CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Background Railway Agro-Mechanical Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. was operating a mobile stone crushing plant which is currently sited at a location called Roche Terre, in the district of Riviere Du Rempart. It has been working together with the contractors appointed by the Road Development Authority (RDA) as an acknowledged supplier of rock materials for the road construction projects. The stone crushing plant has been in operation for quite a long time until a stop order was served and pursuant to a complaint received from an inhabitant. The emanation of the stop order by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development which now refrains the promoter to carry out his stone crushing activity until an EIA has been submitted and a license issued in that context. Since 31 st December 2013, there has been a lease agreement between Railway Agro- Mechanical Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd and Roche Terre Mobile Stone Crusher Co. Limited. Railway Agro-Mechanical Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd has leased a plot of land to an extend of 6648 m 2 to Roche Terre Mobile Stone Crusher Co. Limited and it is the latter that will operate the Mobile Stone Crushing plant after the obtention of the EIA license and all permits. The report itself will essentially aim at regulating the mobile stone crushing plant, which has been in operation for quite some time. A copy of the stop order from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development is attached in ANNEX 1. 1

2 Figure 1: Site location 1.2 Aims and Objectives The project promoter aims at setting up a regulated mobile stone crushing plant in the region of Roche Terre to provide road construction materials and simultaneously solving the problem of uneven topography of the neighbourhood and rendering the land exploitable for the owners. The objectives of the present EIA are listed as follows: - To ensure that it is conducted within the promoter s environmental policy and stewardship. To ensure that the undertaking functions and operates within established regulatory framework To establish and understand the ecological baseline data related to the environment, health and social conditions that exist in the project area. To identify and assess the impacts of the undertaking and to describe the likely impacts it would have during the construction and operation phases. 2

3 To secure and engage relevant stakeholders participation, regarding the undertaking at its associated environmental, social and health aspects. To list down the actions required for an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). To prepare a list of critical items required for an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMoP) during the operation phase. The production of the road materials and spalls would be carried out in line with the following objectives: Offer good working environment to workers with consideration for health and safety hazards Observe good solid waste management practices so as to render the project economically and environmentally feasible Continuous maintenance and improvement measures in the production line Continuous monitoring of Environment parameters 1.3 Brief on project proponent A new company has been set up to operate the plant, Roche Terre Mobile Stone Crusher Co. Ltd. The project proponent is a locally incorporated company and would have a new administrative and management system to run the stone crushing plant. The proponent has a vast experience in the field of stone crushing and, he is now a well known supplier of aggregates and other raw materials for the road construction projects currently carried out by the development authorities of the country. Moreover, the proponent has been a key player in this domain and thus has contributed extensively in the improvement of the infrastructure in the island. Roche Terre Mobile Stone Crusher Co. Limited, the project proponent, is a locally incorporated company. The project promoter now intends to restart the operation of the mobile stone crushing plant at Roche Terre, in the district of Riviere du Rempart, after the obtention of the EIA license. The following documents are also attached in ANNEX 2 for ease of reference: (a) Business Registration Card of the proponent (b) Certificate of Incorporation 3

4 1.4 Justification of Project The project has all the ingredients necessary to make it a success. It is based on sound research in the housing and property development sectors, the tourism sector, the public infrastructure such as roads construction, government long term planning and private sector investments and it brings out an innovative approach while targeting a particular market i.e. the construction industry at large. The technology proposed is not the first of its kind and has proven track records worldwide and has been used in many projects in Mauritius. The objectives set out by the government in place are to provide Mauritius with an improved infrastructure especially in the construction of new roads and highways so as to enhance travel spaces. Government has earmarked and conducted many salient projects through the RDA in its National Decongestion Programme namely: - The Construction of the Verdun-Trianon Link Road The Terre Rouge-Verdun Link Road The Port Louis Ring Road The Phoenix Beaux Songes Road The Goodlands by-pass The Triolet by-pass The St. Pierre by-pass The Schoenfeld by-pass The widening of the M1 motorway Improvement works on the A7 Reduit-Flacq Road to mention a few. The RDA has caused many studies and detailed designs of some projects; namely the East Coast Trunk Road, The East West Connector, the Trou D Eau Douce by-pass, The Nouvelle France Souillac Link Road among others. These studies are potential road construction undertakings. In the recent budget speech Government has announced the construction of the Phoenix round-about, bridge at Soreze and Tunnel at Signal Mountain under a PPP programme. Other government bodies and agencies have also embarked on infrastructural projects for their housing and land parceling projects. This involves the construction of accesses, temporary and permanent roads. There are also many initiatives from the private sector in the form of IRS, RES and integrated housing projects. In addition to that there has been a substantial increase in the VRS projects accompanied by other morcellement projects to 4

