34754 The People's Republicof China World BankLoanJiangxiNo. 3 Highway Project (Ruijin to GanzhouExpressway) EnvironmentalAssessment Summary JiangxiProvincialExpresswaysAdministration World BankLoanProject Office Nov. 2005 Contents 1Introduction...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project Background ........................ .................................................. 1.2 Basis of the EA........ 2 2 Project Description........................................................................................................... . . .................................................................................................................. 3 3 Baseline Environment...................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Sensitive Receptors............ ............................................. .................................................... ..................................... 5 .................................... 8 3.6 Soil Erosion............................................. 3.7 Cultural Property............ ...................................................... 3.8 Socio-economic Baseline .... 4 Environmental Impacts.................................................................................................. 10 4.1 Soil Erosion...... ..................................................... 4.2 Impact on land uses and vegetation ................ ................................................. 10 4.3 Impacts on Water Environment............ 4.4 Noise Impacts............... ................................................... ..................................................... 4.7 Resettlement and Relocation ............................. ........................................... 13 4.8 Safeguards Policies Assurance........................ ................................................................. 13 5 Analysis of Alternatives ................................................................................................. 14 6 Mitigation....................................................................................................................... 20 ............................................................ ............................ 22 6.3 OperationPhase............................................. 7 Environmental Management Plan.................................................................................. 25 7.1 Objectives.............................. ................................. 7.2 Management and Supervisi 7.3 Environmental Monitoring ............................................... ............................... 25 7.4 Institutional Strengthening and Training ..................................... ..................................... 27 7.5 Estimated Cost for Environmental Management........... .................................................... 27 8 Public Consultation and Information Disclosure........................................................... 29 9 Conclusions.................................................................................................................... 30 Environmental Assessment Summary 1Introduction This document is the Executive Summary of Environmental Assessment (EA) for the World Bank financed Ruijin to Ganzhou expressway. I t provides a general summary o f the findings in the Project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP), including legal and policy framework and applicable environmental standards, major potential adverse impacts to the physical and socio- economic environments in the Project area, analysis o f alternatives, mitigation measures designed, public consultation programs, and environmental management plan for the Project. The Executive Summary could serve as a concise environmental report to environmental administrators, Project decision makes, project-affected groups, non- government organizations and the general public, as well as to the executive board o f directors o f the World Bank. 1.1Project Background The proposed project is a section of national key project the Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway in Jiangxi territory, it is a part o f the 4th horizontal highway in Jiangxi Province's key road network "three verticals and four horizontals". The proposed Ruijin- Ganzhou section of Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway is approximately 120 kilometers long, starting from Yunshishan in Ruijin City where it links with the destination o f Ailing (Jiangxi and Fujian border)-Ruijin Highway o f Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway. After passing by Huichang, Yudu, Ganxian, it ends at Zhanggong District o f Ganzhou City where it links with the origin (Huangjin interchange) o f Ganzhou west highway o f the Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway. Entrusted by Jiangxi Provincial Communications Department, the Jiangxi Provincial Transportation Design Institute completed ((Feasibility Study Report for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) in People's Republic o f China) .InDec o f 2004, entrusted by Jiangxi Provincial Transportation Design Institute, the Ministry o f Communications Highway Research Institute undertook the environmental impact assessment for this project. Under great assistance from Jiangxi Provincial Transportation Design Institute and local governments along the route, the assessment unit has carried out field reconnaissance and investigation along he line on Dec 2004, based on which, has compiled the ((Environmental Impact Assessment TOR for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) inPeople's Republic o f China)) for this project. In April 2005, Ganzhou Prefectural Environmental Monitoring Station was entrusted to carry out the current environmental monitor along the project. On May 2005, on the basis o f the (Feasibility Study Report)) (first revision) for this project, the assessment unit completed the ((Environmental Impact Assessment Report for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) in People's Republic o f China) (first version). On late September o f 2005, based on the mid-term findings o f preliminary design for this project, the assessment unit completed ((Environmental Impact Assessment Report for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) in People's Republic o f China) (second version). On October 2005, based on the adjustments in the preliminary design documents and World Bank mission's opinion on this report, we have revised and compiled the third version o f the (Environmental Impact Assessment Report for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) inPeople's Republic o f China)) (Thirdversion). On November 2005, based on the adjustments o f alignment and World Bank mission's 1 EnvironmentalAssessment Summary opinion on this report, we have revised and compiled the third version o f the ((Environmental Impact Assessment Report for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) inPeople's Republic of China)) (Fourth version). The Ruijing-Ganzhou expressway i s classified as a Category A project since it involves major expressway construction on new alignment, grade highway upgrading partially on new alignment, increased noise, motor vehicle air emission, occupation o f fertile and barren land, community severance, soil erosion and resettlement. 