China - Hebei Urban Environmental Project : environmental assessment (Vol. 1 of 2) : Executive summary

E- 309 VOL. 1 PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA HEBEI PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HEBEI URBAN ENVIRONMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE HEBEI URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SUMMARY January 2000 Center for Environmental Assessment Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences Beiyuan Anwai BEIJING 100012 PEOPLES' REPUBLIC OF CHINA Phone: 86-10-8491 5165 Email: Liyanwu@public.east.cn.net   Table of Contents I. Introduction .....................................3 II. Project Description .....................................4 III. Baseline Data ....................................4 IV. Environmental Impacts ....................................8 V. Alternatives ................................... 16 VI. Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan ................................... 16 VII. Public Consultation .17 VIII. Conclusions .18 List of Tables Table I Construction Scale and Investment .................................................3 Table 2 Characteristics of Municipal Water Supply Components ..............................................4 Table 3 Characteristics of Municipal Waste Water Treatment Components ..............................4 Table 4 Baseline Data .................................................7 Table 5 Water Resources Allocation and Other Water Users ................................................. 8 Table 6 Reliability of Water Quality and Protection Measures .................................................8 Table 7 Waste Water Treatment and Benefits for Receiving Water System ..............................9 Table 8 Sludge Utilization and Disposal .................................................9 Table 9 Odor Emission and Protective Measures in WWTPs .................................................9 Table 10 Environmental and Social Benefits .11 Table I I Adverse Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures .12 2  6 I  I. Introduction Hebei Province will seek US$ 150 million from the World Bank to develop the Hebei Urban Environmental Project, which includes water supply projects in Tangshan and Handan cities, and wastewater treatment projects in Shijiazhuang, Tangshan and Handan cities. The total investment is RMB 2,6 billion, of which US$150.0 million will come from the World Bank loan, while the rest will be raised by corresponding host cities. Table 1 summarizes the basic information of the project components. Table I Construction Scale and Investment Size Investment Project Owner Component of Prqeds m3/d (billion RMB) Shijiazhuang Municipal Wastewater Treatment 500,000 1.07 Shijiazhuang Wastewater Treatment Company Tangshan Central Water Supply 150,000 0.43 Tangshan Tap Water Company Tangshan West Suburb Municipal Wastewater 120,000 0.30 Tangshan Wastewater Treatment Treatment Plant No.2 Company Handan Municipal Water Supply 100,000 0.42 Handan Tap Water Company Handan West Municipal Wastewater Treatment 100,000 0.38 Handan Wastewater Treatment Plant Company Shijiazhuang, Tangshan and Handan are located in the Hai River Basin. The Hai River syst:em is experiencing serious water pollution due to large amount of wastewater discharged directly to watercourses without treatment. The water pollution control plan for the basin has been enlisted in the Comprehensive Water Pollution Control Plan for Three Rivers (Huai River, Hai River and Liao River) and Three Lakes (Chao Lake, Tai Lake and Dianchi Lake), issued by the State Environrnental Protection Administration (SEPA) of China. Based on the Circular on Strengthening Environmental Impact Assessment Management for Construction Projects Financed by International Financial Organizations (Huanjianzi [1993] No.. 324) and requirements of the 'Operational Policy 4.01: Environmental Assessment (OP4.01 )', the PMO of the Hebei Urban Environmental Project required that the sub-project host cities entrust environmental assessment institutions to compile environmental impact assessment reports for the individual sub-projects. The PMO has also entrusted the Center for Environmental Assessment (CEA) of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) to compile the Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the overall Hebei Urban Environmental Project (HUEP). The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for Tangshan urban environmental project were compiled by the CREAS, and the EIA reports for Shijiazhuang and Handan urban environmental projects are by the North China Civil Design and Research Academy (NCCDRA), in accordance with TOR for EIAs approved by State Environmental Protection Administration (SF,PA). The EIA for individual sub-projects are categorized as Class B. TORs of the overall EIA has passed technical review and approval of SEPA. The category of the overall EIA of the Prcject is determined to be Class B. The overall EIA report (draft) was compiled on the basis of the EIA reports of the individual sub-projects and submitted to the World Bank mission for reviewing in Oct. 1998. 