ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT

Transcription

1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized T6NG CONG TY DIeN LUYC VIET NAM CONG TY DIEN LUC 2 E959 Volume 1 DIV AN NANG LI(ONG NONG THON - PHA IA TINH BEN IRE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT Prepared by: PC2 - RURAL ENERGY PROJECT MANAGEMENT BOARD Hochiminh City, December 2003

2 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 ABBREVIATIONS ADB ASS CPC DPC DONRE DOSTE EA EIA EMP EVN GDP GOV IEE KVA LV MONRE MOSTE MV PAH PAP PC2 PECE PMU PC RAP RE ROW T/L VESDEC/EPC USD VND WB Asian Development Bank Acid Sulphate Soils Commune People's Committee District People's Committee Department of Natural Resources and Environment Department of Science, Technology and Environment Environmental Assessment Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental Management Plan Electricity of Vietnam Gross Domestic Product Govemment of Vietnam Initial Environment Examination Kilovolt Ampere Low Voltage Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment Medium Voltage Project Affected Household Project Affected People Power Company No.2 Power Engineering and Consulting Enterprise of PC2 Project Management Unit People Committee Resettlement Action Plan Rural Energy (Project) Right-of-Way Transmission Line Vietnam Environment & Sustainable Institute - Environmental Protection Centre United State's Dollar Vietnam Dong The World Bank

3 Rural Energy 2 Project- phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 CONTENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Project Purpose and Methodology of Environmental Assessment Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework World Bank Policy on Environmental Assessment Vietnamese Policy and Administrative Framework on Environmental Assessment PR O JECT D ESC RIPTIO N The Investm ent Structure of the Project Selection of the Project's Communes Institutional Responsibility for Project's Implementation Management of Distribution Lines During Operation Phase Project C om ponents DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT IN THE PROJECT AREA Geographical Position Topography Soil Climate Conditions Surface Water Quality Ecological Resources Socio-Economic Conditions SCREENING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Classification of Impacts Identification of Potential Impacts of the Project Environmental Impacts During Pre-Construction Phase Environmental Impacts during Construction Phase Impacts During Operation Phase ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Mitigation Measures... 37

4 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Mitigation Measure for Impacts during Pre-Construction Phase Mitigation Measure for Impacts during Construction Phase Mitigation Measure for Impacts during Operation Phase Monitoring Program Capacity Building... ; Cost Estimation for EMP Implementation Environmental Management Reporting Requirement Institutional Framework for Environmental Management Plan PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE The Need and Benefits of Public Consultation and Disclosure Public Consultation and Disclosure Activities during Pre-Construction REFERENCES ANNEX 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING CHECKLIST ANNEX 2. CHECKLIST FOR ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL BASELINE CONDITIONS ANNEX 3: ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT FOR THE PROJECT ANNEX 4: RECORDS OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION FOR THE PROJECT ANNEX 5: LIST OF THE REPORT PREPARERS ANNEX 6. LIST OF PROJECT'S COMMUNES

5 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 EXECUTIVE SUMMIARY 1. Introduction The purpose of the Power Supply for 50 communes in Bentre province Project within RE 2 - phase la Project is to increase electricity supply to people in 50 communes of Bentre. The overall impact of achieving this purpose will be significant and positive: - Upgrade, rehabilitate and extend rural power network including develop a new scheme for management of rural low voltage power network by local authorities. - Increase the electrification ratio in the region from 79% in the year 2002 to 96.7% in Decrease the power losses from 40% to approximately 7 % at the end of the Projects. - Improve voltage quality in the region: At the present time, the current voltage is 20% lower than a nominal voltage. After the Project, the voltage is expected to be less than 5% in comparison with the nominal voltage. - Build a capacity for local authorities on management of low voltage network. - Contribute to develop some basic economic sectors in the province. The total project cost is estimated to be 368,254 mill. VND. Of this, 243,259 mill. VND will come from THE World Bank (WB) loans; 15,493 mill. VND are from EVN contribution, 54,338 mill. VND are Bentre Province contribution, 55,163 mill. VND are contribution of local peoples. The Project period (pre-construction to beginning of operation) is estimated to occur from the end of 2003 to first half of This Environmental Assessment (EA) report is combined of Initial Environmental Examination and Environmental Management Plan. The EA report predicts and assesses the potential impacts of the Project's activities on the natural and socio - economic environment. The EA includes an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and key information on the Project's public consultation and disclosure process. 2. Policy, Legal and Administrative framework This EA Report was prepared to satisfy the needs of both the GOV and WB: - GOVframework: The GOV framework includes Law on Environmental Protection issued by the order of the National President on 10 January 1994; Government Decree No 175/CP dated 18/10/1994 guiding the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection; Ministerial Circular No 490/1998/TT-BKHCMMT of MOSTE dated 29/4/1998 guiding EIA preparation and appraisal; and the Vietnamese Standards for the Environment, issued in 1995 and WB framework: The WB framework includes: Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01, BP 4.01, GP 4.01); Natural Habitats (OP 4.04, BP 4.04, GP 4.04); Cultural Property (OPN 11.03), Indigenous Peoples (OD4.20); Involuntary Resettlement (OD4.30), Information Disclosure (BP17.50). 4

6 RuralEnergy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December Scope of the Project The MV component of the Project will be managed by Power Company #2 (PC2) and its appointed Project Management Unit (PC2 - PMN) for Rural Energy Project. The LV component of the Project will be managed by provincial Department of Industry and its PMU. Fifty communes will receive electrical supply from the project. Project activities include construction of new 64 km 3-phase and 256 km one-phase of medium voltage (MV) distribution lines; 485.6km of low voltage (LV) line going together in the same pole's system with MV; 1,210.6 km of LV line and 547 substations in with a total capacity of 21,450 KVA. The safety right of way (ROW) for MV lines is 4m from which all housing and other building facilities will be removed and all trees, which are higher than 4m, have to be cut. The distribution lines, both MV and LV are mainly going along the existing roads. The need for construction of access roads for construction is rather low; existing paths will be used if possible. The local people committee assign the proper places for installation of construction camps workers and technicians. These places are usually the fall out areas or the unused warehouses or public buildings. The camping sites are usually the place for keeping construction materials for the Project as well. 4. Environmental Impacts The environmental impacts of the Project have been divided into 3 phases (Preconstruction, Construction, Operation). Impacts for each phase are evaluated as having: No Impact, Minor Impact (Positive or Negative), Major Impact (Positive or Negative), Unknown Impact, or Mitigable Impact (for negative impacts that can be mitigated to acceptable levels). * Impacts in the Pre - Construction Phase Due to clearance of project Right of Way (ROW) and substation sites in the pre - construction phase the project may create some impacts on ecological system: land acquisition, tree cutting, and control of vegetable in ROW. However, the ROWs have a small area and they will not go though any natural forests and/or natural reserve areas, the impacts on ecological system are assessed as Minor Negative. The ROWs do not occupy any area of cultural, religious and historical sites in all communes. Therefore, impacts on these issues are not expected. The most significant impacts in the Pre-Construction Phase are related to land acquisition: total number of the Project Affected Households (PAHs) is 1. 2,368 households; total area of land in ROW is 166,889 m 2 and total area of land affected temporarily is 128,780 m 2. Although land acquisition is a necessary part of the Project, it is important to note that the Project has been designed to ensure no resettlement of PAHs. Impacts on socio - economy of the PAHs are assessed as Mitigable. The mitigation details are presented in the Project's Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). * Impacts in the Construction Phase During construction of the distribution lines some short-term impacts on the environment are expected:

7 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Air and noise pollution caused by construction machines and soil excavation - Water pollution caused by disposal of construction spoil, soil excavation - Water, land pollution caused by disposal of wastes from worker's camps - Labour accident caused by insufficient conditions in labour safety - Loss of agricultural products due to temporary acquisition of productive land All above expected impacts during the construction phase are assessed as Minor Negative or Mitigable and can be further mitigated by proper management and technical measures. * Impacts in the Operation Phase In this phase, the impacts may be created by operation and maintenance activities. They are environmental and health impacts caused by fire hazard and by electric shock. These expected impacts are assessed as Minor Negative and may be controlled by proper management and technical measures. 5. Environmental Management Plan (EMP) The Project is consisted of MV lines and LV lines. These two distribution lines are managed by two separate bodies, they are i) For MV lines: PC2 through its PMB (during pre-construction and construction phase) and Bentre Power Company (in operation phase); ii) For LV lines: Bentre People Committee through its Department of Industry, PMBs (during pre-construction and construction phase) and Bentre Power Joint Stock Company (during operation phase). EMP includes impact mitigation, monitoring, and capacity building. Each are briefly presented below * Impact Mitigation Measures - Pre-construction phase: The layout of the lines needs to be concurred and cleared by the local authority to minimize the adverse impacts, particularly for the land acquisition. A proper Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) based on the policies of GOV and WB, will be implemented to minimize the impacts to PAHs and support PAHs in rehabilitation of their economic activities. Alternatives for ROWs have been considered and selected to ensure they have the lowest impacts on natural ecosystem. The route have been discussed and agreed with the local authorities and relevant organizations. The substation will be equipped with all necessary protection devices. No herbicides or defoliant are allowed to use for clearance of ROWs. Transformers are hang-on types and no PCBs containing transformers will be used in this project. - Construction phase: Mitigation measures include control of dust and noise pollution, soil erosion, disposal of spoil material, air and water pollution; mitigation of conflict between construction of underground lines and other infrastructure facilities ensure safety regulations in place, health care regulation for workers in camps and other measures. - Operation phase: Mitigation measures include control of ROW maintenance, access road to sensitive areas, control of fire hazards and ensure safety for workers and local residents. 6

8 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Environmental Monitoring Since the Project is categorized as B class Project with very limited impacts to the environment, the environmental monitoring is focused on environmental performance of the construction and implementation of EMP. Contractors and related PMUs. The environmental monitoring will be carried out during construction and operation phases of the Project. Thirteen parameters are developed for monitoring. During construction phase, Contractors will submit their monthly report on application of mitigation measures as specified in EA report and im bidding document. Three parties will actively involve in the environmental monitoring: PMUs of related Project owners (as an intemal monitoring); Safeguard Independent Monitoring Consultant- SIMC (as an extemal monitoring); and Commune's leaders. 6. Public Consultation and Disclosure The Project has established a public consultation and disclosure process. This process is based on policy guidance from WB (OP 4.01, BP 17.50) as well as policy guidance from GOV (Law on Environmental Protection, CP 175 on Implementing the Law on Environmental Protection). This process is already underway: on public meeting have been held to discuss environmental and social issues associated with the Project, and a plan for further consultation is outlined in this EA report. The meeting minute, comments of PAHs and the plan for further consultation are identified in this report. 7

9 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December Conclusions The Project will supply electricity to 50 communes of Bentre province. The project is also aimed to change the model on management of LV line in rural areas with direct involvement of local authorities. By providing this service, the Project will help increase the electrification ratio of the province to 96.7% in the year 2005, to reduce the power loss to less than 7% and to improve the socio-economic development of Bentre. The impact of improved electrical services is evaluated as both significant positive and long term. In order to provide these services, the Project will create some negative impacts to the natural and social environment. Most of these impacts are minor negative, short tern and/or mitigable.

