Environmental and social impact assessment report

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SCREENING

ACEO Project carries investment components in support to provision of premises for medical facilities and therefore triggers OP/BP 4.01 Environmental Assessment. Construction of ACEO carries medium environmental and social risks which can be effectively mitigated. Due to the above, ACEO project falls under environmental Category B.

Land plot selected for the construction of the ACEO is located within the city of Yerevan. It is owned by the State and has been in use by the National Scientific Laboratory for many years, fenced and guarded. There is no known physical cultural property within this land plot. For the same reasons described above, construction and operation of ACEO is not related to any type of land ownership/land use or other property issues.
In summary, the ACEO project falls under the same environmental category as the DPCP, and does not trigger any additional safeguard policy not triggered by the Project.

3. PHYSICAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

1. Geographic location

According to the approved General Plan of Yerevan of 2005-2020, the territory of Yerevan is divided into 4 vertical landscape zones or landscape types:

• dry steppe: with semi-desert elements,

• semi-desert: with desert elements,

• desert: with semi-desert elements,

• lowland meadow.

In a geological structure of the area participate consolidate sediments from the upper Pliocene to the modern age, which are mostly represented by volcanic, volcanic-sedimentary fractions. Rock layers such as dolerite basalt, andesite-basalt and semirock sediments placed on them in some places: tuffs are characterized by great strength, but have different deployment scenarios and splitting feature associated with it. Fragile soils mainly are modern slope sediments. Hrazdan valley slopes are composed of basalt and andesite-basalt lavas, and are steep. Modern relief history begins with the formation of upper Pliocene when on the weathered and erosion-denudation surface of Miocene sediments started to appear volcanic rocks of upper Pliocene ages, as well as quaternary and modern formations. Modern relief partly inherited the forms of old relief. In the study area the following main geomorphological elements had been conventionally separated:

A - Flat areas.

B - Hills.

C - Steep weathering slopes.

D - Riverbeds, floodplains, gorges.

2. Seismic condition and tectonics

From a tectonic point of view the region of Yerevan has rather complex geological structure which is explained by its positioning: situated in the north-west of Small Caucasus meganticlinorium, Sevan-Amasia tectonic zones, i.e. in Cimerel foliation zone of Kapan-Gogaran. Sevan-Amasia tectonic zone is described by intensive foliation, which, in some areas, is equally steep and semicircle with complex ascents and descents.

In the above mentioned region, the likelihood of severe earthquake is at 8-9 magnitude scale. (according to the information of the National Seismic Protection Service).Inthe groundofseparatedstationsoftheterritorytheexpectedvaluesofmaximumhorizontalacceleration are:

• 
  0.25g - 0.30g
  
• 
  0.30g - 0.35g
  
• 
  0.35g - 0.40g
  
• 
  0.40g - 0.45g
  

3. Climate

Overall the climate in Yerevan has a continental character: hot and dry summers followed by moderately cold winters with unstable snow cover. Climate peculiarities are: invasion of hot, dry air masses from the south in summer, and cold air masses from the north in winter. Not frosty period lasts 213 days, with a ranging period from 163 to 234 days. The average air temperature varies in height 11.5-1200C. The lowest temperature in Yerevan was 30⁰C measured in January and the highest recorded maximum temperature was + 42 ⁰C, measured in July and August. The area's climate is dry. During spring months (March - May) the precipitation amounts up to 150 mm, while June and September are extremely dry: up to 64 mm. Annual precipitation ranges from 286 to 353 mm.

In summer, the relative humidity is 49% to 53%, in winter 73% - 76%, in spring, 57% - 61% and in fall 51% - 70%.Wind direction typical for the area is north-east. During the winter months the weather features with frequently and calm winds, which due to the concavity relief contributes to the stagnation of cold air. In January, the number of calm days may be 45% - 75%.

4. Water resources

The main water artery of the Yerevan region is the Hrazdan River, the left tributary of the Arax River, the gorge of which is in 0.5-0.7 km from the ACEO area.

Hrazdan originates from the Sevan Lake, flows from the north-east to the south-west. The length is 141 km, water collection basin is 2560 sq. km (without the Sevan Lake). It falls into Arax at 820 m above the sea level. In the upper reaches of the river there are curls, the valley is 10-11 km wide. In its middle reaches theriver flows through a narrow and deep (120-150 meters) gorge, thenby V-shapecanyonsandhollows. There are terraces (3-4), landslides, steep slopes of the gorge, basalt column-like exposures (Arzni, Yerevan); inthe valley, near the settlements of Hrazdan and Arzni, there are springs, which are used for Yerevan water supply, and mineral waters. In the lower flow the valley gradually widens, entering the Ararat valley. The overall fall of the river is 1100 meters. The system has 340 watercourses, 25 of which have more than 10-km longitude, 3 ones are up to 50 km long. Large tributaries are Marmarik, Tsakhkadzor, Dalar, Arayi river, Getar. Feeding is mainly underground (51%) and thawing (37%), flooding in spring, freshets in summer and autumn.
In Armenia, the background pollution of water resources is monitored by the EnvironmentalImpactMonitoringCenter SNCO oftheMNP (Ecomonitoring): its 2015 data are presented below. According to GoA Decree No 75-N on Establishment of Norms to Ensure the Water Quality of Each Water Basin Management Area, Depending on the Terrain Characteristics (January 27, 2011),thesurfacewaterassessmentsysteminArmeniaspecifiesfiveclasses for evaluating chemicalqualityof eachparameter: “excellent” (firstclass), “good” (2nd class), “moderate” (3rd class), “poor” (4th class) and “bad” (5th class). The integral status of water quality is formed by a quality parameter,which shows the worst quality class.
Ontheterritory of the Republic of Armenia the waters management is conducted by means of 14 river basin managements areas. The Hrazdan river shapes the Hrazdan basin management area.According to the nearest Ecomonitoring observation point, water in the Yerevan section is “bad” quality (5th class) due to ammonium and phosphate ions.

5.