Environmental Assessment Report Initial Environmental Examination for Metro Opera House Entrance Upgrade (Yeritasardakan) (Project 4) Document Stage: Draft Project Number: 42417 July 2010 Yerevan Sustainable Urban Transport Program Tranche 1 Prepared by Municipality of Yerevan of the Republic of Armenia for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The initial environmental examination document is that of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of A DB’s Board of Di rectors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank EA Executing Agency EARF Environmental Assessment and Review Framework EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan IA Implementin g Agency IEE Initial Environmental Examination IMF International Monetary Fund IFI International financial institution IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature LARP Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan Master Plan Yerevan City Master Plan, Vol.5, 2004 MNP Ministry of Nature Protection MOC Ministry of Culture MFF Multi-tranche Financing Facility NO Nitrog en Oxide NO2 Nitrog en Dioxide NPE Nature Protection Expertise NGO Non -governmental organization PIU Project Implementation Unit PPMU Program Preparation and Management Unit PPTA Project Preparatory Technical Assistance RAMSAR Ramsar Convention on Wetlands RA Republic of Armenia REA Rapid Environmental Assessment SEI State Environmental Inspectorate SNCO State Non-commercial Organization SO2 Sulfur Dioxide UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dBA deci bel (A-weighted) km kilomet er(s) km2 squ are kilometer(s) m meter(s) mg/m3 milligram(s) per cubic meter GLOSSARY Khachkar Cross-bearing carved memorial fragments Marshrutka Minibu s Metro Yerevan subway system after Karen Demirchyan CJSC NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. In preparing any cou ntry program or strategy, financing any proj ect, or by making any de signation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. CONTENTS Page ISSUE AND REVISION RECORD ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Project Background and Purpose of Report 1 1. Project Background 1 2. The Project 2 B. IEE Report Outline and Methodology 2 C. Armenian and ADB Environmental Assessment Requirements 3 1. Armenian Laws Governing Environmental Management and Assessment 3 2. ADB Environmental Assessment Requirements 4 D. Extent of the IEE Study 5 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 5 A. Type of Project 5 B. Project Location 5 C. Magnitude of Operation 6 D. Project Description 6 E. Alternatives to the Proposed Project 7 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT – BASELINE 8 A. Physical Resources 8 1. Air Quality and Climate 8 2. Surface and Groundwater 9 3. Topography, Soils, Geology and Seismology 9 B. Ecological Resources 9 C. Economic Development 11 D. Social and Cultural Resources 11 IV. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION 13 A. Environmental Parameters that may be Impacted 13 B. Impacts Due to Location 13 C. Impacts Related to Design 14 D. Impacts During Construction 14 1. Site Preparation Activities 15 2. Excavation and Vehicle Movements 15 3. Traffic Movements on Public Roads and Altered Access 17 4. Solid and Liquid Waste Generation 17 5. Site Reinstatement 17 6. Summary of Construction Impact 18 E. Impacts Related to Operations 18 F. Cumulative Environmental Effects 18 V. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN 19 A. Environmental Management Plan 19 B. Environmental Monitoring Plan 37 C. Institutional Arrangements and Responsibilities 43 1. Institutional Arrangements 43 2. Responsibilities 43 3. Recommended Environmental and Social Safeguard Clauses for Civil Works Contracts Error! Bookmark not defined. D. Cost of Implementation 45 VI. CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 45 A. Stakeholder Meetings 45 B. Public Consultation 45 C. Information Disclosed 46 D. Future Consultation 46 VII. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 46 VIII. CONCLUSIONS 47 IX. REFERENCES 48 APPENDIXES 1. Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) – Urban Development 2. Ecological investigation 3. Archaeological investigation 4. Consultation meeting advertisement and attendance sheets 2 Figure 1: Armenia showing the location of Yerevan Yerevan Figure 2: Map of Yerevan showing program project locations Project 1 - Davitashen Bridge to Ashtarak Highway Road Link Project 4 - Metro Opera House Entrance Upgrade Project 2 - (Yeritasardakan) Argavand Highway to Shirak Street Road Link Project 3 - Shirak Street to Artashat Highway Road Link Source: Municipality of Yerevan Master Plan (2004) Figure 3: Locality map Project site Source: Collage (2001) 4 Figure 4: Indicative project layout 5 1 I. INTRODUCTION A. Project Background and Purpose of Report 1. The Republic of Armeni a is a landlocked count ry between the Black and the Cas pian Seas, bordered on the n orth by Georgia, to the east by Aze rbaijan, on the south by Iran, and to the west by Turkey as shown in Figure 1. Yerevan covers an area of 260km2 extending 18km north-south and 16km e ast-west with the centre and the so uth of the city at a lower geographic level. 