ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK SUMMARY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT SHANDONG HAI RIVER BASIN POLLUTION CONTROL PROJECT IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA September 2005 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 15 August 2005) Currency Unit – yuan (CNY) CNY1.00 – $0.124 $1.00 – CNY8.098 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank BOD – biochemical oxygen demand COD – chemical oxygen demand EIA – environmental impact assessment EIRR – economic internal rate of return EMD – environmental monitoring department EMP – environmental management plan EPB – environmental protection bureau HRB – Hai river basin IA – Implementing agency IWM – industrial wastewater management NOx – nitrogen oxides PRC – People’s Republic of China SPEPB – Shandong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau SPMO – Shandong project management office SS – suspended solid SWM – solid waste management TSP – total suspended particulate WM – waste management WWTP – wastewater treatment plant WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ha – hectare km – kilometer km2 – square kilometer m2 – square meter mm – millimeter m/sec – meter per second m3/day – cubic meter per day m3/sec – cubic meter per second m3/year – cubic meter per year NOTES (i) The fiscal year of the Government coincides with the calendar year. (ii) In this report, “$” refers to US dollar. CONTENTS Page MAPS I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 1 A. Municipal Wastewater Management 2 B. Solid Waste Management 2 C. Industrial Wastewater Management 2 D. Institutional Development 2 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 5 A. General Project Setting and Physical Resources 5 B. Ecological Resources 7 C. Economic and Social Conditions 8 IV. ALTERNATIVES 9 A. With and Without the Project 9 B. Alternative for Municipal Wastewater Management 9 C. Alternatives for Solid Waste Management 10 D. Alternatives for Pulp and Paper Mill Waste Management 11 V. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 11 A. Impacts Associated with Siting and Design 11 B. Impacts during Construction 11 C. Impacts during Operation 13 D. Positive Impacts 15 E. Resettlement 17 VI. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT 18 VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 18 A. Institutional Responsibilities 18 B. Environmental Management 19 C. Environmental Monitoring 20 D. Training 20 E. Reporting 21 F. Budget 21 VIII. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE 21 A. Public Participation during Project Preparation 21 B. Future Public Participation Plan 22 IX. CONCLUSIONS 22 A. Project Implementation Benefits 22 B. Potential Impacts and Associated Mitigation Measures 23 APPENDIXES 1. References 24 2. Environment Management Plan 25 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Hai river basin (HRB) has been identified as one of the three river basins in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with the highest priority for improving water quality.1 The basin covers four provinces (Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong), as well as Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. It is the fifth largest river basin in the PRC by area, and encompasses approximately 120 million people. The portion of the HRB within Shandong province is densely developed, and water is scarce.2 Urban and industrial development has exceeded the development of wastewater and solid waste infrastructure. Drainage from the HRB flows into Bohai bay, which is heavily polluted due to excessive chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, and phosphorus loadings. Uncontrolled wastewater reuse in agriculture has resulted in extensive pollution and contamination of the shallow groundwater aquifers, which affects the health of people who rely on drinking water from shallow wells. The water shortage and environmental pollution in the project areas are thus serious obstacles to their sustainable economic development. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is addressing pollution control in the HRB through two ongoing projects (in Tianjin municipality and Hebei province), and one project under preparation (in Henan province). 2. The proposed Project will contribute to the control of water pollution in the HRB within Shandong province. The Project is a major urban infrastructure initiative under Shandong’s 10th 5-year plan (2001–2005). The Project will improve the urban environment and public health conditions of residents in four counties and two cities in northwestern Shandong province, by improving (i) wastewater coverage, collection, treatment, and reuse for industries in the project areas; (ii) municipal solid waste collection and sanitary landfill services; (iii) paper-mill waste management through the use of environmentally improved technology (alkali recovery) and midsection wastewater treatment; and (iv) management capacity and efficiency of the involved project agencies. 