1.2Basis of the EA The regulatory and policy requirements for environmental assessment o f development projects in China were followed during the preparation of EA, as were the World Bank's safeguard policies. Major laws and regulations applied to the EA are as follows: Laws o f Environmental Protection o f the P.R. China o f December 1989; Environmental Impact Assessment Law o f P.R. China of October 2002; Law o f Water and Soil Conservation o f June 1996; Law o f Air Pollution Control of August 2000; Law o f Water PollutionControl o f May 1996; Law of EnvironmentalNoise Pollution Control o f October 1996; Circulation on Strengthening EIA for Construction Projects Receiving International Financing o f June 1993; a Technical Specifications for Environmental Impact Assessment, (five volume series from 1993 to 1997). O f the ten World Bank safeguard policies, Environmental Assessment (OP/BP/GP4.01), Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP4.12), and Cultural Property (OP4.11) are applied in the EA first through screening and, where triggered, included in the fill assessment. Since there are no Project components that would involve international waterways, dams or construction in disputed areas as defined under the World Bank's OP7.60, safeguard policies related to these subjects are not applied in the EA. Relevant international environmental agreements in which China is a signing party have also been included where applicable as a basis for the EA. 2 Environmental Assessment Summaw 2 Project Description The Project is located in the south o f Jiangxi province in eastern China (Map 1). This project runs through Ruijin City, Huichang County, Yudu County, Ganxian County, Zhanggong District, Ganzhou City, all subordinate in Ganzhou City. Ganzhou City is located in the upstream Ganjiang River and in the south Jiangxi Province, it is situated between east longitude 113'54' - 116"38' and north latitude 24'29'-27"09', which is 295km long from north to south and 219km wide from east to west. I t neighbors Fujian Province in the east, adjoins Guangdong Province in the south, meets Hunan Province in the west, and connects Ji'an and Fuzhou o f this province in the north. The expressway willbe constructed completely on new alignment. Key specifications of the components are summarized inTable 2-1. The construction of the expressway is scheduled to commence inJuly 2006 and complete inJun 2009.. Environmental Assessment Summary 3 BaselineEnvironment 3.1 PhysicalSetting The route is mainly situated at the low hilly and rolling area in the south central Jiangxi Province, where the landform belongs to the corroded mid/low hilly and rolling sub-area in south Jiangxi Province and the topography (relief) is generally low ineast and high in west with the mountain bodies mostly ina northeast-southwest direction. The project district lies in the south edge o f middle subtropical zone belonging to subtropical hilly moist monsoon climate. Monsoon is prevalent in summer and winter; rainfall is centered in spring and summer with clear distinction between the four seasons, mild climate, sufficient heat, plentiful rainfall, short extreme weather and long non-frost period. Ganzhou City's average evaporation capacity for many years is 1554.8mm, 50.6mm less than annual average rainfall. Along the proposed highway, Ruijin City's annual evaporation capacity is smaller than 1400 mm, other areas' evaporation capacities are 1400 -1700mm. Ina year the evaporation capacity is relatively small from November to March, all smaller than l O O m m each month; from April to October, the evaporation capacity o f each month is above 1l O m m , and can reach 234.3mm in July, the largest in a whole year. The wind direction in the project region is mainly north wind or northerly wind, the period from October to March next year is winter wind time, from June to September is summer wind time; the winter wind i s mostly north wind or northerly wind, while the summer wind is mostly southerly wind. The annual average wind speed is 1.8ds, the average wind speed difference is not big in each month within a year, usually among 1.6-2.Ods. The average wind speed in four seasons is 2 . 0 d s in winter, 1.7ds in summer, the average wind speed in spring and autumn is all 1. 8 d s . 3.2 SensitiveReceptors Along the expressway alignment, a total o f 58 villages, 7 schools and 2 sanatoriums are identifiedthrough field investigation as sensitive or otherwise vulnerable to changes in the environment which surrounds them, such as construction activities, air pollution, increased noise, construction dust, etc. These sensitive receptors are located about 30 to 200m from expressway central line to the nearest points in these sensitive receptors. In addition, the expressway will also cross 3 rivers. The sensitive receptors are the focus o f the monitoring program for the baseline environmental conditions as well as the environmental impact assessment. They are also the key areas for impact mitigation measures designed to protect or otherwise minimize the adverse impacts at these sensitive locations. 3.3Air Quality Existing ambient air quality was monitored during the EA to determine the baseline conditions. The monitoring was conducted near 2 selected representative sensitive receptors, with five consecutive day continued measurements each time. The representative result o f the monitoring is presented inTable 3-1. 4 Environmental Assessment Summary Statistics index K79+900-K80 The above results show that NOz and TSP concentrations were below the applicable standard (Class I1in the Air Quality Standards). The results indicate fairly good existing ambient air quality at the Project areas. 3.4 Noise Existing noise levels in 28 sensitive locations along the expressway area were measured. The results are presented in Table 3-2, Table3-3. :3-2 ExistingNoiseLevelat SelectedLocationsalongProjectAkgnrnenfl y 2005) l e LeqdB(A)I Current condition Mainnoise source Aozixia Satisfyingclass 2 acoustic K38+700- quality standard Life (Day:60,Night:50) Satisfyingclass 4 acoustic quality standard (Day:70,Night:55) Traffic quality standard 3 Life Life Traffic and Life 5 Environmental Assessment Summary Mainnoise source Traffic and life Traffic and life Satisfyingclass 1 acoustic quality standard Natural (Day:SS,Night:45) Dakengkou Satisfyingclass 1 acoustic K122+800- quality standard Life K123+200 (Day:SS,Night:4S) Wansong primary Satisfyingclass 2 acoustic school quality standard Life K122+800- (Day:60,Night:SO) K123+200 Luobian, Zhaipai Satisfyingclass 1 acoustic K136+700- quality standard Life K136+900 (Day:SS,Night:45) First time 46.3 Yanfenggang Day Second time 43.5 Satisfyingclass 1 acoustic 12 K146+100- quality standard Life and K146+200 traffic Night 41.6 Second time Firsttime 39.6 (Day:SS,Night:4S) Environmental Assessment Summary - Main No Monitoring site name Monitored noise value LeqdB(A) Current condition noise source Satisfying class 2 acoustic quality standard Life (Day:60,Night:50) Life Traffic Satisfyingclass 1 acoustic quality standard Life (Day:SS,Night:45) Life Life Traffic and life Satisfying class 1 acoustic quality standard Life quality standard Life (Day:60,Night:50) Life Life I t can be seen that the acoustic environment inthe corridor along the proposed highway is mainly subject to life noise and traffic noise in existing roads (national roads and village roads). The acoustic environmental quality in common villages can meet class 2 criteria o f (Ambient Noise Standard inUrban Area)) (60dB in daytime and 50dB at nighttime), some villages with better enviroenemtn can meet class Icriteria(55dB in daytime and 45dB at nighttime). The acoustic environmental quality in schools and sanatoriums can meet class I1criteria of (Ambient Noise Standard in Urban Area)) (60dB indaytime and Environmental Assessment Summary 50dB at nighttime). Except Yanba primary school, all other schools can not meet class 1 criteria(55dB indaytime and 45dB at nighttime). 3.5 Water Quality The monitored results o fcurrent water quality see Table 3-3. The assessment results indicate that: the three water quality indicators, namely the pH value, hypermanganate index and petroleum in the 6 monitoring cross-sections, all meet relevant water quality functional zoning requirement; the monitoredresults o f suspended substance in Gongjiang River and Ganjiang River can satisfy class I1standard o f SL63- 94 (Surface Water Resource Quality Standard)) , the monitored results o f suspended substance in Xijiang River, Shangxi River and Dongfeng reservoir cannot satisfy class I1 standard o f SL63-94 (Surface Water Resource Quality Standard)) . 