Initial Environmental Examination Document Stage: Final Project No. 35173-015 March 2020 NEP: Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project – Khalanga Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project (Khalanga, Darchula District) Package No: W-08 Prepared by the Ministry of Water Supply, Government of Nepal 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 not intend to make any judgements as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. IEE of Khalanga Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project Initial Environmental Examination March 2020 NEP: Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project (UWSSP) Khalanga Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project Khalanga, Darchula District Prepared by the Ministry of Water Supply (MoWS) for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank DCC District Coordination Committee DED Detailed Engineering Design DSMC Design, Supervision and Management Consultant DWSSM Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management EARF Environmental Assessment and Review Framework EIA Environment Impact Assessment EMP Environment Management Plan EMR Environmental Monitoring Report EPA Environment Protection Act EPR Environment Protection Rules ESA Environmental Safeguard Assistant ESE Environmental Safeguard Expert GoN Government of Nepal GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism HDPE High Density Polyethylene HHs Households IBAT Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool ICG Implementation Core Group IEE Initial Environmental Examination MoFE Ministry of Forests and Environment MoWS Ministry of Water Supply NDWQS National Drinking Water Quality Standard NPR Nepalese Rupees PMO Project Management Office PMQAC Project Management and Quality Assurance Consultants PPTA Project Preparation Technical Assistance REA Rapid environmental assessment RoW Right of way RPMO Regional Project Management Office SDG Sustainable Development Goal SEMP Site-specific Environmental Management Plan SPS Safeguard Policy Statement TDF Town Development Fund ToR Terms of Reference UWSSP Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project USD United States Dollar WHO World Health Organization WTP Water Treatment Plant WUA Water Users Association WUSC Water Users and Sanitation Committee WEIGHTS AND MEASURES C Celsius /centigrade dBA decibel audible ha hectare/s km kilometer/s kph kilometer/s per hour m meter/s m3 cubic meter/s amsl above mean sea level mg/l milligram/s per liter mm millimeter/s NOTES 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. The IEE and its environmental management plan will be updated during subproject implementation, if needed. 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. Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... i I. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. - 1 - A. Background ............................................................................................................................- 1 - B. Subproject Selection Based on Environmental Assessment and Review Framework ..........- 2 - C. Basis and Extent of IEE Study ...............................................................................................- 5 - D. Objectives and Scope of the Environmental Study ................................................................- 5 - E. Relevancy of the Project ........................................................................................................- 6 - II. Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework ....................................................................................... - 7 - A. Nepal’s Environmental Policy Framework .............................................................................- 7 - B. Government of Nepal Environmental Legal Framework ........................................................- 8 - C. International Environmental Agreements ............................................................................ - 13 - D. Environmental Assessment Requirements ......................................................................... - 14 - E. Environmental Assessment Requirements of the ADB ...................................................... - 14 - F. IEE Approval Process of Nepal ........................................................................................... - 16 - G. Relevant Environmental Quality Standards ........................................................................ - 17 - III. Approach and Methodologies .............................................................................................................. - 18 - A. Literature review .................................................................................................................. - 18 - B. Field Study .......................................................................................................................... - 18 - C. Stakeholder Consultations .................................................................................................. - 19 - D. Data Processing and Impact Identification, Prediction & Evaluation Methods ................... - 19 - E. Preparation of IEE report .................................................................................................... - 19 - F. Team Members for IEE Study ............................................................................................. - 20 - IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT ........................................................................................................ - 21 - A. Type, Category and Need of the Sub-Project ..................................................................... - 21 - B. The Sub-Project .................................................................................................................. - 21 - C. Magnitude of Operation of the Project ................................................................................ - 30 - D. Proposed Schedule for Implementation .............................................................................. - 31 - E. Project Requirements .......................................................................................................... - 31 - V. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................... - 32 - A. Physical Environment .......................................................................................................... - 32 - B. Biological Environment........................................................................................................ - 32 - C. Socio economic and Cultural Environment ......................................................................... - 33 - D. Major Environmental Problems of Project Areas ................................................................ - 38 - VI. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES ................................... - 39 - A. Beneficial Impacts and Augmentation Measures ................................................................ - 39 - B. Adverse Impact and Mitigation Measures ........................................................................... - 41 - C. Evaluation of the Impacts .................................................................................................... - 45 - VII. Analysis of Alternatives ........................................................................................................................ - 47 - A. With- and Without-Subproject Alternatives ......................................................................... - 47 - B. With subproject’s location alternatives ................................................................................ - 47 - C. Alternatives Related to design/technology, materials and implementation procedure: ...... - 47 - VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................................................................................ - 49 - A. Institutional Arrangement .................................................................................................... - 49 - B. Environmental Management Plan ....................................................................................... - 54 - C. Environmental Monitoring Program .................................................................................... - 62 - D. Institutional Capacity Development Program ...................................................................... - 62 - E. Staffing