Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Project Number: 41193 July 2011 Mongolia: Western Regional Road Corridor Development Program–Tranche 1 Prepared by SMEC Asia Ltd. The 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. DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT TA No. 7449-MON: Regional Transport Development Project Western Regional Road Corridor Development Program Bagga – Ulaan – Davaa – Mankhan (103.3km) CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (As of July 2011) Currency Unit – Mongolian Tugrug (Tg) 100 Tg = $0.072 $100 = 137,500 Tg The exchange rate of the Tg is determined under a floating exchange rate system. In this report, the rate used is the rate prevailing at the above date. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED ADB Asian Development Bank ADT Average Daily Traffic AMa Absolute Maximum AMi Absolute Minimum о С Degrees of Celsius cm Centimeter EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental management Plan GOM Government of Mongolia GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism ha Hectare km Kilometer km/h Kilometers per hour KUNNP Khar-Us Nuur National Park m Meter MESC Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture MFF Multitranche Funding Facility mg/m3 Milligrams per cubic meter MLEIA Mongolian Law on Environmental Impact Assessments MLEP Mongolian Law on Environmental Protection MNET Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism MOF Ministry of Finance MRTCUD Ministry of Road, Transport, Construction and Urban Development NAMHEM National Agency of Meteorology Hydrology and Environmental Monitoring NGO Non-Governmental Organization NM National Monuments NP National Parks NR Natural Reserves NSO National Statistical Office PIU Project Implementation Unit PRC People’s Republic of China RP Resettlement Plan SE Supervising Engineer SPA Specially Protected Area SPIA State Professional Inspection Agency USD US Dollar UNDP United Nations Development Program TA Technical Assistance UB Ulaanbaatar WCS World Conservation Society WRRC Western Regional Road Corridor WWF World Wide Fund for Nature NOTE: (i) In this report, “$” refers to U.S. Dollars. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i 1.1 Introduction i 1.2 Critical Facts i 1.3 Significant Findings ix 1.4 Recommendations xvi 2. INTRODUCTION 19 2.1 Background 19 2.2 EIA Preparation 20 2.3 Associated Project Facilities 21 2.4 Report Structure 22 3. POLICY LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 24 3.1 Environmental Policy 24 3.2 Environmental Law 25 3.3 Environmental Impact Assessment Requirements 29 3.4 Administrative Framework 32 3.5 Project Classification 36 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 37 4.1 Type of Project 37 4.2 Description of the Proposed Actions 37 4.3 Bill of Quantities (BOQ) for the Project 39 4.4 Need for the Project 39 4.5 Project Location 44 4.6 Associated Project Facilities 47 4.7 Traffic Projections 48 4.8 Implementation Schedule 49 5. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 50 5.1 Environment of Mongolia 50 5.2 Assessment Process 50 5.3 Definition of the Project Area 50 5.4 Physical Resources 50 5.5 Ecological Resources 68 5.6 Biodiversity 68 5.7 Economic Development 78 5.8 Social and Cultural Resouces 80 6. ALTERNATIVES 93 6.1 Alternative Analysis 93 6.2 No-action Alternative 93 6.3 Location Alternatives 93 6.4 Technological Alternatives 93 7. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 95 7.1 Screening of Potential Impacts 95 7.2 Anticipated Environmental Impacts 96 7.3 Physical Environment 97 7.4 Ecological Resources 105 7.5 Socio-Economic Impacts 109 7.6 Climate Change Impacts 111 7.7 Cumulative and Induced Impacts 114 8. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 115 8.1 Stakeholder Workshops 115 8.2 Other Public Consultations 117 8.3 Consultations within the Project Area 118 9. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 120 9.1 Introduction 120 9.2 Objectives of Grievance Redress Mechanism 120 9.3 Current Practice 120 9.4 Proposed Grievance Redress System 121 9.5 Responsibilities of the PCC 122 10. