PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA THE WORLD BANK SICHUAN WUDU IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE Public Disclosure Authorized DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (WIADP) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized SICHUAN WUDU WATER CONSERVANCY & WATER ELECTRICITY GROUP, LTD CHENGDU INVESTIGATION, DESIGN & RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CHINA HYDROPOWER CONSULTING GROUP NOVEMBER, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures ......................................................................................... iii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ iv 1. Project Background........................................................................................ 1 2. Project Development Objectives ................................................................... 1 3. Environmental Assessment Process and Legal Framework ....................... 2 4. Project Description ......................................................................................... 3 5. Environmental Baseline ................................................................................. 8 5.1 Physical Environment ................................................................................ 8 5.2 Environmental Quality ................................................................................ 9 5.3 Ecological Environment ........................................................................... 10 5.4 Socio-Economic Situation ........................................................................ 11 5.5 Sensitive Sites ......................................................................................... 11 6. Analysis of Alternatives ............................................................................... 12 6.1 With and Without-Project Analysis ........................................................... 12 6.2 Alternative Analyses of Jinfeng Dam Sites ............................................... 12 6.3 Alternative Analyses for Canal Alignments ............................................... 13 6.4 Optimization of Plans for Construction Camps, Borrow Pits and Roads ... 13 7. Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures ...................................... 14 7.1 Impacts during Construction and Mitigation Measures ............................. 14 7.2 Impacts during Operation and Mitigation Measures ................................. 17 7.3 Safety of Dams ........................................................................................ 19 7.4 Pest Management Plan ............................................................................ 19 7.5 Cumulative Impacts ................................................................................. 20 7.6 Review of the Environmental Impact of the Wudu Reservoir Project ........ 21 8. Environmental Management Plan................................................................ 23 9. Resettlement Action Plan and Ethnic Minority Development Plan ........... 25 10. Public Consultation and Information Disclosure ....................................... 27 11. Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................... 29 ii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3.1: Compliance with World Bank Safeguard Policies .............................. 2 Table 3.2: Compliance with Chinese Laws and Regulations .............................. 3 Table 4.1: Project Components ......................................................................... 4 Table 4.2: Works to be Financed by the World Bank under WIADP ................... 7 Table 5.1: Socio-Economic Situation of the Project Area ................................. 11 Table 6.1: Infield Road Plan Optimization from Feasibility Study (FS) to Preliminary Design Stage. .............................................................. 14 Table 7.1: Relationship of Phase I & II (WIADP) of the Wudu Water Diversion Scheme........................................................................... 20 Table 7.2: Water Balance for First Phase and Second Phase for 2030 ............ 21 Table 8.1: Main Mitigation Measures and Responsibility in EMP ..................... 25 Table 9.1: Details of Resettlement Surveyed. .................................................. 26 Table 10.1: Public Consultation ....................................................................... 27 Figure 4.1: Geographic Location and Layout of the Proposed Project ............... 6 Figure 8.1: Environmental Management System for WIADP ............................ 24 iii ABBREVIATIONS CDD Community Driven Development CHCG China Hydropower Consulting Group DI Design Institute DSP Dam Safety Panel CIDRI Chengdu Investigation, Design & Research Institute EA Environmental Assessment EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Plan EPB Environmental Protection Bureau EPP Emergency Preparedness Plan FS Feasibility Study MEP Ministry of Environmental Protection OMS Operation, Maintenance and Surveillance OP/BP Operational Policy/Bank Procedure PD Preliminary Design PMO Project Management Office PRC The People’s Republic of China WB World Bank WIADP Sichuan Wudu Irrigated Agricultural Development Project WUAs Water Users Associations SWWCWEG Sichuan Wudu Water Conservancy & Water Electricity Group, Ltd WWDMB Wudu Water Diversion Management Bureau CURRENCIES & OTHER UNITS Mu Area Unit (1 mu＝0.0667 hectare) RMB Chinese Yuan (Renminbi) USD United States Dollar Exchange rate 1 US$＝6.78 RMB CHEMICAL ABBREVIATIONS BOD5 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (5 days) COD Chemical Oxygen Demand CODMn Permanganate Index NH3-N Ammonia Nitrogen TSP Total Suspended Particulates iv 1. Project Background This document summarizes the environmental impact assessment reports of the World Bank financed Sichuan Wudu Irrigated Agricultural Development Project (WIADP), highlighting the main issues and conclusions of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environment management plan (EMP) for WIADP. According to both the Chinese Environmental Assessment laws and the World Bank’s Operational Policy 4.01 Environmental Assessment, the proposed project is Category A for environmental assessment purposes, due to the scale and significance of potential environmental and social impacts. Therefore, a full environmental assessment report was required. The project is estimated to cost about 4471 million RMB, of which the World Bank is to finance US$100 million; the rest will be financed by the Borrower’s counterpart funds. In accordance with Chinese internal review and approval procedures, an EIA report together with an EMP was prepared for WIADP by the Chengdu Investigation, Design & Research Institute (CIDRI) of China Hydropower Consulting Group (CHCG) in association with Sichuan University. The Chinese EIA report for WIADP has been reviewed by the Ministry of Water Resources, and is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). This Executive Summary is based on these reports, as well as feasibility studies carried out for the project. The EA reports and EMP were submitted to the World Bank for review and they fully conform to Bank policy guidelines regarding environmental and social issues. All reports mentioned above will be made available in China and in the Public Information Center (Infoshop) of the World Bank. 2. Project Development Objectives The Project Development Objectives are (a) to increase the total area covered by irrigation in order to increase agricultural production in Mianyang Prefecture; (b) to provide a water supply to small rural communities and industries in Mianyang Prefecture; and (c) to introduce a participatory approach for water management in the project areas to ensure the sustainable development of irrigated agriculture. The project is located in an area between Fujiang River in the west and Jialingjiang River in the east, a region characterized by rolling hills in the southwest of China’s Sichuan Province. The project area covers eight counties and cities in four municipalities: Jiangyou, Youxian, Santai, Yanting and Zitong counties/cities in Mianyang Municipality, Shehong County in Suining Municipality, Jiange County in Guangyuan Municipality and Nanbu County in Nanchong Municipality. The project will: a) Provide a more reliable irrigation, drinking and industrial water supply through the construction of irrigation infrastructure systems and the construction or rehabilitation of on-farm irrigation works. 1 b) Provide a complementary package of integrated agricultural inputs and support services to help farmers increase their agricultural yields. c) Establish Water User Associations (WUAs) based on a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach to fully cover the irrigated areas of the project. d) Provide intensive training and technical assistance to the farmers responsible for water management and the operation and maintenance of the on-farm irrigation systems, including the lateral, sub-lateral and farm ditches. The key beneficiaries of the project are about 1.35 million poor farmers (397,000 households) who will be able to receive a reliable irrigation water supply and change from mainly dry farming to irrigated agriculture and thus boost their agricultural production. The other key beneficiaries are the about 1.7 million poor people in the rural and small urban communities in Mianyang Prefecture, who, along with the industries in the prefecture, will be provided with a water