3  The EIA report (final version) bas been approved by the SEPA in November 1999, in which significant attention was paid to the concerns of the World Bank missions. II. Project Description The characteristics of the water supply and wastewater treatment components of the HUEP are summarized in Table 2 and Table 3 respectively. Table 2 Characteristics of Municipal Water Supply Components Item Tangshan Handan Water source Douhe reservoir, with water coming from Yuecheng reservoir, a trans-province reservoir Panjiakou and Daheiting reservoirs, Water intake Water intake pump station with a Gravity water intake (existing facility) capacity of 165 000 m3 /d Water convey pipeline 19 km in length 56 km in length Purification Location Northwest of Tangshan City Within the existing Tiexi water plant plant Capacity, 150 000 100 000 mi/d Process Conventional purification process with Conventional purification process with sludge treatment sludge treatment Distributing pipeline . Main distributing pipeline is 11.0 km in Main distributing pipeline is 38.3 km in length. length Distributing net to be updated is 61.29 km in length respectively Water quality Class II Class II Trophic level Meso-eutrophication Meso-trophic Water source protection Douhe reservoir is designated as Point pollution sources in upstream area of the Dam are protection zone for drinking water source controlled to a certain extent I in 1994 I Table 3 Characteristics of Municipal Waste Water Treatment Components Item Shijiazhuang Tangshan Handan Upgrading of Modify the West Bridge combined Extend the existing Improve the wastewater Wastewater collection system and East Bridge combined wastewater collection collection system in the system system into separate systems, and system in westem part of northwest part of urban area, newly build Changan separate system the central area and upgrade the north wastewater pump station Capacity, Ud 500 000 120 000 t 100 000 Treatment process Secondary treatment, conventional Secondary treatment with secondary treatment with activated sludge with nitrification conventional activated oxidation ditch sludge Service area, km' 100 29.84 Beneficial population 1,300,000 429,000 420, 000 Wastewater estimation, 700 000 -750 000 (2000) 156 000 m'ld (2005) 130 000 - 160 000 m'/d (2005) m3/d (year) Effluent drainage Xiao River Qinglonghe River Qin River (receiving river) Sludge disposal Landfill Landfill, partially for Landfill composite fertilizer Foul odor mitigation Buffer belt Buffer belt Buffer belt III. Baseline Data Shijiazhuang City: Shijiazhuang city is the capital of Hebei Province, and one of the key industrial bases in North China with major industries in textile, construction material, coal and metallurgy. 4  The Futuo and Xiao Rivers are two major water courses near by the urban area. The Xiao River flows eastward through the south of urban and converges into Fuyang River at Aixin village site downstream of Handan city. The Xiao received municipal and industrial wastewater from the counties and cities along its course. Wastewater in Shijiazhuang urban area is almost entirely discharged into the Xiao through the Dongming channel, Ximing channel, and the master drainage channel. The Xiao has become a de facto wastewater discharge channel. Artificial channels in this area are the Shijin channel, Dongming channel, Ximing channel, Ximing channel Yuanmingcun channel and the master drainage channel, all of which are a part of the combined system. Monitoring data collected during the period of 1994A1996 show that water quality of the Xiao is not in compliance with Class V with water quality parameter of DO, CODcr, BOD5, volatile phenol and oil. However, the concentration of heavy metals meet standards for Class V. The monitoring data collected at the section between the master drainage charnel and Shiban bridge on the Xiao River from November 1997 to March 1998 confirms this. There are four drainage systems serving urban areas, the West Bridge sewerage system, East Bridge sewerage system, Changan sewerage system, and the North drainage system of Shijin channel, none of which are completely separate system. The total length of open channels amount to 37.443 kin, and flood-proof dikes amount to 32 km. There are 20 sewage pump stations. Tangshan City Tangshan is one of the largest industrial cities in Hebei Province. The hydrologic region of TIangshan is divided into the Luan River basin, Shadou River basin and Jiyunhe Canal collective respectively. The Douhe river crosses