Environment Impact Assessment for Highways
EIA- Highways
Damage to eco-systems Soil erosion Interference with wild-life Loss of agricultural land Resettlement of people Disruption of local economic activities
Highway Projects : Categories
A Category
New National highways & Expansion of National Highways greater than 30 km, involving additional right of way greater than 20m involving land acquisition and passing through more than one state
B Category
All state highway projects, State highway expansion projects in hilly terrain or ecologically sensitive areas
General Condition
Any project or activity specified in Category B will be treated as category A, if located in whole or in part within 10 km from the boundary of: (i) Protected area notified under the Wildlife Act, 1972. (ii) Critically polluted areas as notified by the Central Pollution Control Board
ECP- Stages
Screening Scoping Public Consultation Appraisal
Category -A
Category -B
Generic Structure of EIA Document 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Introduction Project Description Analysis of Alternatives (Technology and Site) Description of the Environment Anticipated Environmental Impact & Mitigation Measures 6. Environmental Monitoring Program 7. Additional Studies 8. Project Benefits 9. Environmental Cost Benefit Analysis 10. Environmental Management Plan 11. Summary & Conclusion 12. Disclosure of Consultants engaged
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
GENERAL
Project coverage, master plan, phasing and scope Relevance of the project in the light of the existing development plans of the region /state /nation Description of all alternative alignments considered avoiding the ethnic minorities living in the proposed right-of-way Procedures and criteria adopted for selection of the alignment of right of way, alternative alignments considered, if any, details of land acquisition involved, rehabilitation of villages/ communities if any, proposed methods there of etc., Overall suitability of the identified alignment and the proposed activity in the light of the existing environmental acts and serious deviations.
BROADER DETAILS OF PROJECT & LOCATION
Description of the alignment, broad geology, topography, connectivity, demographic aspects, socio, cultural and economic aspects, villages, settlements Details of environmentally sensitive places, land acquisition, rehabilitation of communities/ villages and present status
Historical data such as climatic conditions, rainfall, history of cyclones, earthquakes
Technologies involved for design and construction
NATURAL RESOURCES REQUIREMENT
3. Analysis of Alternatives Consideration of Alternatives:
Types of Alternatives
Alternative solution to the transportation problem
Alternative Design for the selected project
The four characteristics are:
Spatial requirements Natural resources consumption Human resource benefits and costs and Waste production during the construction and operation/maintenance periods
These details shall comprise of: Description of various alternatives
Description of each alternative Summary of adverse and positive impact of each alternative Selection of the alternative which is the best with respect to use of resources and adverse environmental impact
[Link] of the environment Environmental components in relation to the highway projects: (a) land (b) water (c) air and meteorological (d) Biological (e) noise (f) solid waste management (g) Socio economic and health environment.
Study Area: Primary Data: The area falling the right way as well as falling within 500 meters on either side of right of the way.
Secondary Data: Within 15 km aerial distance.
Land Environment:
Areas protected under international conventions, national or local
legislation for their ecological, landscape, cultural or other related value
Areas which are important or sensitive for ecological reasons.
Areas used by protected, flora or fauna.
Inland, coastal, marine or underground waters State, national boundaries
Routes or facilities used by the public for access to recreation
or other tourist, pilgrim areas
Defense installations
Densely populated or built-up area
Areas occupied by sensitive man-made land uses. Areas containing important, high quality or scarce resources. Areas already subjected to pollution or environmental damage. Areas susceptible to natural hazard, which could cause the project to present environmental problems.
The details of demographic profile should be collated.
Data of the proposed land and its availability is to be ascertained from local authorities, revenue records etc.
Description of the existing situation of the land.
Details of the alignment passing through CRZ area. Identification of major and minor irrigation tanks, with in 2 kms on the upstream side of alignment. The details of identified quarries and borrow areas should be given as per the tables:
Geology
Soil Data
Water Environment
Air Environment Metrological Data Ambient Air Data
Noise Environment
Biological Environment: Details on secondary data on the existing flora and fauna in the study area. The list of endangered and endemic species should be given as:
If the proposed project site involves any breeding or nesting ground. If the proposed route requires cutting of trees. Location of national parks, sanctuary, and biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant reserve and wildlife migratory routes with in aerial distance of 10 km either side of proposed alignment should be furnished
Socio Economic and Health Environment:
Baseline data in the study area particularly on human
settlements, health status of the communities, existing
infrastructure facilities should
be collected through secondary
sources. Present employment,
livelihood and awareness of the
population about the project should be collected.