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 124 10.1 Environmental Safeguards 124 10.2 Mitigation Measures 124 10.3 Implementation 128 10.4 Implementation Schedule 129 10.5 Environmental Cost Estimate 130 10.6 Institutional Arrangements 130 10.7 Capacity Building 132 10.8 Environmental Monitoring 133 11. CONCLUSION 134 APPENDIXES 1. Environmental Management Plan 2A. Climate Variables and Air Quality Standards 2B. Water Quality Standards 2C. List of Flora and Fauna 2D. Historical and Cultural Heritage 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction 1. Purpose of the Project. The Government of Mongolia acting through its Ministry of Roads, Transport, Construction and Urban Development (MRTCUD), has undertaken the upgrading of the Western Regional Road Corridor (WRRC) with several funding arrangements. The 103.3 km road section from Baga Ulaan Davaa to Mankhan (Tranche 1) is an integral part of the said road corridor. The development of the road section Baga Ulaan Davaa to Mankhan (herein after referred to as the Project) has been identified for financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) extended for the development of several sections of the WRRC. 2. Scope of work. The scope of work for the preparation of the EIA consisted of; collection of existing information related to the environmental conditions along the proposed road section, assessment of potential location specific environmental impacts, development of preventive/mitigation measures for significant impacts, evaluation of alternative alignments and alternative technologies, economic assessment of environmental benefits and costs, preparing Environmental Management and Monitoring Plans, and public consultations. 1.2 Critical Facts 1.2.1 Legal and Administrative Framework Legal framework 3. Mongolia’s environmental legal framework is similar to international practices and is structured as shown in Table 1.1 below. Table 1.1: Key Environmental Legislation in Mongolia Name of the Law Year Adopted The Constitution of Mongolia 1992 1995, revised in 2006 Law on Environmental Protection and 2008 Law of Land Jun 2002 Law on Land Cadastre and Mapping Dec 1999 Law on Land Fees Apr 1997 Law on Land Possession Jun 2002 Law on implementation of regulations related to Land Possession Law Jun 2002 Law on Geodesy and Cartography Oct 1997 Law on Special Protected Areas Nov 1994 Law on Buffer Zones Oct 1997 Law on Water Apr 2004 Law on Water and Mineral Water Resource Fee May 1995 Law on Forests Mar 1995 Law on Fees for Timber and Fuel wood Harvesting May 1995 Law on Prevention of Steppe and Forest Fires May 1996 Law on Reinvestment of Natural Resource Use Fees for Conservation Jan 2000 Law on Natural Plants Apr 1995 Law on Natural Plant Use Fees May 1995 Law on Protection of Plants Mar 1996 Law on Hunting 2000, 2003 Law on Fauna 2000 Law on regulation of export and import of endangered species of flora and fauna Nov 2002 Law on Hunting Reserve Use Payments and on Hunting and Trapping Authorization Fees May 1995 Law on Underground Resources Dec 1994 Law on Minerals 1997, revised in 2006 Petroleum Law 1991 Law on Air Mar 1995 Law on Hydrometeorology Nov 1997 Law on Protection from Toxic Chemicals Apr 1995 Law on Environmental Impact Assessment 1998, revised in 2002 Law on Tourism 1998 Law on Solid Waste Nov 2003 Law on prohibiting export and transportation of Hazardous Waste Nov 2000 Source: UNDP. 2008. Institutional Structures for Environmental Management in Mongolia. EIA requirements 4. The Project will be subject to the environmental requirements of both Mongolia and those of the ADB. These requirements are as follows. 5. EIA requirements of ADB. ADB Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) sets out the policy objectives, scope and triggers, and principles for environmental safeguards, involuntary resettlement safeguards, and Indigenous Peoples safeguards. The objective of the Environmental Safeguards is to ensure the environmental soundness and sustainability of projects and to support the integration of environmental considerations into the project decision-making process and requires a screening process for each proposed project, as early as possible, to determine the appropriate extent and type of environmental assessment so that appropriate studies are undertaken commensurate with the significance of potential impacts and risks. Subsequent to the screening process an environmental assessment should be conducted to identify potential direct, indirect, cumulative, and induced impacts and risks to physical, biological, socioeconomic (including impacts on livelihood through environmental media, health and safety, vulnerable groups, and gender issues), and physical cultural resources in the context of the project’s area of influence. Therefore, all projects considered for loans and investments by ADB are subject to classification for the purpose of determining environmental assessment requirements. The determination of the environment category is to be based on the most environmentally sensitive component of the project. Within this system, projects are screened for their expected environmental impacts and assigned to one of the following four categories: (i) Category A: projects with potential for significant adverse environmental impacts - an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required to address significant impacts, (ii) Category B: projects judged to have some adverse environmental impacts,