Zarafshon irrigation rehabilitation and management improvement project

Adjusting GEMP to concrete selected irrigation scheme and preparing site specific EMPs

53. Necessary steps in adjusting GEMP to selected irrigation schemes. As mentioned above, after selection of concrete IS and preparing detailed technical design and before civil works will start, based on the GEMP there will be prepared a site specific EMP, taking into account should the concrete situation of one or another IS and/or DC. For that purpose, it is necessary to undertake the following:

Step 1: Sub-projects site assessment and screening. The PMU Environmental Specialist will conduct a site assessment which would include a description of the key environmental features of the selected canals to be rehabilitated per attached Attachment 1 template, specifying whether critical natural habitats, forests, or rare and endangered species are likely to be impacted, whether major water courses or groundwater sources will be affected, the type of natural resource abstraction and use the project will entail, waste materials and polluting substances likely to generated during construction and operation, etc. The attachment need also to specify if any of fruit trees will be affected and or any of private lands. Based on the site description the PMU will decide which IS and CDS might be or not included in the project.

Note: any IS and CDS which potentially can affect natural habitats and/or might generate resettlements issues (including those related to affecting the private fruit trees) will be not accepted to be financed under the project.
Step 2: Based on the field investigations and filled up template prepare a site specific EMP with mitigation measures and monitoring activities: The project beneficiaries will use these EMPs to guide sub projects mitigation and monitoring activities which should be included in the contract documents.
Step 3: Consultation. The PMU will organize a hearing for consultation and comment on the prepared site specific EMP by project-affected groups and local non-governmental organizations and take their views into account before taking a decision on its approval. The PMU provides relevant materials (process descriptions, the mitigation and monitoring table, maps, permits, etc.) to participants in the consultation in a timely manner and in a form and in Tajik language.
Step 4: Environmental Review and Approval: The prepared site specific EMPs will be initially consulted and approved by the PMU and Rayon Ecological Committee. In doing so, the PMU representatives and Environmental Inspectors will carry out trips to project site as necessary, review environmental aspects of proposed activities and assure appropriateness of the EMP, and supervise their implementation.
Step 5. Integration of the EMPs into project documents. As mentioned above, the GEMP provisions will become part of the bidding documents for rehabilitation works and of the contracts with winners, and the required mitigation measures would constitute an integral part of the subproject implementation. The GEMP provisions should be included in contracts for selected IS and pumping stations, both into specifications and bills of quantities and the Contractors will be required to include the cost in their financial bids. All contracts should have standard environmental, health and safety covenants required by Tajikistan legislation and World Bank procedures which need to follow environmental requirements stipulated in the GEMP. Furthermore, GEMP information dissemination and training for contractors should be a condition of all contracts. Among the most important provisions to be provided to the contractors (though there are others) are the following: provisions on spill prevention and cleanup, dust and noise control, traffic management during construction, construction site cleanup and rehabilitation; and worker health and safety. Furthermore, based on site inspections prior to, during and upon completion of rehabilitation activities the PMU will decide about the final payment to contractor. Final payment to the contractor should be contingent on the final inspection, with particular attention to the requirement to restore the site to its original condition upon completion of rehabilitation activities. All Sub-loan agreements must include a condition requiring the project beneficiary to implement the GEMP provisions.
Step 6: Supervision, Monitoring and Reporting: Once project implementation starts, the PMU environmental specialist, and rayon environmental inspectors will supervise the implementation of the project activities and mitigation measures through the course of rehabilitation and operation and specify corrective measures as necessary. The PMU will provide semiannually to the World Bank a summary of the sub-projects financed and their environmental impacts in order to assess and prevent any cumulative effects of similar investments. The PMU will make available to World Bank project supervision missions all environmental assessments documents prepared for selected irrigation schemes to be financed. The PMU will be responsible for supervision of proper implementation of the various preventive actions and mitigation measures (e.g. rehabilitation of natural sites) required by the GEMP. This will entail periodically making site visits to verify that the appropriate preventive actions and/or mitigation measures have been implemented. The PMU also will conduct random evaluations of project sites to determine the effectiveness of measures taken and the impacts of project activities on the surrounding environment. In the case of non-compliance, the PMU and Environmental Inspector investigate the nature and reason(s) for non-compliance, and a decision has to be made on what is needed to bring conducted activities into compliance, or whether financing should be suspended.
54. Preparing EMP Checklist for rehabilitation of pumping stations. As the project would involve typical small scale rehabilitation of pumping stations for the purpose of EA of these activities it will be used a generic EMP checklist-type format (“EMP Checklist”), developed by the World Bank to provide “pragmatic good practice” and designed to be user friendly and compatible with safeguard requirements. The checklist-type format attempts to cover typical preventive and mitigation approaches to common civil works contracts with temporary and localized impacts. This format provides the key elements of an Environmental Management Plan to meet Environmental Assessment requirements of the World Bank (under OP/BP/GP 4.01). The EMP Checklist document is presented in the Annex 2 and has three sections: (a) Part 1 constitutes a descriptive part (“site passport”) that describes the project specifics in terms of physical location, the project description and list of permitting or notification procedures with reference to relevant regulations. Attachments for additional information can be supplemented if needed; (b) Part 2 includes the environmental and social screening in a simple Yes/No EMS format; and (c) Part 3 is a site-specific monitoring plan for activities carried out during the rehabilitation activities.