China - Hubei Xiaogan - Xiangfan Highway Project : environmental assessment (Vol. 7 of 10) : Zaoyang connecting road

I World Bank Financed Project | E584 Volume 7 Zaoyang Connecting Road Environmental Impact Assessment & Environmental Management Plan Hubei Provincial Communications Department March 2002 Wuhan China FILE COPY  Table of Contents Chapter I Introduction ................ 1.1 Background ............... , , .. 1.2 Purpose of EA ...............1 1.3 Bases of Assessment ...............2 1.4 Assessment Factors .............. 4 1.5 Scope and Standards of Assessment .....................................4 1.6 Methodology .....................................5 Chapter 2 Project Description .....................................6 2.1 Location .....................................6 2.2 Traffic Volume Prediction .....................................6 2.3 Technical Standards and Work Quantity .....................................6 2.4 Alignment Selection and Justification .....................................7 Chapter 3 Environmental Baseline .....................................8 3.1 Sensitive Receptors ................8 3.2 Existing Noise Environment .....................................9 3.3 Existing Air Quality .................................... 10 3.4 Soil Erosion .................................... 10 Chapter 4 Impact Assessment .................................... 11 4.1 Ecological and Agricultural Impact .................................... 11 4.2 Impact on Acoustic Environment .................................... 12 4.3 Ambient Air Quality Impact Assessment .................................... 15 4.4 Socio-economic Environment Impacts .................................... 16 4.5 Public Consultation and Disclosure .................................... 18 Chapter 5 Mitigation Measures .................................... 22 5.1 Mitigation Measures in Design Stages .................................... 22 5.2 Mitigation Measures in Construction Stage .................................... 25 5.3 Mitigation Measures during Operation Phase .................................... 26 Chapter 6 EIA Summary .................................... 28 Chapter 7 Environmental Management Plan .................................... 30 7.1 Components of Environmental Management Plan .................................... 30 7.2 Organization of Environmental Management .................................... 3 1 7.3 Environmental Mitigation Plan .................................... 33 7.4 Environmental Supervision Plan .................................... 37 7.5 Environmental Monitoring Plan ..................................... 37 7.6 Personnel Training .................................... 39 7.7 Estimated Costs for Environmental Mitigation .................................... 40  List of Table Table 2.3-1 Main Engineering Work Volume ..................................................................6 Table 2.3-2 Location and Scale of Borrowing Pits ..................................................................7 Table 3-1-1 Environmental Sensitive Receptors along the Connecting Road ........................................8 Table 3.2-1 Measuring Results of Noise Environment (LACq) ................................................................9 Table 3.3-1 Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Results Unit: mg/Nm3 .................................................. 10 Table 4-2-1 Traffic Noise Prediction of the Zaoyang Connecting Road Leq (dB(A)) ........................ 14 Table 4.2-2 Prediction Results of Ambient Noise Level in Sensitive Spots Leq(dB(A)) .................... 14 Table 4.3-2 TSP Survey Results ................................................................. 15 Table 4-3-2 Analogical Results of TSP after Water Spray in Construction Site ................................... 15 Table 4.5-1 Public Consultation Participants Composition ................................................................. 18 Table 4.5-2 Public Response to Questions from the Questionnaire ...................................................... 19 Table 4.5-3 Public Opinions/Concerns and Responses ................................................................. 19 Table 4.5-4 Public Locations for Disclosure ................................................................. 21 Table 5.1-1 Location and Rehabilitation of Borrowing Pits ................................................................. 22 Table 5.1-2 Traffic Noise Mitigation Measures ................................................................. 