Baseline Environmental Conditions 7-1 7. BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS 7.1 Introduction This Chapter of the ESIA Report presents information about the current environmental conditions in the Project area, including a description of its current status and basic parameters. This information is of required to inform the assessment of potential impacts of the Project and subsequent development of adequate mitigation measures, as well as, for assessment of the efficiency of such measures. The main sources of information about the current environmental conditions at all Amur GPP facilities which are used in this section are presented in Table 7-1. Reports of the current environmental conditions mentioned in Table 7-1, the following sources of information were used: National EIA Reports and materials relating to environmental protection aspects in the Project design documentation for all facilities of the Amur GPP: o National EIA for construction of the Amur Gas Processing Plant. Research and Design Institute for Oil and Gas "Peton", 2015. o Project design documentation. Amur Gas Processing Plant. Stage 4. Gas processing plant. Section 8. List of environmental protection measures. Part 8.1. Gas processing plant and helium complex. VNIPIgazdobycha, Blagoveshchensk, 2016. o Project design documentation. Amur Gas Processing Plant. Stage 3.1. Auxiliary production facilities. Section 8. List of environmental protection measures. Part 8.1. Gas processing plant and helium complex. VNIPIgazdobycha, Blagoveshchensk, 2016. Governmental report "Environment protection and environmental situation in Amur Region in 2014. Ministry of Natural Resources of Amur Region, Blagoveshchensk, 2015. Governmental report on environmental situation in the Russian Federation in 2014. RF Ministry of Natural Resources, Moscow, 2015. Scheme of territorial planning of Svobodnensky district, OOO ‘Kariatida’, 2010 Geological map of the Russian Federation. Scale 1:1,000,000 (3rdgeneration). Far Eastern Series. MapsheetM-52 'Blagoveshchensk'. St. Petersburg, Cartographic Factory VSEGEI, 2012, 496 pp. Geological map of Amur Region. Scale 1:500,000. Volkova Yu.P, Belikova T.V., Rybalko V.A., Blagoveshchensk, GGP “AmurGeologia”, 1996, Book 1. Analytical reference provided by the Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information - World Data Center, 2014. Table 7.1: Sources of information about the current environmental conditions Project stages / Report title Report code in the Performe Year facilities design documentation r All stages / facilities Technical report on the engineering Not a part of the design VNIPIgazd 2011 surveys for construction of main gas documentation obycha pipeline Yakutiya – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok, section Skovodino – Khabarovsk All stages / facilities Technical report on the engineering Not a part of the design GeoInzhSt 2013 surveys for construction of main gas documentation roy pipeline ”Power of Siberia”, linear infrastructure facilities for section KS7 and KS7a. All stages / facilities Report on reference design and data Not a part of the design VNIPIgazd 2014 collection for Amur GPP project documentation obycha Stage 1. Early work Technical report on the engineering 4700ИЗ.З.П.ИИ.ТХО VNIPIgazd 2016 facilities surveys. Stage 7. Early Works obycha Facilities: seismologic andseismotectonic ic investigations Baseline Environmental Conditions 7-2 Project stages / Report title Report code in the Performe Year facilities design documentation r and seismic microzoningg of (VostSibTI territory SIZ, CJSC) Stage 2. Technical report on the engineering 4700ИЗ.4.П.ИИ.ТХО- VNIPIgazd 2015 Construction of surveys. 3.2.1.1 obycha railway Stage 3 of the calendаr plan: . (VostSibTI infrastructure Complex engineering survey. SIZ, Desktop study. Issue of the technical CJSC) report. Stage 3.1. Auxiliary Technical report on the engineering 4700П3-1.00.П.ИИ.ТХО VNIPIgazd 2016 production facilities surveys. obycha Stage 3 of the calendаr plan: Stage 3. Auxiliary production facilities. Sub-stage 1. Complex engineering survey. Field study. Desktop study. Issue of the technical report. Stage 4. Gas Technical report on the engineering 4700ИЗ.6.П.05.ИИ.ТХО VNIPIgazd 2016 processing plant and surveys. obycha helium complex Stage 19 of the calendаr plan: Gas processing plant and helium complex. Complex engineering survey. Desktop study.Issue of the technical report. Stage 5.1. Geodetic, geological and 4700П5-1.00.П.ИИ.ТХО VNIPIgazd 2016 Residential area hydrometeorological engineering obycha surveys. Stage 6. Solid Technical report on the engineering 4700П6.00.П.ИИ.ТХО VNIPIgazd 2016 domestic and surveys. Stage 7 of the calendar obycha industrial waste plan. Stage 6. Solid waste landfill. landfill Complex engineering survey. Field study. Desktop study. Issue of the technical report. 