Environmental Assessment Report Summary Environmental Impact Assessment Project Number: 42933 January 2009 India: Jhajjar Thermal Power Project Prepared by Jhajjar Power Limited for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) The summary environmental impact assessment 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. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 30 December 2008) Currency Unit – Rupee (Re/Rs) Re1.00 = $ 0.0205503 $1.00 = Rs. 48.661 ABBREVIATIONS AAS – atomic absorption spectrophotometer ADB – Asian Development Bank APCPL – Aravali Power Company Private Limited ATPP – Aravali Thermal Power Plant BOD – biochemical oxygen demand BOO – build, own, and operate CaCO3 – calcium carbonates CCL – Central Coalfields Limited CDM – Clean Development Mechanism CHP – coal handling and processing CLP PIPL – CLP Power India Private Limited CO – carbon monoxide CO2 – carbon dioxide COC – cycles of concentration COD – chemical oxygen demand DM – demineralized DO – dissolved oxygen EIA – environmental impact assessment EP – environmental protection ESP – electrostatic precipitators F – fluoride FD – forced draft FGD – flue gas desulfurization GLC – ground level concentration HC – hydrocarbon HPGCL – Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited HVPNL – Haryana Power Vitaran Nigam Limited IAS – Indian Administrative Services ID – induced draft IS – Indian Standard (Bureau of Indian Standards) ISCST – industrial source complex short term JLN – Jawahar Lal Nehru JPL – Jhajjar Power Limited JTPP – Jhajjar Thermal Power Project LNG – liquid natural gas MECON – MECON Limited (formerly Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants (India) Limited) a Government of India public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Steel MoEF – Ministry of Environment and Forests NAAQS – National Ambient Air Quality Standards NOx – oxides of nitrogen pH – potential of hydrogen PLF – plant load factor PM – particulate matter PPAH – Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook RO – reverse osmosis RPM – respirable particulate matter SEIA – summary environmental impact assessment SHE – safety, health, and environment SO2 – sulfur dioxide SPM – suspended particulate matter SPV – special purpose vehicle SSC – submerged scrapper conveyor TSP – total suspended particulates TSS – total suspended solids WEIGHTS AND MEASURES oC – degrees Celsius dB(A) – decibel acoustic (A-weighted) GWh – gigawatt hour ha – hectare kcal/kg – kilocalories per kilogram km – kilometer m – meter m3 – cubic meter m3/hr – cubic meters per hour m/s – meters per second m3/s – cubic meter per second mg/kg – milligrams per kilogram mg/l – milligrams per liter MPa – megapascals mtpa – metric tons per annum MW – megawatt ppm – parts per million ppt – parts per thousand t – tons tpd – tons per day tph – tons per hour µg/m3 – micrograms per cubic meter µS/cm micro Siemens per centimeter NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government and its agencies ends on 31 March. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year starts, e.g., FY2008 ends on 31 March 2009. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. CONTENTS Page MAPS I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2 A. Project Facilities 2 B. Design and Construction 6 C. Power Plant Operations 7 D. Land and Right-of-Way Acquisition 7 E. Project Schedule and Contracts 8 F. Project Management and Operations 8 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 9 A. Physical Environment 9 B. Biological Environment 13 C. Socio-cultural Environment 14 IV. ALTERNATIVES 14 A. With and Without Project Alternatives 14 B. Alternative Project Locations 15 C. Alternative Fuels 16 D. Alternative Boiler Technologies 17 E. Alternative Cooling Systems 17 F. Alternative Wastewater Treatment Systems 18 G. Alternative Water Resources 18 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 19 A. Physical Environment 19 B. Biological Environment 26 C. Socio-cultural Environment 26 D. Induced Development 28 E. Cumulative Impact 28 F. Impacts of Associated Facilities 29 VI. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT 30 A. Project Costs 30 B. Project Socioeconomic Benefits 30 VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 30 A. Objectives and Scope of Environmental Management 30 B. Organization for Project Environmental Management 31 C. Mitigation Measures 31 D. Monitoring and Evaluation Program 31 E. Occupational Health and Safety Management 32 F. Afforestation Program 32 G. Ash Utilization Plan 33 VIII. