E508 Volume 3 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Second Liao River Basin Project Public Disclosure Authorized Environmental Assessment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY March 2002 LUCRPO LIAONING URBAN CONSTRUCTION ANDRENEWAL PROJECT OFFICE ~EP Public Disclosure Authorized IMWH MN TGOMERY WA TSON HA RZA Montgomery Watson Harza CATALOGUE CHAPTER PAGE I INTRODUCTION I 2 SURFACE WATER STANDARDS 2 3 EA COVERAGE 3 4 CURRENT SITUATION 3 5 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3 6 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE 4 7 ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES 8 8 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION 9 9 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN 13 10 PUBLIC CONSULTATION 14 11 CONCLUSIONS 16 Russian *t -- , - * _Federation S ~~~~~Japan~ PR CA . _ - . Location of Liaoning Province EA Summary Montgomery Watson Harza Second Liao River Basin Project areas in the province before discharging into the Bohai Environmental Assessment Sea. In 1997, the State Council of the Chinese central SUMMARY REPORT government announced "Decisions On Issues of Environmental Protection", which has since become a primary guide for the country's environmental 1 INTRODUCTION protection and pollution control effort. One of the important initiatives under the State Council's Decisions The Project consists of two wastewater treatment plants, is the "Three Lakes and Three Rivers" pollution control two wastewater re-use plants, urban upgrading, program, referring to the six landmark and most institutional strengthening and several non-physical sensitive water bodies and river basins in China. The components related to environmental management. The Liao is one of the three rivers and the LRBP is thus one wastewater plants are located in Shenyang (the of the highest priority pollution control programs in the provincial capital) and Panjin, and the wastewater re- country. use plants are located in Panjin and Fushun. All are The State Council approved in 1998 the Ninth Five- located within the Liao River Basin (LRB), as shown in Year Plan and 2010 Program for Liao River Basin Figure 1.1I. Pollution Control and Prevention. The Ninth Five-Year The LRB, with a total catchment area of 220,000 km2 Plan sets a long-term framework to be followed with the has four major rivers, the Liao, Hun, Taizi, and Daliao. goals of eliminating below-Category V water quality One third of the-Liao River catchment and the entire (see Table 2.1) from all LRB surface water bodies by Hun-Taizi-Daliao network lie within Liaoning province, the end of 2000, to recover the water quality required population 42 million people. The rivers drain through for its functional uses by 2005 and to achieve the 11 industrial and population centers and rich agriculture sustainable utilization of water resources based on their functions by 2010. s . >*+ j - ~,o~on-. t ., ~ -q -- -LEGEND . Ii'' 1 C : ProjcROtCom ponentCes *DPR -t ol, Nonh.. oe LIAONING PROVINCE .._//- -........---- X ,| I | K>- LoCationofPfoit Cits Huangt.I Is. LUCRPO FIGURE .I EA Summary qfJJW Montgomery Watson Harza To meet these goals, the Ninth Five-Year Plan calls for the Liaoning Provincial Environmental Research reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) Institute, with the assistance from the project DRA discharge by 600,000 tons by 2000, 140,000 tons by consultant, Montgomery Watson Harza. This document 2005 and an additional 90,000 tons by 2010, making a is a summary of the EA documentation. total COD reduction of 830,000 tons over the 10-year period. This would require the construction of 55 2 SURFACE WATER STANDARDS municipal wastewater treatments in the LRB (24 in Liaoning province) as well as 225 industrial pollution The most important assessment criteria and source control projects (118 in Liaoning province). environmental target standards are the surface water quality classifications of Environmental Quality In 2001, the Liaoning Provincial Government approved Standard for Surface Water, GHZBI-1999. According the Tenth Five-Year Plan for Liao River Basin to this standard, surface water quality has been divided Pollution Control and Prevention within Liaoning into five categories depending on their functional uses. Province(the Tenth Five-Year Plan of Liaoning) which These categories and key parameters within the is consistent with the framework of the Ninth Five- standard are shown in Table 2.1. Year Plan but more stringent in view of the limited dilution capacity of the rivers in Liaoning. The Tenth There are two existing wastewater discharge standards Five-Year Plan of Liaoning sets an objective to reduce applicable in Liaoning province for discharge into COD by 241,400 tons and ammonia-nitrogen (NH4-N) surface water bodies: by 41,500 tons by 2005. The below-Category V water quality sections will be reduced by 40%. The focus of * The national Comprehensive Wastewater the COD reduction action is on the Hun River Discharge Standards for discharge into Category catchment where Shenyang and Fushun are located. IV and Category V water bodies (GB8978.96); and With the funding