10 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December INTRODUCTION 1.1. Purpose of the Project Rural Energy 2 Project (RE-2), Phase la in Bentre province (the Project) is focused on rehabilitation and development of distribution power lines for 50 communes in 6 districts. The names of the districts are: Chau Thanh, Cho Lach, Mo Cay, Giong Trom, Binh Dai and Thanh Phu. The main purposes of the Project are to: - Upgrade, rehabilitate and extend rural power network including develop a new scheme for management of rural low voltage power network by local authorities. - Increase the electrification ratio in the region from 79% in the year 2002 to 96.7% in Reduce the power losses from 40% to approximately 7 % at the end of the Projects. - Improve voltage quality in the region: At the present time, the current voltage is 20% lower than a nominal voltage. After the Project, the voltage loss is expected to be less than 5% in comparison with the nominal voltage. - Build a capacity for local authorities on management of low voltage network. - Contribute for development of some basic economic sectors in the province Purpose and Methodology of Environmental Assessment The Rural Energy 2 project is classified by WB as Category B for environmental assessment. The Environmental Assessment Report, which is combined of Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) should be made to: - Help the WB and the Project owner to present a more detailed evaluation of the Project's negative and positive impacts; - Develop an EMP to guide the Project owner to mitigate negative impacts and to manage the environmental issues during all phases of the Project. The Environmental Assessment (EA) is jointly done by the WB consultants and EVN's consultants. The following are activities and responsibilities of each party: - Under the instruction of the WB consultants, EVN's consultants have carried out the data collection according to the forms given in Annex 1 and Annex 2. - The public consultation has been carried out in each province and was chaired by EVN's consultants. - EVN's consultants have carried out the necessary processes for achieving Project's Environmental Permit, which is certified by provincial Department of Environment and Natural resources (DONRE). - The WB consultants collected additional supporting data, analyse the collected data and write the final EA report. By doing so the time requirement for EA report is reduced, the capacity of EVN's consultants is step by step strengthen and they will be able to prepare the EA reports for other RE 2 projects in the future. 9

11 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework World Bank Policy on EnvironmentalAssessment The Project is classified as a Category B project and therefore requires the completion EA report, which is consisted of IEE and EMP. The World Bank's policy on conducting EIA is to follow Operational Directive 4.01: Environmental Assessment. This directive describes guidance on Bank's policies and procedures for conducting environmental assessments of proposed projects. Annex B of the Operational Directive specifies the requirements for an EIA report. Additional World Bank policies that were considered through the Project's EIA process include: - OP 4.01 EnvironmentalAssessment; - OP 4.04 Natural Habitats; - OP Cultural Property; - BP Public Disclosure. Detailed guidance on assessment methodologies and common impacts associated with transmission projects are found in: - World Bank, Environmental Assessment Sourcebook, Volume 3 - IFC, Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines on Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Vietnamese Policy and Administrative Framework on EnvironmentalAssessment * Vietnamese Policy Framework Vietnam's most relevant environmental policies for environmental assessment are: Law on Protection of the Environment (LEP) was enacted in The LEP: - Identifies the responsibilities of the state centre, provinces, organizations and individuals to prevent and remedy environmental deterioration and pollution and carry out specified environmental protection functions; - Provides for the development of environmental standards and submission of environmental impact assessment reports on new and existing facilities; - Provides for responsible parties to pay compensation for environmental damage; - Establishes the right of individuals and organizations to petition for enforcement of environmental regulations; - Calls for civil and criminal penalties for violations; and - Encourages intemational environmental co-operation. Decree 1 751CP was promulgated in 1994 to guide implementation of the LEP and provides broad guidelines for division of responsibility among Ministries; environmental impact assessments; pollution prevention and disaster control, sources of finance; and environmental inspections and standards. 10

12 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Circular No. 490 was promulgated in 1998 to provide guidance on setting up and appraising environmental impact assessment reports for investment projects. The Circular identifies the legal requirements according to the stages of implementation of a project and its category, defines the content of project subject to the EIA procedures; and specifies management of the EIA report appraisal. To supplement the above key environmental assessment policies, there are a large range of laws, decisions, regulations, and standards may also be considered: Law on Forest Protection (1992): This law regulates forest management, protection, development, and exploitation, prevention of woodcutting, and forest destruction. It also encourages individuals and organizations to protect and develop forests. Decree ND-CP specifies guidance on the protection of high-voltage networks. Decree HDBT specifies safety casements of high-voltage transmission lines. Decree 24/,2000/ND-CP specifies the implementation on the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam (Article 82) concerning environmental protection as follows: 1) enterprises with foreign investment capital and joint ventures are obligated to observe regulations, satisfy standards in environment protection, and comply with Vietnam legislation on environment protection; 2) if investors apply international advanced environmental standards these standards should be registered with MOSTE. Decree 52'1999/ND-CP was appended to include environmental considerations for construction management as follows: 1) for PFS, Provision 3 of Article 23 stipulates that requirements for environment study relating to the "selection of construction sites, estimation of land use area needed, in ways which comply to the principle of minimizing land use and environmental and social impacts, and resettlement to the lowest possible level". 2) Provisions 4 and 7 of Article 24 stipulate that FS must propose "specific site options (or regions, routes) which much match with construction plans (including documents on site selection, together with proposed solutions for minimizing environmental and social impacts)", and "architectural alternatives, construction solutions, preliminary designs suggested for selection, environment management and protection solutions". 3) For technical design: Section B, Provision 1, Article 37 and Section A, Provision 2, Article 38, contain regulations on appraisal and approval of "techniques for the protection of environment and ecology, for prevention and combating of explosion and fire and for occupational safety and industrial sanitation." Decree 26/ 1996/CP provides regulations on the punishment of administrative violation of Environmental Protection Law. Chapter 1 describes the general provisions for punishment under the Environment Protection Law. Chapter 2, Article 6 details recommended punishments for parties who violate environmental pollution and prevention act. These punishments include financial penalties for not submitting an EIA report. Vietnamese Standards (TCVN) are national standards established by MOSTE and applied to all govemment agencies. They include engineering, construction, scientific, and environmental standards. The Vietnamese environmental standards include acceptable limits of many air, noise, and water quality parameters. In general, the list of biophysical parameters is broad enough such that most monitoring programmes can employ 11

13 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Vietnamese standards as metrics of evaluation. There are some exceptions - for example, sediment, soil, and vibration standards do not yet exist. In these cases, it is common practice for ODA projects to use standards from other countries or intemational organisations. 18 TCN provides standards for safety clearances for 500 KV Electrical Equipment Installation Standards. Section 1 of this policy states numerous requirements. For example, trees outside of the ROW must have two meters clearance between conductors and trees, and the clearance between top of the trees and conductors in the ROW must not be less than six meters. 11 TCN-1984 sets the standard for minimum clearance between live parts of a line and trees. Trees outside of ROW must ensure two meters of clearance between conductors and tree parts. The clearance between top of the trees and conductors in the ROW must not be less than six meters. The ROW identified by two parallel planes is seven meters from the outer conductors when they are vertical and not less than two meters when conductors are at maximum swing angle. * Vietnamese Administrative Framework The Government of Vietnam is in the process of creating a new administrative framework for environmental management. For the Additional Works Project, the framework's relevant institutes are as follows: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) was established by a Prime Ministerial Decision on November 11, This new rninistry includes four viceministers, 16 departments, one newspaper, and one magazine. MONRE merges numerous departments from several national agencies. These are outlined in Decree 91/2002/ND- CP: Providing for the firnctions, duties, powers and organisational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. Environmental Impact Assessment and Appraisal Department. This Department is under MONRE. According to Decree 91/2002/ND-CP, the Department's function includes: To appraise environmental impact assessment reports of projects and of business and production establishments. Environmental Impact Assessment and Appraisal Department is guided by the Vietnam's established regulatory framework: i.e. LEP, Circular 490, CP 175, etc. Provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE). Each provincial DONRE houses an Environmental Management Division (EMD). The EMD is responsible for ensuring environmental protection and management of provincial matters in accordance with LEP, Decree 175, and Circular 490. Hence, it is DONRE - and in particular, its EMD - that will likely play a key regulatory role during project construction and operation. 12

14 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1. The Investment Structure of the Project Table 2.1. The Investment Structure of the Project Financial Amount Purpose Organization (VND) 1 WB loan 243,259 Electrical equipment, construction for mill MV, LV lines including substations 2 EVN contribution 15,493 mill Electrical equipment, construction for LV lines including substations 3 Bentre province 54,338 mill Pre-investment costs, Project contribution management costs, compensation costs, taxes, fees etc. 4 Beneficiaries 55,163 mill Power line from the meter to the contribution households 2.2. Selection of the Project's Communes The communes that are selected for the Project should be the following communes: - Having more less than 50 % households buying electricity from EVN's local power company (Bentre Power Company). - Not being a commune that is a town, or belonging to the township or traditional handicraft villages. - Having EIRR> 12% for every non-poor communes and EIRR>8 for poor communes Institutional Responsibility for Project's Implementation Power Company 2 (PC2) is the Project's owner for the MW network and substations. PC2 is responsible for implementation of Project's the medium voltage lines and substations. Its responsibilities include investment policy, investigation, design, construction etc. PC2 authorized Project Management Board of Rural Energy Project (PC2- RE 2- PMB) as a coordinator for whole Project activities. PC2- RE 2 - PMB is responsible for supervision and reporting of Project's progress to PC 2. Project Management Board of Bentre province for LV network (Bentre- LV-PMB), which is an organization under provincial Department of Industry is responsible for the implementation of low voltage lines (LV) within the Project. PMB- Bentre province is also responsible for supervision and reporting of Project's progress to Bentre People Committee through Department of Industry and to the WB Management of Distribution Lines During Operation Phase Bentre Provincial Power Company (an subsidiary of PC2) is responsible for management and operation of MV lines and substations. 13

15 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase Ia: Bentre Province December 2003 A Power Joint Stock Company is established by Department of Industry, the organization under Bentre People Committee and will be responsible for management and operation of LV lines Project Components Components ofthe Project are listed in Table 2.2. Table 2.2: Project's Components Components 1/ Upgrading of MV lines 2/ New 3- phase MV lines 3/ New 1- phase MV lines Descriptions 26 km 64 km 256 km 4/ New low voltage going along with MV km 5/ New low voltage 6/ Substations 1,210.6 km 567 substations 14

