river. During a certain period after the completion of the proposed project, the total volume of pollutants discharged into Youshui River will remain unchanged compared with the current level, and the water quality of the reservoir can be kept in the current level as well. After the start of the operation of the reservoir water will lack nutritive substances. If the water pollution caused by tourism can be controlled and the fish cultivation in net-chests (the water surface of aquatic cultivation should be no more than 1% of the total reservoir surface, i.e. 3x 104 m2 ) can be limited, the reservoir will not become eutrophic . During the flood period, the water quality in downstream nearly has no difference from the current status, and in the non-flood period, the water quality in downstream will be better than the that in original natural river course. The completion of the proposed reservoir will make the water temperature in the reservoir shows characteristics of a mix type reservoir, and the water temperature will bring specific impacts to the local climate. The average monthly water temperature will be higher than air temperature for 0.2-5.8 0, with an average difference of 3.11 in a year. During the operation of the reservoir, the annual runoff rate will meet balance in inflow and outflow. The average flow velocity is slower than that in natural status. The released flow rate in flood period is same as the natural status, and the flow rate will increase in downstream during the dry period and normal period. After effective measures being taken, the sediment will not influence the beneficial use of the proposed reservoir. (6) Impacts on Acoustic Environment and Ambient Air In the construction period of the proposed project, the construction machines will produce continuous noise with high intensity. Within the scope of 400 m away from the noise source, the noise exceeds the standard, but it will not bring obvious impact to the residents of Baifusi Town. The blasting and noise from transportation motor vehicles will impact the local residents to some extent, but will be sudden and limited. The dust from the construction process and exhaust from construction machines and transporting vehicles will mainly affect the construction workers on the spot, and then the residents surrounding the construction site, so the impacted scope is narrow. The activities in the construction all belong to short-term activities, and will be ended along with end of the construction. At that time, the above-mentioned impacts will be eliminated, and then the acoustic environment and ambient air will be recovered. [as noted in an earlier section, it is unacceptable to subject local residents to excessive noise and dust during the construction period. Therefore, effective

.115 . Reportfor Envronmental ImpnactAssessmentfor Lajitan HfvdropewerProject in Laifeng County of Hubel Provnee mitigation measures need to be developed to eliminate or considerably reduce these impacts.] After the completion of the proposed project, there will be no negative impact on the acoustic environment and ambient air in the assessed area.

(7) Water and Soil Loss The results from the investigation on the status quo indicate the region where the proposed project is located has suffered heavy loss of water and soil. The average soil erosion volume in the main reach of Youshui River amounts to 3750t1km2.a and that in branches to 143 lt/km2 .a.

Calculated on the basis of general equation, the soil loss in unit acreage is 54.75t/km2.a in the construction site of the proposed project. Analyzed by geotechnics, the total volume of water and soil loss caused by the spoils from the construction will be approximately 867,000 tons. Based on hydrological analysis, if there is no sufficient measures, such as engineering measures, revegetation measures and re-reclaiming, the total volume of water and soil loss in the construction site will be 36 times of that when the measures are taken. Therefore, the measures for water and soil conservation have to be brought into effect, to prevent the acceleration of water and soil loss. (8) Submerging and Resettlement The proposed project will submerge land for 33.86hm2, which will result in permanent and irreversible negative impacts to these lands. Three hundred and ninety seven persons will be affected by the inundation of land in the reservoir area and, therefore will need to be. They will consume a certain quantity of land resources and forest resources during the relocation, and some new water and soil loss will occur. Resettlement of project affected people will bring new pressures to the population- environmental capacity of the target relocation region. Certainly the proper allocation of relocatees will not impact the life of relocatees and social stabilization. According to the plan for resettlement provided by the owner of the proposed project, it is estimated that the occupied grains per capita will be 423.9kg, still at the level of just out of poverty. (9) Human Health The human health in the assessed area is at normal level, without obvious local disaster. A health network has been formed at three levels, including county level, town level and village level, but the medical treatment conditions and facilities are still poor. During the construction, the epidemic situation may take place and accelerated, so necessary prevention measures should be carried out. Before the reservoir filling, if the reservoir inundation zone is not cleared up, the water may be polluted in the initial stage of the operation of reservoir. And the infections via water may increase. So there also needs necessary measure to enhance the infection prevention, based on the detailed measures listed in Chapter 7.

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(10) Geological Environment The proposed project is located in a comparatively stable region with few earthquakes. In recent years, there is no record on an earthquake in over 4 degree in the surrounding area. The basic intensity of earthquake is Degree IV. Little possibility exists in the earthquake induced by reservoir filling. There are small-scaled slump blocks in the riverbank upstream of the reservoir, amounting to tens to hundreds of cubic meters. From an analogue investigation and analysis for Tangkou Reservoir at the end of the proposed reservoir, it shows that after the reservoir filling, the elevated water level and warmed water flow will decrease the scouring effect of the river, so the mass wasting of the reservoir banks will be accordingly reduced, and will not put barriers to the operation of the reservoir. [what about the effects of drawdown on the earthen banks of the river? Will there be bank failures due to changes in pore water pressure and wave action along the shoreline?] From Nanhe in the reservoir area down to Lajitan, the site of dam, there are many solution caves (karst caves) along the banks. The elevation of stream in Wachangba is lower than others (360m), where the surface and ground karsts have been developed. So the issues related to the karsts leakage should receive more attention.

