Environmental Assessment Report Initial Environmental Examination for Argavand Highway to Shirak Street Upgrade (Project 1) Document Stage: Final Project Number: 42489 July 2010 Armenia: Urban infrastructure and Sustainable City Development Program Tranche 1 Prepared by Municipality of Yerevan of the Republic of Armenia for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The initial environmental examination document is that 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. ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank BOD Biochemical oxygen demand EA Executing Agency EARF Environmental Assessment and Review Framework EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan ERT Emergency Response Team IA Implementing Agency IEE Initial Environmental Examination IMF International Monetary Fund IFI International financial institution IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature LARP Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan Master Plan Yerevan City Master Plan, Vol.5, 2004 MFF Multi-tranche Financing Facility MNP Ministry of Nature Protection MOC Ministry of Culture MPC Maximum permissible concentration NO2 Nitrogen dioxide NO Nitrogen oxide NPE Nature Protection Expertise NGO Non-governmental organization PIU Project Implementation Unit PPMU Program Preparation and Management Unit PPTA Project Preparatory Technical Assistance RAMSAR Ramsar Convention on Wetlands RA Republic of Armenia REA Rapid Environmental Assessment SEI State Environmental Inspectorate SNCO State Non-commercial Organization SO2 Sulfur dioxide TSS Total suspended solids UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES dB(A) decibel (A-weighted) km kilometer(s) km2 square kilometer(s) L liter m meter(s) mg/m3 milligram(s) per cubic meter GLOSSARY Karmir Blur Red Hill (Citadel of Teyshabaini) marz Province, administrative division NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. CONTENTS Page ISSUE AND REVISION RECORD ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Project Background and Purpose of Report 1 1. Project Background 1 2. The Project 2 B. IEE Report Outline and Methodology 2 C. Armenian and ADB Environmental Assessment Requirements 3 1. Armenian Laws Governing Environmental Management and Assessment 3 2. ADB Environmental Assessment Requirements 4 D. Extent of the IEE Study 4 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 5 A. Type of Project 5 B. Project Location 5 C. Magnitude of Operation 5 D. Project Description 6 E. Alternatives to the Proposed Project 7 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT – BASELINE 7 A. Physical Resources 7 1. Air Quality and Climate Error! Bookmark not defined. 2. Surface and Groundwater 9 3. Topography, Soils, Geology, and Seismology 11 B. Ecological Resources 12 C. Economic Development 13 D. Social and Cultural Resources 13 IV. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION 15 A. Environmental Parameters that may be Impacted Error! Bookmark not defined. B. Impacts due to location 15 C. Impacts Related to Design 16 D. Impacts during Construction 17 1. Site Preparation Activities 17 2. Vehicle Movements, Machinery Operation, Excavation and Grading 18 3. Vehicle Movements on Local Roads and Altered Access 20 4. Bridge Construction 20 5. Solid and Liquid Waste Generation 21 6. Site Reinstatement 21 7. Summary of Construction Impact 21 E. Impacts Related to Operations 21 F. Cumulative Environmental Effects 22 V. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN 22 A. Environmental Management Plan 22 B. Environmental Monitoring Plan 42 C. Institutional Arrangements and Responsibilities 48 1. Institutional Arrangements 48 2. Responsibilities 48 3. Recommended Environmental and Social Safeguard Clauses for Civil Works Contracts 49 D. Cost of Implementation 50 VI. CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 50 A. Stakeholder Meetings 50 B. Public Consultation 51 C. Information Disclosed 51 D. Future Consultation 51 VII. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 51 VIII. CONCLUSIONS 52 IX. REFERENCES 53 APPENDIXES 1. Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) – Roads and Highways 2. Ecological investigation 3. Archaeological investigation 4. Consultation Meeting Advertisement and Attendance Sheet iii Figure 1: Armenia showing the location of Yerevan Yerevan Figure 2: Program project locations Project 1 - Argavand Highway to Shirak Street Road Link Project 2 - Shirak Street to Artashat Highway Road Link Source: Municipality of Yerevan Master Plan (2006) Figure 3: Locality map - Argavand Highway to Shirak Street Upgrade (Project 1) Arno MALATIA- Babajanyan SEBASTIA Street Argavand Bridge Admiral Isakov Avenue Hrazdan River Karmir Blur SHENGAVIT Shirak Street Source: Collage (2001) Figure 4: Project layout v Argavand Bridge Shirak Street Municipality of Yerevan (2010) vi 1 I. INTRODUCTION A. Project Background and Purpose of Report 1. The Republic of Armenia is a landlocked country between the Black and the Caspian Seas, bordered on the north by Georgia, to the east by Azerbaijan, on the south by Iran, and to the west by Turkey as shown in Figure 1. Yerevan covers an area of 260km2 extending 18km north-south and 16km east-west with the centre and the south of the City at a lower geographic level. 1. Project Background 2. Like other New Independent States of the former Soviet Union, Armenia's economy still suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading networks. Investment from these states in support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, and consequently few major enterprises are still able to function. The structure of Armenia's economy has changed substantially since 1991, with sectors such as construction and services replacing agriculture and industry as the main contributors to the economic growth. Other industrial sectors driving industrial growth include energy, metallurgy, and food processing. 3. Steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as other international financial institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable grants and loans. These loans are targeted at reducing the budget deficit; stabilizing the local currency; developing private businesses related to energy, agriculture, food processing, transportation, and health and education sectors. In December 2005, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation approved a 5-year $235 million contract with the Government of Armenia, which was to focus on rehabilitation of irrigation networks and upgrading of rural transport infrastructure. 4. There has been little traffic forecasting, with the last study conducted in 2007 through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, by engineering consultancy SWECO. That study used gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to forecast the future growth in car ownership. This is based on car ownership of 80 per 1,000 of population in 2007, projected to increase to 344 per 1,000 by 2026. The carbon dioxide emissions related to passenger transport are expected to increase by 160% over this period resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. Other adverse effects of passenger transport such as air pollution, traffic congestion and noise are also likely to increasingly affect the environment and quality of life in a negative way. 5. Yerevan has seen increasing and rapid economic development, resulting in: (i) Growing car ownership and increasing congestion; (ii) Outdated public transport; (iii) Safety issues; and (iv) Decreased air quality linked to vehicle emissions. 6. Yerevan has a high road traffic accident rate with the number of recorded accidents increasing 65% from 2001 to 2006, with steady increases over these years. Approximately one- fifth of these accidents are fatal. 2 2. The Project 7. During 2007, the Municipality of Yerevan worked with the World Bank on the public transport network, traffic management, parking and ticketing systems and has set relevant objectives. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is now working with Government of Armenia and the Municipality to address some of the objectives by improving municipal infrastructure and reducing road transportation constraints on economic activity. The program aims to promote efficient and effective urban transport services with incentives and capacity to improve the quality, reliability, accessibility, affordability, integration and coverage of transport services. The Urban Infrastructure and Sustainable City Development Program has been developed and is to be funded by the ADB under a Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) Investment Program. The two proposed engineering projects under Tranche 1 of the Program, as shown in Figure 2, are: (i) Project 1 - Argavand Highway to Shirak Street Road Link; and (ii) Project 2 - Shirak Street to Artashat Highway Road Link. 8. The two road projects will complete the missing road links of the Yerevan west bypass to divert through-traffic around the City centre. This report presents the findings of an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) of Project 1 - Argavand Highway to Shirak Street. B. IEE Report Outline and Methodology 9. This Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) report comprises the following key components: (i) Description of the project; (ii) Description of