23 Table 7.3-1 Environmental Mitigation Plan ................................................................. 34 Table 7.4-1 Environmental Supervision Plan ................................................................. 37 Table 7.5-1 Environmental Monitoring Plan ................................................................. 38 Table 7.7-1 Cost of Environmental Protection ................................................................. 40 List of Map Map 2-1 The Alignment of Zaoyang Connecting Road Map 2-2 Location of Borrowing Pits Map 3-1 Sensitive Receptors and Environmental Baseline Map 7-1 Location of Planned Monitoring Spots List of Abbreviation BP Best Procedure COD Chemical Oxygen Demand EA Environmental Assessment EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Plan  EPB Environmental Protection Bureau EPO Environmental Protection Office GB National Standard GDP Gross Domestic Product GHZB National Environmental Quality Standard GP Good Practice HJ/T Environmental/Technical HPCD Hubei Provincial Communications Department LAeq Continuous Equivalent Sound A Level MOC Ministry of Communications NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide OD Operational Directive OP Operational Policy PRC the People's Republic of China SEPA State Environmental Protection Administration SS Suspended Solid THC Tetrahydrocannabinol TSP Total Suspended Particle WBFPO World Bank Financed Project Office  Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Zaoyang connecting road is part of the Xiaogan to Xiangfan expressway project which is to be partially financed by a World Bank loan to the People' s Republic of China. The objective is to maximize the transportation benefits of the expressway to Zaoyang region particularly to the urban area of Zaoyang. The proposed expressway passes through the municipality of Zaoyang, but is still some 11 km away from the Zaoyang urban area proper (see Map 2-1 in Chapter 2). This proposed connecting road is to link the Zaoyang city proper with the expressway. As part of the project preparation, an Environmental Assessment (EA) has been conducted by a team of environmental specialists from Shanghai Ship and Shipping Research Institute (SSSRI), in compliance with relevant requirements from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and the World Bank. The EA involves various screening and full scale assessment in accordance with SEPA requirements and World Bank safeguards policies. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) have been prepared to summarize the key findings and recommended actions for adverse impact mitigation from the EA. As the project involves several components including the main expressway, three connecting roads and four rural roads, one set of EA documentation (EIA and EMP) has been prepared for each component. This document is the EIA for the Zaoyang Connecting Road. The original EIA report is prepared in Chinese and this English version of the report is the translation. As the project EA team and the author of component EIA report and EMP, SSSRI certifies that the main contents of the Chinese and English versions of the EA documents are basically identical, except more stringent noise standards are applied in the English version. With regard to the translation itself, while the two versions may not be identical due to different expressions in Chinese and English languages, there is no key difference on the matter of substance. 1.2 Purpose of EA The EA predicts various environmental and socio-economic impacts of the Project, and analyzes the impacts quantitatively or qualitatively through the investigation or monitoring of the physical, biological, socio-economic environment, and through public consultation along the project area. More specifically, the purposes of the EA are:  * To improve the decision-making process by introducing environrmental criteria and assessment to design engineers and decision makers and to ensure the Project is environmentally sound and sustainable; * To ensure adverse environmental impacts be identified and evaluated in the earlier stage of the Project so as to develop appropriate measures including alternative alignrments and designs to avoid, mitigate, reduce or otherwise minimize the adverse impacts to acceptable levels; * To develop measures of compensation for the impacts which could not be avoided or mitigated; and; * To provide a basis for Project executing agency and relevant government agencies to develop and implement plans for environmental management and monitoring. 