Minutes of 13th meeting of Expert Appraisal Committee for the proposal involving violation of EIA Notification, 2006 to be held on 18th-20thSeptember 2018 at Conference Hall (Narmada), Ground Floor,JalWing, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Indira ParyavaranBhawan, Jor Bagh Road, New Delhi - 110 003 Day 1: Tuesday, 18th September, 2018 Time: 10:00 AM 13.1. Opening remarks of the Chairman 13.2. Confirmation of the minutes of the 12th meeting held on 28th -29th August, 2018 at Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jor Bagh Road, New Delhi 13.3. Consideration of proposals S.No. Proposals 13.3.1 Capacity expansion of Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant from 6.3 MTPA to 7.3 MTPA by revamping and augmentation of existing facilities located at Gajuwaka, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh by M/s Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. - Environmental Clearance [IA/AP/IND/73713/2018 dated 28.08.2018] [F. No. 23-132/2018-IA.III (V) ] 13.3.1.1 M/s Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. has made online application vide proposal no. IA/AP/IND/73713/2018 dated 28.08.2018 seeking Term of References for the above mentioned proposed project. The proposed project activity is covered under category A of item 3(a) ‘Metallurgical industries (Ferrous & Non-Ferrous)’ of the Schedule to the EIA Notification 2006. 13.3.1.2 Details of the project as per the submission of project proponent: 1. Present proposal is for capacity expansion of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from 6.3 MTPA to 7.3 MTPA by Revamping and Augmentation of existing facilities by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited at Village Gajuwaka, Tehsil Visakhapatnam, District Visakhapatnam. 2. The said project /activity is covered under category ‘A’ of item 3(a) ‘Metallurgical industries (Ferrous & Non-Ferrous)’ of the Schedule to the EIA Notification 2006. 3. Details of earlier appraisal by EAC/ SEAC; observation and compliance: EAC meeting was held on 05/02/2018. EAC stated that since the project proponent had already implemented the expansion project / activity without prior environmental clearance, the proposal attracts the provisions under violation of the EIA Notification 2006. Fresh Application was submitted for grant of TOR and EAC meeting was held on 13th -14th June 2018 & 27-28th June 2018. The EAC, after detailed deliberations on the proposal in terms of the provisions of the MoEF&CC Notification dated 14th March, 2017, confirmed the case to be of violation of the EIA Notification, 2006 and recommended TORs for carrying out EIA/EMP 1 Study comprising remediation plan and natural and community resource augmentation plan corresponding to the ecological damage assessed and economic benefits derived due to violation. 4. The Terms of Reference (ToR) have been prescribed for carrying out EIA/EMP studies for proposed Capacity expansion of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from 6.3 MTPA TO 7.3 MTPA by Revamping And Augmentation of existing facilities by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited vide MoEFCC letter no F. No. lA-J-11011/196/2005-IA-II(I) dated 02/08/2018. 5. Public Hearing was held on 15/06/2017 at Trishna Grounds, Ukkunagaram, Visakhapatnam in the presence of Honorable Collector & District Magistrate, Visakhapatnam. During Public Hearing, project proponent presented the details of the project and informed that the expansion is being carried out in the existing vacant land available in the plant premises and latest technology proposed in the expansion project to reduce the pollution level within specified standards. Members of public actively participated and expressed their views and suggestions in the environmental point of view about the proposed project. Project proponent informed about the proposed activities, utilization of CSR funds and afforestation carried out in and around areas. 6. The total land area in possession with the company is 8827 ha. No additional land will be required for the expansion project. 7. At 6.3 MTPA stage, the plant water requirement is 29 MGD and for township and others it is estimated at 9 MGD for 6.3 MTPA stage. The additional water required for the proposed augmentation is estimated to be 7 MGD. The water will be sourced from existing Yeleru Reservoir. RINL has accorded permission for withdrawal of 45 MGD from Visakhapatnam Industrial Water Supply Company Limited (VIWSCO). 8. Existing Waste water treatment plant consisting of bowl rake classifier / spiral classifier, thickener, thickener under flow pumps sludge dewatering units etc shall be installed. MBC technology based ETP have been installed for existing coke ovens. A major portion of the treated waste water is being recycled within the plant. A small part (200 m3/hr) of the treated effluent is being discharged to sea, maintaining the statutory norms. Necessary permission for the same has been accorded. No untreated waste water is being disposed off. The same shall continue after the proposed expansion. 