support of the European Union (EU), * The more stringent discharge standards adopted by Liaoning province launched the Liaoning Integrated Liaoning Environmental Protection Bureau for the Environmental Program (LIEP) in 1999. This is a province. comprehensive planning project to evaluate environmental factors and develop strategies to redress The most important difference between these two the balance between the various demands for water in standards are COD (120 mg/L for the national the LRB catchment and for sustainable environmental standards areuO 1 20mg/L for theinanal standards versus 100 mg/L for provincial standards) management in Liaoning province. The LIEP has and ammonia-nitrogen (25 mg/L for the national identified 15 municipal treatment plants in the basin as standards versus 15 mgIL for the provincial standards). priority investments. LRBP will adopt the more stringent Provincial COD standard as the design criteria for the Project, The two municipal wastewater treatment plants to be dsg rvso o h oesrnetamna with built in the Second Liao River Basin Project (LRBP 2), nitrogen criteria in future stages. together with the two municipal and two industrial wastewater treatment plants in the LRBP 1, are top of Other environmental discharge/emission and ambient the list of 15 priority municipal treatment plants environmental quality standards applied in the EA identified by the LIEP and are part of the Plan of the include: State Council. As such, these treatment plants are a pivotal part of the effort to meet the State and provincial goals for pollution control and sustainable * Ambient Air Quality Standards, GB3095-1996; water resources management. * Environmental Noise Standards for Urban Areas, GB3096-93; An Environment Assessment (EA) was conducted for * Standards for Noise at Boundaries of Construction each physical component. A project wide Sites, GB 12523-90; environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and * Standards for Wastewater Discharge and Air environmental management plan (EMP), collectively EmissionsinLiaoningProvince,DB21-60-89; known as the EA documentation, has been compiled by Table 2.1 Surface Water Quality Classification Key parameters Cat. Description (mg/l, except pF COD NH4 -N pH I Applicable to sources of water bodies and national nature reserves <15 0.5 6.5-8.5 11 Applicable to Class A water resource protection for drinking water or precious fish 1 5 0.5 6.5-8.5 1ll Applicable to Class B water resource and general fishing or swimming 20 0.5 6.5-8.5 IV General industrial water supply or secondary recreational use 30 1.0 6.5-8.5 V Agricultural water resource or general amenity purposes 40 1.5 6-9 EA Summary 2 gfI~iW Montgomery Watson Harza * Effluent and Sludge Discharge Standard for The lack of proper water resources management in the Municipal WWTP", CJ3025-93; and LRB, particularly the lack of provision of treatment * Control Limit for Sludge Agricultural Application, facilities for wastewater from various sources, GB4284-84. compounded with the lack of dilution and assimilative capacity in LRB rivers, has resulted in severe pollution 3 EA COVERAGE of surface water in Liaoning province. Water quality in LRB rivers is reportedly the worst among the seven According to the project TOR, the EA covers the largest river basins in China. following areas: The severe pollution of LRB has had the following * Shenyang section of Hun river; consequences: * Panjin section of Liao river; * Fushun section of Hun River * Loss of beneficial use of LRB rivers, including * Immediately adjacent areas surrounding the industrial and municipal water supply sources wastewater interceptors, pumping stations and (urban and rural), aquaculture, irrigation, and treatment plant sites; and groundwater recharge; * Impacts on the LRB and the Bohai Sea. * Extinction of fish and other waterbome species in most rivers within the province and destructive 4 CURRENT SITUATION effects on the aquatic ecosystem; * Pollution of shallow groundwater layers in the short Available water resources in the Liao Basin are limited, term and deep groundwater aquifers over the long being only 20% of the national average. Water term; resources available for agriculture are 12% of the * Health risk of drinking water especially for rural national average. River flows in the LRB vary residents who rely heavily and, in many cases dramatically in different months and seasons. In a exclusively, on shallow water wells as their primary typical year, July and August flows amount to 60% of drinking water sources; the annual total whilst the flow in the driest month * Contamination of farm land and crops, as farmers (February) amounts only to 0.1% of the annual total. In in the LRB may have little choice but to use water many rivers in Liaoning province, the dry season flow is with quality poorer than irrigation water standards; mainly wastewater discharged from various industrial * Adverse impacts on water quality and fisheries and municipal sources. resources in the Bohai Sea, to which the LRB rivers discharge; and Water resources in Liaoning province are seriously * Adverse impacts on wetlands at the estuary.