3.6 SoilErosion 8 Environmental Assessment Summary According to national soil erosion zoning, the project area is located in the red earth (loam) erosion terrain in South China with its major soil erosion form being hydraulic (water power) erosion and the allowable soil erosion modulus in the project construction area is 500t/km2.a. The soil erosion in the project area is mainly distributed in earth borrow pits, waste banks, embankments, cutting slopes, management and service areas, and lands for temporary uses. The soil erosion in cutting slopes formed by earth excavation, in heaping slopes formed by waste earth piling, and in embankments and cutting slopes are mainly gully erosion followed by surface erosion as well as some gravity erosion(such as slumping and landslide) inpartial areas; the soil erosion in cutting stage formed by earth excavation, in heaping stages formed by waste earth piling and in management and service areas, in denuded surface grounds formed by construction ground levelingare mainly dominatedby surface erosion. According to remote sensing investigation o f soil erosion andby field survey, the existing soil erosion size within this project's construction area i s 290.87hm2 accounting for 29.2% in the total project construction area (996.23hm'). O f which: the slightly eroded size is 102.67hm' accounting for 35.3% in the total eroded size, the moderately eroded size i s 100.32hm2 accounting for 34.5% in the total eroded size, the intensely eroded size i s 62.17hm' accounting for 21.4% in the total eroded size, the very intensely eroded size is 20.18hm2accounting for 6.9% in the total eroded size, and the violently eroded size i s 5.53hm2 accounting for 1.9% in the total eroded size. The average soil erosion modulus inthe project construction area is 1639tkm' with annual average soil erosion quantity of 16325t. 3.7 CulturalProperty A survey by professional archeology, cultural relics institutes and local cultural relics specialists was conducted in May 2005 and again in October 2005, covering the expressway line, borrow pits and spoil soil disposal sites. The survey included walk- through o f the entire alignment, visual observation and limited sub-surface investigation through drilling andor sampling. 3.8 Socio-economic Baseline The total population crossed and serviced by the expressway is approximately 8.31 million and the total serviced area is 3.94X 104km2.The major citieshrban centers along the expressway include Ruijin City, Huichang County, Yudu County, Ganxian County, Zhanggong District, and Ganzhou City, although the expressway will not go through the any o f these urban areas directly. The expressway will affect directly 58 villages and townships, 7 schools, 2 sanatoriums, 3 major rivers and many more small rivers, creeks, irrigation channels, and fish/water ponds, because o f their proximity to the expressway alignment. 9 Environmental Assessment Summary 4 EnvironmentalImpacts 4.1 Soil Erosion Soil erosion will occur during the Project construction phase when surface vegetation and soil are damaged. The primary area o f potentially increased soil erosion includes deep cuts, high fills, earth borrow pits, construction waste/excessive earth disposal sites, temporary construction sites, treatment o f special geological conditions and other areas where surface soil will be disturbed. According to the modeling result, the soil erosion intensity will reach 1706 t/km2a during construction and for the whole construction period the total soil lost will be 2.70 million t, which is 2.3 million t higher than the current level o f soil erosion over the same number o f years if there were no project. The increased soil erosion will also occur in the early o f the operation phase in areas where vegetation planting i s applied for rehabilitation o f disturbed soil. Soil erosion for rural road construction is also expected to increase. During the early stage o f the operation phase, the soil erosion will be still higher than the current level because the soil erosion measures such as landscaping will take time to be effective. It is expected that about 3 three years after project operation, the soil erosion will reach about 80-00% or reduce to the levels before the land disturbance, when newly planted vegetation will mature. Some o f soil control measures, such as concrete sloping, however, will reach its 100%effectiveness immediately after it is completed. 4.2 Impact on land uses and vegetation The Project will permanently occupy 12535.42 mu (15 mu to a hectare) o f land including 55.07% o f forest lands, and31.39% o f cultivated lands. The construction, borrow pits and disposal sites for the connecting roads and rural roads components will occupy more land, permanently or temporarily, but as the rural road is upgrading o f an existing road, the permanent occupation o f additional landwill be minimum. The vegetation, including crops, trees and other vegetation on the occupied farmland and woodland will be lost to the Project. However, compared with the total cultivated land in the Project areas, that occupied by the Project and thus the impacts to agriculture is relatively small. Except in the expressway pavement area itself, impacts on vegetation in other portion o f the expressway areas will be short termed as the slopes, central separation media, open space o f the interchange areas, borrow pits, disposal sites and other temporary occupied areas will be landscaped and rehabilitated with lawns, trees bushes and other vegetation. In fact, it is expected, these landscape programs will result inanet increase invegetation coverage rate inareas along the expressway. 4.3 Impactson WaterEnvironment Construction Phase Impacts on the water environment during the construction phase include primarily discharge o f sanitary sewage from the expected 16 construction camps and bridge construction activities. Each construction camp, with an estimated 50 to 100 workers, will generate about 3.2 to 4.6 t o f sanitary sewage per day which, if not treated properly, would affect the water quality o f the receiving environment. In addition, municipal solid 10 EnvironmentalAssessment Summary waste generated from the camps, if not handled properly could also affect water quality through contaminated surface runoff. Bridge construction could result in suspension o f river sediments. The construction machines operating in or near the river could also be a risk for oil contamination from potential leaks or spills, affecting river quality particularly during the spawning season o f April to June each year. The area affectedwill generally be a short distance downstream from the bridge construction sites. Operation Phase Wastewater sources from the operation phase will include sanitary sewage from service stations and parking lots, car washing effluents and pavement runoffo f the first flush ina rainfall event. The wastewater from point sources will be treated to the applicable standards before discharge so the impacts will be limited. The surface runoff is very small compared with the receiving river flows and as such the impact is expected to be insignificant, based on modeling result. The transportation o f hazardous materials could pose a risk o f water contamination from traffic accidents occurring near the rivers which involve vehicles and water vessels loaded hazardous materials and result in major spills. Based on the frequencies o f occurrence o f such severe accidents, the prediction results indicate that there exist a very small probability o f water contamination from this source. Ifthey do happen, catastrophic consequence may result to water quality, aquatic life and eco-system, health and safety o f the people living downstream from the accident locations. In order to prevent river- crossing bridge section from occurring leakage accident o f hazardous articles resulting in water pollution, the 12 bridges crossing rivers and reservoirs o f this project are required to have guardrails strengthened and reinforced, and the bridge floor runoff shall be collected and dealt with so that they will not enter into water bodies directly. 