16 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase a: Bentre Province 3. DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT IN THE PROJECT AREA 3.1. Geographical Position December 2003 Bentre is located in the southern part of Vietnam. The geographical coordinates are from 980 to I 120' North latitudes and from ' to ' East longitudes. It lines in the eastem part of Southem Vietnam and bordering with Tien Giang province in the North, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh in the west and southwest, East Sea in the east and southeast Topography Topography of Bentre is made up from flat regions. The province is high in the northwest regions and low in the southeast regions. There are many sand dunes scattered along the province. These sand dunes normnally are 1 to 5 m higher than the surrounding areas. Generally, there are 3 main types of topography of the province, they are: - Low region with height less than 1 m under sea level: this region is flooded by daily tidal. Main land uses in this region are rice fields, alluvial grounds, estuaries. - Region with medium height: the height is from 1 m to 2 m above the sea level. This region occupies more than 90% land use of the province. - Region with height above 2 m: they are sand grounds Soil There are five main soil types in the province. Table 3.1: Main Soil Type in BenTre Province Soil type Area % Occupation of Location (ha) province land I Alluvial soil 69, Cho Lach and Chau Thanh 2 Saline soil 95, Scattered in the province 3 Alkaline soil 3,105 1 Districts with low height above the sea level: Ba Tri, Giong Trom and Thanh Phu district 4 Sand dunes (sand 12,179 5 Estuaries grounds) 5 Other types of Climate Conditions Bentre has a typical tropical monsoon climate with a great interference of the East Sea. * Temperature Average temperature of the Province in 2002 is 27,16 C. The highest temperature is in April (29.3 C) and the lowest is in December (23.5 C) 15

17 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Rainfall Average rainfall of Bentre province is ranging from 966 mm. to 2,084.6 mm. There are two different seasons of the years. Rainy season is from May to November. Dry season is from December to April of the next year. Rain fall in dry season only reaches 1.5 to 1.7% total rainfall of the year. Based on the monitoring data of Bentre DONRE, there is a trend of increasing rainfall in the province.. Wind During the rainy season the prevalent wind is from West to Southwest direction. Average wind speed from 2 to 3.9 m/s, maximum wind speed is 20mJs. During the dry season, the prevalent wind direction is East - North East. The province is not directly affected by storms or tropical low atmosphere but the whether is changed accordingly. During transition between dry and rainy seasons the cyclones are commonly occurred Surface Water Quality DONRE of Bentre province carries out the assessment of surface water quality in the province every year. Generally, the surface water quality is meeting the Vietnamese standards for category A or B. The surface water is slightly polluted by organic loads. In some cases, BOD 5, total suspended solid, coliforms are higher than TCVN. Monitoring data in 2002 are given in Table 3.2. Table 3.2. Monitoring Data on Surface Water Quality in Bentre Province No Location Year ph Fe NO3- BODs SS Coliforms (mg/i) (mg/i) (mg/i) (mg/i) MPN/lOOmi 1 An Hoa bridge ,96 2,68 2, ,7 0,7 0, Ben Cat ,04 7,25 1, ,6 2,24 0, Vam Ong Ho ,07 50,0 3, ,6 1,01 0, Ban Tra ,65 3,23 1,86 [ market ,3 0,81 0, Vam Don ,35 1,73 1, ,05 0, Ben Trai ,50 3,90 KPH ,7 1,58 0, Ba Lai bridge ,50 6,32 1, ,3 0,71 0,

18 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 No Location Year ph Fe N03- BOD 5 SS Coliforms (mg/i) (mg/i) (mg/i) (mg/i) MPN/lOOmi 8 Phu Phung ,11 5,55 1, ,2 0, Tan Phu ,2 0, Vam AnHoa ,5 3,66 0, TCVN A 6-8, < Source: DONRE, Bentre Province, 2002 B 5, < There is no evidence that the water quality is polluted by pesticides, fertilizers and other synthesized organic pollutants Ecological Resources Bentre has a quite diverse flora and fauna due to a plentiful river system, long coastal line and seasonal climates. There are four big tributaries among the nine tributaries of the Cuu Long river (the end part of the Mekong river) run across Bentre province. Recent investigation made by DONRE has revealed that there are 25 species of vegetations (mainly are mangrove fauna), 11 species of amphibians, 32 species of reptiles (mainly are snakes and water-snakes), 19 species of mammals (mainly are rodents and bats). There are two special zones with high ecological value in the province. They are Thanh Phu mangrove forest in Thanh Phu district and Vam Ho bird yard Ba Tri district. Thanh Phu mangrove forest is protected area but the Vam Ho bird yard is not. The literatures recorded that there are 84 species in-land birds with thousands of individuals, 31 species of water birds. The report on current environmental conditions of Bentre province reported that there are 278 species of phytoplankton, 36 species of zooplankton, 661 species of fish and benthos. Common cattle are pigs, buffalos, cows, goats etc. The planted trees are sugarcanes, coconuts, rice and many fruit trees. During field investigation time, common species of birds (cranes and swallows) are observed in areas near the mangrove forest. The birds are rarely observed in the inland areas. 17

19 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 MAP. THE LOCATION OF PROJECT'S COMMUNES IN BEN TRE PROVINCE 18

20 LOCATION OF PROJECT/KHU VLXC DLI AN BEN TRE PROVINCE/TINH BEN TRE Laa ' dch Gao Chau ThanhJS#j~L TP. My Th- / r TX. Go Cong A L Go C6ng {)6ng L _-"' Go Cong Tay, ~~~~~~~~Oh _C *Phu Tuic _ QL1i Su,., r- -, *Phu Du/c *An Hiep_'%, *An Phu o irnh *ThanhTrieu.Tam Phl 6cAn Hl Lp *Phad- Ph ILEm _.qj8 nq1ad'ta 3Lo = Long Thdi Tan en. Tr Luong Hoa Vang Qutdi D ng Mang Thit * t;l;,w;hhjtan Thanh Phu Luongouofng an Binhai; *Ho a LOc Thuan Die-n L _-.t _ \ ~~~~~~~ My ~ ~ ~~~~~~~*Long D Eai Hoa _ Mo _ r \ Cay Binh Khanh Tay BinitHuTanng LeBinh *Hung Nhcng Lh L _~~~~~ICn I B ua Lri e AnTd Wnsni _ BaV Pri

21 % J _-bq- - v" ru,,,,t dr,sonl Minh to_c) s J ~Caing Long Cang LongrTX. Tr'o d_j _\ Thanh Phu Hoa Loi \ ru ChauThanh ThAnh 1 = fchi OJS Ke t s \ S X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thain,6 V. L Ch;uTanh li, Binh Thanh _ ) Ti eu C a-n :o. - r _) ' - Cau Ngang Vegetation type / Kieu rcing Legend / Chu giai * Evergreen forest! RCfng thuidng xanh Protected area / Khu bao ve * Coniferous forest / Rifng la kim Province border / Ranh gidi t7'nh * Deciduous forest / Rufng rung la (kh6p) ---- District border / Ranh gidi huyen * Semi-deciduous! RLtng ncma rung ld Project area / Xa nam trong df an * Limestone forest! Rufng nui da _ * Bamboo / Rung tre ntia * Plantation forest / RCrng trong N Grassland and scrub / Dat tro'ng Agricultural land / DE)at n6ng nghiep W-l6- E * Water bodies / Mat nuldc * Mangrove/ Ru'ng ngap man S * Melaleuca / Ruing tram

22 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Socio-Economic Conditions. Land Use Pattern Main land use pattem in Bentre province is agricultural land. Another common land use pattern observed in the province is shrimp farms. Except the mangrove forest in the coastal communes, the forested areas are rarely observed and they mainly are coconuts trees. Table 3.3. Summary of Land Use Pattern in Bentre Province (data for 2001) Land use pattern Area (ha) % 1 Agricultural land 141, Aquiculture production land 25, Forestry land 5, Specific purpose (road, public buildings etc.) 11, Residential land 7, Un-used land 40, Total land area Demographic Data Total population in Bentre province is 1,333,242 peoples (for the year 2002). Birth rate is 1.02%. Immigration rate is less than migration. Migration is caused by local people going to the surrounding provinces or towns seeking for the simple labor work. The great number of peoples is going to Ho Chi Minh city to find the job or to some provinces for seasonal work. Demographic structure is rather young. The ratio of people in working age is 61.3%, man ratio is 47.8%. The jobless ration recorded for the year 2003 is 5.2%, which is less than the figure in Population density in Bentre is 573 people/km 2. In comparison with another provinces in the Mekong Delta, this figure is rather high (1.5 times greater). The population is dense in the township areas but is scattered in the rural areas. * Poverty Situation In the year 2002, there are 27,243 poor households in the province. This is equivalent to 8.96% of total households in the province. The reasons for poverty situation of these households are (i) lack of manpower; (ii) lack of financial investment; (iii) lack of production experience; (iii) other reasons such as risk, some peoples are lazy to work etc. There is no hungry household in the province.. Education Commonly there are 2 to 3 primary schools in each commune, some communes has four primary schools such as Thanh Tri commune in Binh Dai district. There is at least one 19

23 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 secondary in each district. The kinder garden is existed in each commune. 100% children are going to primary schools. The literacy ratio is low in the province. There is no record on how is the ratio of people having bachelor or engineer degree, but the responsible peoples from people committees certified that there are some of their children passed the national examination to high school or universities every year. * Transportation There are two national roads in the province, they are national road number 57, 60. The provincial road system is quite good in the provinces. The inter-district and intercommune roads are well developed with very good conditions. The density of road in area is 1.24kni!km 2. In township areas, the area for roads is 1.97%No. Most of the roads are asphalted. The road system is still very poor in Tam Hiep commune (Binh Dai district), Hung Phong commune (Giong Trom district) and My An commune (Thanh Phu district). * Sanitary Sanitary is rather poor in the province. There is no organized system for collection of residential solid wastes. The solid waste is dumped by local peoples in their gardens. In the past, latrines were located along the rivers. The condition is much improved at the present time, especially in the rural areas. There is a program for supplement of latrines for households in Binh Dai district. The program in under poverty alleviation program of the province. Similar programs will be run in another districts in the very near future. There is no drainage system in the rural areas. Waste water is discharged naturally in household's land. There is a lot of stagnant water. It is a good condition for mosquitoes to growth. The water vector diseases are a serious risk for local peoples. * Health Care Services Usually, there are one or two health care stations in each commune. There is at least one doctor in each station. The number of nurses is higher, in average they are 2 to 4 nurses working in each station. There is a hospital in each district. A provincial hospital is located in Bentre township. 20

24 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December SCREENING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 4.1. Classification of Impacts The Environmental Assessment focuses on the major environmental issues of the Project's Most Favoured Altemative. The potential impacts of the Project's preconstruction, construction, and operation phases were assessed as being in one of five categories: * No Impact The potential impact of the Project activity is assessed as NO IMPACT if the project activity is physically removed in space or time from the environmental component. * Major Impact An impact is said to be MAJOR if the project activity has potential to affect an environmental component. Major impacts could be "Major Negative" or "Major Positive. " The following criteria were used to determine whether a given impact is major: - Spatial scale of the impact (site, local, regional, or national/ international); - Time horizon of the impact (short, medium, or long term); - Magnitude of the change in the environmental component brought about by the Project activities (small, moderate, large); - Importance to local human populations, - Compliance with national, provincial, or district environmental protection laws, standards, and regulations - Compliance with Vietnam's intemational commitments. These include the Convention on Wetlands of Intemational Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (RAMSAR), the Convention Conceming the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention), and the Convention on Intemational Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); and - Compliance with World Bank guidelines, policies, and regulations. * Minor Impact If an impact occurs but does not meet the criteria for a Major Impact it is assigned the category MINOR. Minor impacts could be "Minor negative" or "Minor Positive." * Unknown Impact The potential impact of a project activity will be assessed as being unknown if the magnitude of the effect can not be predicted for any of the following reasons: - The nature and location of the project activity is uncertain; - The occurrence of the environmental component within the study area is uncertain; - The time scale of the effect is unknown; or - The spatial scale over which the effect may occur is unknown. 2 1