1.3 Bases of Assessment World Bank Requirements The World Bank requirements include primarily the Bank' s ten safeguards policies, including Operational Policies (OP), Best Procedure (BP), Good Practice (GP) and Operational Directives (OD). They are: * Environmental Assessment (OP/BP/GP4.01); * Forestry (OP/GP4.36); * Natural Habitats (OP/BP4.04); * Safety of Dams (OP/BP4.37); * Pest Management (OP4.09); * Involuntary Resettlement (OD4.30); * Indigenous People (OD4.20); * Cultural Property (OPN11.03 and soon to be OP4.11); * Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP/GP7.60); and * Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP/GP7.50). Among these safeguards policies, Environmental Assessment is the primary requirements and thus the focus of this report. In addition, other policies such as Natural Habitats (OP4.04), Indigenous People (0D4.20), Forest (OP4.36), Cultural Property (OP4.11) and Pest Management (OP4.09) are also applied in the EA first as screening and, when triggered, included as part of the full assessment in this report. Policies on Involuntary Resettlement are the subject of a separate assessment by another team but the key findings are included in the report as well. Since there are no project components that involve international waterways, dam construction or disputed areas as defined under OP7.60, policies related to these subjects are not applied in the EA. 2  National laws and regulations on environ iental review and FTA * Environmental Protection Law of PRC of December 26, 1989; * Land Management Law of PRC of August 29, 1998; * Water and Soil Conservation Law of PRC of June 29, 1991; * Water Pollution Prevention Law of PRC of May 15, 1996; * Noise Pollution Prevention Law of PRC of October 29, 1996; * Air Pollution Prevention Law of PRC of April 29, 2000; * Solid Waste Pollution Prevention Law of PRC of October 30, 1995; * Rules of Environmental Protection Management for Construction Projects, issued by the State Council of PRC; * Measures Concerning with the Environmental Protection and Management for Transportation Construction Projects, issued by MOC; * Directories of Environmental Protection management for Construction Projects (No.9, [1999]), issued by SEPA; * The Technical Rules for Environmental Impact Assessment (HJ/T2.1-2.3- 93,HJ/T2.4-1 995,HJ/T 19-1997); issued by SEPA; * Specifications for Environment Impact Assessment of Expressway, issued by MOC; * Notice to Strengthen the Environmental Impact Assessment and Management of Construction Projects Financed by Loan from International Financial Organizations, jointly issued by SEPA, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the People' s Bank of China; * Review comments for Project EA TOR of November 1999 and again of May 2000, and for Project EIA of November 2001; all these comments have been incorporated in EA process and the EA documentation; and * Other relevant environmental protection laws, regulations and policies. Enngineering Design Documents * Preliminary Engineering Design of Xiaogan-Xiangfan Expressway, by HPCPDI, 2001; This design contains much more details than a typical preliminary design in western countries and is the latest and most updated design document at the time the EA was prepared; and * Feasibility Study for Xiaogan to Xiangfan Expressway, by HPCPDI, 1998, which is the final version for the feasibility study. Other Relevant Study Reports * Final version of Project Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), HPCD, December 2001; and * Final version of Project Cultural Relics Report, HPRARI, March 2002. 3  Relevant International Environmental Agreements (where China is a signing party) * UJN Framework Confer on Climate Change; * Biologic diversity Agreement, signed on December 29, 1993; * Vienna Agreement on Ozonosphere Protection, signed on December 30, 1989; and * Amended Montreal Protocol on Ozonosphere Material Depletion, signed on August 20, 1992. 