Initial Environmental Examination March 2011 NEP: Second Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project- Bhasi Town Project Prepared by Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Ministry of Urban Development for the Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 30 May 2011) Currency unit – nepali rupees (NPR) NPR1.00 = $0.01378 $1.00 = NPR72.544 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank amsl – above mean sea level CMA – Community Medical Auxiliary DI – ductile iron Dia. – diameter DSC – Design and Supervision Consultant DWSS – Department of Water supply and Sewerage EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment EMP – Environmental Management Plan EPA – Environment Protection Act EPR – Environment Protection Rule GI – galvanized iron GoN – Government of Nepal HDPE – high density polyethylene pipe HHs – households IEE – Initial Environmental Examination lpcd – liter per capita per day lps – liters per second MOUD – Ministry of Urban Development NDWQS – National Drinking Water Quality Standard NEA – Nepal Electricity Authority NGO – Non Government Organization Nrs. – Nepali Rupees O&M – operation & maintenance OD – outer diameter PMC – Project Management Consultant PMO – Project Management Office TDF – Town Development Fund VAT – Value Added Tax VDC – Village Development Committee WHO – World Health Organization WSSDO – Water Supply and Sanitation Division Office WUSC – Water User’s and Sanitation Committee NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of Nepal and its agencies ends on 15 July. “FY” before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2011 ends on 15 July 2011. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars unless otherwise stated. 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 judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Government of Nepal MINISTRY OF PHYSICAL PLANNING AND WORKS ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚŽĨtĂƚĞƌ^ƵƉƉůLJĂŶĚ^ĞǁĞƌĂŐĞ ^ĞĐŽŶĚ^ŵĂůůdŽǁŶƐtĂƚĞƌ^ƵƉƉůLJΘ^ĂŶŝƚĂƚŝŽŶ^ĞĐƚŽƌWƌŽũĞĐƚ WƌŽũĞĐƚDĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚKĨĨŝĐĞ WĂŶŝƉŽŬŚĂƌŝ͕DĂŚĂƌĂũŐƵŶũ͕<ĂƚŚŵĂŶĚƵ Final Report on Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for Bhasi Town Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project (Batch I, Package I) March 2011 Submitted By: jTk6&T (QYLURQPHQW 5HVRXUFH0DQDJHPHQWQW&&RQVXOWDQW EĞǁĂŶĞƐŚǁŽƌ͕<ĂƚŚŵĂŶĚƵ͕EĞƉĂů W͘K͘Ždž͗ϭϮϰϭϵ͕<ĂƚŚŵĂŶĚƵ dĞů͗͘ϵϳϳͲϬϭͲϰϰϴϯϬϲϰ͕ϰϰϲϱϴϲϯ&Ădž͗ϵϳϳͲϬϭͲϰϰϳϵϯϲϭ ŵĂŝů͗ƐĂĨĞΛĞƌŵĐ͘ǁůŝŶŬ͘ĐŽŵ͘ŶƉ͕tĞďƐŝƚĞ͗ǁǁǁ͘ĞƌŵĐŶĞƉĂů͘ĐŽŵ ŝ TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (NEPALI) ………………………………………………………………. v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (ENGLISH) ……………………………………………………………. viii A. INTRODUCTION1 1. Name and Address of the Individual Institution Preparing the Report ............................... 1 a. Name of the Proposal ............................................................................................................ 1 b. Name and Address of the Proponent ..................................................................................... 1 c. Consultant Preparing the Report ........................................................................................... 1 2. Basis and Extent of the IEE Study ........................................................................................... 2 a. ADB Policy (ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement, 2009) ..................................................... 2 b. National Laws, Policies, Acts, Regulations, Standards and Guidelines ................................ 3 c. Objectives and Scope of the Environmental Study ............................................................... 6 d. Relevancy of the Project ....................................................................................................... 7 e. Approach and Methodology .................................................................................................. 7 B. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT10 1. Existing Water Supply and Sanitation Situation .................................................................. 10 a. Water Supply System .......................................................................................................... 10 b. Sanitation Facilities ............................................................................................................. 11 2. Type, Category and Need of the Subproject .......................................................................... 11 3. Size or Magnitude of Operation ............................................................................................. 12 4. Proposed Schedule for Implementation ................................................................................. 12 5. Project Requirements .............................................................................................................. 13 6. Description of the Subproject ................................................................................................. 14 C. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT18 1. Physical Resources ................................................................................................................... 18 a. Topography ......................................................................................................................... 18 c. Geology and Soils ............................................................................................................... 20 d. Climate and Rainfall ........................................................................................................... 20 e. Hydrology ........................................................................................................................... 20 2. Ecological Resources ................................................................................................................ 21 a. National Parks and Protected Areas .................................................................................... 21 b. Forests ................................................................................................................................. 21 3. Social and Cultural Resources ................................................................................................ 23 a. Demography ........................................................................................................................ 23 b. Health Facilities .................................................................................................................. 24 c. Educational Facilities .......................................................................................................... 24 ii d. Physical and Cultural Heritage ............................................................................................ 25 c. Employment ........................................................................................................................ 25 4. Economic Development and Prospects for Growth .............................................................. 25 a. Land use .............................................................................................................................. 25 b. Infrastructure ....................................................................................................................... 26 c. Economic Characteristics .................................................................................................... 28 d. Development Organizations ................................................................................................ 30 e. Major Environmental Problems .......................................................................................... 30 D. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES31 1. Beneficial Impacts .................................................................................................................... 31 a. Construction Phase .............................................................................................................. 31 b. Operation Phase .................................................................................................................. 32 2. Adverse Impacts ....................................................................................................................... 32 a. Pre-construction Phase ........................................................................................................ 33 b. Construction Phase .............................................................................................................. 33 c. Operational Phase ............................................................................................................... 36 3 Mitigation Costs ....................................................................................................................... 45 E. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES WITH AND WITHOUT46 1. Design Alternative .................................................................................................................... 46 2. Project Site/Location Alternative ........................................................................................... 46 3. Alternative