7.2 Characterization of Climate, Weather Conditions and Atmospheric Air Quality 7.2.1 Climate 7.2.1.1 Background The climate in the subject region is extremely continental with monsoon features. Prevailing is the westerly air mass transfer; cyclonic character is well pronounced. The Project area belongs to a cold climatic region with the least harsh conditions. The following specific features are characteristic of the local climate: significant variations in the annual (45-50°C) and daily (up to 20°C) ambient air temperature amplitude; monsoon type of the climate attributed almost exclusively to north-westerly winds in winter; prevalence of atmospheric precipitation in summer; well-defined seasonality. The following processes in the atmosphere influence the climate within the region: solar radiation, circulation of air masses, the topography providing access for cold Arctic air masses and remote location of major water bodies. The monsoon character of air mass circulation in Amur Region is predetermined in the first instance by the overall global air mass circulation. Typical of the subject region is continental moderate air. In summer, tropical air masses of continental and maritime origin influence the Amur Region regional climate. In winter, a stable Asian anticyclone centered in Mongolia prevails in the subject region. The north-eastern part of the high pressure zone resulted in prevailing winds of north-westerly direction. The weather in winter is predominantly cold and with little snow. Air masses from the Pacific Ocean create southerly, south-easterly and south-westerly winds penetrating for considerable distances into the mainland areas and activating cyclonic activities. The atmospheric precipitation in summer is predetermined by the cyclonic activity. Baseline Environmental Conditions 7-3 Transition of the average daily temperature to the range below –5°C is considered to be the beginning of the winter season; transition to the average daily air temperature above +5°C is considered as the beginning of the spring time. Winter in the subject region is cold and dry with a thin snow cover and much sunshine. The duration of the period with an average daily air temperature below the 0°C level is 175 days. The typical weather in winter is predominantly clear, with sunshine and a high atmospheric pressure, i.e. 1,000 mb (750 mm Hg) and higher. The average ambient air temperature in January is –26°C in the south and –32°C in the north of Amur Region. The summer is warm. Precipitation levels vary from 350 mm to 450 mm in the northern part and from 250 mm to 350 mm in the southern part of the region. Rains cause floods of major and minor watercourses in the subject region. The ambient air temperature rises up to 16-21°C on the plains and up to 10-12°C in the mountains. The autumn begins in early September when the average daily air temperature drops to below +10°C. The weather in September is normally rainy, especially during the first half of the month, but then with lower air temperatures there are more bright days with much sunshine. Drift snow, drizzling rain and icing are also reported in autumn. The working conditions can become difficult during the summer-autumn period due to considerable precipitation rates and floods of watercourses. The following data recorded at the weather station in the town of Svobodny were used for the assessment of the climatic conditions in the Project area1 (Table 7.2): Table 7.2: Location of the weather station in town of Svobodny WMO Index Latitude Longitude Elevation, m above sea level 31445 51.45 128.12 195 7.2.1.2 Solar radiation According to the annual values, the annual solar radiation balance within the subject region is positive. Sunshine is recorded in the north and south of Amur Region for 1900-2000 hours/year and over 2500 hours/year, respectively. In the city of Blagoveshchensk the average sunshine time is 2266 hours/year and at the weather station of Byssa (Selemdzhinsky district (52°27'47" N and 130°50'35" E) it is 2187 hours/ year (Figure 7.1). 1 Climatic data has been adopted from the 'Analytical Reference Data According to Agreement No.46/14 for provision of hydrometeorological information collected at the weather station of Svobodny, 2014' provided by the Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information - World Data Center. Source: 'Amur GPP', Project design documentation. Technical report on engineering surveys. Section 2. Environmental engineering surveys. Volume 1.4. Annexes К – Ц, 4700ИЗ.6.П.ИИ.ТХО - 19.2.1.4: Annex К13. Baseline Environmental Conditions 7-4 300 250 200 150 hours/month , 100 50 0 I II III IV V VI VI VI IX X XI XI with sunhine with Average duration of periods periods duration