4.4 Noise Impacts Construction Phase Construction noise will be primarily from construction machinery. Based on the noise intensity and compounded effect o f simultaneous operation o f multiple machines, an noise attenuation model predicts that at 55 m from construction machines, the noise levels will be reduced to below the applicable day time noise standards. It will take about 250 m for the noise to meet the standards at night. There are only very small o f residents who live within 55 m from the construction sites so the impacts will be very limited. There are, however, a large number o f people within the 250 m area from the construction sites. There would be a significant noise impacts if construction machines operate at night. In addition, residents living on both sides o f access roads will be impacted by the higher noise levels from increased traffic o f construction transportation vehicles. Oueration Phase Noise levels for the 58 villages, 7 schools and 2 sanatoriums which are located near the proposed expressway are predicted for the years 2009, 2015 and 2023. The results show that 62 sensitive locations have noise excess o f different degrees. Among the sensitive locations with noise excess, 27 sensitive locations are excessive in noise at night during Environmental Assessment Summary long-term operation stage. The excess statistics are: noise excess by 0.8-21.6dB in daytime, noise excessby2.4-22.6dB at night than the current situations. 4.5 Air Impact Construction Phase Airborne dust will be a primary air contaminant during the construction phase. The sources o f the dust will be unpaved access roads, Disposal areas, materials storage areas and transportation. The factors affected dust airborne will include climate conditions and type o f construction activities. The impact area can be 150 m from the source o f dust. Another source o f air emission i s asphalt and concrete mixing stations. The impacted area can be up to 300 m leeward from the source. Operation Phase Usingan air dispersion model and motor vehicle emission model, it is predicted that NO1 concentrations are expected not to exceed the standards under the normal weather conditions but exceed the standardsunder the unfavorable weather conditions. It can be seen from the forecasting results that this project's impact on ambient air quality is slight. There are a total o f 67 sensitive locations along the route, analyses and predicting indicate that when the sensitive locations are in leeward wind direction during the long-term operation stage, standard exceeding may probably occur in 3 sensitive locations. 4.6 Socio-economic Impact Communitv Severance Because the expressway will be filly fenced with limited access, it will separate farmland and rural communities from one another in both sides o f the expressway. In total, 67 villages will be affected for access to farmland, services, schools, markets, and/or other parts o f the communities. Cultural Relics According to the findings o f the (Cultural Relics Assessment Report for World Bank Loan Jiangxi Road Project No. 3 (Ruijin-Ganzhou Highway) in People's Republic o f China) prepared by Jiangxi Provincial Archaeological Institute on Oct 2005, each route scheme, interchange, linking-up road, earth borrow pit and waste bank for the Ruijin- Ganzhou Highway are all located outside o f the protection scope and construction control scope o f city, provincial and national relics protection units, thus the highway will not threaten their safety, complying with the stipulations and requirements o f (People's Republic o f China on Relics Protection)) . Health and Safety Health risks are primarily related to increased transit population during construction (construction workers) and operation (visitors) in the regions. The increased mobile 12 Environmental Assessment Summatv population could potentially bring and spread infectious diseases in the Project area. The in-hygiene and un-healthy life style o f the workers could spread diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS to local residents as well as among themselves. The safety risk is primarily in the constructionphase with the local residents, particularly children who have little awareness o f construction site safety in a linear construction sites with virtually no access control along the expressway alignment. The explosion operation for deep cut and materials borrowing and the resulting flying stones, as well as explosive handling, will be among the most dangerous activities on the construction sites which pose risks to residents. Tourism The proposed expressway will greatly improve the accessibility to the Project areas includinglocal tourist attractions and as a result, more visitors are expected to visit local parks and conservation areas, such as the Tongtianyan (located 1.5 km away from the expressway). The increased tourists and motor vehicle traffic will bring higher loads to the environment and eco-system in the park, including air emission, sewage, and solid waste generation. 4.7 Resettlement and Relocation The resettlement and relocation o f the proposed expressway will occupy permanently 12535.42 mu o f land, affect 5 counties, 18 townships, 66 villages. The total directly affected families who either lost land, houses or both will be 1541 with 7705 people. The Project will also occupy yards, walls, tombs, trees, irrigation systems, country roads and utilities within the expressway area. The impacts will also include mis-management o f land and house compensation funds, unsatisfactory with land re-assignment and insufficient compensation for house replacement. However, in general, the new houses following the relocation are expected to be better and bigger than the houses they replace with using the resettlement and relocation compensation funds, representing an improvement o fhousing conditions and the standards of living. The total cost o f resettlement and relocation, including compensation to all affected, is estimated to be RMB216.63 million. 4.8 Safeguards Policies Assurance The EA team conducted a screening for ten safeguard policies o f the World Bank and, when triggered by the Project conditions, full assessment, The safeguard policies which are incorporated in the EA include Environmental Assessment (OP4.0 l),Cultural Property (OP4.11) and Involuntary Resettlement (OP4.12). Those safeguards which have gone through the initial screening but found not warrant a full assessment include Natural Habitat (OP4.04), Pest Management (OP4.09), Indigenous Peoples (4.20) and Forest (OP4.36). There remainder safeguards are not applicable because the Project does not have any components involved these safeguards issues. These include Safety o f Dam (OP4.37), InternationalWaterways (OP7.50) and Disputed Areas (OP 7.60). 13 Environmental Assessment Summaly 5 Analysis of Alternatives The determination o f route scheme for this project has undergone the scheme comparison and optimization in three stages namely the (Feasibility Study) (Sept. 2004), the (Feasibility Study ) (May ZOOS), the ( Preliminary Design )) (Sept. 2005), the (Preliminary Design)) (Oct. 2005), he procedures for route scheme selection and optimization are shown inFig.5-1, The analysis o f alternatives and determination o f expressway alignment include the following process: first, two transportation corridors between Ruijin and Ganzhou, the ultimate destination o f this expressway, were identified and compared and the one with the least environmental impacts was selected. Then on the preferred alignment, fine modifications were introduced inseveral sections to compare with the original alignment inthe attempt to further avoid andminimize potential adverse impacts ofthe expressway. The expressway alignment is determined based on these four steps in analysis and comparison o f different alternatives. 