the central area from north to south, and flows into the Bohai Bay. The main stream length of the river is about 121.5km and the collective area is 1.340 km2. The Douhe reservoir was built on the upstream of Douhe River some 22 km away from central Tangshan. The storage of the reservoir is about 515.2 million m3 with a collective area of 446 km2. While the effective capacity is about 73.8 million m3. The Douhe reservoir mainly is filled by the Panjiakou and Daheiting reservoirs via the water conveyance system from the Daheiting reservoir to Douhe reservoir. Currently, the Douhe reservoir is the major water supply source, which was designated to be the drinking water protection zone for Tangshan City in 1994. Water quality is good meeting standards for Class II, except for pH and CODM" which is slightly higher than standard at times. Heavy metal contents are comparatively low, and Hg, As and Cr'+ are all below detection limits. Volatile phenol, total cyanide (toxicology parameters) arid oil concentration are also below detection limits. However, the excess quantities of nitrogen and phosphorous are leading to eutrophication in the reservoir, due to the unlimited development of box-fishery in the reservoir during last years. Qinglonghe Stream is a seasonal stream without base flow. The inner urban reach is highly polluted as inadequacy of wastewater treatment capacity in the western part of the central city. The collective area upstream of the inner urban reach is 18.26km2. The monitoring data collected downstream of the urban reach in 1995 show that concentration of CODcr, BOD5, NH3-N is 106mg/l, 266mg/l and 22mg/l respectively. Also, the monitoring data collected in 5  April 1998 indicates water quality is poor, not meeting the standards for Class V, however, the contents of heavy metals are lower, as no heavy metal sources are in the area. Since the 1980's, due to overdraft and the increased drainage in the mine pits, the groundwater level is depressed year by year. In urban districts, the maximum annual rate of decline was 6.5m, and current groundwater level is as deep as 60 m below ground in central urban area. The wastewater drainage of Tangshan central is divided into the east separate sewerage system and the west separate sewerage system. The east sewerage system serves for the east part of the central Tangshan, while the west sewerage system serves the western sections. The newly constructed secondary treatment plant with capacity of 150,000 tld (East Suburb WWTP) serves the east collection system. Also, the secondary treatment plant under construction with capacity of 150,000 t/d (North Suburb WWTP) will serve for the east sewerage system. Both raw wastewater and treated wastewater in the east system are discharged into the Douhe River. The West Suburb WWTP with capacity of 36,000 t/d is serving for the west part of central Tangshan. Wastewater volume in the west drainage system is about 90,000tld and is expected to reach 155,200 t/d by the year 2005. The wastewater is all discharged into the Qinglonghe Stream. Handan City The industry of Handan focuses on coal, metallurgy, power generation, building material and textile. The city GNP ranks 4th in Hebei province in 1996. Fuyang River originates from the West. Mountains of Handan, and flows through Handan urban area from south to north. The total length of Fuyang river is 403 km, with the watershed area at 20,539kM2. Downstream of the Handan urban district, the Zhe River, Qin River and Shuyuan River converge into the Fuyang River. Dongwushi reservoir is located on the upstream of Fuyang River with storage of 152 million m3 and is used as a water supply for Handan industry and irrigation. The average annual inflow of the reservoir is about 366 million m3. Qin River is a tributary of Fuyang River, and flows into the urban area from west and then converges into Fuyang River at the site of Contai road in the city. The total length is about 35.9km with a watershed area of 147 km2. Currently, Qin River is highly polluted. Yuecheng reservoir is located at the middle stream of Zhang River, on the border of Hebei Province and Henan Province, with a watershed area of 18,1 Ookm 2. The storage of reservoir is about 1.22 billion m3, while the effective capacity is about 673 million m3. Yuecheng reservoir is used as flood control, irrigation and municipal water supply, as well as aquaculture. It provides water to Handan city and Anyang city, and irrigates a crop area of 1.56 million Mu. The inflow water is Zhang River, which originates from Taihang Mountain and Taiyue Mountain of Shanxi Province. Downstream Yuecheng dam, the river converges with Wei River which drains into Bohai Bay. The length of Zhang River is about 179 km. The average annual flow is about 1.99 billion m3 upstream of the Yuecheng reservoir. The quality of Yuecheng