AL REEHAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT COMPANY AL REEHAN NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING PROJECT RAMALLAH-PALESTINE FINAL REPORT April 7, 2010 EARTH LINK AND ADVANCED RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT S.A.R.L. (ELARD) IN ASSOCIATION WITH CENTER FOR ENGINEERING AND PLANNING (CEP) PREPA ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Al Reehan Real Estate Investment Company Co. Al Reehan Neighborhood Housing Project PROJECT INFORMATION ELARD LEBANON Document Type: Draft ELARD IN ASSOCIATION WITH CEP Project Ref: Environmental Impact Assessment No. of Pages: 115 Version 1 Project Director- Senior Approved by Ramez Kayal Water Resources Specialist Reviewed by Ricardo Khoury Senior Project Manager Rami Abdulhadi Project Co-Director Project Manager- Prepared by Ghada Chehab Environmental Expert Srinivasan Senior Environmental Sundararajan Engineer- ELARD Shireen Shelleh Local EIA Coordinator DISCLAIMER This report has been prepared by ELARD in association with CEP , with all reasonable skill, care and diligence within the terms of the contract with the client, incorporating our General Terms and Conditions of Business and taking account of the resources devoted to it by agreement with the client. The information contained in this report is, to the best of our knowledge, correct at the time of printing. The interpretations and recommendations are based on our experience, using reasonable professional skill and judgment, and based upon the information that was available to us. This report is confidential to the client and we accept no responsibility whatsoever to third parties to whom this report, or any part thereof, is made known. Any such party relies on the report at their own risk. CEP ELARD Hojeily Center 6th Fl. P.O.Box 301, Ramallah, Pere Yaoub Street Palestine Sin El Fil, 2708 5803 Tel: +972-2-2955655 Tel: +961 (1) 512121/2 Fax: +972-2-2955654 Fax: +961 1 512123 PREPARED BY ELARD IN ASSOCIATION WITH CEP II ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Al Reehan Real Estate Investment Company Co. Al Reehan Neighborhood Housing Project TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................................................ viii List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................................................... ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................................ 1-1 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 1-3 1.1 Project Overview .................................................................................................................................................. 1-3 1.2 Client Overview .................................................................................................................................................... 1-3 1.3 Scope of the EIA ................................................................................................................................................... 1-3 1.3.1 EIA Objectives ............................................................................................................................................. 1-3 1.3.2 EIA Report Structure .................................................................................................................................... 1-4 2 Legislative & Institutional Framework ...................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Historical Background ......................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Legislative, Legal and Regulatory Framework ................................................................................................ 2-1 2.3 The Palestinian Environmental Law ................................................................................................................... 2-2 2.4 Environmental Policy ........................................................................................................................................... 2-4 2.5 Effluent Discharge Standards ............................................................................................................................. 2-5 2.6 Institutional Framework ....................................................................................................................................... 2-5 3 Project Description ..................................................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Project’s Vision ...................................................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Project Location and Scale ................................................................................................................................ 3-1 3.3 Spatial Allocation Summary and Analysis ....................................................................................................... 3-2 3.4 Project Components ........................................................................................................................................... 3-5 3.4.1 Apartments and Villas Zone ...................................................................................................................... 3-5 3.4.2 Commercial Zone ....................................................................................................................................... 3-5 3.4.3 Community Facilities .................................................................................................................................. 3-5 3.4.4 Schools .......................................................................................................................................................... 3-6 3.4.5 Mosque ......................................................................................................................................................... 3-6 PREPARED BY ELARD IN ASSOCIATION WITH CEP III ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Al Reehan Real Estate Investment Company Co. Al Reehan Neighborhood Housing Project TABLE OF CONTENTS 3.4.6 Hospital ......................................................................................................................................................... 3-6 3.4.7 Open Spaces and Walkways ................................................................................................................... 3-6 3.4.8 Archeological Site ...................................................................................................................................... 3-7 3.4.9 Parking Areas ............................................................................................................................................... 3-7 3.4.10 Road Network within the Site .................................................................................................................... 3-7 3.4.11 Pedestrian Circulation ................................................................................................................................ 3-9 3.4.12 Landscaping ................................................................................................................................................ 3-9 3.4.13 Utility Connections ...................................................................................................................................... 3-9 3.4.14 Solid Waste Management ...................................................................................................................... 3-16 3.4.15 Raw Material .............................................................................................................................................. 3-16 3.5 Project Phasing ................................................................................................................................................... 3-17 4 Description of the Environment ............................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 The Physical Environment ................................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2.1 Regional Setting .......................................................................................................................................... 4-1 4.2.2 Climate and Meteorology .......................................................................................................................