China - Chongqing Small Cities Infrastructure Improvement Project

Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE I. Basic Information Date prepared/updated: 03/29/2005 Report No.: 31938 1. Project Statistics Country: China Project ID: P081161 Project Name: Chongqing Small Cities Infrastructure Improvement Project Task Team Leader: Thomas L. Zearley Estimated Appraisal Date: February 3, 2005 Estimated Board Date: June 7, 2005 Managing Unit: EASUR Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Water supply (35%);Roads and highways (33%);Flood protection (21%);Sanitation (8%);Sub-national government administration (3%) Theme: Access to urban services and housing (P);Municipal governance and institution building (S);Other urban development (S) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 190.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER 105.50 105.50 Environmental Category: A - Full Assessment Simplified Processing Simple [] Repeater [] Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) Yes [ ] No [X] 2. Project Objectives The project development objective is to support emerging small cities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure service delivery, to accommodate the rapid urban growth. 3. Project Description Water Supply Dianjiang Water Supply. Enhancement of water treatment, and network expansion in three areas of Diangjiang. Songji Regional Water Supply. Supply of raw water to Yongchuan City (the first phase of a regional water supply scheme supplying 13 towns in water scarce areas in the planned western expansion area). Tongguanyi Regional Water Supply. A raw water supply scheme supplying 16 towns in water scarce areas in the planned western development corridor. Tongnan Water Supply. Enhancement of water treatment, and network expansion in three areas of Tongnan. Page 2 Yongchuan Water Supply. Enhancement of water treatment, and network expansion in three small towns located close to Yongchuan city. Flood Protection Nanchuan: Flood protection embankments provided to protect land for urban expansion. Rongchang: Floor protection embankments to mitigate against serious flooding. Shizhu: Extension of existing flood protection embankment on south side of river. Roads Qianjiang: Spine road in new development area. Shizhu: Shizhu expressway link road. Tongnan: Link from Chongqing-Chengdu expressway to key secondary city of Tongba. Yubei: Access road to tourist site from Y-L expressway. Environmental Sanitation Public toilet upgrading and reconstruction in Chongqing City Solid waste management in Chongqing City Technical Assistance Technical assistance for capacity building and institutional strengthening 4. Project Location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis Chongqing, originally under the jurisdiction of Sichuan Province, became a provincial level municipality in 1997. It is the fourth Municipality directly under the control of the Central Government. Chongqing is located in southwest China. It is the largest municipality of China, with an area of 82,400 km2 and a population of 31 million, among which 6 million live in large urban areas. The Municipality includes 13 urban districts, 4 cities and 23 counties. Based on its relative advantages of strategic location and economic strength, Chongqing has become the biggest economic center in the west of China, playing an increasingly important role not only in bridging and linking West Chongqing (Yuxi) and Chengdu, a so-called Cheng-Yu Industrial and Economic Corridor in the west, but also in connecting the technology and economic development zones along the east coastal line of China through the Yangtze River via the Three Gorges in the east. The topography of Chongqing features mainly mountainous and hilly landscape. Its climate belongs to sub-tropical humid area, with annual average temperature of 18-20oC and precipitation of 1200-1400 mm. The Municipality has various river systems such as Jiangling, Wujiang, Fujiang which flow into the Yangtze River as their destination. The proposed CSCP covers 10 cities/districts/counties throughout the Municipality. 5. Environmental and Social Specialists on the Team Mr Andres Liebenthal (EASES) Mr Daniel R. Gibson (EASSD) Page 3 Mr Peishen Wang (EASEN) Mr Chaogang Wang (EASSD) Mr Lixin Gu (EASUR) Mr Dahong Li (EASTR) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X Pest Management (OP 4.09) X Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) X Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) X Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: D.1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts. Environmental Assessment: Water Supply The impact of water intake on the reservoir, downstream hydrology, ecology and other water users were carefully assessed. For Songgai and Tongguanyi subprojects which extract water from Yangtze, the water transfer amount (about 6 m3/s) is minor compared to the huge amount of water flow of Yangtze river (less than 0.08% of average flow), and therefore would have negligible impact on the hydrological and ecological situation of Yangtze. For Tongnan subproject, water will be extracted from Fujiang River and Yunhe River (a tributary of Fujiang) at the rates of 0.58 m3/s and 0.058m3/s, respectively, which account for only 0.12% and 0.11% of the flow in dry season. It will therefore, have little impact on downstream. For Qianjiang subproject, water is from Hongqi reservoir and Yunwuzui reservoir, which are dedicated to drinking water resources. Yongchuan will use water from Weixinghu, Lianglukou, Renmin reservoirs and Jiulonghe river. Water balance calculation have been conducted and downstream environmental and social demand were analyzed. The analysis concluded that with consideration of downstream consumption (hydro, irrigation, water intake for downstream townships), the surplus water is enough to meet the water demand from the proposed projects without creating environmental and social problems. Page 4 The water supply will have indirect impact of increased wastewater in the supplied areas. While promoted under the pollution control program for Three Gorges reservoir area, intensive waste water treatment plants are planned for overall Chongqing Municipality, and WWTPs for the project areas are/will be constructed and put into operation by latest 2008. Due to the gradual increase of sewage network and treatment capacity, the surface water environment in Chongqing