25 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Mitigable Impact The potential impact of a project activity on an environmental component is said to be MITIGABLE if there is potential for a major negative impact and the proposed mitigation measure will prevent the impact or reduce the impact to acceptable levels Identification of Potential Impacts of the Project The Project will play an important role in the electrification program and in implementation of the policy of poverty alleviation of Bentre Province. It will also promote the policy of industrialization and modemization of the Government of Vietnam as well as create a great opportunity for overall socio-economic development of the poor area. Specifically, the project will help to supply electricity for some social facilities such as clean water supply factory in Binh Dai district. This clean water supply factory supplies water for more than 10 communes in the province. At the present time, local people use rainwater for drinking and cooking purpose. The operation of water supply factory brings a great value for local people in term of improvement of their life quality. Once the distribution network is improved and completed, many farmers will not have to use diesel generators to serve for their shrimp farms. This will contribute a lot in reducing of noise and toxic gase emission in the region. These positive socio-economic values of the project are great. Refer to the Project Document for more details. Beside the significant beneficial impacts, the project may cause different adverse impacts on the environment and local socio-economy. By using Environmental Screening Data Checklist and Environmental baseline Checklist shown in Annex 1 and Annex 2. The following are potential impacts of the Project. Table 4.1. Identification of Potential Impacts of the Project No Impact Magnitude Duration Evaluation of impacts Pre-construction phase 1 Permanent and temporary land Medium Short/ Minor, acquisition Long Mitigable 2 Project affected household Medium Short Minor, Mitigable 3 Impacts associated with clearing the Small Long Mitigable ROW 4 Health risk due to explosives, None None No Impact chemical hazard 5 Loss of historical and cultural None None No Impact properties 22

26 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Construction phase Magnitude Duration Evaluation of impacts 6 Surface water contamination Small Short Minor, Mitigable 7 Noise and vibration Small Short Minor, Negative 8 Soil erosion 9 Air pollution 10 Traffic disturbance Small Short Minor, Negative Small Short Minor, Negative Small Short Minor, Negative I1 Damaging of the roads Small Short Minor, Mitigable 12 Solid waste generated from excavating work for pole foundation Small Short Minor, Negative 13 Environmental impacts caused by Small Medium Minor, construction worker Mitigable 14 Conflict between construction Small Medium Minor, Negative worker and local people 15 Health and Safety Small Short I Minor, Mitigable Operation phase Magnitude Duration Evaluation of impacts 16 Development alleviation and poverty Large Long Major Positive 17 Habitat fragmentation Small Long Minor, Negative 18 Increase access to wild lands Small Long Minor, Negative 19 Health and safety Small Long Minor, Mitigable 20 Oil hazardous waste contamination Small Long Minor, Negative 23

27 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Environmental Impacts During Pre-Construction Phase * Impacts Caused By Land Acquisition The power network within the Project mainly goes along the existing inter-commune, inter-district roads or crosses agricultural or garden land. The ROW required 4.0 m for MV distribution lines and 2.0 m for LV lines. In some cases the MV and LV are suspended together in the same pole system. By doing so the land occupation is substantially reduced. Total area of permanent acquisition is 1.66,889 m2 this area is relatively little. The detailed acquired areas are described in the Table 4.2. Table 4.2. Land Areas (n 2 ) Acquiredfor the Project Acquisition Agricultural Garden/ Public Total by type (Rice field) Residential land of acquisition 1 Temporary during 89,292 39,493 non 128,780 construction 2 Permanent 30,628 36, , ,889 acquisition Source: RAP Report, PC2, 2003 From the above calculated data it is clear that the total area of land project occupied will be by about the 300,000 m 2, but almost a half of land (128,780 m 2 ) temporarily, will be acquired 166,889 M 2 of land will be acquired permanently and no residential public land land or or buildings will be permanently or temporary used for the acqured project. land This is from almost 12,000 households (See Table 4.3 for Therefore, concrete figure). the impact caused by land acquisition is assessed as negative, impact mitigable. on the This PAHs may be mitigated by implementation of a proper Resettlement Plan (RAP). Action * Project Affected Households (PAHs) The electrical lines and substations will be constructed in the planned communes, in which encroachment on some area of agricultural and residential lands is expected. Total 12,368 households will lose a part of their residential or agriculture land. Data on total PAHs in different districts of Bentre province is reported in the Table 4.3 and Table 4.4. Table 4.3. Number of PAHs and PAPs By Districts No District PAHs MV component LV component I Chau Thanh Binh Dai Giong Trom Cho Lach

28 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December Mo Cay Thanh Phu Total Table 4.4: Number of PAHs and PAPs By Category Classification Category Total PAHs 1. PAHs affected temporarily with agricultural land and crops 12, PAHs only affected temporarily on residential and planting land 12,368 without houses and/or structure located in ROW 3. PAHs with house that should be partly (<10%) removed Non 4. PAHs with <10% land area but >10% house area should be Non removed 5. PAHs with part of house have to be removed but removing can Non damage the remaining structures 6. PAHs with more than 10% land areas will be permanently acquired Non 7. PAHs with less than 10% land areas will be permanently acquired 12, PAHs with remaining residential areas less than 100 m 2 Non 9. PAHs with remaining residential areas more than l OOm 2 12, PAHs with the business or services affected by the Project Non 11. Public buildings (schools, office, roads etc.) affected by the Project Non Source: PC2, RAP Report, 2003 The population density in Bentre province is 576 peoples/km 2, that is not as dense as many other provinces in the country. None of PAHs has a residential area less than 100 m 2. These figures show that the pressure of lacking of land for living and agricultural production is not high in Bentre. By observation in the field, the areas that will be permanently occupied by the ROWs are quite negligible in comparison with remaining land of PAHs. Usually ROWs go along with the inter-district, inter-communes roads or along the garden fences, where the trees are not very productive of valuable. The proposed mitigation measure is compensation. The detailed compensation scheme is presented in the Project's Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The Plan has been prepared according to World Bank guidelines and Vietnamese legislation. Please refer to RAP for more details. Due to all above-mentioned reasons, the impacts on Project affected household can be considered as minor and mitigable impact. 25

29 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Impact Associated With Clearing the ROW The clearing of the ROW will occur during Pre-Construction shortly after the land acquisition activities. ROW clearing activities include: 1) permanent tree cutting and vegetation control, 2) temporary clearing of agriculture area land, and 3) permanent removal of houses or some historical sites will be affected. The following assessment can be made on land acquisition for ROW clearing: - Due to the route alignment, there is no land acquisition for ROW in the forested or ecological high value land. - More than 60% of the acquired land is public land (the land is managed by local people committee), which usually is fall out or unused land. The permanent acquired land is use for construction of foundations. The main purpose of land use still can be kept until the heights of trees are less than 4m. - About 30% of the acquired land is agricultural and garden land. The food crops, rice and fruit trees cultivate these areas. The planted trees are common species. The height of these crops are normally less than 1 m, therefore all the agricultural activity will remain unchanged. Therefore, there will be no impact on the community of trees in the Project site. - The temporary agricultural land acquired for the project will be returned construction. to PAHs after The Project owner will properly compensate the production Permanent loss. agricultural land is only 30,628 m2 transverse to the long distance, impact on so agricultural the land can be considered as minor impacts. These be impacts recovered could by the proper compensation to the PAH, so that they compensation can use the for re-cultivating the lost trees. The measures of the compensation discussed in are details in RAP of the project. - Data from the field surveys and observation confirmed that there are no primary forests, no protected forests or reserved forests in the project area. The project area is intensively exploited by active human activities. No ecological value will be loss due to ROW clearing. The main impact of clearing the ROW includes: - Some people may try to bum waste vegetation on site - this can increase the risk of uncontrolled fires; - Felling trees may cause some people may be injured, and - Soil erosion may occur. The significance of these impacts is considered to be minor negative. This impact is assessed as minor and mitigable. * Loss of Historical and Cultural Properties During the designing of the Project, the ROWs were selected to avoid effecting of any local historical or cultural properties. Therefore, the impacts on historical and cultural properties are considered as no impact 26

30 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Health Risk due to Explosives and Chemicals Hazards Explosive materials (land mines, bombs) and toxic war chemicals (Agent Orange and Agent CS) do not occur im the Project area because they have been investigated and removed many years ago when the War was stopped (1975). In 1976, the program on land mines, explosive disarming was carried out in Bentre and other southern provinces. There is no record on land mines, any explosive and war chemical accident happened in the province during past wartime. The ROWs clearing will be done manually; no herbicides or defoliant will be used. No PCBs containing oil will be used within the Project. Based on these two points, the impact of the chemicals hazards are not expected and during the ROW preparation, investigation on explosive materials will not be necessary Environmental Impacts during Construction Phase During construction phase, the main activities are: - Material and equipment transportation, - Soil excavation for pole's foundation; - Construction of tower foundation; - Pole erection; - Cable installation, cable pulling. - Other small-scale activities. Organization for construction work is as follows: - Storing of the construction materials: Due to the situation that river, canal system is dense and the road and bridge system is small, construction material and equipment will be stored at a warehouses or unused land grounds that are approved by the local people committee. - Transportation of construction material: For the long distance, material and equipment will be transported by car. For a medium distance from warehouse to the site, simple manual vehicles will transport materials. For the short distance (i.e. from the road to the pole foundation) material and equipment will be transported to the field by manpower. - Water for construction: from local river, water canal system. - Local labor forces will be used as much as possible. - Mechanical machines and equipment will be used as much as possible to increase the labor productivities, shorten the time for Project construction. - Maximum local construction materials will be used. - Safety issue will be paid by highest attention during Project's construction. 27

31 Rural Energy 2 Project- phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Surface Water Contamination Due to the activities that are carried out during construction phase, the surface water quality potentially will be affected. Soil excavation will cause the water to be more turbid. Soil erosion might occur in some excavated land, this makes the same problem to surface water. The construction material like cement, sand, steel will be kept in the store. Small amount of the materials that will be used in the site can affect surface water-by-water runoff or spilling. Usually, the construction time is selected during dry seasons or non-rainy day so that risk to the surface water is relatively low, but the attention should be kept and mitigation should be taken. The impact on surface water contamination can be considered as mitigable impact. River and natural water canals in Bentre is very dense. It is also a typical characteristic of another southern provinces of Vietnam. The end parts of four big tributaries of Mekong River (in Vietnam territory, the Mekong river has a name Cuu Long river) meet the East Sea in Bentre province. The in-land water changes from turbid to clean based on the tidal regime. Near the estuaries the river water is full of silt and appears very turbid. These reasons support to the conclusion that the impact on surface water during construction phase is not very serious problem and can be mitigated. This impact is assessed as minor and mitigable. * Noise and Vibration Construction activities will contribute to noise pollution at the construction and surrounding sites. During the construction phase noise pollution may be caused by: - Construction equipment. - Earth excavating activity. - Generators (if any). - Vehicles used for material and pole transport. Similar to the other rural electrification project, the distribution lines are going along the existing roads, where the residential areas or public buildings such as schools, offices are located. The span (distance between two poles) of lines is 80 m. Usually the public buildings have a length less than 100 m. With this span, number of pole foundations next to one building is quite little. Therefore the noise and vibration impacts are negligible even in the areas with active human activities or in residential areas. A lot of parts of the lines are going along rice fields, shrimp farns, fall out lands with very little human activities. Material and equipment are transported by vehicles and stored in selected places, which are usually far from residential areas or public buildings. A smaller amount will be brought to the sites by simple vehicles or manually. The noise and vibration therefore will not cause any serious problem. 28

