China - Hubei Hydroelectric Project - environmental assessment (Vol. 6 of 7) : EIA report - transmission lines component

VOLUME 11 E416 Vol. 6 EIA Report Transmission Lines Component Hubei Hydropower Project Prepared for: The Government of Hubei Province Prepared by: International Department of Hubei Provincial Financial Bureau East China Investigation and Design institute April 2002 FILE COPY  EIA for Transmission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project Project: Transmission Lines Component of Hubei Hydropower Project Document: EIA Report (revised) EIA Team Leader: Chen Gentu Engineer EIA Team Members: Rui Jianliang Senior Engineer Ding Mingming Senior Engineer Li Jiapei Senior Engineer Guo Jian Assistant Engineer Reviewer: Zhang ZhuSheng Senior Consultant Sign Off by: Rui Jianliang Chief Engineer EIA Unit: East China Investigation and Design Institute EIA License No.: Entrusted by: International Department of Hubei Provincial Financial Bureau  EIA for Transmission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................1 2. Project Description . 7 3. Baseline Environmental Conditions .............................................. 12 4. Assessment of Impacts and Recommended Mitigation Measures . 23 5. Analyiss of Economic Benefits and Losses . -.... -------...----.-.-.-.----.---.-.-.-.-40 6. Environmental Management Plan .------- 42 7. Public Consultation and Disclosure .-----......---......----.. ---..... -------50 8. Summary and Conclusions .................................. 54 References ................................. 57 Figures Fig.2-1 to Fig. 2-4 Schematics of Transmission Line Routes .9 Fig.6-1 Environmental Management System ...................................................44 Tables Table 1-1 Standards for EIA . -..........--.... -....- 4 Table 2-1 Conductor Wire Types .10 Table 2-2 Minimum Vertical Clearance Distances for 110 kV and 220 kV Conductors .10 Table 2-3 Tower Specifications .11 Table 3-1 Summary of Climate Features in the Project-affected Areas .--.-.-.-.12 Table 3-2 Geology and Landforms of the Project Areas .-.-.--.-.----13 Table 3-3 Soils in the Project Area .14 Table 3-4 Data on Rivers that will be Crossed by Transmission Lines .15 Table 3-5 Vegetation Distribution in Each Project Area .*.----.------.---.-.----.-.-.---17 - 11 -  EIA for Transmission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project Table 3-6 Water and Soil Conservation Status .18 Table 3-7 Socio-Economic Data for the Project Areas .19 Table 3-8 Distance between the Transmission Lines and Cultural/Histoic Places of Interest - 21 Table 4-1 Potential Environmental and Social Impacts .24 Table 4-2 Soil Loss as a Result of Tower Foundation Excavations .27 Table 4-3 Temporary and Permanent Land Requirements .31 Table 4-4 Electromagnetic Intensity of 110 kV and 220 kV Transmission lines .*........-.----.---.--.-.-.*37 Table 6-1 Environmental Monitoring Elements .46 Table 6-2 Major Contents of Environment Information Report .48 Table 7-1 Schedule of Public Consultation and Disclosure for Dongping, Lajitan and Songshuling Transmission Line Projects . 52 Appendices Appendix A Schematic Drawings for Typical 110 kV and 220 kV Transmission Line Towers .A-1 Appendix B Questionnaires Used to Gather Public Opinion For the Transmission Line Projects . B-1 Appendix C Results of Xiakou Transmission Line Public Consultatation Process .C-1 - iii -  EIA for Transmission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction This section of the report provides an overview of the transmission line component of the Hubei Hydropower Project and its objectives, and defines the requirements for and the scope of the EIA. The project is described more fully in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 provides information on the environmental baseline conditions along the proposed transmission line routes. Environmental impacts and proposed mitigation measures are discussed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 includes an analysis of economic benefits and losses, consistent with Chinese EA requirements. Chapter 6 contains an environmental mitigation and monitoring plan. Results of public consultation and disclosure are presented in Chapter 7. The last chapter of this document, Chapter 8, presents a summary of findings and conclusions. 1.2 Background The Government of Hubei Province and State Power Corporation of China have requested a loan from the World Bank to build four medium sized hydropower projects in western Hubei Province. These include: * 102 MW Dongping Power Station in Xuanen County * 36 MW Lajitan Power Station in Laifeng County * 50 MW Songshuling Power Station in Zhushan County * 30 MW Xiakou Power Station in Nanzhang County The objective of the Hubei Hydropower Project is to provide additional generation capacity for the Hubei provincial electrical grid, and to provide opportunities for economic development (e.g., through electricity tarrifs, employment, tourism) in the project-affected counties, which are among the poorest in China. A separate EIA has been prepared for each of the hydropower projects, along with a summary EA report, and submitted to the World Bank for review and acceptance'. Each of the four main EIA documents was reviewed and approved by the Hubei Environmental Protection Bureau. For more information on the environmental effects, mitigation measures and environmental mitigation and monitoring requirements for each project, the reader is encouraged to review the individual EIA for each project, or the Summary EA Report that addresses all four projects together.  