Initial Environmental Examination April 2014 NEP: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Power System Expansion Project - Transmission and Distribution Prepared by Nepal Electricity Authority for the Asian Development Bank. This is an updated version of the draft originally posted in February 2014 available on http://www.adb.org/projects/documents/sasec-power-system-expansion-project-rereap-component-i ee This initial environmental examination 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. Asian Development Bank Nepal: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Power System Expansion Project (SPEP) On-grid Components INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXAMINATION Revised Draft – April 2014 i ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume I Section Page 1 Executive Summary 1 Policy, Legal, and Administrative 2 7 Framework 3 Description of the Project 20 4 Description of the Environment 36 Volume II Section Anticipated Environmental 5 Impacts and Mitigation 94 Measures Information Disclosure, 6 114 Consultation, and Participation Environmental Management 7 117 Program Conclusions and 8 130 Recommendations Appendices 1 Important Flora and Fauna 136 2 Habitat Maps 158 3 Summary of Offsetting Activities 168 Routing Maps in Annapurna 4 Conservation Area and Site 171 Photos Consultations on Transmission 5 197 System Outputs Volume III Section 9 Anticipated Environmental 240 Impacts and Mitigation Measures 10 Information Disclosure, 259 Consultation, and Participation 11 Environmental Management 263 Program ii ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 12 Conclusions and Recommendations 276 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Project Safeguards “Map” 19 Figure 3.1 Country and Sector Context 21 Figure 3.2 Project Components 31 Figure 3.3 Daily Load Curve for Peak Day 32 Figure 3.4 Electricity Load Forecast 33 Figure 4.1 Location Map and Elevation 36 Profile of Kaligandaki Corridors Figure 4.2 Location Map and Elevation 37 Profile of Marsyangdi Corridors Figure 4.3 Location of Distribution 41 Subprojects Figure 4.4 Soil Map 42 Figure 4.5 Earthquake Magnitude Map 44 Figure 4.6 Seismic Hazard Map of Project 45 Area Figure 4.7 Monthly Temperatures of 46 Kaligandaki Corridor Figure 4.8 Monthly Rainfall of Kaligandaki 46 Corridor Figure 4.9 Vegetation Period for different 47 stations of DKBB Line Figure 4.10 Monthly Wind Speed of DKBB 48 Line Figure 4.11 Wind Power Potential Map of 49 Nepal Figure 4.12 Monthly Temperatures of 50 Marsyangdi Corridor Figure 4.13 Monthly Rainfall of MKMB Line 50 Figure 4.14 Vegetation Period for different 51 stations of MKMB Line Figure 4.15 Monthly Wind Speed of MKMB 52 Line Figure 4.16 Monthly Temperatures of 53 Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line iii ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 Figure 4.17 Monthly Rainfall of 53 Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line Figure 4.18 Vegetation Period for different stations of 54 Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line Figure 4.19 Monthly Wind Speed of 55 Marsyandgi-Kathmandu Line Figure 4.20 Monthly Temperatures Along S-T 56 Line Figure 4.21 Monthly Rainfall of S-T Line 56 Figure 4.22 Vegetation Period for Different 57 Stations of S-T Line Figure 4.23 Monthly Wind Speed of S-T Line 57 Figure 4.24 Monthly Average Discharge of 58 Kaligandaki River Figure 4.25 Important Bird Areas in Nepal 61 Figure 4.26 Seasonal Variation in Vultures at Rupandehi VSFS and Fire 65 Occurrences provided by NASA Figure 4.27 Fire Occurrence in Project Districts between January 2012 66 and July 2013 Figure 4.28 Chitwan Annapurna Landscape 68 Protected Areas In and Adjacent Figure 4.29 to Chitwan Annapurna 68 Landscape Figure 4.30 The Terai Arc Landscape 70 Potentially Sensitive Figure 4.31a 71 Ecosystems Potentially Sensitive Figure 4.31b 72 Ecosystems Land Use Map of Annapurna Figure 4.32 73 Conservation Area Land Use Zones in the Annapurna Conservation Area Figure 4.33 74 with respect to Project Components Schematic of Pollutant Sources, Figure 5.1 94 Pathways, and Receptors Figure 5.2 Types of Transmission Towers 96 Figure 5.3 “Stacked” Conductors 108 iv ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 Figure 6.1 GRM Complaint Flow 116 Schematic of Pollutant Sources, Figure 9.1 240 Pathways, and Receptors Figure 10.1 GRM Complaint Flow 261 List of Tables Table 2.1 Ambient Air Quality Standards 15 Table 2.2 Generic Industrial Wastewater 16 Standards Table 3.1 Project Outputs 1 and 3 – 22 Transmission and Mini-grids Table 3.2 Project Output 2 – Distribution 23 System Table 3.3 Associated Hydropower 25 