9. About 12,000 t of Municipal solid wastes are generated from the plant and township. Garbage collected on daily basis from all sources and transported to SWM facility. ‘Bio- degradable’ wastes are Converted into compost. ‘Non Bio-degradable wastes are disposed to relevant parties. Other Solid wastes generated from the plant operations: The solid waste generated at 6.3 MTPA stage is approximately 25460 TPD which includes granulated BF slag, SMS slag, mill scales, sludge’s, ESP/Bag filter dust, fly ash etc. There would be additional generation of approximately 3740 TPD of solid waste after the proposed expansion. 100% of the granulated BF slag would be sold to the cement making industries for manufacturing of slag cement. Other waste such as mill scale, sludge’s, dust etc. would be 100% recycled into the sinter plant. 60% of the SMS slag would also be used within the steel plant and the balance would be stored for further processing for secondary use. Tar sludge/solid sludge generated in by-product plant will be transported to coal yard for mixing with coal. 10. The power requirement for operating the steel plant including township at 6.3 MTPA stage was 470 MW. The additional power required for the proposed augmentation is 76 MW. The present maximum power generation capacity of RINL is about 523.6 MW. This include 131.5 MW power generation from coal based boilers and balance from gas based boilers and waste heat recovery. After present ongoing expansion, additional 14 MW of power shall be generated from CO5 CDQ waste heat recovery and 5 MW shall be obtained from Solar power 2 plant. Power requirement will be met from the in house TPP and waste heat recovery and additional power as per requirement will be sourced from AP Transco grid. 11. Proposed energy saving measures: Following initiatives taken for reduction of power consumption: Coke Oven Battery Coke Dry Quenching Plant sensible heat recovery with steam generation 52 TPH at 40 KSCA, 440 deg C and total power generation in combination 39 MW. Exhauster VVVF drive for better control of gas suction and energy conservation. Stage Combustion / Recirculation of Flue Gas for Energy Conservation and NOx control Sinter Plant Sinter Cooler Sensible Heat Recovery –Power Generation 20.6 MW from Sinter Machine 1&2. Sinter Cooler Sensible Heat Recovery implemented in SP-3 (400 Sqm) for generation of process heat and preheating of combustion air by sensible heat recovery from sinter cooler. High-Efficiency Multi slit Burner in Ignition Furnace eliminates “NO FLAME” areas and supplies minimum heat input for ignition, therefore saving energy. The hot cooler off-air is re-circulated to the sinter machine as part of energy conservation measures. Addition instant calcined lime facility for binding and utilizing heat of reaction for moisture control in sinter raw feed. Specific energy consumption reduced from 0.57 Gcal/T of sinter to 0.55 Gcal/T of sinter. Blast Furnace PCI injection up to 150 kg/thm to reduce coke rate TRT power generation utilizing potential energy of BF Top Gas for all BFs Sensible heat recovery from Stove exhaust flue gas is installed Specific energy consumption of BF reduced from 3.39 Gcal/THM to 3.12 Gcal/THM. SMS Integration of casting and rolling SMS- GCP – ID Fan VVVF Drives Control installed for all Convertor Gas Holder installation for BOF fuel gas recovery Walking Beam Cooling bay for round and billet transfer Rolling Mills Integration of casting and rolling Hot charging facility of billets to Reheating furnace to reduce gaseous fuel energy consumption Recuperator for sensible heat recovery from furnace flue gas and combustion air preheating for energy conservation. Installation of regenerative digitized control energy efficient burner in WRM Refractory insulation for energy conservation. VVVF drive control of combustion air fan for precision control, optimize resources and energy conservation. Other Measures Regular audit and fine tuning of equipment to reduce power consumption 3 Energy saving devices and energy efficient lighting systems implemented extensively in the plant. Transparent roof sheets provided in suitable areas to reduce load during day time. Power Generation by utilizing by product gases generated in steel making which otherwise would have been let to atmosphere. 12. 2 large rain water harvesting ponds are constructed to capture 3.3 MGD water. Expenditure incurred for Installation is Rs.13.83 crores. One large reservoir of RwH pond exists and the other one is under completion stage. 13. Parking facilities are envisaged in all the new major facilities. 14. Investment/Cost of the project: Rs 9439.53 Crores. 15. Benefits of the project: Increase in productivity I. Enhancement of Safety conditions II. Reduction of pollution III. No additional land requirement IV. Power, water & raw materials sourcing through existing sources V. No additional logistic arrangements required. 16. Employment potential: The proposed plant will require skilled and semi-skilled personnel during construction and operational phase.