14 - I I I p i io Environmental Assessment Summary Route corridors The two corridor alternatives analyzed at the first stage are (see Table5-1 for details): Name of scheme Length (km) Major controllingpoints Yunshishan ofRuiiin; ShanshupaiandBai'e of Huichang; I IHuangjininterchangeofZhan,qongDistrict(destination) Yunshishan ofRuijin; Xijiang andXiaomi of Huichang; North linescheme 119.539 Huanglin, Zishan andLirenof Yudu; Luo'ao of Ganxian; HuangjininterchangeofZhanggongDistrict(destination) Gaolongdong,Xiewupai, Xiaba, Shangba, Yangwu and comparison Jiangkou SchemeI 14,0,9 Shangyingo fJiangkouo f GanxianCounty section in SchemeI1 Aobei, Jiangkou town, Laohukeng, Yangwu and Shangying of north line(recommended) scheme Jiangkouof GanxianCounty South line scheme is selected based on fewer times of overpassing Gongjiang River, national road 323 and Gan-Long Railway, the road functional distribution in the region i s more reasonable,andthe route alignment is complyingwith local government's opinion. Route alternative ali.gnments(Mav 2005) Within the preferred corridor, two comparison sections have put forward, namely Yudu comparison section with its scope from the origin to Jiangkou o f Ganxian County. Yudu comparison section sets up three alignments: north line(scheme I), middle line(scheme 11), and southern line(scheme 111). The route in Ganxian Jiangkou section is subject to many factors such as Jiangkou town planning, Gongjiang River, and the railroad, it sets up the Jiangkou comparison section to carry out partial alignment comparison(see Table5-2 for details). Table5 2 Settingupofrouteschemesduringthe (Feasibility Study) stage(proposalofMay2005) Name of scheme Length ICm) Major controllingpoints Yunshishanof Ruijin; Xijiang andXiaomi of Scheme I 90.251 Huichang;Huanglin, Zishan, Liren, Luo'ao and Xiashanbei of Yudu; Maodianof Ganxian Yudu Yunshishan of Ruijin; ShanshupaiandBai'e of comparison SchemeI1 91.200 Huichang;Hefeng, Liren, Luo'ao andXiashanbeiof section (recommended) Yudu; Maodianof Ganxian Yunshishan of Ruijin; ShanshupaiandBai'e o f SchemeI11 91.125 Huichang;Hefeng,Licun, LuojiangandXiashannan of Yudu; Maodianof Ganxian Xiashanof Yudu, ShangbaandXiaba ofJiangkouin Jiangkou Scheme I 19.711 Ganxianwhere the GongjiangRiver is overcrossed comparison (recommended) twice, Yangwu section SchemeI1 I Xiashan of Yudu, Jiaokeng, Tianziyin andYangwu of 20S98 I JiangkouinGanxian Scheme11 o f Yudu comparison section is selected based on the least land occupation and least resettlement, which inturn would have smaller amounts o f disturbance and impacts to the natural and socio-economic environments. Furthermore, the route alignment has Environmental Assessment Summaw given dual attention to local government's opinion, greater impetus to local resources development and economical development. Scheme I o f Jiangkou comparison section i s selected based on the least land occupation and least resettlement. Furthermore, the scheme has small impact on alignment from G323 and Gan-Long railroad. Route alternative alignments(Se~t.2005-Nov.2005) In the Preliminary design documents in Sept of 2005, optimization and comparison among alternative schemes were conducted inaccordance with the landform, topography, urban planning, road network layout, engineering construction conditions, and mileage in this region, and in accordance with the findings o f field reconnaissance and the solicited opinions from transportation, railroad, and water conservation departments as well as local governments. The whole route has set up: Yuyang-Hefeng comparison section (K53+3 16.870-K74+178.98 l),Daduan comparison section(K53+3 16.870-K60+854.987), Yudu tunnel comparison section (K81+204.569-K89+267.5 12), Sanmen comparison section (K102+275- K109+198.327), and Gongjiang River comparison section (K81+204.569 -K121+932.334), a total o f five comparison sections for partial route alternative schemes(see Table5-3 for details). Table 5-3 Listofalternativeroutescheme setting-upduringpreliminarydesign(Sept 2005) Route alternative scheme O D stake No Route length Scheme selection Scheme I K53+316.87- K75+050.890 21.734km Yuyang-Hefeng comparison section Scheme I1 K53+316.87- K73+719.454 20.403km Scheme 111 K53+316.87-K74+178.981 20.862km Recommended Daduan comparison SchemeI K53+3 16.870-K60+854.987 7.538km Recommended section Scheme I1 K53+3 16.870-K60+564.947 7.248km Yudu tunnel Scheme I K81+197.553-K89+702.93 1 8.375km II comparison Section Scheme I1 K81+204.569-K89+267.512 8.063km Recommended Sanmen comparison Scheme I K102+275-K109+198.327 I I 6.923km Recommended section Scheme I1 1 K102+275-K107+171.490 1 6.896km 1 Gongjiang River Scheme I K81+204.569-K121+932.334 I 40.292km Recommended comparison section Scheme 11 IK81+204.569-K120+987.740 II 39.783km II After comparison and justification, scheme I11 o f Yuyang-Hefeng comparison section, scheme I1 o f Yudu tunnel comparison section and scheme Io f Gongjiang River comparison section are selected as the recommended schemes, which have the least environmental impacts. In the preliminary design documents of October 2005, the route schemes of Daduan comparison section and Sanmen comparison section are further compared and justified, and the Jingkeng comparison section (scheme Iand scheme 11) was newly added in section K83+455.138 - K93+226.5 for comparison and justification(see Table54 for details). Route alternative scheme O D stake No Route length Scheme selection Daduan comparison 1 Scheme I K53+3 16.870-K60+854.987 7.538km Environmental Assessment Summary Route alternative scheme Route length Scheme OD stakeNo selection I section IScheme11 I KS3+316.87O-K60+564.947 I 7.248km IRecommended I Jingkeng Scheme I K85+445.138-K93+226.5 7.771km Recommended comparison section Scheme I1 K85+455.138--K94+136.205 8.246km Sanmen comparison SchemeI K102+275-K109+198.327 6.923km Recommended section Scheme I1 K102+27S-K107+171.490 6.896km K31-K34 section route scheme: According to the preliminary design document for this project (November 2005), the alignment scheme o f the route passing Yunshishan floodplain i s to build a 16-hole Jiubao river bridge with span o f 20m and length o f 327m to overpass the Jiubao River, and the other road section in the floodplain i s filled subgrade. The route passes the floodplain mainly in the form o f subgrade which divides the floodplain into two zones, that is, the upstream zone and downstream zone o f the proposed bridge site. When flood comes, because o f the subgrade, the flood discharge will become difficult and the flood level will increase which will inevitably enlarge the size o f flooding area. According to the current route scheme and the calculation and analysis o f Jiangxi Provincial Transportation Design Institute, after construction o f the Jiubao river bridge, under flood o f one-hundred-year recurrence, the flood inundated area upstream the bridge site will be increased by 0.034km2, involving 6 households and 28 people to be influenced. For these households, compensation measures shall be made. And Jiangxi Provincial Transportation Institute has planned to increase the length o f Jiubao river bridge to 407m in the next design stage. K116-K123 section route realignment: Because there i s a contradiction between the K116-K123 section location and the proposed Ganzhou Power Plant, the preliminary design in November 2005 has adjusted the road route, the current route location lies in about 200m-700m from the north o f the original route location. The route scheme o f avoiding power plant after route realignment i s 178m more in length than the original route scheme, involving slightly less subgrade earth and stone works but more removal surface areas o f buildings than the original scheme, and involving 8 more households to be influenced than the original scheme; the acoustic sensitive locations for the two schemes are both 2 with similar acoustic environment; the route scheme o f avoiding power plant does not overpass the Yangtang reservoir thus reducing its impact on the