EIA for Transmnission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project In order to connect each of the four proposed generating stations to the Hubei provincial electricity grid, high voltage transmission lines will need to be constructed as follows: * 36 km 220 kV Dongping Transmission Line * 32 km 110 kV Lajitan Transmission Line * 45 km 110 kV Songshuling Transmission Line * 65 km 110kV Xiakou Transmission Line Additional details of each transmission line project are provided in Chapter 2. 1.3 Status of Transmission Line Component At the time this EIA report was prepared, preliminary design and route selection have been completed for the Xiakou Transmission Line only2. Preliminary design and transmission line route selection for the Dongping, Lajitan and Songshuling transmission lines will be completed according to the following schedule: Transmission Line Expected Date for Completion of Preliminary Project Design and Route Selection * Dongping April 2003 * Lajitan October 2002 * Songshuiling November 2003 Notwithstanding that the transmission line routes have yet to be delineated for the Dongping, Lajitan, and Songshuling transmission line projects, criteria for routing have been established which allow for assessment of potential impacts. These criteria are identified in Chapter 2. The designs for the 110 kV Lajitan and Songshuling transmission lines will be very similar to that of the 110 kV Xiakou Transmission Line. The design of the 220 kV Dongping Transimission Line will differ from Xiakou, insofar as the towers will be larger to accommodate the heavier conductor wire loading. 2 Primary Design of the IlOkV Huazhuang-Xiakou Transmission Line Project, Xiangfan Power Investigation and Design Institute, Nov. 2001 -2 -  EIA for Transmission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project 1.4 Purpose and Objective of EIA The purpose of this EIA is to provide decision makers and planners with a tool to use in identifying and managing the negative and beneficial environmental and social effects that may result from the transmission line component of the Hubei Hydropower Project. The objective of this EIA is to identify the key impacts, develop effective mitigation measures to prevent, reduce or eliminate the negative effects, and enhance the positive benefits, obtain input from project-affected people in the along the transmission line corridors, and prepare an environmental mitigation and monitoring plan (EMMP) that will be used to implement environmental protection measures during construction and operation. 1.5 Environment Impact Assessment Screening Category Stand-alone transmission line projects of the scale being proposed here, would normally be designated Category B projects under the World Bank's environmental screening criteria as defined in the Bank's operational policy on environmental assessment (OP 4.01 Environmental Assessment). However, since each of the four transmission line projects will be funded as part of the overall Hubei Hydropower Project, which has been given an environmental screening designation of Category A, the four transmission line projects must also be considered as Category A projects. A full EIA is required. 1.6 Standards Used in Preparing Environment Assessment 1.6.1 Laws and Regulations The following Chinese laws and regulations have been followed in preparing this transmission line EIA. (1) Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (1989.12.26) (2) Regulations of Environmental Protection Management for Construction Projects (1998.11.18) (3) Methods of Environmental Protection for Electromagnetic Radiation (1997.3.25) (4) Notification of Strengthening Environmental Impact Assessment Management for Construction Project Funded by International Monetary Organization (1993.6.21) (5) Law of the People's Republic of China on the Conservation of Water and Soil (1991.6.29) -3 -  EIA for Transmission Lines Component: Hubei Hydropower Project (6) Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wild Animals (1984.9.20) (7) Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China (1991.6.29) 1.6.2 Environmental Assesssment Technical Guidelines and Specifications The following World Bank and Chinese technical guidelines and specifications have been followed in preparing this transmission line EIA. (1) World Bank's Guideline Environmental Assessment (OP4.01) (2) Technical Guidelines of Environmental Impact Assessment HJ/T2.1 -2.3-93. HJ/T2.4-95 (3) Technical Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Electromagnetic Radiation Produced by 500kV Ultrahigh Voltage Transmission and Transfer Power Engineering HJIT 24-1998 (4) Guideline on Radiation Environment Protection Management, Environment Impact Assessment Methods and Standards on Electromagnetic Radiation HJIT 10.3-1996 1.7 Environmental Quality Standards for EIA The following Chinese environmental quality standards were used to assess potential environmental impacts expected to accrue as a result of construction and operation of the transmission line projects. Table 1-1 Standards for EIA Standards or Item Grade Factor Standard Value Specification GB3095-1996 Environment Air 2 TSP (mean A0.30mg/Nm3 Quality Standard daily value) Standard on daytime-55dB, GB3096-93 Environment Noise in I Leq nighttime