Development Status Table 4.1 Administrative units traversed 37 by the DKBB Line Table 4.2 Administrative units traversed 39 by the MKMB Line Table 4.3 Administrative units traversed by the Marki Chowk – 40 Kathmandu Line Table 4.4 Administrative Units traversed 40 by the S-T Line Table 4.5 Protected Areas in and Adjacent to the Chitwan Annapurna 67 Landscape Table 4.6 Important Protected Species in the Annapurna Conservation 76 Area Table 4.7 Summary of Potentially Sensitive Project Locations, 78 Impacts, and Mitigation Options Table 4.8 VDC Population of Kaligandaki 79 Corridor Table 4.9 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in Maligandaki 80 VDCs Table 4.10 Ethnic Composition by VDC for 81 Kaligandaki Corridor v ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 Table 4.11 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in Marsyangdi 82 Corridor Table 4.12 VDC Population of Marki Chowk 83 - Kathmandu Line Table 4.13 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in Marki Chowk - 84 Kathmandu Project Area VDCs Table 4.14 Ethnic Composition by VDC for 85 M-K Line Table 4.15 VDC Population of S-T Line 86 Table 4.16 Ownership of Agricultural Land and Livestock in S-T Project 86 Area VDCs Table 4.17 Ethnic Composition by VDC for 87 S-T Line Table 5.1 Potentially Sensitive Locations, 100 Impacts, and Mitigation Options Table 5.2 Summary of Footprint in the 101 ACA Table 5.3 Potential Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures for Overall 105 Project Table 5.4 Compliance with ADB requirements for Sensitive 111 Habitats Table 5.5 Greenhouse Gas Emissions 112 Table 7.1 Preliminary Environmental 119 Management Plan Table 7.2 Minimum Provisions for 125 Environmental Monitoring Table 7.3 EMP Work Plan – Key Activities 127 Table 7.4 Preliminary EMP Cost Estimates 129 Table 9.1 Distribution System Footprint 241 Table 9.2 Potentially Sensitive Locations, 241 Impacts, and Mitigation Options Table 9.3 Summary of Existing 248 Infrastructure and Project Footprint in Protected Areas Table 9.4 Potential Project Impacts and 252 Mitigation Measures Table 9.5 Compliance with ADB 257 vi ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 requirements for Sensitive Habitats Table 11.1 Preliminary Environmental 265 Management Plan Table 11.2 Minimum Provisions for 271 Environmental Monitoring Table 11.3 EMP Work Plan – Key Activities 273 Table 11.4 Preliminary EMP Cost Estimates 275 Abbreviations and Units ACA Annapurna Conservation Area ADB Asian Development Bank CARE Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere CBS Central Bureau of Statistics CFUG Community Forest Users Group CHAL Chitwan Annapurna Landscape CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species DDC District Development Committee EA Executing Agency EBA Endemic Bird Area EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Program EPA Environmental Protection Act EPR Environmental Protection Regulations ESSD Environmental and Social Studies Department of NEA FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FECOFUN Federation of Community Forestry Users in Nepal FRP Fire Radiative Power Gal 0.01m/s2 GLOF Glacier Lake Outburst Flood GON Government of Nepal GRM Grievance redress mechanism GWh Giga-watt hour (a measure of energy output) IBA Important Bird Area ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IEE Initial Environmental Examination IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature km Kilometer kV Kilovolt LDOF Landslide Dam Outburst Flood m Meter MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MW Megawatt (a measure of power capacity) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NEA Nepal Electricity Authority NTNC National Trust for Nature Conservation vii ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 PCB Poly-chlorinated biphenyls PIU Project Implementation Unit REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation ROW Right-of-way TAL Terai Arc Landscape TCL Tiger Conservation Landscape tCO2e tons carbon dioxide equivalent USAID United States Agency for International Development VDC Village Development Committee WPD Wind Power Density WWF World Wide Fund for Nature 1 ADB Nepal SPEP IEE revised draft – April 2014 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction The proposed South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Power System Expansion Project (SPEP, the Project) is included in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Partnership Strategy 2010-2012 for Nepal, and the Country Operations Business Plan 2013-2015. The Project targets the strengthening and expansion of transmission and distribution systems that