reservoir. Overall, there i s no big difference on environmental impact for the two schemes. Scheme I11o f Yuyang-Hefeng comparison section is selected based on that the project's key element, Zhonggong tunnel, is shortest in mileage with small difficulty in construction andscheme I11involves least numbero f acoustic sensitive locations. Scheme I1 o f Yudutunnel comparison section is selected based on occupying smaller lands, especially farmlands. Scheme Io f Gongjiang comparison section i s selected for has smaller impact on river course and water environment. Scheme I I o f Sanmen comparison section i s selected based on that it has good landform conditions, does not involve large fill and cut, its subgrade earth and stone volumes are small, destruction on ecological environment i s small and the engineering cost is low. But inanother word, its building removal volume is much larger than scheme Iand it needs large scale o f Environmental Assessment Summaw resettlement. so comparied with scheme I, scheme I1 has it's advantages and disadvantages interms o f environmentprotection, there is no significant prevalence betweenscheme Iand scheme 11. Scheme Iof Jingkeng comparison section is selected based on that it has shorter route length, shorter linking road length and fewer bridges, but scheme I and scheme I1 do not differ very much in environmental protection. It can be seen from the comparison results o f each alternative scheme that the route design has fully considered many factors so as to reduce land occupation (especially farmland), to protect ecological environment, to avoid sensitive locations, and to solicit local government and people's opinion, the recommended route scheme i s relatively reasonable. Further comparison and analysis o f them in terms of environmental protection indicate that the recommended route scheme is basically the most optimal scheme, so it is recommended. 19 Environmental Assessment Summaw 6 Mitigation For the adverse environmental impacts o f the Project, the EA has developed a series o f measures to avoid, minimize, mitigate or otherwise compensate the adverse impact from the project. These mitigation measures are summarized below: 6.1Design Phase Soil Erosion To control soil erosion, permanent engineering works such as concrete and stone pavement on deep slopes and other cut and fills areas are included in the design completely stabilize the soil surface. Other works include interception ditches and landscaping. The borrow pits will be rehabilitated through conversion all borrow pits into ponds or landscaping following completion of earth borrowing operation. For the excessive construction waste disposal site, retaining walls, settling ponds, and drainage systems will be built. The stockpiles o f the waste will be finally covered with soil and landscaped. A number o f measures to minimize noise have been incorporated into the design for sensitive receptors at which the noise level is predicted to exceed the applicable standards. These measures, and the proposed are implemented during short-term, mid-term and long-term o f operation stage according to the excess o f each sensitive location. See Table 6-1for details. MitigationMeasures ImplementationPlaces Estimatedcost (RMB X 10,000) Noise barrier 30 1975 Soundproofingwindow 22 517.5 Noisereductiongreenbelt 6 80 F r o m the predicted results, some sensitive locations exceed standard during the mid-term or long-term operation stage. So increased noise monitoring will be implemented to ensure the actual noise levels after expressway operation comply with the predictions. Mitigation measures will be taken if the monitored data show noise levels exceed the standards. To minimize the impact on water quality, the 12 service areas, parking lots, maintenance divisions and tollgate stations along the route shall be installed with small sewage disposal facilities according to their functions, number o f employees and mobile population so as to discharge the sewage up to standard and ensure that the water quality o f treated sewage can meet class I criteria o f GB8978-1996 (Sewage Comprehensive Discharge Standard)) . Environmental Assessment Summaw Inorder to prevent vehicles, especially hazardous articles vehicle from out o fcontrol and falling into rivers and reservoirs along the route causing water pollution, the 12 bridges(see Table 6-1)crossing water bodies are required to have their guardrails strengthened and reinforced. 8 GanjiangRiversuper- largebridge GanjiangRiver K135+491 1337 9 Dongfengreservoir bridge Dongfengreservoir K511710 807 10 Jiulingreservoir bridge Jiulingreservoir K66+735 307 11 Maqimianviaduct Maqimianreservoir K85+593 367 12 Niugutangreservoir viaduct Niugutangreservoir K115+680 127 Inorder to prevent water pollutionon rivers andreservoirs incase of occurring hazardous articles vehicle accident, the 12 bridges(see Table 6-1)crossing water bodies are required to set up facilities for collecting bridge floor runoff (setting up sedimenting tanks at the two ends of bridge) so to prevent the runoff entering directly into water bodies. The capacity o f drainage pipe and sedimenting tank shall be designed according to the runoff volume produced from one rainfall's slicing( 15 minutes)with the raining strength being the largest rainfall in 5 years inthat region plus 50%. Community Severance This project's intersection with existing rural road is solved by setting up 49 grade separations; its intersection with tractor roads and pedestrian overpasses is solved by setting up 203 passageways. Setting up 49 grade separations can guarantee all the rural roads intersected with this project unimpeded and setting up 203 passageways can meet the need o f inhabitants for normal movement. The route designing unit has aligned the route in harmony with tractor roads so to facilitate the inhabitant's normal movement and agricultural production. Cultural Relics 21 Environmental AssessmentSummarv I t is to entrust Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Bureau and Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Institute to carry out cultural relic reconnaissance along the route and to submit cultural relic investigation report. For details see the cultural relic investigation report o f this project. Resettlement and Relocation All relocated residents will be properly compensated and received training for new employment. Special consideration will be given to the elderly, illiterate and farmers in terms o f compensation. For people whose sources o f well water will be disrupted by the construction by the construction o f tunnels, additional water wells and other water supply sources will be developed. 6.2 ConstructionPhase Temporary Land OccuDation The construction workspace will be minimized to reduce the impact o f land occupation. Areas which must be occupied will be re-vegetated after the completion o f construction. Workers will be educated to protect trees and other vegetation as much as possible during construction. Temporary settling ponds will be built where necessary. To minimize soil erosion on disturbed soil, temporary protection measures such as grass mats will be applied in places where permanent protection works cannot be complete in time for the draining season: Construction Noise Large and noisy construction activities will be kept away from populated areas (150 m minimum). Operation of loud construction machinery and major construction activities will strictly restricted to the day time. Temporary noise barriers will be constructed to protect the sensitive receptors such as schools from the impact o f construction noise. Construction traffic will be directed to avoid sensitive locations and completely banned at night time. To minimize adverse impacts to surface water during construction, cofferdam techniques will be used in bridge column construction with complete isolation o f work areas. River crossing construction activities will be scheduled to the extent possible during the low flow periods. The discharge