1.4 Assessment Factors The EA is conducted through assessment of key environmental factors to reflect the environmental quality and impacts of the project to the environment. Where applicable, following factors are applied in the EA for this connecting road: Acoustic Environrment: Equivalent continuous sound amplitude LA,q. Ambient Air: NO2, and TSP Water Quality: COD and SS Soil Erosion: Erosion intensity and volume Vegetation: landscape area and number and species of trees Cultural relics Presence and value of cultural sites and relics Socio-economic factors Community severance, economic development, etc. 1.5 Scope and Standards of Assessment Based on the relevant regulations and guidelines for EA and the site specific conditions, the study scope for environmental assessment for this project is in general within the areas of 200 m from the center line of the proposed connecting road on both sides. The study scope for socio-economic assessment may be extended, to cover the affected rural communities through which the connecting road passes. The following standards are applied in the EA: * Water Environment: The Class III in the Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GHZB1-1999) for surface water in the project area; * Acoustic Environment: For villages and rural residential areas, Class IV standards in the Standard of Environmental Noise of Urban Area (GB3096-93) (daytime 70dB (A) and nighttime 55dB(A)) are applied. More stringent standards, Class I (daytime 55dB(A), nighttime 45dB(A)) are applied for highly sensitive receptors such as schools and hospitals. * Ambient Air: Class II in the Ambient Air Quality Standard (GB3095-1996) 4  * Soil Erosion: Classification standard of soil erosion in the Specifications for Environment Impact Assessment of Highway. 1.6 Methodology Road construction is a linear development project. Site investigation shows that the environmental conditions and potential impacts from the road development along the proposed alignment are similar. Therefore, the EA is primarily based on assessment of typical sensitive receptors to represent a particular section and through different types of receptors to cover the whole assessment area. Mathematical modeling is applied to predict noise levels and water quality to predict the impacts. Analogous approach is adopted for assessment of air quality impacts using experience from other similar expressway projects in the province. The environmental and socio-economic assessment cover the construction phase and different periods in the operation phase, i.e., short term to 2006, medium term to 2013 and long term to 2020. 5  Chapter 2 Project Description 2.1 Location The Zaoyang connecting road of Xiaogan to Xiangfan expressway project goes in general from north to south directions. It starts from Zaoyang interchange on the Xiaogan to Xiangfan expressway, through Wudian township and Nancheng suburb district, and finally ends at Donghuan road of Zaoyang urban district, where it connects with NH 316 (Map 2-1). The connecting road has a total length of 11.00 km. 2.2 Traffic Volume Prediction Traffic volume prediction of on the Zaoyang connecting road is shown as follows as provided by the project feasibility study report: Year Traffic Volume (medium vehicles/day) 2006 4085 2013 5977 2020 6945 2.3 Technical Standards and Work Quantity Zaoyang connecting road is to be constructed based on the Grade Two standard. Designed motor vehicle speed on the road is 80 km/hr. The subgrade width is 12 m and pavement is 9 m. The total length of the road is 11.00 km, of which 7 km will be newly built and 4 km will be upgraded from the existing road to a Grade Two road. Table 2.3-1 lists the major engineering work volume. Table 2.3-1 Main Engineering Work Volume No. Works Item Unit Works Amount Construction Mileage Km 11.00 I New construction Km 7.0 Upgrading Km 4.0 2 Permanent Land Occupy Mu 418.3 Temporary Land Occupy Mu 3 Structure/Buildings Dismantled M2 504 4 Earth works 1000 m3 230.2 5 Stone works 1000 m3 0 6 Drainage & Prevention 1000 m3 30.48 6  N ~ ~~: i FAL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L Le- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Z~~~~~~~~~~. -*~ ir~~~~~~~~~_ _ _ AStr  Table 2.3-1 Main Engineering Work Volume (Continued) No. Works Item Unit Works Amount 7 Concrete pavement M2 90.5 8 Medium bridge M/no. 0 9 Small Bridge m/no. 0 10 Culverts m/no. 38 11 Cost Estimate Yuan 5152.75 X I 04 Source: Preliminary Design of Xiao-Xiang Expressway, HPCPDI, Oct.2001. Borrow bits and disposal sites will be from local sources for convenient construction and transportation. These sites have been selected following careful evaluation of engineering demands and environmental considerations. The earth borrowing pits and disposal areas are presented in Table 2.3-2 and Map 2-2. Table 2.3-2 Location and Scale of Borrowing Pits No. Pile's No. Land Occupied (mu) Depth of Pit (m) I K0+500 10.8 3.0 2 K5+800 3.9 3.0 3 K10+350 4.0 3.0 Total 18.7 2.4 Alignment Selection and Justification The main objective of this component is to connect the urban area of Zaoyang with the