China - Guigang Multi-Purpose Navigation Project : environmental action plan and environmental monitoring plan (Vol. 1 of 12)

4~ ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN (EA) - and ENWIRONME NTAL MONITORING PLAN (EMT) of the GLI GANG MULTI-PURPO SE NAVIGATION PROJECT GUANGXI, PEOPLE'S REPUJBLIC OF CBLNA '~~ e~ V. I. .-, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . _ = m1 kk 4- and~~~~~c Prepared Under e Supervision of tthe Guangxi Communications D)epartmnent and Compiled in English by tnvironomics Consultants Co. Ltd. Beijin July 1995  CONENT SECTION * ' ENVRONMEAAL AC770N PLAN I INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 GMPN General Desciption 1 1.2 Principal Adverse Impacts on the Environment 3 1.3 tlittional Arrangements 4 2. IMPACTMITIGATION 7 2-1 Mtigation Strategy 7 22 Scope and content of the EAP 8 2.3 Environmental Investment 9 3. ACTION I ENGINEERING MEASURES 10 3.1 Protection Program 10 3.2 Prevention of Slope Failure 12 3.3 Embankment Reinforcement 13 3.4 Two Newly-Constructed Flood Control Embankments and Drainage Facilities 14 3.5 Reconstruction of Drainage Gates and Culverts 14 3.6 Flood Drainage Stations 14 3.7 Infrastructure 16 4- ACTION 2 CLEARING OF THE RESERVOIR BOTCOM 18 5- ACTION 3 HISTORICAL ANT) CULTURAL PROPERTIES 18 6. ACTION 4 WATER QUALITY PROTECTON 19 6.1 Protection of Water During Construction 19 7. ACnON S NOISE, AIR QUALITY AND OTHERS 22 7.1 Noise and Air Quality 22 7.2 Inundation Protection 22 7.3 Prevention of Soil Loss DurLing Construction 22 7.4 Construction of Spawning dGounds 23 7.5 Public Health 23 7.6 Wildlife 24 7.7 Wetlands and Swamps 24  APPENDIX KEY ELEMEN OF THE EAPIEMP FOR THE GUIGANG MULTIPURPOSE NAVIGATION PROJECT 25 SECTION I1 EVRONMENrAL MON?TORFNG PLAN 1. INTRODUCTION 33 1 1 33 1.2 Pre-Construction Monitoring m the Project Area 33 2. PURPOSE OF THE MONITORING 37 3. SCOPE OF APPLICATION AND MONITORING 37 3.1 Environmental MonitoDng During Construction 37 3.2 Environmental Monitoring During Operation Phase 38 4. MONITORING PARAMETERS AND REQUIREMEWIS 39 4.1 Water Quality 39 4.2 Atmospheric Monitoring 39 4.3 Hydrology and Meteorology 39 4.4 Ecological Monitoing 39 4.5 Bank Failure and Lnundation 40 5. MONITORING ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL ARRANGEMENT 40 531 Mo;oring, Organization 40 3 2 Laboratory Capabilities 40 5.3 Training 40 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORTS 40 APPENDIX MONITORING PLAN 41 LABORATORY CAPABILITIES 46  SECTION I ENVIIl)NIENTAL ACTON PLAN 1. INTRODUCTiON 1.1 GWN General Description 1. TIhe proposed Guigang Multi-Purpose Navigation project (GMPN), located between the Xi3in and Guiping resrvoirs (Figure 1. 1.1) on the Yujiang river, is an integral part of the Guangxi Autonomous Region's economic development strategy. The Yujiang river is a tributary of the Xijiang river system, which drains an approximate area of 90,800 km2 and discharges mto the Pearl nver delta in the east. The nver system is a major route for the trasportation of raw materials and manufactured goods from as far inland as Sichuan, and thus occupies a vital positon in the economy of the regon. 2. The primary objective of the proposed GMPN project is to improve the navigability of the Yujiang riner between the Xijin dam and Guigang city. The project will ensure a minimum navigable water depth during dry seasons, thus guaranteeng an uninterrupted flow of shipping and the reclassification of he river to a Class m waterway accessible to 1000 ton barges. The upgrading will make the Yujiang river the backbone of the Xijiapc, river system trasportation strategy and thus facilitate economic development in Guangxi and the adjacent provinces. 3. Additional benefits of the proposed GMPN project include hydropower generation and increased availabilty of water which may be diverted for irrgation projects in the future. Guigang city and to a lesser extent the upstream Hengxian county are currendy constrained in their development due to a shortage of ectric power. The project will have the capacity to generate 120 MW of hydro-electic power to supplement area supplies. A minimnum capacity of approximately 36 MW is guaranteed during the dry season, which amounts to an average 590 GW.h of annual power generation. It is also anticipated that several thousand hectares of medium productivity land may be brought under cultivation following project completion due to the increased availability of high quaity irrigation water- Environmental assessments of proposed irrigation projects will be undertaken by the relevant implementation agencies as needed and in accordance with Chinese regulations. 