9.2 Recommendations

(1) Formulating a General Planning for Eco-environmental Protection and Social Economic Development In the general planning, various tasks, including power generation, tourism, aquatic cultivation, water transportation, water and soil conservation, comprehensive planning for utilization of national land, and plans for resettlement, should be organically integrated with the corresponding eco-environmental protection measures. The government should fully play a leading role in the coordination of all of these tasks and finalize them indeed. Iwhat level of government? What agencies or departments?l Therefore the reservoir area will become an eco-economic system in virtuous circles with high profits, and then realize the coordinative development of both environmental protection and economic construction. (2) Strengthening the Water and Soil Conservation and Recover Vegetation in the Reservoir Area Lajitan HPP is located in a region with heavy loss of water and soil. 30 years ago, the banks of the reservoir area were covered by flourishing forests, but now nearly nothing of these remains. To comply with "Water and Soil Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Forest Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China", the owner of the proposed project and the local governments at each level within the reservoir area should fully take the advantages of the favorable local climate and increased humidity resulted from the construction of the reservoir to plant trees, close the hillside to be afforested, recover the vegetation and finally enlarge the acreage of land covered by forests. As for the hillsides with a gradient over 25°, the already cultivated land should be reforested, or planted with commercial tree crops, such as Citrus sinensis and Vemicia fordii, and the flood-resisting shrubs, such as river calthrop should be planted on the buffer zone between the normal pool level and the flood water level in the reservoir area. And on the slopes with a gradient less than

.117. Report for Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projec in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

250, the cultivated land should be modified into terraced fields, to prevent water and soil loss.

(3) Resettlement Resettlement of project affected people is a most important task in the proposed project, which is also one of the most concerned issues by the relocatees. In the meantime, it is also a key factor to decide the success of the construction of proposed project. Hence it is recommended the local government and owner of the project can attach great importance to the resettlement of project affected people. At present, the proposed plans for resettlement should be supplemented and detailed further as early as possible. The comments proposed by the potential relocatees and the local residents in the target relocation districts should be widely collected and submitted to the concerned governmental bodies for approval. (4) Enhancing Eco-environmental Protection during the Development of Tourism and Aquatic Cultivation

The completion of the proposed project will provide specific favorable foundations to the development of tourism and aquatic cultivation, and promote the local social economic development in the assessed area. However some environmental pollution issues will also arise because of the project, especially the negative impact on the conservation of water quality in the reservoir. It is recommended for the owner to prepare detailed rules for environmental protection of tourism and aquatic cultivation, so as to conserve the water quality of the reservoir and the natural landscape as well. Meanwhile, the water acreage for net- cage fish cultivation should be also controlled in total quantity. (5) During the initial designing, construction and operating period of the proposed project, the measures for environmental protection proposed in this EIA report should be strictly put into use. The owner should accomplish the plans for environmental management and environmental monitoring formulated in this EIA report, and conduct the environmental protection at each period. (6) Properly Coordinating the Relationship between various Concerned Parties in the River Basin The proposed project is one of the cascade hydropower generation stations in Youshui River. Youshui River crosses Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Chongqing City. When conserving, developing and utilizing the water resources of Youshui River, great attention should be paid to the achievement in the multi social and economic benefits and environmental protection in these three provinces (city). The water resources should be reasonably and fairly used, so as to jointly promote the economic development of these provinces (city), and effectively control pollution and conserve water and soil in the entire basin.

Summed up from the above analysis, the construction of Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County is totally conformed to the sectoral policy of China. The construction and operation of the proposed project will bring both positive and negative impacts on the local eco-environment, but analyzed from the overall and long-term view, the benefits will exceed the negative impacts. In the meantime, except for the submerged loss to

.118. Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Nube ProWnce be a permanent and irreversible impact, the others among the negative impacts can be all prevented or eliminated by effective measures. With purpose to prevent or eliminate the negative enviromnental impacts brought by the construction and operation of the proposed project, the owner of the project should comply with each law, regulation and standard listed in this EIA report, strictly execute the "Three Simultaneous" system and the requirements for the pollutants discharged from the project, and finalize every measure for eco-environmental protection.

.119 . Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajiten Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Habei ProvWnce

References:

(1) "Eco-environmental Impact of Dam Construction in Yangtze River", Ziyun FANG, Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation in Yangtze River; (2) "Impacts on Vegetation by the Three Gorges Project of the Yangtze River and Its Conservation Measures", Jiaxiang ZUO, etc, Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation in Yangtze River

(3) "Impacts on Terrestrial Backboned Animals (Mammals and Aves) and Rare Animals by Dam Construction of the Three Gorges Project", Songgen LU, etc, Reservoir Institute for Animals, Chinese Sciences Academy;

(4) "Eco-environmental Issues of Dam Construction of the Three Gorges Project", Water Resources Conservation Bureau for Yangtze River;

(5) "Impacts on Wild Animals and Rare Animals in Reservoir Area by the Three Gorges Project", Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation in Yangtze River, and Reservoir Institute for Animals, Chinese Sciences Academy; (6) "Comprehensive Assessment on Eco-environrental Impacts of the Three Gorges Project", Chaojun WANG, etc, Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation in Yangtze Rive; (7) "EIA Report for the Meddle Line Subproject in Diversion of Water in Yangtze River into the North of China", Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation in Yangtze Rive, February 1996. (8) "Taxology for Backboned Animals", Zuoxin ZHENG, Agricultural Press, 1982. (9) "Animal Icon of China", Baoshan ZHENG, Sciences Press, 1987 (1O)"Status Quo of Methane Emission", Renjian ZHANG, etc, Research on Climate and Environment, Issue 2 of Volume 4, June 1999.

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