Xaiogan to Xiangfan Expressway. Different alternative alignments have been evaluated from the environmental and socio-economic perspectives. There are two alignments connecting the expressway with the Zaoyang city proper: through Shisha road connecting with the expressway at Zaoyang interchange; and through Zaocai road connecting with the expressway at Junwan interchange (Map 2-1). At present, Zaocai road has already been listed for upgrading under a separate project. Shisha road has a small section (urban area to the train station) Grade II road and the rest is Grade III, which will not be able to meet the transportation demand after the completion of the expressway. Therefore, it would have social as well as transportation benefits to the region if the Shisha road alignment is selected for the connecting road. Another alternative alignment is to build the connecting road completely on a green field alignment. However this alternative would occupy much more land. The alignment selection would not help improve the conditions and safety on existing roads. Furthermore, it would reduce the role of the existing roads the local road network. With these factors considered, the Shisha road alignment is selected as the connecting road. 7  Map 2-2 Location of Borrowing Pits ~~ z /13 2-2:S21ffik0t10iff2-2:* sam aig U rhaii District \ / I 1 2tt\:i,6m1tbata1),-t,2.t~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,,3, J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Location and Scale of Borrowing Pits lOS~ 30/ _______LI3 ~_ IS Legend ISoturooxo ng hi't ilorizy tlSi I 50000Q 26 - - - ---- t Vertical 2000 i I  Chapter 3 Environmental Baseline 3.1 Sensitive Receptors The EA team conducted a field investigation together with the design unit and resettlement group along the Zaoyang connecting road in 2001 to identify areas which are environmentally sensitive. The investigation results show there are one school and 16 villages located near the connecting road and could potentially affected by the construction and operation of the road (see Table 3.1-1 and Map 3-1). Table 3-1-1 Environmental Sensitive Receptors along the Connecting Road No. sensitive receptor Piling No. Height of subgrade Distance of first row to No._sensitive_receptor_PilingNo (m) central line (m) Erlang vill. K 1+600 I West 20 2 Luojiacong vill. K2+200 2 East 30 3 Zhouzhuangvill. K3+100 1.8 East 24 4 Erlang vill. K3+500 -4 East 20, West 20 5 Yecun vill. K4+300 I West 120 6 Xiaochen vill. K4+900 -2.8 East 40 7 Tangjiawan vilL. K5+200 -0.7 East 40 8 Wujiawan vill. K9+400 1.5 East 50 9 Huiwan vill. K10+350 -1 East 35, West 35 10 Huiwan vill. K 10+600 1.4 East 15 11 Xiaogaojiawan vill. KO1 0+800 -1.3 East 70 3.2 Cultural Relics A site investigation including sub-surface drilling by hand-hold borers by an HPCRI team of archaeologists and cultural relics specialists along the Zaoyang connecting road, shows no significant cultural relics sites except a few common tombs, as described as follows: * Liuzhuang tomb site: located at the Yaogang village of Wudian township of Zaoyang city, on an about 6000 m2 woodland. There is one tomb structure already exposed. Initial observations show this is a Tang Dynasty tomb (700 AD), but poorly preserved and low archaeological values. The connecting road will go through the site occupying about 500 m2 at KO+540. * Chenjiawan tomb site: located at the Erlang village of Wudian township of Zaoyang city, on a 10,000 woodland. The current observations show the site might be from Han to Tang dynasty (300 to 700 AD), but with limited cultural 8  Map 3-1 Sensitive Receptors and Environmental B4seline Lcq 46.idB/39.OdI3; NO,:0.005-0.016mg/NmN TSP0.II7-0173 m gN gi' Zaoe anmgU,ib D isl 0 6(S)~~~~4 10/0 04 Z/ yo l0lCrC.J80~ ndB133.61 Z|yn Co 'edjo ' oad0 4 I _~~~~~~~~I # Enironn tntal Sens^(itc Reccptors along the Connecting Road 9 D / No. sensitive reeptor Plng No licight of Distance offirst row to // I . . ] _ x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~%sts 20 l/z 2 2 2E, _ __ _ 30_ _ _ [-3 -3 _ -.*124 4 -, 2.03 - a W,2 20 120 _ accunEln--- ~~~~ > {-,nn _ _ \Arcs~~~t 120 tsL 7 Tan ,,ns,o F K 7 _ Eas.t 40 8 u _ 40 !;a 50/ 9 K1*-i I I H O llu\sl\11 1;0,660 1.4 1 E-as 15I K_70 -. Horizontal 1:50000 i2 6~ Vrertical 1 2000 r 6 so'75-- _ _ _ _ _~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~ ,- I .-.-. . ._  value. The road will go through part of the site occupying a bout 200 m2 at section K6+240. (Poid) 1T E *4* I b JFEI * Ki i | Chenjianan tomb site Zaoynng Connecting Road (Vi I oage Road) iIla R d izhuang toinb kO.