4. The main physical components of the project include (i) construction of a damr, ship lock, and hydropower station at Guigang, and (ii) small-scale removal of rock shoals at three locations by blastng. Originally the GMPWN project was proposed as part of a domestically fnided multi-component infrastructure construction project and had received approval for implementation. An EIA for the entire project was prepared in 1990 and approved by the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) in 1991. However, due to funding constran, only the bridge component which is part of the Guigang urban infrastrucue program and is sabstantially financed by the city was initiated and is now nearng completion. The remaining components which are included in te inland water way 1  - C9u f * < GlilgaMPN it3nl A~i _,eroi 9 e.ns' X ~~~~r Shoal~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ha Xjn Da N nW Ditd s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Q.~ <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tlai C *^ity GUIGCANG MULTI*PURPOSE NAVIGATION PROJECT LCYNAM Mifflitt, W"',IENVIRONOMICS OMPN PROJECT 3172 SM ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~OF SHOAL LOCATIONS  program were re-packaged and submitted to the State Planning Commission (SPC) and approved for international financing. 5. As detailed in the ELA Report, the overall project impacts are minimized due to relatively good planning and implementation strategies on the part of the project proponents. However, an overal monitoring strategy is requred to provide an on-going evaluation of the project constrction and operation, and to implement mitigation strategies for un-anticipated impacts. 1.2 Principal Adverse Impacts on the EIvronment 6. As detailed in the EIA Report, the major environmental impacts of the proposed GMPN project mclude: i. Construction ?eriod 7. The impacts on the environment include disruption of areas adjacent to the project site, soil erosion, temporary water quality decline, and potental air quality degradation resulting from construction activities and tasporttion of construction materials. ii. Reservoir Embankment and Adjacent Areas 8. Bank collapse may increase as a result of project construction. Inundation will affect surrounding low-lying areas, including cultivated lands. The major portion of bank failures will occur in Jingwu, ringnan and Xieyu. The widest collapse will be approximately 33-37 meters. Approximately 100 ha of land immediately adjacent to the proposed reservoir will be inundated following project completion. The major impact areas include Xiangjiang and Watang. iii. Cultivated Lands 9. The total cultivated area impacted by inundation is estimated at approximately 448 ha, and land requisition for the project will affect another 132 ha (including approximately 53 ha for temporary construction facilities). Consequently, agricultural production will experience adverse impacts. vi. Aquatic Products 10. Two spawning grounds in Erweizhou and Xueyi Tan will be inundated foilowing construction. disruptng carp reproduction. v. Historical Sites 11. Certain low-lying Segments of the neolithic archeological sites identified in Chapter 4 of the EIA will be inundated following construction- However, plans have been formulated to remove the archeological artifacts in these areas at a cost of approximately 1.15 RMB. 3  vi. Water Quality 12. During the construction phase, the main impacts on water quality will be turbidity from foundation excavation work and coffer darm construction at the project site and from shoal blasting at three locations within the reservoir area. In the operation phase, water quality impacts due to biodegradable materials are anticipated to improve slightly and deteriorate slightly in terms of metals and COD. During certain! periods of the dry season, water will be retained in the reservcir for electicity generatng purposes, resulting in temporary downstream water quality degradation. vii. Ecological Environment 13. The flooding of mud-flats and grass beds which will result -rom the project may impact some migrating bird species and reptiles which inhabit these areas, particulaly tortoises and soft-shelled tures. Changes in the river ecosystem may also have some impact on aquatic plants, fish and hydrophyte species in the reservoir and downstream areas. Baseline ecological studies within the reservoir area have identified certain locations which are classified as potential habitat for aquatic fauna. However no endangered species other than the Guangxi soft shell turle have been observed within the projea area as the environment has long been dirted by industrial and agricultural activities. 1.3 Institutional Arrangements 14. In order to ensure the implementation of environmental measures as stipulated in the Environmental Action Plan (EAP), the followig insttutional arrangements as presented in Figure 1.3.1 have been agreed upon: (a) Guangxi Communications Department (GCD) has overall authncty within the project. The Deputy Chief of the Foreign Capital Utilization Division (Ms. Xiong Hui Jun) is responsible for project environmental issues within GCD. (b) Xijiang Project Headquarters (XJPH) located in Guigang has project responsibility during ooth construction and operation phases. Under the guidance of the Vice Director for environmental and resettlement issues (Mr. Huang Fu Sheng), the Environmentl Management Group (EMG) which includes two experienced technical staff, are responsiole for managing project environmental issues during the constuction period and operational phase. The two environmental staff shall be directly appointed by GCD and will be permanent, full-time employees of X1PH. The EMG, which will be established in early 1995, will advise the XJPH Director and other group managers concering project environmnental issues through participation on the XJPH management group. EMG will also manage the project environmental monitoring sub-contract with the Guigang Enviromnental Monitoring Center (GEMC) and direct aEl monitoring and reporting activities. Figure 1.3.2 presents the task chart of the Environmental Management Group. 