b Public Disclosure Authorized Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Construction Works for the Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori (16km) Public Disclosure Authorized Road Section Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Draft report October 2018 LIST OF ACRONIMS EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMP - Environmental Management Plan ESIA - Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMP - Environmental and Social Management Plan HSE - Health, Safety, Environment HS - Health and Safety GIS - Geographic Information System GoG - Government of Georgia IPPC - Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control KP - Kilometer Post MESD - Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia MEPA - Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia MLHSA - Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia NGO - Non-Governmental Organization RD - Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia MRDI - Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia ToR - Terms of Reference WB - The World Bank Table of Contents 2.1 Environmental Policies and Laws of Georgia ....................................................................................... 2 2.2 Laws and Regulations Related to Social Aspects and Land Ownership .............................................. 5 2.3 Labor Legislation .................................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 Requirements for Environmental Assessment in Georgia ................................................................... 7 2.4 World Bank Policy Requirements ......................................................................................................... 8 2.5 International and National Environmental Standards and Norms ...................................................... 9 2.5.1 Ambient Air Quality Standards ...................................................................................................... 9 2.5.2 Water Quality Standards ............................................................................................................... 10 2.6.3. Noise Level Standards .................................................................................................................. 11 2.6 Institutional Framework ...................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 No-Project (No-Action) Alternative ................................................................................................... 15 3.2 Comparative analysis of the alternative alignments ........................................................................... 16 3.3 Summary of project impact of Bakurtsikhe – Tsnori Alternatives .................................................... 17 4.1 Project Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Geometrical Road Design Standard and Parameter...................................................................... 19 4.3 Bridge Design Codes and Standards .............................................................................................. 21 4.4 Departure from Standard ............................................................................................................... 22 5.1 Botanical and Zoological Surveys ........................................................................................................ 23 5.2 Historical Pollution of Road Corridor ................................................................................................. 23 5.3 Pollution (Soil, Air) .............................................................................................................................. 24 5.4 Noise ...................................................................................................................................................... 24 5.5 Methodology for Analysis (Ranking) of Alternatives ........................................................................ 25 6.1 Biophysical Environment .................................................................................................................... 26 6.1.1 Climate ........................................................................................................................................... 26 6.1.2 Topographical Data ................................................................................................................ 27 6.1.3 Geotechnical and Pavement Design Study ........................................................................... 27 6.1.4 Geological Overview of the Project Area ............................................................................. 28 6.1.5 Frost Depth ............................................................................................................................. 29 6.1.6 Geomorphology and Soils ............................................................................................................. 29 6.1.7 Pollution ........................................................................................................................................ 35 6.1.8 Hydrology ...................................................................................................................................... 35 6.2 Biological Environment ....................................................................................................................... 36 Protected Areas .......................................................................................................................................... 39 6.3 Social-Economic Situation ................................................................................................................... 39 6.3.1 General ........................................................................................................................................... 39 6.3.2 Population ...................................................................................................................................... 40 6.4 Historical and Cultural Heritage ......................................................................................................... 46 7.1 Impact on the atmospheric air quality ................................................................................................ 47 7.2. Noise and vibration ............................................................................................................................. 48 7.3. Hydrology ............................................................................................................................................ 50 7.4. Impact on Soil Fertility and Quality .................................................................................................. 51 7.5. Vegetative Cover ................................................................................................................................. 52 7.6 Wildlife ................................................................................................................................................. 53 7.7. Landscape ............................................................................................................................................. 54 7.8 Construction Camps ............................................................................................................................. 56 8.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 57 8.2 Environmental Documents and Records ............................................................................................ 57 8.3 Costs of ESMP Implementation ........................................................................................................... 58 8.4 Planning Phase (Organization of Construction) ................................................................................. 59 8.5 Construction Phase .............................................................................................................................. 60 8.6 Operation phase .................................................................................................................................... 64 9.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 65 9.2 Institutional framework ....................................................................................................................... 65 10.1 Public Consultations .......................................................................................................................... 72 10.2 Grievance Redress Mechanism .......................................................................................................... 72 10.3 Grievance Redress Procedures ........................................................................................................... 74 10.4 Grievance Log ..................................................................................................................................... 76 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction The Government of Georgia is conducting a program to upgrade the major roads of