Analysis of Potential Environmental Impact & Mitigation measures
Environmental Impact
Environmental Impact should be considered not only pertaining to the road Right of Way but also to the sites associated with the road project . Environmental Impact should consider:
1) Land Environment
2) Water Environment 3) Air Environment 4) Noise Environment 5) Biological Environment 6) Socio-economic and Health Environment 7) Solid Waste Management
Land Environment
Anticipated impact: Highway projects require large quantum of land and causes disturbance to the existing land usage Impact due to removal of top soil during highway construction and from storing stockyards, workers camp etc Impact due to destabilization of slopes Impact due to diversion of natural surface water flows Impact due to construction of bridges across nallahs, streams, rivers and water bodies Mitigation measures: a) While selecting road alignment , attention must be paid to avoid areas prone to land slides, soil erosion, fertile agricultural lands etc b) Drainage improvements to avoid water logging and flooding due to disturbance of natural drainage pattern
Water Environment
Anticipated impact: Road construction activities that intersect drainage basins, generally modify the natural flow of water which may increase the speed of flow resulting in flooding and soil erosion. Impact due to spillages and accidents of the vehicles carrying chemicals should be assessed especially if drinking water bodies are located within 500 meters Impact on water facilities such as wells, hand pumps, tube wells etc along the highway should be assessed Impact due to wastewater generated from the temporary project offices Mitigation measures: a) Labour camps should not be located near to water bodies b) In dry areas road drainage can be designed to retain water in small dams or maintain a high water table, which increases the availability of water
Air Environment
Anticipated impact: Impact due to dust generation from excavation of soil, cutting of embankment near to habitation, hospitals, schools, sanctuaries etc Impact due to movement of heavy vehicles carrying construction materials Impact due to stone quarrying Impact due to wastewater generated from the temporary project offices Impact due to dust generation from material handling, storage, operation of crushers and hot mix plants, movement of construction vehicles Impact due to vehicular emissions from vehicles used for construction Mitigation measures: a) Selecting road alignment,which avoids passing close to houses, schools etc b) Planting tall leafy vegetation between roads and human settlement
Noise Environment
Anticipated impact: Impact of noise during construction activity during operation of equipments Impact of noise on wildlife from crossing road corridors and becoming the highway corridor a barrier to regular wild life travel routes. Prediction of noise levels should be done using mathematical modelling Impact of vibrations during blasting activity Mitigation measures: a) Provision for stationary machines and equipment with acoustic enclosures and silencers during the construction stage b) Planting tall leafy and dense vegetation between roads and noise sensitive areas
Biological Environment
Anticipated impact: Impact on forest resources, economically important plants including medicinal plants and threat to endangered species Impact on wildlife habitat and biodiversity due to change in land use Impact due to fragmentation of wildlife habitat and territories Impact due to changes in water quality, soil profile, noise, light and air pollution, which may affect the nature and character of habitats Increased chances of animals encountering collision with vehicles Mitigation measures: a) Identification of sensitive natural environments in the early planning stage so that alternative routes can be examined b) Compensate the loss of forest coverage by appropriate plantation programme
Socio-economic and Health Environment
Anticipated impact: Displacement of human settlement from proposed sites. Impact on livelihood and loss of properties Impact on community resources such as grazing land religious places and panchayat meeting place etc Impact due to accelerated urbanization Employment opportunities and access to other amenities such as primary education and health care facilities for local people Mitigation measures: a) Rehabilitation plan for displaces persons b) Training of local people for employing them in the proposed project c) Mechanism for providing effective guidance in financial planning to affected people
Solid Waste Management
Anticipated impact: Waste generated during construction may impact soil, agriculture ans water quality Waste generated from worker camps may impact surface and ground water quality and agriculture Impact due to oil spillage/leakage from machines and vehicles Mitigation measures: a) Road design and alignment should be finalized to minimize waste generation through balancing of cut and fill operations and minimizing excess cuts requiring disposal b) Suitable top soil management
Chapter 7 of Manual
Apart from the TOR, the other issues which proponent wants to highlight are attached in the report through this chapter. The EIA report and EMP should therefore address such issues also. In such cases the proponent shall include such issues as additional studies under TOR and pursue them in the EIAstudy after the regulatory authority approves TOR. Even Regulator , stake holders, can highlight project specific issues through this chapter. R & R Action Plans R&R plan with data on the existing socio-economic status of the population in the study area and broad plan for resettlement of the displaced population Road Safety Management System
Chapter 8 and 9 of Manual
This chapter shall include benefits accruing to the locality, neighborhood, region and nation as a whole. It should bring out details of benefits such as: Improvements in the physical infrastructure and road access Improvement in social services by quicker and safe transport mode Development of tourism in specific areas Reduced pollution, vehicle maintenance, fuel saving due to better quality of roads Over all development in economy and improved life style
Continued
Chapter 9 ENVIRONMENTAL COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) It is a technique that compares the monetary value of benefits with the monetary value of costs in order to evaluate and prioritize issues. The effect of time (i.e. the time it takes for the benefits of a change to repay its costs) is taken into consideration by calculating a payback period. In its simple form, CBA uses only financial costs and financial benefits (e.g. a simple CBA of a road scheme would measure the cost of building the road, and subtract this from the economic benefit of improving transport links).
Chapter 10 of Manual ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN
An EMP is a site-specific plan developed to ensure that all necessary measures are identified and implemented in order to protect the environment and comply with environmental legislation. A site-specific EMP must be prepared for all projects. It provides the answers to the following important questions: What are the likely environmental issues for your site? What likely harm these issues can cause to the surrounding environment? How will you manage these issues to minimize harm to the environment?
Chapter 11 of Manual SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary of EIA shall be a summary of the full EIA report condensed to ten A-4 size pages at the maximum. It should necessarily cover in brief the following chapters of the full EIA report. Introduction Project description Description of the environment Anticipated environmental impact & mitigation measures Additional studies Project benefits Important Aspects of the Environmental Management Plan and Important Aspects of the Environmental Monitoring Programme Disclosure of consultants engaged
THANK YOU