4  acOD ! 00 M n L 1 ;''-'... O*d Wo~~~s hid St". Woi*h AUDTIN AD SUPER VISIONA (AGREEMgNTS AND CONTRIACTS moownn oJ,* Figure 1.3.1 -GUIGANG MULTi-PURPOSE NAVIGATION PROJECT INSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE XIJJANG PROJEC.T HEADQUARTERS _. _ [ X-- = - ; itt;.--S=az=ciiis- -=-.-5  Figure 1.3.' TASK ORGANI1ATIONAL DIAGRAM: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT GROUP, XLTIANG PROJECT IEADQUARTERS GUIGANG MULTI-PURPOSE NAVIGATION PROJECT GUIGANG, GUANGXI AUTONOMOUS REGION ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT GROUP 1. TBN 2. IBN Taskes * Supervision ard implementation of the EAP and EMP * Data analysis and reporting * Formulation of mitigation alternatives * Active participation in project meetings to discuss environmental issues and mitigation rieasures * Advising project and tas.?k managers on environmental problems 4 Preparation of semi-annual environmental management reports for submission to GCD and the World Bank GUIGANG ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING CENTER Tasks Implementation of air, water, noise and ecological monitoring tasks under the supervision of the Environmental Management Group. 0 Data tabulation and reporting 6  15. The results of the monitoring will be analyzed and presented along with action recommendations on a weekly basis to the project group meetings. Semi-annual environmental reports shall also be prepared by EM1G for presentation to GCD and the World BarLk. 2. IMPACT MTIGATION 2.1 Mitigation Strategv 16. The basic principles for environmcna protection of the project area iiclude; the following: a. The project design mcludes elements for possible envirommental improvement of the project area and avoiding or minimizimg environmental imp Where avoidance or minimization are not possible, economically and technically feasible mitigation measures have been formulated Lor implementaion within a reasonable time frame. b. Environmental protection- measures include mitigation of impacts during the construction and operation phases of the project. 17. The project design includes measues for minimizing social and economic impacts on area inhabitants. Initially several thousand area inhabitants have been impacted by the reservoir filling. As a result of foTmulating protection measures, none of the area inhabitants need to be relocated following project construction. Those inhabitants whose land will be inundated are to be compensated with new land, money and if necessary vocational training which at minimum will allow them to sustain their present income levels. The economic compensation packages are designed to ensure that no physical relocation is required. 18. Ir, order to prevent the outbreak of epidemics, sanitation and public health measures such as septic tanks. and solid waste management will be required both in the construction area and in. the workers' living quarters. These measures are designed to protect the reservoir and surrounding areas from contamination. 19. Major environmental impacts during construction include atmospheric degradation due to fugitive dust, water quality degradation due to constraction activities, and increased erosion resulting from removal of surface vegetation. To minimize fugitive dust impacts, road surfaces, excavation areas and construction areas should be sprayed and kept m.oist for dust control. Erosion control may be .chieved .by minimizing disruption of vegetation and exposed sur.faces until necessary, and installing silt traps and other erosion prevention measures. After construction is completed, the site and its surrounding areas should be restored as closely as possible to their original state. 20. ?ost construction mitigation alternatives are presented in as much detail as possible in the EIA report. Details of mitigation measure implementation are presented in the present report. 