from construction camps will be a potential source water contamination. To mitigate the potential impact, no sewage from construction camps will be allowed to discharge without treatment. The sewage will be either held at the site and empties to treatment facilities regularly or through on site treatment such as septic tank to meet the irrigation discharge standards. Unpaved access road and construction sites will be water prayed twice a day (once in the morning and once in the afternoon), or more on dry and windy days to suppress airborne dust. The hog mills and concrete mixing stations and other point sources o f air emissions will be located leeward far enough from sensitive receptors (300 m minimum). The best 22 Environmental Assessment Summary efforts will be given to minimize the number o f the hog plants and thus the impacted areas in both expressway and rural roads. Trucks loaded with soil and other dusty materials, as well as materials stockpiles will be covered with canvas. Construction Camps Construction camps will be appropriately located to minimize the disturbance to the surrounding communities. Solid and liquid waste will be stored with proper protection and removed from the sites regularly with qualified vendors for disposal. The camps will be maintained in sanitary, hygiene, orderly and good housekeeping conditions to minimize the health hazards to the workers and adverse impacts to the surrounding environment. Worker will be educated for hygiene and healthy lifestyle at the construction sites to control infectious diseases and protect the workers and the local communities. Warning signs, public education, necessary barriers, etc. will be provided to protect public safety at the construction sites, especially during explosion operations. Cultural Relics The construction unit will strengthen publicity on historical relic protection, protective measures shall be made available to underground historical relic being found during construction, which shall be traced and monitored. During construction, if unexplored underground historical relics are found, then construction shall stop immediately, supervising engineer shall protect the site, local historical relic department shall be notified to deal with. Contractor Management Experience with previous World Bank financed expressway project in Jiangxi province has indicated that high awareness and full participation o f contractors in environmental management at construction are critically important to ensure environmental performance. Environmental protection will start from pre-qualification o f contractors when environmental awareness and management systems will be an evaluation criterion. The environmental mitigation measures, management and monitoring plans will be incorporated into bid documents to ensure there will be sufficient funding for these activities and the environmental management will be contractual obligations to the contractors. Finally, short course training will be provided to all winning contractors and construction supervision on environmental policies and regulations, potential impacts, mitigation measures, daily monitoring and reporting, and emergency handling. 6.3 OperationPhase No new school, hospital or other sensitive facilities will be allowed to buildwithin 310m from the central line o f the expressway to prevent noise impacts to these facilities in the future. Traffic management will be enforced and motor vehicles will not be allowed for speedy which generate excessive noise as well as safety concerns. Air emission 23 Environmental Assessment Summary Motor vehicle air emissions control requires integrated approach from numerous government agencies as well as private sector stakeholders. The province will enforce applicable standards for motor vehicles and fuels and implement the motor vehicle inspection programs to minimize the air emissions from the increased motor vehicle traffic on the expressway. TransDortation o fhazardous materials Jiangxi province will set up a leading group to handle transportation o f hazardous materials and emergency response in an event o f a traffic accident involving trucks located with hazardous materials, particularly in sensitive locations such as bridges or other places near surface water bodies. Licensing and permitting procedures will be strictly enforced to control the traffic involving hazardous materials on provincial expressway, connecting road and ruralroads network. Monitoring Extensive environmental monitoring programs will be implemented during both construction and operation phases to ensure that adverse environmental impacts are as projected during the EA and the mitigation measures proposed will be implemented and effective. In adequate mitigation or new adverse impacts emerged beyond the EA prediction will be detected by the monitoring programs promptly and appropriate new actions will be taken to address them. Environmental Assessment Summary 7 EnvironmentalManagementPlan An environmental management plan (EMP) has been developed in a separate and stand alone document. The EMP includes policies basis and applicable environmental standards, environmental management system, mitigation measures and monitoring plans for both the construction and operation phases. 7.1 Objectives The EMP provides a framework for the implementation of mitigation measures and environmental management and monitoring during the Project implementation. As such, it represents the commitment o f Project proponent as well as the governments o f the Project area for environmental protection, pollution control and impact minimization. More specifically, the EMP is to: 0 Set out the legal and policy framework as well as applicable environmental standards with which the Project will be compliance; Identify and design with sufficient details and specifics o f mitigation measures for adverse impacts o f the Project; Specify institutional roles and responsibilities for mitigation measures implementation and environmental management during Project; 0 Outlines the requirements for environmental monitoring and reporting needs; Provides a stand alone document which may be used during Project implementation for Project supervision. 7.2Managementand Supervision Organizations There will be two layers o f organizations who will be responsible for environmental performance o f the Project. The first is environmental management organizations including the Environmental Office o f the Ministry o f Communications, the JPCD, the Project Management Office (PMO) which is the Project proponent, the expressway company to be established which will be responsible for the expressway operation and various technical groups for environmental monitoring and design. The other group is the environmental supervisory organizations which include SEPA and Environmental Protection Bureaus o f different levels o f government inthe Project region. 7.3 EnvironmentalMonitoring The EMP also includes environmental monitoring programs for both construction and operation phases. The parameters to be monitored include relocation and resettlement, soil erosion, noise, dust, degradation o f water quality, stream sedimentation, and solid waste disposal. During the construction phase, environmental monitoring will be conducted in two approaches: daily and routine monitoring consisting o f mainly visual observations and limited equipment measurements such as hand-hold noise meters; and periodic monitoring by professionals using standard methods recognized by regulatory authorities. Monitoring reports will be compiled at intervals o f once every three to four months, summarizing the findings o f the monitoring. The reports will be submitted to project proponent as well as relevant agencies and the World Bank. During the operation phase, noise levels will be monitored once a month for the first six months and once every six months thereafter. Soil erosion will be monitored once every six months, while air and water quality will be monitored once a year. The specific monitoringprograms for air, noise and water are summarized inTable 7-1. 