32 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 The background noise levels are measured during field visits, the noise levels are rather low (see Table 4.5 for detailed background noise levels). 29

33 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Table 4.5: Background Noise Level in the Project Areas (at morning time) No Location Noise level TCVN Day Evening Night time time time 1 Ba Lai bridge (Binh Dai 50 db(a) district) 2 Road next to the people 45 db(a) committee of Binh Dai 3 Bentre township 50 db(a) The cable pulling is carried out during daytime. In some case the generator will be used for cable pulling. The working time will be properly scheduled to avoid the noise and vibration i high-populated areas. No noisy work is allowed to do in the evening and night time. During Project implementation, this level will be increased but the noise level will not be higher than TCVN levels if the work is properly managed. All of the project activities that might cause noise and vibration are carried out in very short period of time for each part of the Project areas. Because all of above mention reasons, the noise and vibration impact of Project can be considered as minor impact. * Soil Erosion The province is located in a flat region with soil structure being quite stable. The vegetation coverage in the area is relatively high. There are still some fall out land but the bare land are not observed. Therefore, soil erosion is often considered not a problem in the area. In addition, the overall Project impact on erosion during construction will likely be minor for the following reasons: - The ROW required to construct medium voltage lines is only 4.2 m for medium voltage lines and 2 m for low voltage lines; - The construction pole's foundation requires little excavation, thereby the rate of erosion will be minimal. Therefore, soil erosion may be assessed as minor and mitigable. * Air Pollution In the construction phase the main problem with air pollution is dust. The major air pollutant in construction phase will be dust produced by earth works (digging, excavating, filling, leveling), using motorized machines. The affected receptors are houses; cultural, religious buildings located at a distance of about 50 m from the construction sites. At this distance in the dry season and at the peak construction hours, ambient air experience increased levels of total suspended particulates (TSP). However, the overall significance 30

34 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 of this impact is expected to be small because the construction activities are carried out in very short period of time and requires very few motorized machines/vehicles. The other reason, which may reduce the dust emission, is the vegetation coverage is very dense in the area. Impact of air pollution may be considered as minor and mitigable * Agricultural Production due to Temporary Acquisition of Productive Land More than 89,200 m2 (appx. 9 ha) of agricultural and garden land will be acquired for the construction period for one production batch. The agricultural land is mainly for rice and fruit trees. The purpose of temporary acquisition is for: - Temporary construction access road. - Gathering of material and equipment. - Service yard etc. Construction camps will not occupy the agricultural land since the local people a committee has selected some of their public land or public buildings (warehouse, cooperative yards, fall out land etc.) for the purpose. The agricultural land in Bentre is cultivated just one time per year. The yield of rice cultivation is about 4.5 tons/ha/year. So the rice production loss is 400 tons/year if the land acquit ion is lasted for whole year. In fact, the temporary land acquisition lasts only about few weeks or one month and construction contractors try their best to avoid occupy agricultural land during cultivation time. Therefore the loss of agricultural production is much less than the figures given above. It is expected that these impacts are short term and temporary. However, if unmitigated, even such short-term impacts could be significant for the farmers or PAHs who dependent for their earnings. For this reason, mitigation measures for temporary loss of productive land will be consider by the Project. Refer to RAP for more detail on compensation. The impact is considered as minor and mitigable. * Traffic Disturbance The Project's activities will cause disturbance of the traffic in the township areas as well as in the rural areas. The reasons are: - Soil excavation; - Pole erection in the high traffic areas; - Overhead cables pulling crossing the roads. In the construction phase, some trucks will be used for transporting materials and poles. Therefore, construction works may cause some impacts on the normal traffic activity at rural roads and urban streets. This activity might affect local traffic during the construction phase also obstruct normal traffic, particularly in township area. In the rural areas of the province the traffic is not very intensive. Except the excavation work for pole 31

35 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 foundations, that are mainly located beside the roads, there is no other soil excavation required. Therefore, this impact is assessed as significant but minor negative. A good plan for Project activities is need to be addressed to avoid the traffic disturbance. * Damaging of the Roads In Bentre as well in other rural areas of Vietnam, the road system is still not yet in the sufficient conditions. The Project will need to import to the area a huge amount of centrifugal cement poles, and contcution materials. In some cases the vehicles with heavy load can cause damage to the existing roads. Especially, when the road is not yet asphalted and transportation is carried out in the rainny seasons. As experience from other projects, the load of vehicles should be separated to the smaller amounts and thus can protect the condition of the road. The same experience will be applied for the Project with active involvement of the local people committee. The impact is considered as minor and mitigable impact. * Solid Waste Generated from Excavating Work for Pole Foundation The solid waste from excavation work for pole foundation will be a minor problem. In the rural areas, the excavated material almost will be pure soil, which will be easily put into local gardens or coconuts forests nearby. In the township areas there may be some construction material for road structure will be excavated and need to be properly disposed. But this amount of solid waste will be very little. The remaining excavated soil and materials (if there is any) are planned to be disposed in dumping area that is selected by local people committee. Thus the solid waste generated from Project activities will be managed properly and there is no risk of harming to the environment by the Project's solid waste. The impact therefore is considering as minor, negative but mitigable impact. * Environmental Impacts Caused by Construction Workers During the construction phase in the whole project over 100 construction workers will work. Each group will include 5-10 workers. Each group is planned to carry out the construction work for 1 to 2 communes. The Contractors will use local labor force as much as they can. Only skilled workers are needed to live in the camping areas that are arranged by local people committees. The areas used for worker's camps and materials for construction are chosen from public buildings (warehouses, cooperative yards etc.) or public unused lands. The following impacts may be anticipated. * Environmental Pollution Environmental pollution will be a problem at the worker's camping sites, where domestic wastes will be produced. Average amount of wastes to be daily produced by a group of 10 workers is estimated as follows. - Domestic wastewater: about m 3 - Domestic solid wastes: about 5-10 kg 32

36 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 This amount of domestic wastes is small but it is necessary to be considered in management of sanitation during construction activity, particularly at urban area. - Possible Transmission of Infections Diseases from Workers to Local Population and Vice Versa In the rural communes in southem provinces communicable diseases, such as water-bom diseases (diarrhea, dysentery), vector-bom diseases (Dengue fever) sometime occur. In the circumstance of low sanitary conditions and daily contact between local people and construction workers, infections diseases may be transmitted from workers to local people and vice versa. However, most of workers came from Bentre and health care service im all communes are good, transmission of infection diseases between them will rarely occur. This impact is assessed as minor and mitigable. * Conflict Between Construction Workers and Local People In some cases and in some projects, conflicts between the construction workers and local people may be caused by the following reasons: - Difference in customs and traditions - Difference in income - Encroachment of workers to historical, traditional sites and customs of local people. However, in the case of this project this problem is not expected, due to most of workers are Bentre citizens; the educational programs of the Constructors and local authorities will be conducted and local people strongly support this project. Around 100 workers will be hired but they will be separated in over 10 camping sites far from each other, so this impact can be considered as minor and mitigable impact. * Health and Safety The main health and safety issues during construction phase are: 1) industrial accidents for construction workers, and 2) electrical safety for construction workers and the general public alike. Each is discussed below: - Industrial Accidents: Construction workers are at risk from industrial accidents in the workplace. Working near heavy machinery, electricity, erecting transmission/distribution line all comes with their share of safety risks. The severity and frequency of industrial accidents increase when safety procedures are not implemented, when construction equipment is not maintained, when safety gear is not issued or wom, or when construction workers are not trained on safety procedures. - Electrical Hazards: The Project's construction phase is subject to several types of electricity hazards. For example: 1) on-site electrical supplies will be required for a range of equipment and lighting needs; 2) excavation and land clearing may need to take place near existing electrical utilities; 3) the Project itself is constructing a very large electrical transmission system, which comes with its own unique set of electrical hazards; 4) the Project may need to provide temporary sources of power for households and businesses near project affected areas; 5) there is a risk that when improving existing power systems, the existing power system may not be tumed off 33

37 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 properly before the Contractor begins construction; and 6) there is a risk that when the Contractor connects the new transmission line to the existing transmission line, the existing line may still be operating (i.e. live). All of these situations could create a risk of electric shock to workers and the general public alike Impacts During Operation Phase * Development and Poverty Alleviation The Project will provide electricity for approximately 90 thousands households in 50 communes of Bentre province. At the present time about 79% of households have an access to electricity. This portion is supposed to increase to 97% after the Project's implementation. This provision will greatly help increase economic development and poverty alleviation, two pillars of Vietnamese development policy. With the contribution of the project in electrification, development of agriculture, aquaculture, but also industry, urbanisation, clean water supply and service sectors will be induced in Bentre Province. This will create good conditions for improvement of life of local peoples. This impact is considered as being major positive. * Habitat Fragmentation When a ROW cuts through an ecosystem, the sum of the two parts created by the cut is less than the value of the initial whole, even when the habitat loss is not significant. None of the Project's ROWs crosses the high ecological value. The ecological systems along the ROW are agricultural, garden, fall out areas. The reports of DONRE) that was mentioned in the section 3.4. Ecological Resources) showed a diverse number of flora and fauna found in the province. Along the Project site the existing ecosystems are heavily touch by humans. Animals are rarely observed. The vegetation observed along the ROWs is only common species. Adapted birds like cranes and swallows are observed in the coastal sites. The same bird species are not observed in other inland places. That is the reasons why the habitat fragmentation in the Project's site is minor negative and mitigable impact. * Increase Access to Wild Land There are two ways in which the Project may increase access to wild land: - Permanent access roads: Some roads created by the Project will be used during operation phase as maintenance access roads, - Some ROWs are near forest areas: In these cases, the ROWs may increase access for local people to the forest. In both cases, increased access to the wild lands would mean that local people may go to the forest to cut trees for fuel/timber, and poach wild animals. These activities are illegal and strictly forbidden under national and local policies. Department of forestry strictly controls the mangrove forests under Program 661 in coastal districts of Bentre province. The Project will be implemented in two coastal districts; they are Binh Dai and Thanh Phu. None of the selected communes are located in the coastal zones. So there will be no risk of increase access to the mangrove forests in Bentre province. 34