5 finance the VRS. There is currently an ambitious infrastructure project initiated by the Airports of Mauritius Ltd with the proposed creation of a Freeport area around the airport zone. The Jin Fei industrial zone is yet another concrete example where construction materials would be utilized in significant amount. Therefore all the above-mentioned projects would require a substantial amount of construction materials in the form of aggregates and road bases. In that respect the stone crushing plant would be used in a justified manner in the production of construction materials. There are actually many stone crushing plants operating around the island and all these have their own production capacities. This mobile plant would provide enhanced materials output. The production plant is sited in a place that is abundant in surface basalt boulders and rocks that are appropriate for road construction and infrastructural projects. Though within a residential envelope, it has mineral site characteristics. The removal of the rocks is relatively easy and is achievable by normal excavators and hence no blasting is envisaged. As explained earlier surface boulders cover the locus in question and basalt outcrops. These rock outcrops have caused the region of Roche Terre to be rich in basalt materials that is much needed in the construction industry. The name Roche Terre is an indication on the type of terrain that one could encounter in the region. The occurrence of the outcrop is such that it has led to the formation of rocky hummocks and an uneven topography. The present topography is not suitable for agriculture or for residential projects. They need re-profiling in order to make them socially and economically viable. Landowners in the region cannot put the land to optimum use unless they remove these hummocks. This would be achieved with the mobile plant. The mobile plant is more apt in this physical environment as it can be moved from one place to another without difficulty. It is easy to set up and does not have a high electricity demand. It has the advantage to crush the stone into spalls. The size of spalls is in the range of 0-100mm. The breaking allows efficient transportation of the crushed stone materials. More loads can be transported to site or to other crushing plants using less truck movements. Other benefit is that the plant does not generate waste products. The crushing of stones is done in dry conditions and hence all rock materials brought to the plant is converted into spalls. The daily production of the stone crushing plant is about 500 T of spalls of size 0-100mm. 5

6 The stone crushing activity will also be a key player at national level in terms of providing construction materials and at the same time enhance fair and loyal competition among the competitors in that sector. This plant will have a positive social and economic bearing. It provides direct employment to workers for the operation of the plant, de-rocking of the soil and transportation of stones as well as spalls materials. It offers in-direct employment in the construction and other related industry. Compared to a fixed stone crushing activity the mobile plant has a low capital investment and a low operating cost. The only costs associated with the plant are: - power supply and insurance. These are guaranteed income to the heavy fuel suppliers and insurance brokers. The mobile plant has a low operation capacity in terms of daily output as compared to a fixed plant. The low output result is relatively low but manageable adverse impacts. It will last the time the mobile plant is put into use. The mobile plant does not require intensive works for its installation. Similarly when not required on a particular site it does not require extensive de-commissioning and storage of equipment as it is the case for a fix plant unit. The mobile plant can be moved away from a site once operation on it is over Environment Impact Assessment Stone Crushing Plant development is a scheduled undertaking in accordance with subsection 52 of the First Schedule Part B Regulation 3 section 15(2) of the Environment Protection (Amendment of Schedule) Regulations Moreover, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development has implicitly informed the proponent that an EIA has to be prepared and submitted to the concerned Ministry. The project promoter has commissioned Messrs. VYYAASS Consulting Engineer Ltd to prepare and submit an EIA to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. The report has been prepared according to the guidelines set by Department of Environment on EIA s and portrays an assessment that encompasses the evaluation of the environmental impacts and the proposed mitigating measures to be implemented. 6