25 G f5 .-32 4 n s Environmental Assessment Summary 7.4Institutional Strengtheningand Training To ensure the environmental performance o f the Project, the EMP emphasizes the institutional building and strengthening. Besides an organizational structure involving various management and supervision organizations for environmental decision making, monitoring, reporting and further mitigation planning and implementation, the EMP includes detailed programs for personnel training. The programs involve training aboard and domestically for professional, managerial and technical personnel from the governments, project proponent and operation units, environmental institutions and contractors and construction supervisions. The environmental training for contractors and construction supervisions will be held prior to the commencement o f construction. The objective is to ensure that each contractor and construction supervision unit will have staff on site full time for environmental monitoring on a daily basis. The training will cover the basic knowledge o f environmental protection and pollution control, the result of EIA and requirements o f EMP, methodology o f site environmental management and monitoring, and reporting requirements. The training for JPCD, PMO, the expressway company, and environmental institutions will cover environmental management, regulatory framework, applicable environmental standards and their implications to the Project, mitigation planning, environmental decision making and pollution control technologies. Some of this training will be carried out overseas. 7.5 Estimated Costfor Environmental Management The cost for environmental management and mitigation measures have been estimated and included inthe Project budget. The estimated cost is summarized inTable 7-4. Table 7-4 I immary of Estim Environmental Amount protection Measure description measures Planning cost for side slopes, Planting and Planting in 12 I I Iseparators Ad vegetation earth borrow pits, 36places 100,000 yuan 360 interchanges i s restoration 24 waste banks included into the total project cost Acoustic 1 I Soundbarrier environmental 7900 linear 2500 yuan/ 1975 protection for meters linear meters sensitive location Sound- Acoustic proofing environmental houseboldiil72.5(338 yuadeach 3000 517.5 window protection for sensitive location windows window Planting Acoustic noise- environmental reduction protection for greenbelt sensitive location Environmental Assessment Summary Environmental Amount No protection Measure description Quantity Unit cost (10,000 Remarks measures yuan) Constructioncampsite will set up septic tank, protection and garbage pit to clear 300,000 Preliminarily 3 and deliver the 16bid sections yuan/ bid 480 calculatedat garbage; labor section 16bid section construction protection for workers stage andwater sprinkling I 4 I treatment I servicearea,parking Monitoring Complete the cost includes 6 G323 and monitoring monitoringplanning environmental construction detour roads I iEnvironmentali See environmental 1 7 protection 1 I protectiontraining training planning Careful Driving(yellow), 8 Sign board HazardousCargo SueedLimithedhd 423.986 I I Not including those already As listed in``Wuter incorporated conservation ConservationPlan" 2675'85 into the main project lo Water I I I investment 11I Total 7399.696 Environmental Assessment Summary 8 PublicConsultationandInformationDisclosure Two rounds o f public consultation have been carried out during the EA: the first round in March-April of 2005, and the second round in September 2005. Various methods have been used inpublic consultation, including public opinion surveys through questionnaires, public meetings at villages and with local people's representatives, and interviews with affected groups and individuals. The people consulted includedmainly those who will be affected directly by the project. Relevant government and non-government organizations and experts on various environmental and socio-economic issues have also be consulted. Among people surveyed, the vast majority o f the people (84%).felt the expressway necessary and wish to see the construction start as soon as possible. O f the environmental concerns, 56% of people surveyed cited noise and 53% concerned about dust during construction. Most o f the affected people (66.5%) suggested to adopt highway planting to mitigate the adverse impacts, moreover, about 41.5% suggested to adopt "sound-proofing wall" to reducetraffic noise. The main public concerns include appropriate compensation for land acquisition and resettlement and relocation, timely rehabilitation or restoration o f damaged irrigation systems, construction safety, noise at schools, better access to and exits from the expressway, and sufficient passageways across the expressway. The EA team has responded the public concerns including setting up land acquisition and resettlement offices under JPCD to develop, supervise and implement resettlement action plan (RAP), developing plans for irrigation system restoration, conducting public education and erecting warning signs for construction safety, constructing sufficient passageways and crossings with provisions for pedestrians and farm vehicles to mitigate community severance impacts, install fences at the sensitive sections o f the rural road to provide safety protection to students, residents and livestock, install noise insulation windows and tree planting to minimize the impacts o f noise from the expressway and connecting roads, and provide full consideration to local economy and transportation needs such as appropriately locating access rampdinterchanges, employment opportunities during construction, etc. In compliance with EIA process requirements of Chinese government and the World Bank, the completed draft EIA and EMP reports as well as part o f the public consultation records were distributed in public places along the expressway, such as libraries, book centers, etc. The Concerned public can have the access to and review o f the reports at these places. In addition, the Project information and availability o f the reports will be advertised in newspaper. The EA team plans to disclose the final EA reports in public places to the general public inNovember 2005. Environmental Assessment Summary 9 Conclusions The Ruijin to Ganzhou expressway will play an important role in alleviating transportation bottleneck between Ruijin and Ganzhou, promoting regional economic development, improving access to market and services, and the standard o f living, and assisting inpoverty alleviation. The construction and operation of the expressway will result in a number o f adverse impacts to the physical and socio-economic environment in the Project regions. These impacts include permanent occupation o f land, vegetation and agriculture, increased soil erosion, increased noise and air emissions along the expressway alignment, particularly in the environmentally sensitive receptors, community severance, health and safety of local residents, water quality and irrigation systems, and resettlement and relocations. Some o f these impacts can be significant. However, with the mitigation measures designed specifically for the adverse impacts, the impacts will be prevented, reduced, minimized or otherwise compensated. Furthermore, an environmental management systems involving environmental management and supervision organizations, environmental monitoring, institutional strengthening and personnel training will be established to ensure the environmental performance o f the Project. The appropriate implementation o f the mitigation measures, as well as the environmental systems, the adverse impacts will be reduced to acceptable levels. The Project i s environmentally acceptable and feasible when mitigation measures and EMP are implemented effectively. N Scale 1:30000000 Attached figure 1 Position o f Jiangxi province i n China