38 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Thanh Phu is the only one protected mangrove forest in Bentre province. This protected area is more than 25 km far from the Project communes. The birth yard, that was mentioned in Section 3.4 is not a protected area and is located in Ba Tri district, which is not under Project. Nevertheless, it is possible that these impacts may occur to a minor degree. * Health and Safety As the voltage of the project is medium or low, the magnetic field generated will have no impact on health of people living in or near ROW. Electric shock is a danger for the human life during the operation phase particularly in the rainy and typhoon season if no proper preventive measures will be applied. However, the Bentre Power Company will conduct various technical measures and training for prevention of electric shock. This impact is assessed as minor and mitigable. * Induced Effects from Electromagnetic Fields The human and environmental impacts of electromagnetic fields are not well known. Published reports from reputable sources show inconsistent conclusions on the relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and cancer (e.g. leukaemia, brain cancer). Most scientists agree that the risk of cancer is directly proportional to several factors, of which two are quite important: magnetic field strength and length of exposure. - Magnetic field strength: According to the US EPA, the magnetic field strength of transmission and distribution systems is surprisingly weak (Table 4.6). Indeed, the highest measured results of a 500 KV line in the ROW during peak usage (183 milligauss) is lower than the median measurement of magnetic field strength within six inches of many household items (e.g. hair dryers: 300 milligauss, can openers 600 milligauss). Table 4.6:Magnetic Field Measurements of 115, 230, and 500 KV Transmission Lines Type of Max on ROW Distance from lines (milligauss) Transmission (milligaus) 15m 30m 60m 90m 115 KV Average Use Peak Use KV Average Use Peak Use KV Average Use Peak Use Source: US EPA, Length of exposure to magnetic fields: The exposure time of household appliances is relatively short because magnetic fields are created when the appliance is in use. 35

39 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Transmission and distribution lines, though relatively low-emitters of magnetic fields, provide constant emission. The effects on long-term exposure are not well known. EMF data is not available for kv medium voltage lines. However, based on the data in the above table, the EMF created by the Project would be much lower than those recorded for 115 kv lines. These lines are commonly used in urban areas throughout the world with no confirmed health effects. Finally, no houses will be placed in the ROW, where the impact of EMF is highest'. For these reasons, the impact of EMF from the Project is considered to be not significant or no impact. * Impacts on Birds and Avian The height of the highest towers will be 12 metres for medium voltage lines. The potential for these impacts is not significant for the following reasons: - Impact on birds: Some of the Project communes are located near coastal zones. Vegetated area is quite good in condition. There may have some of migratory birds near the Project area. Some of fruit gardens can be homes of birds. The MV and LV go along the existing roads, so no serious touch into the home of birds (if there is any) will be happen. During operation phase the maintenance activities are carried out frequently once per six months, that is not very often. There are no known bird electrocutions/accidents on medium voltage lines recorded. This is because the local birds are small - not large enough to touch two lines to create an electric current. - Impact on aircraft: The highest towers created by the Project are only 12 m, well below the 50m height required for special safety lights and the new towers will be as high as the existing towers that have not posed any risk to aircraft. Therefore, impacts on birds and aircraffs are not expected. * Oil and Hazardous Waste Contamination The Project will use very minimal amounts of oil and no hazardous materials during operation phase. From early 1990s, PCBs were not allowed to use in Vietnam power sector. The most common situation when an impact can occur is when transforner oil is being refilled. To refill a transformer, a maintenance crew will remove it from the Project site and bring it to the Proponent's provincial branch office for refilling oil and/or changing oil. The branch office has designated oil collection and oil treatment facilities. This maintenance procedure occurs about every 2 years during operation phase. No other hazardous waste is expected to occur during Project operation. This impact is assessed as minor and mitigable. 'Allowable distance of houses from median of ROW is described Government Decree No 54/1999/ND-CP dated 08/07/1999 on Protection of High Voltage Networks. 36

40 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN This Environmental Management Plan has been drafted to satisfy World Bank Operational Policies on Environmental Asseessment (OP.4.01, January, 1999), which states: "Environmental Management Plan (EMP) consists of mitigation, monitoring and institutional measures to be taken during implementation and operation to eliminate adverse environmental and social impacts, offset them, or redutce them to acceptable levels " Mitigation Measures Mitigation Measure for Impacts during Pre-Construction Phase * Permanent and Temporary and Acquisition - Careful site survey, consult with local peoples for optimum route selection. - Avoid ecologically high value areas (forest, reserve area, wetland etc.). - Proper compensate the impacts. * Project Affected Households - Routes should be selected to minimize the need to relocate houses - Increase the span between towers, increase the tower height, use hanging substation etc. to minimize the impacts on PAHs. - Compensate for the impacts. * Impacts Associated with Clearing the ROW - Work with PAHs during clearance of ROWs to minimize impacts to surrounding trees and other constructions; - Not allow using any herbicides and defoliant to clear the trees within ROWs - Not allow buming the wooden residue after tree cutting. * Impacts on Historical and Cultural Heritage Even the Project's impacts on historical and cultural heritage are considered as No Impact. But during earth's excavation activities of the Project, if there is any historical and cultural heritage was found, construction workers should immediately stop the excavation and Contactor should report to PMU for further reporting to Provincial Department of Culture and Information for investigation and consideration Mitigation Measurefor Impacts during Construction Phase * Surface Water Contamination - Soil excavation is managed to carry out in the shortest period. - Construction material will be kept in the store with cover to protect from rain. 37

41 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Select a right place for concrete mixing. - Residue from earthwork should be removed from the site to proper places (soil residue can use for garden filling, concrete residues are removed by contractor to the permitted places). * Noise and Vibration - Use the construction machines that have noise level under permitted limits. - Carefully consider night work. No night work is permitted to canry out in populated and sensitive receptors like hospital, residential sites. * Soil Erosion - Excavate and earth-moving activities in erosion prone areas will be schedule in the dry seasons, after the harvest time and during the shortest duration of time. - Land surface recovery after the pole erection. * Air Pollution - Minimize the construction time in each site. Spray water regularly on dirt piles and any other areas that could create dust - Use wind fences in case of strong wind. - Minimize use of diesel generators. * Agricultural Production due to Temporary Acquisition of Productive Land - Carry out the construction work after harvest time. - Compensate for the loss of agricultural productivity - Retum the construction areas to the useful state after the work. * Traffic Disturbance and Damaging of the Road - Minimize the construction work (excavation, cable pulling) in traffic intensive sites. - Use waming signs in construction sites. - Cooperate with local authority for traffic arrangement. - Avoid high-traffic areas - Contractor needs to commit to not use vehicle with heavy load to enter the existing road. - Repair the road If there is any damage to the road by Project activities * Solid Waste Generated from Excavating Work for Pole Erection - Construction contractor need to commit to clean the site and disposal solid waste in the permitted places. 38

42 Rural Energy 2 Project- phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Environmental Impacts Caused by Construction Worker - Avoid impact in natural forest: 1) Not allow to use to fire in the forested areas, 2) Not allow to use tree and other products of forest for cooking purpose; 3) Prohibited workers from hunting, collecting and poaching any animals or vegetation species. - Minimize the impact of solid waste: Solid waste should be disposed of in a sanitary landfill. Solid waste disposal can be done by contract with local Environment and Hygiene services. - Provide portable or pit latrines to the worker' camps and in the construction sites. - Provide clean water and collect wastewater properly in the camping areas of workers. * Conflict Between Construction Worker and Local People - Hire as much as possible local citizens for the simple construction work to avoid the influx of migrants. - In cases where the worker camps are near the communes, the Employer could request that the Contractor provide accurate, timely and regular information about the construction team to the People's Committees in affected areas. With open communication and information, the People's Committee and Contractor will be able to make a joint inforned decision about the management of construction team accommodation. - Rectify the impact: The general conditions of Contract should state: after the Project finished, all camps will be completed removed and the campsites will be rectified to their original conditions. * Health and Safety - Minimize health and safety problems at the construction site: During the construction, workers' health will be protected in accordance with specific regulation on health and hygiene methods. Each independent work unit will appoint one medical staff with adequate competence to take care of the workers and treat diseases as malaria, typhoid fever, diarrhoea, and other transmitted disease Special transportation vehicles that should be checked before use in compliance with transportation security regulation must handle transport of long MV poles. Before starting works on foundations, it is necessary to coordinate with relevant agencies to identify and avoid damage on water pipes, postal cables or power cables during foundation and tower works, standard safety regulations should be strictly followed. As tower work is a manual process, any remaining sand and broken stones must be cleared so that there are no impacts on future cultivations. Facilities and equipment must be carefully checked in terms of quality and quantity before use. Construction leader needs to appoint a person responsible for security supervision. This person will check production equipment, labour protection facilities and remind every one for care. During the period of energizing the system after the completion of the project, the safety engineer of PC2 will ensure that every step prepared 39

43 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 for energizing the system strictly follows the technical and safety regulation in order to avoid electricity shocks for the workers and to ensure the safety of the whole system. - Minimise impacts of electrical hazards: The Contractor must contact the Provincial Power Company to make sure that the existing power system has been turned off during the period that they: 1) connect new transmission lines to the existing system; and 2) improve the existing system. Construction Workers must wear safety clothes and tools approved by the Employer. This includes safety shoes, safety hats, gloves, etc Mitigation Measure for Impacts during Operation Phase * Prevention of Habitat Fragmentation and Increase Access to Wild Land - Return unnecessary access roads to the previous state. - Cooperate with local Department of Forest to regular control the use of access roads by local people in the remote or forested areas. * Protection of Health and Safety - Minimize the Impact of Problems Created Through Health and Safety Issues Unrelated to Electric Shock This can be achieved by the following: - Regular and ongoing preventive maintenance and fault treatment for the transmission lines and substations. The Bentre Power Company of PC2 will undertake operation management of the MV line and substations. The provincial Joint Stock Power Company will manage and maintain the LV lines. - Regular and ongoing training on safety, basic techniques of the network operation and environment management should be provided to the operators. Only the successful trainees with training certificate can undertake the management and operation duty. - Regular and ongoing tree cutting/trimming to ensure no trees in ROW are higher than 4m. This work will be carried out manually to reduce impacts on the environrment. The use of herbicide for vegetation management will be prohibited. Local authorities, organizations and landowners shall supervise the tree cutting. - Surge arresters for over voltage wave protection. - Place automatic breaker on LV side for short circuit and over current protection. - Place lightning arrestor on appropriate equipment. - All the line passing the populated areas for this project have to be designed with the cable or insulated wires, so the accident by contacting with the bare conductors have been already minimized. - Minimize the Frequency and Severity of Fire Hazards This can be achieved by the following: 40

44 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December The substation is designed and equipped with fire detection and prevention according to Government regulations. - All workers will be trained for fire prevention and fighting. - There shall be regular monitoring for compliance with fire prevention regulations. - To eliminate the fire initiated by the short circuit; whole the system will be disconnected from the grids when faults occur. - Periodically check all the protection equipment, in house wiring, and connection. * Impact on Avian and Birds - Train construction workers and local peoples about the way to handle with any bird net meet during construction or ROW clearing. - Cable pulling and tree cutting should be done during daytime so birds (if there is any) can easily moved from dangerous sites. * Control of Oil and Hazardous Waste Contamination - Oil refilling of transformers should be done in the Workshop. - No PCBs will be used. - Use oil collectors during maintenance services for unexpected oil spills Monitoring Program The approach to environmental reporting will be to include a section called "Environmental Management Plan" into PC2's regular quarterly project report to EVN and WB. The Environmental Management Plan section will address: - Issues relating to the effectiveness of environmental mitigation measures being carried out and any required modifications" - Environmental monitoring results collected during the quarter; and - Issues to be addressed in the forthcoming quarter. The environmental information used to write this section of the quarterly reports will be based on the monitoring reports prepared by the safeguard independent monitoring consultant, the construction contractor, and the communes. Key details of these three information sources are provided below. * Safeguard Independent Monitoring Consultant (SIMC) SIMC will be hired by the Project owners to monitor the implementation of the EMP. The SIMC will report its environmental results every six months during the construction period. An example Terms of Reference for the SIMC during construction period is provided in the text box below. 41