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE 33 IX. CONCLUSIONS 34 APPENDICES 1. Main Design and Operational Data of the Power Plant 35 2. Methodology and Data for Ambient Air Quality - Summer Season 36 3. Applicable Indian Ambient Air Quality Standards and World Bank Guidelines 38 4. Summary of Noise Quality Observed and Applicable Indian Noise Standards and 39 World Bank Guidelines 5. Summary of Groundwater Quality Observed and Applicable Indian Standards 40 6. Operating Conditions for Calculation of Emission Rates 41 7. Results of Prediction of Ambient Air Quality for the Project 43 8. Results of Prediction of Ambient Air Quality for the Project and the Aravali 45 Thermal Power Project 9. Summary of Potential Impacts and Mitigation Measures 47 10. Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation Program 53 11. Occupational Health and Safety Management 55 12. Ash Utilization Plan 61 13. Summary of Public Hearing 64 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Jhajjar Power Limited (JPL), a 100% subsidiary of CLP Power India Private Limited (CLP PIPL), which in turn is a 100% subsidiary of CLP Holdings, is developing the Jhajjar Thermal Power Project (JTPP). Under a reform program, the Government of the state of Haryana divided the electricity business owned by the Haryana State Electricity Board into three components: generation, transmission, and distribution. To meet the growing power and energy deficit, the Government of Haryana promoted the Project and subsequently awarded it to CLP PIPL through competitive bidding under the Electricity Act 2003 1 and standard bidding guidelines issued by the Government of India. 2. The Project comprises the construction of a supercritical 2, coal-fired power plant with a total capacity of 1,320 megawatts (MW). The plant will consist of two 660 MW units that will run on coal supplied by rail from India’s North Karanpura coal fields, which are operated by Central Coalfields Limited (CCL). The Project was awarded to CLP PIPL on a build, own, and operate (BOO) basis. Equipment sourcing through various packages has been finalized with suppliers and construction will commence in March 2009. The plant is scheduled for full commercial operation in April 2012. 3. The Project is located near Khanpur village in Jhajjar district in the state of Haryana. The site is close to the Jharli railway station on the Dadari–Rewari section of the North Western Railway (Map 1). The project site covers 494.1 hectares (ha) of low-yield agricultural land in the villages of Khanpur Khurd, Khanpur Kalan, Wazidpur, and Jharli. The project area includes 214.5 ha for plant and equipment, and a switch yard, coal handling system, and related plant; 109.3 ha for ash disposal; 137.0 ha for the greenbelt and water storage facilities; and 33.2 ha for the township. The project site is located on Jhajjar–Matanhel–Kanina district road, which is 38 kilometers (km) southwest of Jhajjar town. 4. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Project was completed by MECON Limited (MECON) in January 2008 based on terms of reference approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on 7 October 2007. As part of the EIA process, a public hearing was held on 29 October 2007 and further consultations were subsequently conducted in local villages. The Project received environmental clearance from MoEF on 24 April 2008 based on the EIA. An application for the alteration of the MoEF environmental clearance has been submitted to MoEF to permit the use of supercritical boiler technology. All other key clearances and permits from national and state authorities required for construction and operation have 1 An Act promulgated by the Government of India to consolidate laws relating to the generation, transmission, distribution, trading and use of electricity and generally for taking measures conducive to development of the electricity industry, promoting competition therein, protection of interest of consumers and supply of electricity to all areas, rationalization of electricity tariff, ensuring transparent policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies, constitution of Central Electricity Authority, Regulatory Commission and establishment of Appellate Tribunal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 2 The boiler technology options available for large, pulverized coal-fired power plants are subcritical, supercritical, and ultra-supercritical. Subcritical plants operate at steam pressure of less than 19 megapascals, where the steam is a mix of liquid and gas, and drum-type boilers are used. Supercritical plants operate at steam pressure of more than 22.1 megapascals and use once-through boilers. The steam at 22.56 megapascals and 374.15°C is said to be in a critical state. Ultra-supercritical plants are about 2% to 3% more efficient than supercritical plants. These plants operate at even higher steam pressures of about 30 megapascals and steam temperatures of about 600°C. Supercritical technology is becoming standard practice in the power industry in developed economies for