-600 iN~~~~~~~~~~~~6+0 11/ IN //Zaoyang Connecting Road Liuzhuang tomb Chenjiawan tomb Map 3-2 Cultural Relics along Zaoyang Connecting Road 3.3 Existing Noise Environment Areas passed by the proposed connecting road have no significant noise sources except the modest noise from activities of farmers and traffic of the country roads in the areas. To determine the noise baseline in the area, Xiangfan Environmental Monitoring Station was engaged to carry out noise measurements in the areas The same monitoring station was also engaged to sample and analyze water and air samples to establish baseline water and air quality in the project areas, as described in detail in following sections. Four villages were chosen as noise monitoring locations and monitoring work was carried out between September 7-9, 2001. Two shifts of monitoring work were conducted in the daytime and at night, respectively. The methodology used in monitoring was adopted from "The Measuring Methods for Transient Noise at Urban District" GB/T14623-93 and "Environrmental Acoustics Measurement Methods" GB/3222-94. The results are listed in table 3.2-1. Table 3.2-1 Measuring Results of Noise Environment (LAeq) No. Monitoring Location Pile No. Noise level Leq(dB) Exceedin standard Daytime Nighttime Daytime Nighttime I Erlang vill. K 1+600 46.1 39.0 2 Luojiacong vill. K2+000 49.1 40.0 3 Xiaochen Vill. K4+900 48.8 37.6 4 Xiaogaojiawan Vill. K I o+800 49.4 38.1 9  It can be seen from Table 3.2-1 that the rural areas along the proposed connecting road, including the villages and school, are very quiet. The noise levels in daytime are ranging between 45.1-51.3 dB(A) and lower than 40 dB(A) in nighttime, which are the lower than the Class 0 Standard of GB3096-93, an indication of high acoustic environment under the existing conditions. 3.4 Existing Air Quality According to on site investigation, no significant air pollution sources along the proposed connecting road were observed. One villages was chosen for air quality monitoring which was carried out on September 5-9, 2000. The results are listed in Table 3.3-1. Climate conditions at the time of monitoring was clear sky with wind speed of 2.50 m/s in the direction of southeast. Table 3.3-1 Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Results Unit: mg/Nm3 Instant concentration (NO2) Daily average (NO2) Location No. of Ranging % over Day 2 Day 3 Day4 vDay 5 | ver samples stds DaIa Iy Iy stds 20 0.005-0.016 0 0.011 0.016 0.014 1 0.010 1 0.009 0 Erlang vill. Instant concentration (TSP) Daily average (TSP) - i - 0.270 0.173 0.134 0.141 1 0.117 0 As Seen from the monitoring results in Table 3.3-1, air quality in the project area is good. Based on the standards of GB3095-1996, average concentrations of TSP is the Class II standards and NO2 is even less than the Class I standard. The ambient air quality in the area that the connecting road will pass through is excellent. 3.5 Soil Erosion According to information from Zaoyang County Water Conservancy Bureau, 47% of the total Project affected area or 1340 km2 is currently subject to soil erosion. The soil erosion intensity is about 1330 t/km2a, which belongs to light soil erosion zone. 10  Chapter 4 Impact Assessment Considering both the engineering features and the existing environment of the proposed connecting road, the engineering activities of the project will have potential adverse impacts and negative consequences. During feasibility study period, major adverse impacts are potential conflicts between road alignment location and development planning of townships along the alignment. In construction period, possible negative impact will primarily be the damage on natural environment and ecological features along the road alignment caused by the engineering activities such as changes of natural topographies, occupancy of farm lands and woodland, and alterations of natural waterways or irrigation systems. Major impacts to the social environment will be the relocation and resettlement due to land acquisition. This chapter analyze the major adverse impacts caused by the construction and operation of the Zaoyang Connecting Road. 4.1 Ecological and Agricultural Impact Agriculture and woodland The impact of the proposed road on agricultural production along the project area mainly arises from the permanent occupation of agricultural land and works crossing irrigation systems. The total occupied land area by the planned project is 418.3 mu. Land occupation will cause direct loss of the agricultural