45 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 EXAMPLE ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR SIMC The Safeguard Independent Monitoring Consultant will: * Visually Look at the Construction Sites and Make Notes Related to the Following Environmental Issues, but not Limited to - General clean up after construction works, - Excessive clear cutting of trees beyond ROW in communal or forest land, - Measures taken by the contractor for cleaning up woody residues after tree cutting - Status of access roads (have they been closed if in a protected area, are they still being used and to what extent, how are they being controlled/managed and by whom), Application of mitigation measures for or sign of soil erosion along T/L due to tree cutting and/or around tower foundation - Status of re-vegetation in the ROWs and tower foundation - Impacts on construction works (level of noise, dust, and damage to roads due to earthworks and transportation of building materials) - Status of construction worker camps and sanitation facilities for them - Proper distance between the houses and T/L, - Status of implementation of safety measures (signboards, restricted zone, fences, isolation etc.) Conduct Public Consultation to Assess the level of involvement by the local authorities in dealing with environmental issues (dust, noise, and damage to roads due to the transport of construction materials, tree cutting on public lands and protected areas). Identify any other environmental issues and record environmental complaints from the PAHs. Report on responses (if any) from appropriate local authorities on environmental complaints or non-compliance 42

46 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Provincee December 2003 * Construction Contractor The construction contractor will submit to PC2 monthly progress reports on the implementation of their site environmental management plan (SEMP). The SEMP report shall have the following contents: EXAMPLE ANNOTATED OUTLINE FOR MONTHLY SEMP REPORT Title Page Table of Contents Introduction - 1 paragraph to introduce the purpose of the report Update of Priority Issues Identified in the Last Reporting Period - List priority issues identified in last report - List progress made by Contractor in solving each issue - List any issues, which have not been adequately resolved, and provide recommendations on how to resolve those issues. If they cannot be resolved, explain why. Results of the Environmental Management Activities in this Reporting Period - Report on the mitigation measures that are identified in the SEMP. - Is each measure meeting its mitigation objective? If not, why not? Make sure explanation is clear and thorough. Conclusions for this Reporting Period - List all priority issues identified during this reporting period - Provide advice as to how and when the Contractor will resolve each issue. If the issue cannot be resolved, provide an explanation as to why it cannot be resolved. Appendices - Completed survey forms and maps relevant to the EMP. - Copies of any other communications between PMU, Contractor, PCs, etc regarding SEMP-related activities * Communes Each participating commune will submit monthly reports to PC2 during construction phase. If deemed necessary by WB, EVN, or MoNRE, the communes can also submit reports during pre-construction and operation periods. The commune-level reporting process needs to be simple, consistent between communes, and accountable. To achieve these needs, the process should have the following characteristics: - Data Sources: There are two kinds of data sources: 1) Regular monitoring of environmental impacts and effectiveness of mitigation measures and based largely on visual inspections by an authorized data collector (see below); and 2) Opportunistic monitoring based on complaints/comments from local community to Commune PC or other bodies. 43

47 Rural Energy 2 Project -phase la: Bentre Province December Data Collector: Commune People's Committee member or appointee in each Project commune (e.g. Women's Union, individuals with environmental interests). The data collector would be trained in environmental monitoring during the regional workshop. - Data Reporting Process: The monitoring form will be completed by the data collector every three months and submitted to PC 2. Data collector may provide additional information (photographs, letters, etc) as they see fit. An example data collection form is provided in the below text box, EXAMPLE COMMUNE-LEVEL DATA REPORT FORMAT Commune Name: Quoi Son District Name: Chau Thanh Reporting Period April 2004 Environmental Impacts: Impact I Mitigation Measure Commune Representative Community Comments Comments Project vehicles or activities No comment No comment increased ambient dust levels Project vehicles or activities Some noise near hospital, but Hospital staff complained increased ambient noise levels no noise other sensitive areas about construction noise to (schools, pagodas, etc). Peoples' Committee and Dept. ol Health. Project activities polluted local No comment No comments rivers or lakes Project cleared vegetation and No comment No comment this caused environmental impacts Project activities created impacts Visited location where farmers Some farmers complained on agricultural andl/or residential complained and saw piles of that piles of dirt are being left land dirt on their land on their paddy fields. Project activities impacted No comment No comment cultural property Project construction caused traffic No comment No comment impacts Project caused solid waste or Noticed garbage was left No comment liquid waste impacts around construction camp Project caused Social and health No comment Shopkeepers are happy to impacts of workers receive business from construction workers Accidents Two local workers were No comment injured when some equipment fell on them during excavation activity. Dust suppression measures No comment No cormment Erosion and sediment controls No comment No comment 44

48 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Siting of materials etc. to avoid exacerbation of flood effects, No comment No comment chemical pollution etc. Waste management practices No comment No commrent Project activities caused any Some birds nets has been No comment impact on birds, animals and rare destroyed during cable pulling flo ra Project vehicles damaged the Yes, I km pf intercommune's The vehicles were too heavy. roads road was heavily damaged. Need to change to smaller Need to be recovred before vehicles with less loads. rainny season Other No comment No comment Recommendations - Future construction near hospital should be limited to 07:00 to 11:00 and 14:00-17:00. During the time 11:00 to 14:00 is when hospital staff and patients resting, so they need quiet during this time. - More care should be taken to clean up construction camps - Contractor should make sure to keep piles of dirt in designated working areas - More safety equipment and training programmes should be given to construction workers to reduce accidents... especially for the local workers because they don't know much about worker safety Signature of Commune Representative: Nguyen 9Uinh Son Title of Commune Representative: Vice-Chainnan, cpeopfes' Committee Date: June 30,

49 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Table 5.1: Monitoring Plan During Construction and Operation Parameters How to Monitor Frequency Responsible bodies CONSTRUCTION PHASE I Surface water turbidity 1) Visual observation to assess whether the excavation and other monthly - Technical and other matters construction activities cause any pollution to the surface water, supervisor for related to soil erosion especially in term of making water to be more turbid. PMUs 2) The measures applied by Contractor to avoid the pollution of - Safeguard surface water in term of turbidity. independent 3) The measurement should be taken when there is some complaint monitoring from local people consultants 2 Noise level around 1) Assessment (observation) whether (i) the noise level is as above construction sites and unacceptable in the Project's residential areas (ii) The construction adjacent areas residential machines annoy local people. 2) The mitigation measures applied by the Contractor to avoid the noise impact 3) The measurement should be taken when there is some complaint from local people 3 Dust 1) Assessment (by visual observation) whether (i) the dust caused by as above construction is serious; (ii) the measures that Contractors are taken to control the dust level 2) The mitigation measures applied by the Contractor to avoid the dust level increasing in the area 3) The measurement should be taken when there is some complaint from local people 47

50 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Tree cutting and access 1) Assessment (by visual observation) whether (i) there is any as above road management and excessive clear cutting of trees beyond ROW in communal land control 2) Measures taken by Contractors for cleaning up woody residue after tree cutting. 5 Solid waste and site Assessment by visual observation whether: as above cleaning up after the 1) Construction residues are clean up after the construction construction 2) The way that Contractor disposes the solid wastes from construction. 6 Workers sanitation and Assessment by visual observation: as above safety facilities (1) Status of solid waste and waste water disposal in camping sites (2) Hygiene and safety issues in camping site (3) Check the agreement with communes people committee if the workers stay in homes of local peoples 7 Transportation Assessment by visual observation: as above disturbance (1) Whether the construction and other project's activities such as pole's erection, cable pulling cause any serious disturbance to the local traffic; (2) Necessary measures are taken to avoid the disturbance of traffic such as: warning sign for construction work, avoiding of heavy traffic hours,.. (refer to Mitigation measures for details) 8 Road degradation Assessment by visual observation as above (1) The transportation of materials and equipment causes any damage to the local road system and how is the level of damage (2) The vehicles used for Project is overloaded that potentially cause the damage to the existing road system? (3) The Contractor has taken any measure to repair the roads that were 48

51 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 damaged during transportation of Project's equipment and material. (4) There is any complaints from local peoples on the issue 9 Status of application of Assessment of safety issue during construction: as above safety measures - Personal safety equipment - Technical and safety regulation to avoid the electricity shocks, electrical hazards etc. 10 Construction material Assessment by visual observation: as above management (1) The management of construction material in the warehouses (2) The management of construction material in the construction site 11 Impact on wild life, Notice of Consultant on: natural resource and (1) There is any evidence that the Project's activities cause any induced impacts to disturbance to the wild life and natural resource (bird, reptiles, protected areas mammal, animals), to the precise trees. (2) Any hunting, trapping by construction workers in Project area. OPERATION PHASE (monitoring is carried out for the 1st year of operation) 12 Maintaining of ROW Assessment by visual observation (1) The tree cutting: whether the right trees or right parts of tree are cut. (2) The proper maintaining of distance from houses to the ROW 13 Impact on wild life and Notice of Consultant on: natural resource (1) There is any evidence that the Project cause any disturbance to the wild life (bird, reptiles, mammal etc.) and natural resource (water, melaleuca, mangrove forest etc.) 49

52 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Table 5.2: Cost Estimation for Environmental Monitoring No Item Amount (VND) Construction phase I Labour requirement: 5 man-months x 10,000,000 50,000,000 VND/month 2 Supporting cost (lump sum): accommodations, 40,000,000 transportation, sample collectors, writing report Operation phase 3 Labour requirement: lman-months x 10,000,000 10,000,000 VND/month 4 Supporting cost (lump sum) 10,000,000 Total 5.3. Capacity Building 110,000,000 Environmental management is a relatively new task for the power sector. Therefore, prior to project implementation, there should be training for staff that will participate in EMP. Management staff will be equipped with knowledge on mitigation measures for environmental impact and monitoring plan. * The Following Training has Been Conducted to Date: May 2002: Training Workshop on the environmental issues, conducted by international and national environmental specialists. The objectives of the training were: - Legal documents on environment protection - WB stipulations on safeguard policies - Responsibilities and rights of state functional bodies in environment management - Identification of typical impacts of power transmission line projects and mitigation measures August 2003: Hands-on learning-by doing training for improving environmental reports. Local and international consultants worked with PCs staffs to improve draft EIA and EMP reports. September 2003: Hands-on workshop for environmental assessment of transmission and distribution projects. International and national environmental specialists lead PC2 staff and other participants on a field trip to test new tools for environmental assessment, held group work activities on challenges and opportunities to improve environmental assessment, and held lectures on WB safeguard policies and GOV environmental requirements for the Distribution and Transmission Lines Project. ",\

53 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 * Future Training Includes the Following EVN training: Internal training course on how to monitor Sumps and how to report environmental results as part of quarterly and annual project reports. The training will also include the methods for corrective action plan if some of EMP activities do not go well. PC2 training: The following training will be provided for the staffs of local power service and partly for local peoples: - Safety training: Regular training on safety issues related to the distribution network maintenance; - Environmental management for the Project: Providing basic knowledge for staffs and local peoples about the environmental issues related to the protection and maintenance of distribution lines. - Monitoring and reporting of environmental management plan for stakeholders of the Project's communes: The training will give guidance to the local stakeholders about the participation of local peoples during implementation of EMP. The training will also include the methodology for site observation and monitoring check sheet filling. All of PC2 training will be carried out in the Project's districts or commune's level to save the time and enable local steakholders to attend as much as possible.