reservoir is 6  quite good, meeting Class II standards. However, the excess quantity of non-ion ammonia occasionally occurs as it did in 1996A1997. Water quality of the Zhang River upstream of the Yuecheng reservoir was effected by the wastewater discharges from the townships and small industries, sometimes falls into Class IV or class V standard. Through pollution control efforts, water quality of the Zhang River upstream of the Yuecheng reservoir complied with Class III stan(lards in 1997. The existing machine-drawing wells are generally mining groundwater in a mixed approach. It is estimated that the comprehensive recharge volume for the Quaternary layers is 40 million m3/year. Currently, the annual exploitation volume is 32 million m3. The inner city rivers are highly polluted, and fail to meet the standards for Class V, caused by a large amount of untreated wastewater discharge into the river courses. The major pollutants are CODMn, BOD5, volatile phenol and oil. The quality of Fuyang river upstream the inner urban reac;h fall into Class IV-V standard, and is not suitable for drinking water purpose. There are 3 municipal water plants (No. 1, No.2 and No.4 water plants) pumping groundwater with a total capacity of 24,500m3/d, and one plant intake for water from the Fuyang River (No.3 water plant) with a capacity of 120,000m3/d. Due to the backward status of equipment, No. 1 water plant was shut off in June 1998. There are two separate drainage systems in the Handan urban areas. One is Tiedong drainage system, serving for the area bordering by the Jingguang railway, Remin road and Fuyang River, including industrial wastewater and sanitary sewage. The existing East WWTP, with capacity of 100,000 t/d with triple-oxidation ditch process, serves this system. Current treatment volume is about 60,000 t/d. Table 4 summarized some baseline data for the three cities. Table 4 Baseline Data Shijiazhuang Tangshan Handan Administered areas 6 districts and 17 counties 5 districts and 10 counties One city and 14 counties Area (urban), km'7 14,077 (307) 13,472 (1,090) 457 (90.4) Population (urban) 8,560,000 (1,500,000) 6,794,000 (1,578,000) 734,000 GDP (Year), billion Yuan 54.5 (1995) 57.84 (1995) 38.3 (1996) Annual average temperature, IC 12.9 11 13.5 Annual precipitation, mm 537.2 623 . 530.7 Prevailing wind direction SE (summer); NW (winter) N (winter); S (summer) N (winter); S (summer) Annual average wind speed, m/s 1.66 2.5 2.7 Curreint water supply capacity, mn/d 1,050,000-1,080,000 455,000 719,000 Tap water, m51d 930,000 500,000 295,000 Seif-provided water, mrnd 120,000-150,000 90,000 424,800 Water quality of groundwater Good(G8/T14848-93,Class 111) Good(GBRT14848-93,Class lli) Good(GB/T14848-93,Class 1I1) Water quality of sueface water Class Ill Class IlIl Class IlIl Waste water amount, m'ld 760,000 (in east sewage 99,300 (in west urban area) 27,400 (in urban area) system) Percentage of industrial waste water 70 20.8 51 Waste water treatment rate 20.2% 36.3% 30% Air quality in urban area Worse than Class III Class IlIl except industrial zone Worse than Class II 7  I  IV. Environmental Impacts The analysis and assessment of the overall EIA report focused on the major potential envilronmental impacts . For municipal water supply projects, the EIA focused on the reliability and safety of the drinking water source, both water quantity and quality. The EIA for wastewater treatment projects focused on the impacts of odor, sludge disposal, and the improvement of the inner urban rivers. The potential adverse impacts during construction period were analyzed as wel l. No additional effort was spent on collecting the existing environmental quality data of the project areas. However, to clear up some ambiguous description in the individual EIA reports, the on-site investigation and discuss were carried out in order to provide a comparatively accurate and definite description for the overall EIA report. Table 5 to 9 summarized the major environmental issues of all project components. Table 5 Water Resources Allocation and Other Water Users Item Tangshan Handan Water supply capacity (m3/d) 150,000 100,000 Water source Douhe reservoir Yuecheng reservoir Available total water volume 95% guarantee, 565,000,000 250,000,000 m3 Allocated water for municipal with 95% 300,000,000 guarantee, m3 Existing Lsed quota, m3 52,000,000 50,000,000 Effect on water users outside the region No impact on Tianjin city No impact on Henan province Effect on water users inside the region No effect on allocated water Available water for irrigation areas of the Dam =_______________________________________ quota for irrigation might be decreased during dry year. Table 6 Reliability of Water Quality and Protection Measures Item Tangshan Handan Water quality of the reservoir Class 11 Class 11 Nutrient level of the reservoir