7  2.2 Scope and content of the EA 21. As a supplemental report to the GMPN project EIA, the EAP will chiefly discuss the implementation plan, icluding miiigaiion measure, implementation schedule, investments and general concepts which need to be considered during the project construction anDa operation phases. Based on the conclusion of the EIA and recommended mitigation measures, the scope of environmental activities include: a. inundation protection engineering b. embankment reinforcement and protection of bank vegetation c. reservoir bottom cleaning d. protection of historic sites e- rebuilding spawning gonds f. environmental monitoring during project construction and operation g. landscape restoration h. sanitation and public health i. water pollution control of indusLrial and municipal wastewater j. protection of the public water supply (including relocation of the waterworks intake) Resettlement and compensation for land acquisAlon and other economic losses due to the project are addressed in the Resettlement Action Plan. 22. Plarning and implementation of environmental mitigation measures will be undertaken by EMG in coordination with the XJPH and GEMC. Particularly, in the primary design of the proposed project, environmental activities focused on the following items: a. inundation protection engineering b. reinforcement of the embankment c. reservoir bottom cleaning d. protection of historic sites e. construction of the e.nvironmental monitoring station f. rebuilding spawning grounds 8  2.3 Envionmennal Investment 23. A total of 69-97 million RMB wil be provided for the EAP, iDcluding protection engineering expenses of 58.01 million RM, reonustruction of specialized faciiies totaling 7.6 million RMB, reservoir bottom cleaning expenses of 0.26 milion RMB, hydrological station construction expses of 0-05 milion RMB, and environmental compensation expenses of3-93million RM?. The detaled cost estination is shown in Table 2.3.1. TABLE 2.3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL ACTICN PLAN BUDGET item Cost (Thousads Guigang Heagxnip of Yuan) City County I. Engineerin- Measures 58095 1) 46 Engineering Facilities 36513 33926 2587 2) Flood Gates 2480 1320 1160 _ __ _ __- __ 3) inundation and Bank 16600 Collapse Prevention Des,I)esgn 2502 iII. Reconstruction of 7633 Specialized Facilities ! I) Transportation 5912 3304 2608 2) IOKV Electricity "0I 5 c Transmission Line Reconstruction 3) Rebuilding Tele- 0.6 0-6 communication lines 4) Excavation of Historical 1147 Relics 5) Design 267 6) Contingency 296 LI. Reservoir Bottom 261 Clearixg I) Clear-ig Engineenng 250 . 2) Design 11 I 9 r - -: - : 0' f00 V 0 0 t;|  IV. Hydrological Station | Consamction l - V. Environietal 3927'.. -.,;-.f I Conpensation Fund including the afforestation of 100 thousand yuan 1) Spawning Ground 1000 1 Reconstruction 2) Bank Protection 750 Reforestation 3) Epidemic Prevention 158 4) Noise, Emissions and 300 Garbage Control 5) Wastewater Treatment 200 Facilities 6) Monitoring Instruments 327 7) Construction Monitoring 250 8) Environmental 333 Monitoring 9) Environmental Training' 438 10) Other 71 69966 The equivalent of USS100,000 is allocated ordy for taining 3 . ACTION 1: ENGINEERING MEASUES 3.1 Protection Prooram 3.1.1 Current Flood Control WorKs 24 According to data compiled by the Guangxi Conmmunications Design Institute, there are currently 111 dikes and embankments from Xijin hydropower station to the GMPN project site protecting more than 7000 ha of arable land. There are 79 embankments in Guigang protecting an ^rea of 5267 ha, while in Hengxian there are 32 protecting an area of 1867 ha. As these embankmnents were constructed between the 1950 and 1970, their flood control effectiveness has been reduced by years of erosion. 25. Most of the existing embankrnents are constructed from homogeneous soils to different heights. They are generally higher upstream than downstream and in tnrbutaries. The average elevation is 48 meters (MSL), with the highest being 58 meters and the lowest 10  being 42 meters. More than 76 embarzanents do not meet the minimum elevation requirement for protection against a ten year flood stage. The embankmnents are generally 2 to 5 meters wide at the top, with slope gradients of 1: 1.5 to 1:2, ard are generally in good structural condition. However, the embanlanents have no slope protection, they are poorly maintained, the tops and slopes are not smooth and most of the outlets have been destroyed- 26. Field surveys indicate that the bottom elevation of embankment outlets are approximattely 41 meters (MSL), with the 1-ighest being 47.5 meters (y4ps1ream) and lowest being 35.6 meters (downsteam). Seventy percent of the outlets have bottoms which are below the dry season flow (540 m3/s) backwater level for that location. 27. Most existing outlets are mortar and stone structurs, with square or circular culvert cross sections. The culvert gradients range between one to three percent and the outlet walls are approximately 0.5 to one meter thick depending on their flow capacity. The adopted alternative for flood control embankments discussed above requires that 42 out of 46 embanklnents be rebuilt because their bottom outlet elevations are less than the new design elevation. 28. The existng gates are all flat and are constructed with steel, reinforced concrete or wood. Most gates are currenty in disrepair due to many years of use and poor water resistance. Moveover, the old gates will not be functional after the outlet elevations have been raised, so it is recommended that they be rebuilt. 