1. Project Background 2. Like other New Independent States of the former Soviet Uni on, Armenia's economy still suffers from the lega cy of a centrally planned economy and the brea kdown of fo rmer Sovie t trading net works. Investment from these states in support of Armenian industry h as virtually disappeared, and consequently few major enterprises are st ill able to function. The structure of Armenia's economy has changed substantially since 1991 , with sector s such as construction and services replacing agriculture and industry as the main contributors to the economic growth. Other industrial se ctors driving industrial gr owth includ e energy, metallurgy, and food processing. 3 The Metro, Yerevan Metro after Karen Demirchyan CJSC, opened in 1981 and was constructed to high technical standards but has received little funding fo r the last 15 years and is now in a generally poor condition. Given high operating costs and need for capital investment, efforts are needed to significantly increase ridership on the system. 4. The single north-south line of 12.1km run s from Barekamutyun-Garegin Nz hdehi Hraparak, with a shuttle service from Sheng avit to Cha rbakh. There are 10 stations, eigh t underground and at deep level at the northern section of the system. Th e Metro was constructed at a time when people primarily lived to the north of the City an d worked in industries located to the south. The system was originally designed wit h a capacity at stations for five car trains. 3. From the beginning of the 1990’s public transport demand has generally been falling due to general economic decline in the region. Due to the changing demographics and the reduction of employment in the s outhern suburbs after the fall of th e USSR, th e demand f or travel b y Metro fell d ramatically in the early 1990’s. This fall has been exacerb ated by the increased competition from minibu ses (marshrutka). However, towards the end of the decade passenger demand by public transport started to increa se. The growth of econo mic activity and growing household disposable incomes, improve ments in the r oad network, greater access to international air travel a nd public transportation after 1990 are among t he main rea sons of the increasing use of public transport. 4. From the mid 1990’s private businesses have been encouraged by the Government of Armenia to support improvements of public tra nsport. Private businesses mostly operate with buses and minibuses which are more flexible and less costly from both a capital and operational perspective. They run new routes which complement but also comp ete with the Metro and trolleybus routes in order to increase thei r share of public demand. This has substantia lly improved accessibility to public transport but has increased congestion and air pollution and has resulted in a decline in the use of the Metro and trolleybuses. 2 5. Steady economic progr ess ha s ear ned Armenia increa sing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fu nd (IMF), World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as other internation al financia l institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending con siderable gr ants and loans. These loans are targeted at reducing th e budget d eficit; stabilizing the local currency; and develo ping private businesses related to energy, a griculture, f ood processing, transp ortation, and health and education sectors. In D ecember 2005, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation approved a 5-year $235 million Compact (a multi-year agreem ent) with the Government of Armenia, which was to focus on rehabilitation o f irrigation networks and upgrading of rural transport infrastructure. 2. The Project 6. During 2007, the Municipality of Yerevan worked with the World Bank on the public transport network, traffic management, parking, and ticketing systems, and has s et relevant objectives. The Asian Developme nt Bank (ADB) is now working with Govern ment of Arme nia and the Municipality to address some of the objectives by improving municipal infrastructure and reducing ro ad transport ation constr aints on e conomic