Eutrophic Meso-trophic Major pollution sources . Box-net fishery, and . Industrial and township enterprise . Non-point pollution from crop fields and villages wastewater, and . Non-point pollution from cultivated lands Environmiental management Built the protection zones for drinking water source in To build a protection zone for drinking water ________________ 1994 Upstream water quality Class 11 Class IIl - IV Upstream nutrient level Meso-oliga - trophic Protective measures * Ban box-net fishery (implementing); * Tighten control on pollutants discharge in (recommended) . Control on night soil in villages (planned); the collective of Yuecheng reservoir; * Tree belt along banks of the river; . Ban high- pollution enterprises, and * Contour cultivation, and . Enforce management for drinking water * Soil erosion control in the collective (planned) source as the national requirement Anticipated quality Class 11 Class 11 Anticipated nutrient level Meso-trophic Meso-trophic 8  Table 7 Waste Water Treatment and Benefits for Receiving Water System Item Shijiazhuang Tangshan Handan Wastewater in service area, 750,000 120,000 150,000 t/d ______________ Proposed size (1000 tVd) 500 120 100 Secondary treatment Activated sludge with nitrification Conventional activated sludge Oxidation ditch Receiving and beneficial river Xiao river Qinglonghe stream Shuyuan stream Removal rate of BOD 90.0 86,7 75.0 Removal rate of COD 70.0 71.7 60.0 Suitable use of receiving river Irrigation Irrgation Irrigation Table 8 Sludge Utilization and Disposal Item Shijiazhuang Tangshan Handan Sludge type Digested sludge Raw sludge Raw sludge Sludge age (days) 18 16 20 Heavy metal Meeting standard for agriculture use Meeting standard for Meeting standard for agriculture content agriculture use use Hygiene index Meeting standards for agriculture Over limitation for pathogen Over limitation for pathogen use bacteria and microbe bacteria and microbe Proposed Sludge Landfill Landfill, and Sludge/fertilizer Landfill disposal Other suitable Composite fertilizer Composite fertilizer and Fertilizer additive ways improvement of saiine-alkali I ~ ~ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ soil I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Table 9 Odor Emission and Protective Measures in WWTPs Item Shijiazhuang Tangshan Handan Odor emission Non-point fugitive Non-point fugitive Non-point fugitive Effect area Limited within 100 m around border Limited with in 100 m around ._______________ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _border Buffer belt 300 m around border, while 200 m around border 200 m around border 400 m on the northward Potential Limit the westward extending No residential quarters within 200 m No residential quarters within 200 constraints of Loudi village which is 350 m m far from the plant The EIA report indicates that all project components are priority projects in the host cities. The project implementation will improve the conditions of urban water supply, wastewater collection and treatment to a considerable extent, consequently, improve environmental conditions and the quality of life. The project will helpful for the cities to achieve sustainable development socially and economically. The project will relieve the tight status of municipal water supply, improve urban hygiene conditions and environmental quality. It will also benefit the protection of groundwater resources and recovery of surface water body, and improve the living conditions and drinking water safety of the urban residents. The treated wastewater could be suitable for irrigation application in the downstream areas. The proposed projects in the three cities are major components of the "Blue Sky, Clear Water and Green Land" program in Hebei 9  province during the "Ninth Five-year Plan", and will provide a solid foundation for the improvement of open image of the three cities and the realization of sustainable economic development. The positive impacts are summarized in Table 10. Water quality of the Douhe reservoir (in Tangshan city) and Yuecheng reservoir (in Handan city) complies basically with Class II of surface water quality standard (GB3838-88). Water quality in Panjiakou and Daheiting reservoirs upstream of the Douhe reservoir fully complies with Class II of GB3838-88. The Douhe reservoir is experiencing eutrophication. However, the reservoir would be in middle eutrophication by strengthening environmental man-agement as anticipated in the specific EIA report. Requirements on the protection measures for the water source sites are presented in the overall EIA report. It is predicted that water quality of Douhe and Yuecheng reservoirs would not make it worse than its current comndition, and eutrophication will be alleviated with the implementation of environmental management measures. Municipal water supply