output in the short term, which will reduce peasants' income. But since the connecting road is short, the proportion of the land occupied by the project to the total cultivated land in the area is very small. The loss of the agricultural output can be made up by adjustment of land usage and using the compensation for improvement of agricultural structure such as increases in high yields/value crops or fruits. On the other hand, the new road will provide opportunities to local economic development and a good access to market for the local farm and township enterprise products, as well as agricultural produce. The highway construction and operation will provide more employment opportunities for the local people. Due to the improvement of the road network system, the land use pattern will be changed, which will eventually increase the agricultural and industrial output along the proposed road. Some irrigation systems will be crossed by the connecting roads, which could potential cause disturbance to irrigation activities. To ensure proper operation and function of the water system and the irrigation system, 38 culverts have been designed for the road based on investigation and measuring taken by the project design team, flood discharge  and control as well as the efficiency of the irrigation system have been taken into considering along the proposed road area. Soil erosion The proposed road will occupy total 418.3 mu of land which will be disturbed during construction and use 230,200 m3 earth & stonework. For the most part, the connecting road is located on plain area with flat open space and low soil erosion potential. The average height of subgrade will be about 1.2 m with no high fill and deep cut. As such the soil erosion potential during construction will be relatively modest. According to the practice of other road construction projects, the modest erosion will be further reduced following the completion of proposed 2.77 m3 /m drainage and other erosion works. The planting and landscaping in operation phase will also effectively mitigate the erosion impacts. Borrow pits and disposal sites A total of 37,418 m3 earth will be borrowed. To accomplish the task for earth borrowing, three earth borrowing pits have been selected along the road occupying temporarily 18.7 mu (12.472 m2) of dry land. The occupation is of a temporary nature as following the construction, the borrow pits will be reclaimed through landscaping or converting to fish ponds or other purposes. Borrow and disposal areas could cause substantial environmental impacts on soils, water, and the natural environment if these sites are not rehabilitated. Impacts range from chronic erosion and siltation to deterioration of air quality by airborne dust to permanent visual and aesthetic impacts. During the excavation, the sites will also cause noise impacts to the immediate surrounding areas. 4.2 Impact on Acoustic Environment Construction Phase The main noise sources in the construction phase will be the construction machinery and transport vehicles. Noise levels from these sources is typically very strong and random. Construction noise would seriously disturb the nearby villages and other sensitive receptors such as schools and hospitals. Noise impact caused by construction machinery and transport vehicles is temporary or short term although it is also inevitable. To protect the resident from being disturbed by the noise and the construction workers' health, necessary mitigation measures will be taken to mitigate the noise impact. Op2eration Phase 12  The model used for the noise prediction is that from Specifications for Environmental Impact Assessment of Highways, as follows. (L,,,=L,,,. + I 0 g( N-L,,,,,, t+,mg, .s+* AL, 3,13 Where (L,q), -Per hour traffic noise level, recorded by type I vehicle through the measuring spot for the daytime and nighttime prediction, (dB); L S- Average radiation noise level of type I vehicle, (dB); N, -Average hourly traffic volume of type I vehicle, vehicle/hour; v, - Average vehicle speed per hour, km/h; T- LAgq prediction time, T=l hour; A.Ld,,, - the noise level attenuation for type I vehicles at daytime and nighttime at the spot which is r meters from noise equivalent driving line, (dB); ,U- - - Traffic noise correction caused by road longitudinal slope, (dB); 'U-d .f,, - Traffic noise correction caused by pavement, (dB). The traffic noise level received by different types of vehicle at the predicting spot in the daytime and nighttime can be calculated as follows: (LAeq )raJjic = ) 10g[l