Environmental Impact Assessment (Draft) April 2016 BAN: SASEC Chittagong – Cox’s Bazar Railway Project, Phase I Prepared by Ministry of Railways, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for the Asian Development Bank CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 30 March 2016) Currency unit – Bangladesh Taka (BDT) BDT 1.00 = $ 0.12 $1.00 = BDT 78.85 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1 ha – 2.47 acre 1 ha – 10,000 sq. m 1 acre – 100 decimal ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS Term Unit Definition As mg/l Arsenic BADC Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation BD Bangladesh BIWTA Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code BOQ Bill of Quantities BR Bangladesh Railway BUET Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology BWDB Bangladesh Water Development Board CBTA Capacity Building Technical Assistance ( ADB funding mechanism) CITES Convention on Trade in Endangered Species CO mg/l Carbon Monoxide CPRs Community Property Resources CROW Construction Right of Way (nominally 50 m, i.e., 25 m per side) CWLR Continuous long welded rail CWS Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary dd/mm/yy Notation to be used at all times decimel Bangla Unit of Land Equalling 40.46 m2 DC Deputy Commissioner DG Director General DO mg/l Dissolved Oxygen DoE Department of Environment DoF Department of Forest DPHE Department of Public Health Engineering ECA Environmental Conservation Act ECR Environmental Conservation Rules EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EIB European Investment Bank EMoT Environmental Monitoring Table EMP Environmental Management Plan Engineer The construction supervision consultant/engineer EPAS Environmental Parameter Air Sampler EQS Environmental Quality Standards ESSU Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit FD Forest Department Fe mg/l Iron FGD Focus Group Discussion FWS Fasiakhali Wildlife Sanctuary GHG Greenhouse Gases GM General Manager GoB Government of Bangladesh GPS Global Positioning System GRC Grievance Redress Committee GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GW Ground Water h hour ha Hectare IC Inter-City ICTPs International Conventions, Treaties and Protocols IEE Initial Environmental Examination IESR Initial Environmental Scoping Report IoL Inventory of Losses (a Resettlement Plan task) IUCN International Union for Conservation and Nature Khadi rough textures of the spun cotton km Kilometre km/h kilometre per hour LGED Local Government Engineering Department Mn mg/l Manganese msl Mean sea level NE NA North East NEMAP National Environmental Management Action Plan NGO Non-Government Organisation NM Noise Measurement NO mg/l Nitric Oxide NO2 mg/l Nitrogen Dioxide O3 mg/l Ozone PAPs Project Affected Persons PC Public Consultation PCRs Physical and Cultural Resources PM10 mg/l Particulate Matter (less than or equal to 10 microns) PM2.5 mg/l Particulate Matter (less than or equal to 2.5 microns) PPTA Project Preparation Technical Assistance Psgr or Passenger pax PWD Public Works Department Q/A Questions and Answers QS Questionnaire Survey RCC Roller Compacted Concrete RCI Regional Cooperation and Integration RCIP Regional Cooperation and Integration Project RH Relative Humidity RHD Roads and Highway Department RHFL Recorded Highest Flood Level RLFL Recorded lowest Flood Level RoW Right of Way RTW River Training Works S mg/l Sulphur SAARC South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation SHWL Standard High Water Level SO2 mg/l Sulphur Dioxide SPS Safeguards Policy Statement SRDI Soil Resource Development Institute SW Surface Water TEUS Twenty-Foot –Equivalent Units (measure of ship’s cargo capacity- 39m3 TDS Total Dissolved Solids TIC Thermal Imaging Camera System TOC mg/l Total Organic Carbon ToR Terms of References TSS mg/l Total Suspended Solid UNESCAP United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia & Pacific UNO Upazila Nirbahi Officer UP Union Parishad Upazila An administrative unit equalling a district USD United States Dollar USEPA US Environmental Protection Agency VOC Volatile Organic Compound WQ Water Quality NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. The “Construction Supervision Consultant” and “Engineer” terms are used interchangeably throughout this report, since this is the terminology used in the construction contract documents. This Project, Subproject 4, is one of seven subprojects being investigated under the RCIP- Rail Component. It shall be referred to herein as the Project This environmental impact assessment is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section of this website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ I I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 A. Background ......................................................................................................... 1 B. Need for Project .................................................................................................. 1 C. Scope of Environmental Assessment .................................................................. 5 D. Objectives of the EIA .......................................................................................... 5 E. Methodology ....................................................................................................... 5 F. Environmental Classification of Project ..............................................................10 G. Organisation of Report .......................................................................................10 II. POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK ...........................................12 A. Bangladesh ........................................................................................................12 B. Relevant International Conventions, Treaties and Protocols (ICTPs) .................17 C. GoB Environmental Clearance and Public Consultation Procedure ...................17 D. ADB Safeguard Policy .......................................................................................19 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT ...............................................................................21 A. General ..............................................................................................................21 B. Project Boundaries and Design ..........................................................................21 C. Project Design ...................................................................................................23 D. Social and Resettlement Considerations ............................................................29 E. Project Implementation Schedule .......................................................................29 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................30 A. Biophysical Environment ....................................................................................30 B. Social Environment ............................................................................................68 C. The Large Bridges >100 m.................................................................................69 V. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES ...................................................................................72 A. Alternatives to the Project ..................................................................................72 B. The Alternative Alignments ................................................................................72 C. Conclusions .......................................................................................................83 VI. IMPACTS AND MITIGATIVE MEASURES ....................................................................84 A. Pre-Construction Period .....................................................................................84 B. Construction Period Impacts and Proposed Mitigation .......................................99 C. Operating Period .............................................................................................. 118 D. Summary of Potential Impacts ......................................................................... 137 E. Environmental Benefits and Enhancements ..................................................... 137 VII. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM ....................................................................... 139 A. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 139 B. The Grievance Redress Committee ................................................................. 139 C. Steps to a Solution ........................................................................................... 140 D. Publicising the Grievance Redress Steps and the Committee .......................... 140 E. Construction Workers Grievance ..................................................................... 141 VIII. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION .. 143 A. General ...........................................................................................................