area will be improved. Sludge from waste water treatment plants is not hazardous and will be reused to enhance soils in farmlands. River Embankment River embankment subprojects will have significant positive impact by provision of flood control, improvement of landscaping, collection of sewage and better management of solid waste along the river banks. The environmental issues of river embankment subprojects are mainly construction related, including impact of construction activities on surface water environment, air quality, noise, solid waste and spoil management, labor health, safety, land acquisition and resettlement. These impacts are relatively minor and can be easily mitigation with know technology and construction practice. Dredging will be conducted for Wansheng and Nanchuan subprojects. Leachate tests have been carried out in November 2004 for Wansheng and December 2004 for Nanchuan. The results indicate that sediments have very low concentration of heavy metals, meeting standards for agricultural and landscaping purposes. Based on the monitoring data, the dredging silt will be reused as backfilling material in Wansheng, and for green space application in Nanchuan (as it complies with standard for agricultural use as well). Roads The road subprojects are relatively short local roads with low class, providing connection between townships and road networks. These roads will not go through any ecological or cultural sensitive areas. The main impacts would be construction related which can be minimized by known mitigation measures. Mitigation measures are planned in EMP, these include: less occupation of land, balanced design of excavation and backfilling, timely slope protection and reclamation/re-vegetation of temporarily occupied land, proper design of spoil disposal sites with proper drainage and re- vegetation plan, rehabilitation plan for quarries, proper management of sewage and waste from camp sites, adequate tree planting plan along the roads, etc. Traffic noise will be a major issue during the operation stage. Noise modeling has been conducted to predict the impact scope. For the sensitive sites identified to be impacted, proper mitigation measures have been developed, including installation of noise barrier and tree planting. Public toilet Page 5 There will be 238 public toilets to be rehabilitated under the projects, and 94% of the existing septic tanks will be removed. Proper management of spoil and human waste is therefore a major issue during construction and rehabilitation. Special vehicles will be used to transport the human waste (both excavated from septic tank and from the temporary toilets established during rehabilitation) to dedicated human waste disposal sites for secure disposal or to existing waste water treatment plants. Construction spoil will be transported to municipal landfill. Most of the public toilets are connected to the municipal sewage network except 14 toilets which can not be connected. They will be installed with Foaming Biological Treatment unit, which can adequately treat the wastes to the level thateffluent can meet the Grade I discharge standard. With proper sealing up design for all the toilets, the potential impact on soil and groundwater can be minimized. Odor is a major nuisance for the public during operation stage. Good design and facilities for ventilation, flushing and plumbing system will be provided, and most important, good management and maintenance (e.g. cleaning, adoption of chemical de- odorants) will be strengthened during operation to minimize the potential nuisance. Adequate public consultation is important for public toilets rehabilitation. Consultation have been conducted in March and August-October 2004 by means of public meetings and questionnaire surveys with total about 800 people participated. Broad support has been received from public for the project. The main concerns expressed include properly- designed toilets and well-managed construction to minimize environmental impact and social disturbance, to which mitigation measures have been developed in EMP and communicated to the public. Resettlement: The project impacts of land acquisition and house demolition of the proposed project will scattered in about 89 villages in 39 rural (or urban) townships of 19 counties (cities or districts). There are about 13,744 persons in 3,290 households to be affected by land acquisition and house demolition, of which 1,841 persons in 480 households affected by both land acquisition and house demolition. In terms of land use, the total permanent land acquisition of the project is about 4,050.2mu, of which, 3,916mu is collective-owned land (including 2,580mu of farmland and 123.5mu of house sites), 74.4mu is state-owned land and 46.2mu of land used by enterprises for construction. The total temporary land use is about 3,468mu, of which, 2,561mu is farmland. The permanent acquisition of land will affect 8,366 persons in 2, 266 households and the temporary occupation of land will affect 3,287 people in 887 households. With regard to the impacts of structure demolition, the project will affect 603 rural households and 25 urban households, 27 enterprises and institutions and 19 shops. A total of 129,031m2 of structures will be demolished, and 3,802 persons will be affected. This includes 90,063m2 of rural residences, 1,525m2 of urban residences, 35,655m2 of Page 6 enterprise or institution premises, 1,212m2 of shops, 421m2 of overdue temporary and illegal buildings, and 155 m2 of other building. In addition, the project package will affect 58 types of ground attachments and public facilities. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: With the acceleration of urbanization in Chongqing, environmental protection is a major concern of the city. To address this long-term issue, an overall framework for the development program of environmental infrastructure (environmental protection facilities) has been formulated: to improve the sustainable development capability in an all-around way; to accelerate the construction of infrastructure (e.g. traffic, communication, energy, water supply & drainage, landscaping, environmental protection, natural calamities prevention and fighting), scientific, educational and cultural facilities; to explore and use the resources in a rational and sustainable way; to strengthen ecological environmental construction and protection in towns and cities and try to create a development pattern with growing production, well-being living and good ecological conditions, basically to provide towns and cities with complete functionalities meeting the needs of economic and social development. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. Alternatives have been carefully analyzed in all individual EIAs. For roads subprojects, alternative alignments were assessed, including 2 alternatives for Shizhu road, 4 alternatives for Tongjing, 2 alternatives for Tongnan, one bridge alternative for Zhenyang. For water supply subprojects, alternatives assessed include water resources (2 for Tongnan, 2 for Dianjiang, 4 for Yongchuan, 2 for Tongguanyi and Songai respectively), location of water treatment plants (2 for Dianjiang, 4 for Yongchuan) and water transmission lines (2 for Tongguanyi and 2 for Songgai). Comprehensive comparison among these options has been carried out with integrated consideration of technical, environmental, social and economic aspects. The final selection was made based on a series of criteria, e.g. avoidance of environmentally sensitive areas and cultural properties, less social interference, less land occupation, less environmental impact, shorter length, safer operation, easy management, low cost, compatibility with local development planning, etc. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. Chongqing Municipality is a repeat borrower for the Bank and has developed a good understanding and experience in implementing World Bank safeguard policies. As these sub-projects are scattered throughout 10 districts/counties, they will be implemented by local project owners. The capacity building and training has been planned for the project management staff, contractors and supervision engineers. Environmental safeguards supervision will be of importance for the Bank Team during implementation stage. Page 7 Specific measures to address safeguard issues of this project during implementation are: Environmental Management Plan (EMP): For all environmental issues addressed, mitigation measures are proposed and developed in the EMP. The EMP addressed in detail the environmental management and supervision organizations and responsibilities, mitigation measures, monitoring and reporting programs, budget estimates and capacity building requirement. Monitoring reports will be compiled at intervals of once every six months, summarizing the findings of the monitoring, and be submitted to the Bank. The EMP included provisions of integration of all mitigation measures into bidding document and contracts. Necessary budget is allocated within the project investment to ensure concrete implementation. Resettlement Action Plan: In accordance with local laws, regulations and the World Bank OP 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement, 14 component RAPs have been prepared for the different components in Chinese and one consolidated RAP was prepared in both English and Chinese. The RAPs are based on detailed census of the affected people, inventory of affected assets, socioeconomic surveys and extensive consultations with the project affected people. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. EA Disclosure and Consultation: Public consultation has been conducted effectively throughout the EIA process, including social economic surveys, interviews with local authorities, environmental questionnaire surveys and public meetings. Totally more than 2,700 people have been consulted and their concerns were incorporated into the project design and EMP. Draft EIA reports were locally disclosed during March and October 2004 in accordance with the Bank requirement. The consolidated EAs have been received and will be given to the Infoshop on January 11, 2005. RAP Disclosure and Consultation: consultation has been conducted effectively throughout the resettlement planning process, including inventory and socioeconomic surveys, interviews, and public meetings. The local people's participation process are provided in the RAPs. All the RAPs have been locally disclosed in Chinese and publicly announced on local news paper. The consolidated RAP and summary report were received and have been given to the Infoshop around January 14, 2005 B. Disclosure Requirements Date Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other: Date of receipt by the Bank 12/24/2004 Date of "in-country" disclosure 10/08/2004 Date of submission to InfoShop 01/11/2005 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors Resettlement Action Plan/Framework/Policy Process: Page 8 Date of receipt by the Bank 12/24/2004 Date of "in-country" disclosure 10/08/2004 Date of submission to InfoShop 01/11/2005 Safety of Dams: Date of receipt by the Bank 02/07/2005 Date of "in-country" disclosure 02/28/2005 Date of submission to InfoShop 04/18/2005 * If the project triggers the Pest Management, Cultural Property and/or the Safety of Dams policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) report? Yes If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit review and approve the EA report? Yes Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated in the credit/loan? Yes OP/BP 4.12 - Involuntary Resettlement Has a resettlement plan, abbreviated plan, or process framework (as appropriate) been prepared? Yes If yes, then did the Regional Social Development Unit review and approve the plan / policy framework / policy process? Yes OP/BP 4.37 - Safety of Dams Have dam safety plans been prepared? No Have the TORs as well as composition for the independent Panel of Experts (POE) been reviewed and approved by the Bank? No Has an Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) been prepared and arrangements been made for public awareness and training? No BP 17.50 - Public Disclosure Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank's Infoshop? No Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? No All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project Yes Page 9 cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? Yes D. Approvals Signed and submitted by: Name Date Task Team Leader: Mr Thomas L. Zearley 03/25/2005 Environmental Specialist: Mr Peishen Wang 03/10/2005 Social Development Specialist Mr Chaogang Wang 03/10/2005 Additional Environmental and/or Social Development Specialist(s): Mr Andres Liebenthal 03/10/2005 Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Glenn S. Morgan 03/28/2005 Comments: Sector Manager: Comments: