Initial Environmental Examination Project Number: 46346-003 Date: August 2020 Republic of the Marshall Islands: Additional Financing of Ebeye Water Supply and Sanitation Project Prepared by the Kwajalein Atoll Joint Utility Resources, Inc. (KAJUR) for the Asian Development Bank. 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 intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. iii CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ vii I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 12 II. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATION FRAMEWORK ............................................................ 15 A. National and Local Legal Framework ........................................................................................... 15 B. ADB Safeguard Policies ................................................................................................................. 17 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT ................................................................................................. 18 IV. DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................ 20 A. Physical Environment .................................................................................................................... 20 1. Climate ............................................................................................................................................. 20 2. Climate Change ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. Geology and Geomorphology ....................................................................................................... 24 4. Soils ...................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 5. Freshwater Resources ................................................................................................................... 25 6. Air Quality ........................................................................................................................................ 25 B. Ecological Environment ................................................................................................................. 26 1. Terrestrial Flora and Fauna ........................................................................................................... 26 2. Threatened, Rare, or Protected Species....................................................................................... 26 C. Social Environment ........................................................................................................................ 26 1. Socioeconomic Environment ........................................................................................................ 26 2. Population ....................................................................................................................................... 27 3. Ethnography .................................................................................................................................... 28 4. Land Ownership and Use .............................................................................................................. 28 5. Education ........................................................................................................................................ 28 6. Poverty ............................................................................................................................................. 29 8. Noise ............................................................................................................................................... 29 9. Traffic ............................................................................................................................................... 30 10. Public Health ................................................................................................................................... 30 V. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES ..................................................................................................... 33 A. No Project Alternative .................................................................................................................... 33 B. Discussion of Alternative Solutions ............................................................................................. 33 VI. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES .... 33 iv A. Design and Pre-construction Impacts .......................................................................................... 33 1. Impacts on Physical Resources .................................................................................................... 33 2. Impacts on Ecological Resources ................................................................................................ 34 3. Impacts on Socio-economic Resources....................................................................................... 35 B. Construction Impacts ..................................................................................................................... 36 1. Impacts on Physical Resources .................................................................................................... 36 2. Impacts on Ecological Resources ................................................................................................ 37 3. Impacts on Socio-economic Resources...................................................................................... 37 C. Operation Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 40 VII. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE AND PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS ................................................ 42 A. Legislative Framework for Public Consultation .......................................................................... 42 B. Public Consultation Activities ....................................................................................................... 42 VIII. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM ........................................................................................... 43 IX. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN .................................................................................... 45 X. MONITORING AND REPORTING ..................................................................................................... 0 XI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................... 0 BIBLOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................ 0 TABLES Table 1: Project Steering Committee Recommendations ............. Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 2: Environmental agency consultations findings .............................................................. 43 Table 3: Summary of environmental management responsibilities in the Project ................. 46 Table 4: Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan of household fixtures program by reducing household water wastage from faulty plumbing fixtures ................................................ 0 FIGURES Figure 1- Ebeye Location Map .................................................................................................. 12 Figure 2: Average Mean Temperature at Kwajalein .................................................................. 20 Figure 3: Kwajalein Annual Rainfall ........................................................................................... 21 Figure 4: ENSO Events and Impacts on Rainfall and Temperature ........................................... 23 Figure 5: Pacific North Equatorial Current (NEC) ...................................................................... 25 Figure 6: Key Natural and Human Induced Hazards ................................................................. 27 Figure 7: Goals of the National Health Strategy 2012-2014....................................................... 31 Figure 8: Ebeye Dumpsite Conditions ....................................................................................... 32 Figure 9: Ebeye Dumpsite Location .......................................................................................... 32 v ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank BNPL - Basic Needs Poverty Line CA - Conservation Area CEMP - Contractor Environmental Management Plan EA - Environmental Assessment EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment ENSO - El Niño Southern Oscillation EIS - Environmental Impact Statement EMP - Environmental Management Plan ESS