3.1.2 Engineering Measures 29 In the preminary design of the GPIN project, mitigation measures have been considered in as much detail as possible in order to minimize losses and relocation caused by inundation, such as reinforcement and reconstruction of the embanianents. 30. There are 78 protection embankments that will be- affected by inundauon, many of which will require rebuilding. Three alternatives of varying scopes have been proposed for rebuild;ng the ernbanklments, and the third alternative was recommended. 31. The protection engineering measures which have been adopted as part of the project design include: o Stabilizing slope failure, * Raising and reinforcing the four existing embankments, * Rebuilding the forty-four drainage gates and culverts, * Building two new flood control embankments, and o Constructing forty-six flood drainage stations. 32. According to calculations performed in the preliminary design stage of the project, approximately 716 ha of land will be protected from inundation in 46 different areas through the above-mentioned protective measures. Cultivated lands account for 576 ha of the protected area and the remaming 140 ha includes residenial areas and economic installations. The total area to be inundated after prevention measures are taken is 448 ha, of which cultivated land accounts for 268 ha. 11  3.1.3 Design Stndards a. Design Standards for Flood Control and Drainage Works 33. The "Zhujiang Basin Comprehensive Usage Planning Report" prescnrbes that flood prevention criteria in the Yujiang river should meet 10-year rer period flood protecton requirements. The flood control design for the Yujiang river is an on-going project of the Guangi Water Resources Department, and will be implemented in upcoming years. 34 The project design criteria prescribes an expansion in the discharge area and an increase in the flow capacity of the river channel. During rainy season opeaons when flow exceeds 7080 m3/s, all 18 reservoir sluice gates wil be fully opened to simulate namral flood flow and water levels. The impoundment design dictates that during a 10-year return period flood event (13400MN/s), the water level above the proposed dam wil only be 0.28 meters higher than pre-construction conditions, which is lower than the iundation critea of 0.3 meters stipulated by the Ministry of Water Resources. 35. The storm duranon specified for controlling flood peaks in the project area is idenified as one day for small and three days for lre draiage basis. The desgn flood drainage penod is equivalent to maxunum crop iundation endurance tiimes, which are two days for dry crops and three to five days for rice. Tberefore, three days of drainage time for the maximum 24-hour five year flood is regarded as the standard for all the protection works, including those for mechanical and electrical equipment performance specifications. 36. The design standard for embankment drainage outlets is that water within the erbankments be drained and the water from the reservoir be prevented from flowing into protected areas. The design stndard for drainage outlets will also meet five year flood protection standards- 3.2 Prevention of Slope Failure a. Controlling Slope Failure 37. The topographic and geological characteristics of reservoir banks require that both engineering solutions and stabilization through afforestation be adopted to reduce slope failures. As mentioned in the E1A report, the banks in the upper reaches of the proposed reservoir from Zhanvu to Xijin require surface protection. 38. Specific measures include: 39. Protecting shallow slopes by placing select rock on bank surfaces, Implementation may be divided into two phases. During the first phase, mitigation measures will be implemented at Jiamnan village, Jinwo, Watangyu and the threatened highway sections during the construction. Upon project completion and reservoir operation, the second phase will be inplemented. Areas to be protected will be identified during post construction monitoring. Initial estimates indicate tat approximately 200,000 mn3 of 50# cement mortar and select rock will be required. 12  40. In areas where slope stability is required but rock placement is not necessary, afforestation will be undertaken, requiring approximately 150,000 trees to construct forest protection zones on the two reservoir banks. - b. Investment Initial estinates are that a total investment of 11-16 million Yuan will be required, including the costs of indation prevention. 3.3 Embankment Reinforcement a. Embankment Reinforcement 41. In the protection program, the preferred plan is embankment reinforcement, which includes raising elevations of the four embankrnents at Zhudoutang, Mahuangdong, Liaowo and D.nwo. Engineering requirements for reinforcing the ernbankments are shown in Table 3.3 1. (1) elevation of the dike top: the design elevation for inundation pulsing is 1.4 meters. (2) width of the dike top: 8 meters for dikes req!red for tansportation and 3-4 meters for others. (3) Slope gradients: 1:2 to 1:2.5 for earth embankments TABLE 3.3.1 EMBANKMENT REINFORCEMENT PLAN FOP. TLE RESERVOIR AREA 4 Alternarrve Namc Original Em}xu;nkn Peak Design Elevation Height to be Added I EEkvation (m