54 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Table 5.3: Cost Estimation for Future Capacity Building (VND) No Training Items Estimation Cost (VND) 1 EVN training Covered by EVN 2 PC2 training on Included in safety (regularly operation cost of carried out by provincial power provincial power services service) 3 PC2 training on Consultant's manpower 1/2 man-month 5,000,000 environmental requirement protection related to Perdiem for people x I days 4,000,000 distribution lines participants x 100,000 projects VND/day Other expenditures: lump-sum 2,000,000 classroom, stationery... 4 PC2 training on Consultant's manpower monitoring and requirement 1/2 man-month 5,000,000 reporting Perdiem for people x Idays 6,000,000 participants x 100,000 VND/day Other expenditures: classroom, stationery... lump-sum 2,000,000 Total 24,000, Cost Estimation for EMP Implementation Table 5.4: Estimated Costsfor Implementation of the EMP (VND) No Item Construction Operation (20 years of life cycle) 1 Mitigation measures The costs are covered in The cost is covered in production Contract with Construction cost of the provincial power Contractors service 2 Monitoring costs 3 man-month x 10,000,000= 1 man-month/yearx 10,000,000 30,000,000 x 20 years = 200,000,000 3 Capacity building 24,000,000 Total 54,000, ,000,000 This cost is covered in production cost of the provincial power service Grand total for whole project 254,000,000 VND

55 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Environmental Management Reporting Requirement Table 5.5: The Environmental Management Reporting Requirement TT Issues to be Reported l't Reporting Level 2n Reporting Level 3rd Reporting Level (a Copy Construction Phase should be sent to DONRE) 1 Implementation of By: the Contractor By: the related PMUs By: EVN, Province mitigation measures and Frequency: Monthly Frequency: Quarterly Frequency: Quarterly Site Environmental To: Related PMUs To: Related Project owner To: The WB Management - EVN - Province 2 Environmental By: Technical supervisors of the By: The related PMU By: EVN, Province monitoring PMUs Frequency: Quarterly Frequency: Quarterly Frequency: Monthly To:Related Project's Owners To: The WB To: Related PMUs By: Commune's People Committee Frequency: Monthly To: Related PMU By: SIMC Frequency: Half-yearly To: the WB, EVN (EVN, Province) Operation Phase 1 Environmental By: Technicianl of Provincial Power By: PCs (PC2) By: EVN monitoring including Service Frequency: Yearly Frequency: Yearly safety issues Frequency: Half-yearly To: EVN To: The WB To: Regional PCs (PC2) By: Technician of District Power Joint By: Ben Tre Province Stock Company (through DOI) Frequency: Half-yearly Frequency: Yearly To: Ca Mau Province (through DOI) To: The WB 53

56 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December Institutional Framework for Environmental Management Plan Table 5.6. Responsibilities of Related Partiesfor Implementation of EMP Party Electricity Vietnam (EVN) Ben Tre Provincial People Committee (Camau PPC) Responsibilities Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) is Project owner for MV component of RE 2 Project. Within its component, the EVN is responsible for Project management including overall environmental management. To carry out overall environment management, within EVN, there is an Environmental Management Department. The department is in charge of guiding and supervising implementation of the EMP for the project. Ben Tre Provincial People Committee is Project owner for LV component of RE 2 Project. Within its component the Provincial People Committee is responsible for Project management including overall environmental management. To carry put environmental management, there is a DONRE. DONRE is in charge of guiding and supervising implementation of the EMP for the Project. Futhermore, the PPC's responsibilities include: - The PPC's responsibilities include: - Guiding and monitoring environmental management planning and implementation within the province - Approving methods of environmental protection and impact mitigation including estimated costs after DoNRE appraisal - Reviewing documents on environmental activities within the province area - Provide guidance and coordination between sectors and departments in EMP implementation - Approving the unit price for the compensation Power Company No. 2 Power Company No.2 (PC2) is member organization of EVN and authorised to manage the distribution (PC2) network in Southern Region. PC2 is responsible for the project implementation, including implementation of RAP and EMP. 54

57 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Party Responsibilities Provincial Department of Provincial Department of Industry is an organization under Provincial People Industry Committee (DOI) and is responsible for management of industry's development of the Province. In RE 2 Project, DOI is authorised by the Province People Committee to manage the Low Voltage component including of implementation of RAP and EMP. District Power Joint Stock Company District Power Joint Stock Company is established by the Department of Industry of Provincial People Committee to take responsibility to implement the LV component of RE 2 Project. District Joint Stock Company is responsible for implementation of RAP and EMP of the Project for whole of its lifecycle. Project Management Unit Project Management Unit (PMU) of related Project owner is responsible for project (PMU) implementation. for RE Project PMU of responsibilities include: PC 2 (MV) and PMU of - Overall planning, management and monitoring of the environmental management Camnau Province (LV). - Ensuring that all environmental protection and mitigation measures of environmental impacts are carried out in accordance with policies, regulations on environment and other relevant laws. - Coordinating with provinces' people committees, provinces' power services and districts' people committee in environmental management activities. - Organizing training courses for local staff (provinces, districts), commune representatives and contractors' teams on mitigation measures and safety methods (professional experts on environment shall be involved). - Carrying out internal monitoring and supervising independent monitoring, which will be contracted with other consulting services of the project. - Supervising and providing budget for monitoring activities. - Reporting on environmental information to EVN, the concerned DONRE and the WB. - Implement changes or adjustments according to DONRE recommendations to protect the environment according to Vietnam's standards, laws, and regulations. 55

58 Rural Energy 2 Project - phase la: Bentre Province December 2003 Party Consultant Provincial Power Services (PPS) Civil Works Contractor Responsibilities The Consultant will be selected and managed by PC 2 to conduct several project tasks, including: - Preliminary survey and design - Preparation of feasibility study - Preparation of RAP and EA report - Preparation of some bidding documents - Carry out some EMP tasks, and assist PMU with environmental issues during construction Provincial Power Services (PPS) are provincial-level dependent utilities of PC2. PPS is responsible for EVN's business within each province. For the RE 2 Project, the PPS will be in charge of the supervision of the contractors during construction and will be in charge of the operation of the project. For the EMP, the PPS is directly in charge of the supervision of the implementation during the construction stage, and implementation of the EMP dunrng the operation stage. The Civil Works Contractor (Contractor) will be selected by PMU and approved by PC2. Their responsibility includes Project construction works and following contractor specifications outlined in the EA and EMP. This includes: - Applying construction-phase mitigation measures - Ensuring safety of construction workers and local people during construction - Following Vietnam and World Bank policies on environmental protection during construction Safeguard Independent Independent monitoring of the SEMP/RAP implementation will be engaged by PC2. The budget for the Monitor (SIMC) SIMC is part of the RAP monitoring budget. 56

59 .. eeemder 20f1 Party Responsibilities Department of Natural DONRE is responsible Resources for state management and Environment on environmental of this responsibility, issues within DONRE province's will territory. review the As EA part (DONRE) report If and an EIA determine is not whether required, an DONRE EIA report will is issue required. an Environmental implementation, Permit DONRE for will the project. act as external During regulator. EMP Its duties will include: - Monitoring the implementation of mitigation measures to minimize the project impacts in the construction and operation stage - Controlling and checking health of workers, operators and inhabitants - Managing and checking protection measures in relation to the Communes' impact caused by People's the project The CPC's responsibilities include: Committees (CPC) - Confirming impacts caused by the project in the commune - Monitoring environmental impact mitigation and protection process within the commune - Organizing meetings at commune level on environmental issues Project Affected PAHs will directly participate in the survey on PAH duties and entitlements. Through these surveys they Households (PAHs) will: 1) have the opportunity to express their requirements and concerns to the above institutions; and 2) have input to the method and units of compensation. After compensation is complete, PAHs are responsible for co-operating with Contractor to clear relevant sites in a timely manner. In order to ensure that PAHs are well informed on the project, local authorities will provide PAHs with basic knowledge on project-related activities, and the negative and positive impacts they can have on the natural/social environment. PAHs will be able to have a role in monitoring the environmental effects of the project and the environmental performance of the contractor. PAHs will also be consulted during the project in relation to relevant environmental issues. PAHs will be allowed to bring legal action to an appropriate court if the PAH considers its claim for participation or information is ignored, groundlessly refused, or if provided information by local authorities was inadequate. 57

60 Rural Energy 2 Project-phase la: Bentre Province December PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE 6.1. The Need and Benefits of Public Consultation and Disclosure The reasons for public consultation and disclosure in the Project are manifold and include: * GOV Requirements Project approval is contingent upon PAHs and local governments to agree: 1) on the scope of the Project, 2) to participate in the Project, and 3) to pay the connection and operating costs for the Project. It is expected that the proposed public consultation and disclosure process will improve channels of communication between stakeholders and thereby enable PAHs and local governments to support the Project. * WB Requirements According to OP 4.01, borrowers of Category B projects are to make available the Category B environmental review summary to PAHs and local NGOs. This needs to be done in a timely manner prior to consultation and in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to the groups being consulted. Category B projects are also required to make their environmental information available through World Bank Info Shop. In addition to satisfying the above requirements, the benefits of a public consultation and disclosure programme include: 1) reduced risk of misunderstanding/tension between stakeholders; 2) improved effectiveness of the environment management plan; and 3) improved social and economic benefits for Project beneficiaries; and 4) reduced risked of Project delays Public Consultation and Disclosure Activities during Pre-Construction During project preparation stage ( ), the following activities were carried out: Activity 1: Information and Discussion with Local Authorities on the Line Route During the field survey for the FS, the consultant discussed project line routes with commune authorities in order to find the best route with the minimum need for compensation and minimum negative impact on the environment. After the preliminary alignments were designed, the consultants sent alignment information to the communes for their further comments Activity 2: Impact Survey and Statistics Based on the agreed-upon alignment, survey teams detailed the alignment route on site and coordinated with the commune officials to make a list of PAHs' affected land and crops. The socio-economic survey forms were delivered to affected households. The District Compensation Committee, with the participation of the commune authority, carried out the survey Activity 3: Meetings with PAHs When the survey was completed, District Compensation Committee (in coordination with the commune officials) held meetings with PAHs having land in the line ROW and with village representatives. During the meetings, the Consultant presented numerous materials, including: Project Summary, draft RAP and draft EIA, maps of