3. The Project has nine subprojects. Based upon PRC requirements, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was conducted for each of the nine subprojects grouped under three components: (i) municipal wastewater management (MWM) for Binzhou city, Gaotang county, Linqing city, and Shanghe county; (ii) solid waste management (SWM) for Linqing city, Linyi county, and Zouping county; and (iii) industrial wastewater management (IWM) for Dezhou Changyuan paper mill and Gaotang Quanlin paper mill. The EIAs, including environmental management plans (EMPs), were submitted to and approved by the Shandong Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau (SPEPB). II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 4. The Project has four components: MWM, SWM, IWM, and institutional capacity building. EIAs were conducted for the first three components. Key features of the Project include the following (Table 1). 1 The other two basins are Huai and Liao river basins, and the three priority lakes are Chao Hu, Tai Hu, and Dian Chi. In 1999 the State Council approved the HRB Pollution Prevention and Control Plan. 2 Per capita availability is only one seventh of the national average, which itself is only one fourth of the global average. 2 A. Municipal Wastewater Management 5. The component includes the following: (i) Binzhou city (economic development zone): 40,000 cubic meters (m3)/day capacity wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), 40,000 m3/day reuse water treatment plant, approximately 65 kilometers (km) of sewer and 17 km of reuse water piping, and a 30,000 m3/day lift station. (ii) Gaotang county; 40,000 m3/day WWTP (phase II); 40,000 m3/day reuse water treatment plant; approximately 23 km of sewer, trunk sewer, and reuse water piping. (iii) Linqing city; 100,000 m3/day WWTP; 50,000 m3/day reuse water treatment plant; 12 km of trunk sewer, reuse water piping; and treatment effluent discharge lines. (iv) Shanghe county; 40,000 m3/day WWTP; approximately 21 km of sewer; and two lift stations, with a 10,000 m3/day and 30,000 m3/day capacity. B. Solid Waste Management 6. The component includes the following: (i) Linyi county; a new lined landfill with 200 tons/day capacity; leachate collection and treatment systems, methane gas collection and extraction systems; improvement of about 1 km access road; associated rolling stock and equipment; and closure of existing landfill. (ii) Linqing city; a new lined landfill with 400 tons/day capacity; leachate collection and treatment systems; improvement of about 1.5 km of access road; methane gas collection and extraction systems; associated rolling stock and equipment; and closure of the existing landfill. (iii) Zouping county; a new lined landfill with 400 tons/day; leachate collection and treatment systems; improvement of about 1.2 km of access road; methane gas collection and extraction systems; 100 tons/day transfer station; associated rolling stock and equipment; treatment of leachate from the existing landfill; and closure of the existing landfill. C. Industrial Wastewater Management 7. The component includes the following: (i) Dezhou Changyuan paper mill; 1,800 m3/day black liquor recovery system with a 200 tons/day of solid sodium hydroxide capacity, 45,000 m3/day middle- wastewater treatment system, 15,000 m3/day white liquor recovery system with a 2,440 tons/day of solid sodium hydroxide capacity, 485 tons/day lime recovery system, associated structures, and closure of unlined black liquor lagoon. (ii) Gaotang Quanlin paper mill; 11,470 m3/day black liquor recovery system with a 2,440 tons/day of solid sodium hydroxide capacity, 485 tons/day lime recovery system, associated structures, and closure of unlined lignin pond. D. Institutional Development 8. The objective of this component is to develop financially sustainable, operationally efficient, and managerially autonomous utility companies in each of the seven MWM and SWM 3 subprojects.3 A road map for the institutional development presents a series of gradual steps or actions for achieving the objectives. Key actions include (i) organizational structuring including corporate governance procedures, board of directors, staffing structures, and performance-based contracts; (ii) development of operational procedures and systems, including financial management and management information system; and (iii) development of time-bound corporate strategy plans, focusing especially on integration of MWM and SWM processes and assets into each new company, integrating and streamlining tariff collection mechanisms, and formalizing tariff- setting processes. 3 The implementing agencies for the two paper mill subprojects are well-established companies. Table 1: Major Features of the Project 4 pp Liquid Service Industrial Effluent Capacity Treatment Sludge Land Requirement population Wastewater Reuse Component (m3/day) Process Disposal (ha) 2015 (%) (m3/day) Binzhou