capacity from Douhe reservoir and Yuecheng reservoir is limilted within the regional water allocation quota. The proposed Tangshan water supply project will not have impacts on agricultural water supply and other water users. However, Handan urban water supply project would cause the impacts on irrigation water applications both downstream and upstream of Yuecheng dam. It is suggested that the strategy of water resource application for Zhang river should be adjusted to balance the requirements of water users by the Handan Government. Measures such as increase agricultural input and water-saving irrigation technologies are needed to solve the problem of water scarcity for irrigation. All proposed sites of water treatment plants and WWTPs are in compliance with land use of the urban master development plans. Noise would be limited within the plant borders. Sludge from water purification plants would be transported to municipal sanitary landfills with dewatering, and used as covering material. The majority of sludge from WWTPs would be disposed of in a municipal sanitary landfill, while a small portion would be used as soil additives. All sanitary landfills built with leachate treatment facilities. It is also suggested that a comrprehensive sludge utilization plan should be prepared as early as possible. The impact in construction phase is generally limited within the construction areas and could be minimized by the rational arrangement for construction activities with mitigation measures, but there would be insignificant effects on the living of residents and agricultural production. The implementation of HUEP will not involve large scale relocation of residents. The permanently acquired lands, as well as damage to a small patch of orchards and some dismnantled facilities will be compensated through one-time payment. Compensation for temporary land occupation of crop fields and/or trees chopped down during pipe laying is also being arranged. Public participation indicated that the majority of people consider the adverse effects caused by construction activities to be acceptable. In the overall EIA report, requirements on audit and monitoring of industrial wastewater discharge within the service area are raised to ensure that influent wastewater to the collection system would be in compliance with CJ1 8-86 standard without adverse effect on operation of WWTP. There are various industrial pollution sources within the service area of Shijiazhuang East Bridge WWTP and Handan West WWTP, and thus audit and monitoring on industrial wastewater are of special importance. The adverse effects and the proposed mitigation measures are summarized in Table 11. 10  Table 10 Environmental and Social Benefits Item Environmental & Social Benefits Wastewater collection Establishing separate sewerage system for municipal waste water and rain water in East Bridge district with a beneficial population of 640000 Wastewater treatment The wastewater treatment capacity is increased by 500,000 ml/d, the wastewater treatment rate of the East Bridge district will reach over 70%, removed pollutants of BODs, CODC, and SS will be about 31000 tVa, 51100 tVa and 40200 t/a respectively c., Ground water Reducing effect on the shallow groundwater in the southeast of city and suburb caused by wastewater leaching Tail water utilization The water quality of Xiao river would be suitable for irrigation application ta Health Improving the living quality of residents in the East Bridge sewerage service areas and reducing the incidence of diseases among the residents around Xiao river vx: Landscape Improving the landscape of urban districts and Xiao river .:, Employment Provide 302 long-term employment opportunities. City improvement Balancing the water supply and wastewater treatment capacities in East Bridge district and improving the investment environment. Water supply Meet the water consumption demand of the city in the year 2000, especial that of the Initial area of the New Airport District. 2 Ground water Reducing the pressure on ground water resources overexploitation in the central district and it will be passive effects on water table restoration Drinking water safety Raising the sanitary and safety of drinking water, especially benefit to the residents who are served by enterprise self water supply go i Employment Provide employee 170 opportunities for long time working City improvement Improving the investment environment of city Wastewater collection Upgrading the existing separate sewerage with a beneficial population of 569,000. Wastewater treatment Increased capacity of wastewater treatment is 1 20,000m3/d. Removed pollutants of BOD5, CODcr and SS are 8540 tla, 13400 t/a and 11800 t/a respectively >' Tail water utilization Qinglonghe stream would suitable for irrigation application downstream the urban reach.