J-13012/32/2010 - IA. II (T)

Government of India

Ministry of Environment & Forests

 

Paryavaran Bhavan, C.G.O. Complex,

Lodi Road, New Delhi -110003.

Dated: August 11, 2010.

 

 

To

 

            M/s Patel Energy Ltd.

          8-2-293/82/A/76, Road No. 9A,

            Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh-500 033

 

Sub:        2x660 MW Super-Critical Technology Coal Based TPP of at villages Lunsapur and Lotpur, in Jafarabad Tehsil, in Amreli Distt., in Gujarat -reg. TOR.

 

Sir,        

 

The undersigned is directed to refer to your letter dated 06.03.2010 on the above mentioned subject.

 

2.         It is to inform that the proposal was considered by the Expert Appraisal Committee during its 1st Meeting held during July 07-09, 2010, for determination of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for undertaking detailed EIA study in accordance with the provisions of the EIA notification dated September 14, 2006.

 

3.         Based on the information provided by you with regard to the above mentioned project proposal, the Committee has prescribed the following Terms of Reference (TORs) for preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report and Environment Management Plan (EMP), in respect of your above mentioned project.

 

i)              Executive summary of the project indicating relevant details along with photograph of site shall be provided and issues raised in public hearing along with action plan to address the same shall be provided in tabular form including requisite allocation of funds.

ii)            Conformity of the site with the prescribed guidelines in terms of distance of 500 m from HFL of the river, highways, railway line shall be shown on the study area map and submitted.

iii)           The project proponent shall examine in detail the possibility to adopt NIOT technology of desalination system through Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) process instead of installing De-Salination plant. In case the same is not feasible detailed explanation shall be submitted.

iv)           The project proponent shall provide confirmed GPS readings of plant boundary including extension on the seaward side to cover the port site.

v)             The coordinates of the proposed site including location of ash pond shall be submitted along with topo sheet. 

vi)           Detailed area drainage study and hydro-geological study shall be conducted from an institute/ organisation of repute to assess impact of on ground and surface water regime. Specific mitigation measures shall be spelt out and action plan for implementation of the same shall be provided.

vii)          Detailed study on the impact on river/marine ecology (as applicable) due to the proposed intake / discharge of sea water / treated wastewater into the river/creek/ sea shall be carried out and submitted alongwith the EIA Report.

viii)         Demarcation of CRZ lines from an approved agency shall be submitted along with CRZ clearance for permissible activities (as applicable). 

ix)           Location of intake and outfall points (with coordinates) should be given. These locations should be selected based on detailed modeling studies.  Details of modeling and the results obtained there from should be furnished.  It may be kept in view that the intake and outfall points are away from the mangroves (if any) and is in open sea.

x)             Detail plan for carrying out rainwater harvesting and proposed utilisation in the plant shall be provided.

xi)           Feasibility of zero discharge shall be examined and detailed justification shall be submitted if in case the same is not possible. Proposed discharge (if any), its quantity, quality and point of discharge, users downstream etc. shall be provided.

xii)          Optimization of COC for water conservation. Other water conservation measures proposed in the project should also be given. Quantity of water requirement for the project should be optimized. 

xiii)         Layout plan indicating break-up of plant, green belt, infrastructure, roads etc. shall be provided.

xiv)         Land use based on satellite imagery or authenticated map indicating drainage, cropping pattern, water bodies (rivers, nallahs, ponds etc.), location of nearest villages, creeks, rivers, reservoirs, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves, biosphere reserves, heritage sites etc in the study area shall be provided. Location of any National Park, Sanctuary, Elephant/Tiger Reserve (existing as well as proposed), migratory routes, if any, within 10 km of the project site shall be specified and marked on the map duly authenticated by the Chief Wildlife Warden. 

xv)          Study on land-use pattern in the study area shall be carried out, including identification of common property resources available for conversion into productive land and action plan for abatement and compensation for damage to agricultural land/ common property land (if any) in the nearby villages, due to proposed project shall be prepared.

xvi)         Detailed socio-economic study shall be carried out for the study area comprising of 10 km from the plant site.

xvii)        Detailed R&R action plan along with compensation proposed to be paid / already paid etc. shall be specified and report submitted. The report shall contain details of recipients identified (which shall include landless project affected persons).

xviii)      Action plan for identification of local employable youth for training in skills relevant to the project for eventual employment in the project itself shall be formulated.

xix)         CSR component shall be prepared based on need based assessment study to be carried out in the study area.  Income generating measures which can help in upliftment of poor section of society which is consistent with the traditional skills of the people shall be identified. The programme can include activities such as development of fodder farm, fruit bearing orchards, vocational training etc.  In addition, vocational training for individuals shall be imparted so that poor section of society can take up self employment and jobs. Separate budget for community development activities and income generating programmes shall be specified. Financial allocation to be taken up under CSR shall be specified.

xx)          Possibility for adopting nearest three villages shall be explored and details of civic amenities such as roads, drinking water, power etc proposed to be provided at the company’s expenses shall be submitted.

xxi)         Land requirement for the project shall be optimized. Item wise break up of land requirement and its availability to be furnished. It should also include land to be acquired, if any, for coal transportation system as well as for lying of pipeline including ROW.  It may clearly be confirmed that the land including ROW is free of all encumbrances. The issues relating to land acquisition and R&R should be clearly discussed in the EIA report. 

xxii)        Topography of the area should be given clearly indicating whether the site requires any filling.  If so, details of filling, quantity of fill material required, its source, transportation etc. should be given. 

xxiii)           One complete season AAQ data (except monsoon) to be given along with the dates of monitoring. The parameters to be covered shall include SPM, RSPM(PM10,PM2.5), SO2, NOx, and Ozone (ground level). The location of the monitoring stations should be so decided so as to take into consideration the pre-dominant downwind direction, population zone and sensitive receptors including reserved forests. There should be at least one monitoring station each in the upwind and in the pre dominant downwind direction at a location where maximum ground level concentration is likely to occur

xxiv)       Detailed plan for raising Green belt of 100 m width and consisting of at least 3 tiers around plant boundary with tree density not less than 2500 trees per ha and survival rate atleast 75% shall be submitted.

xxv)        Impact of the project on the AAQ of the area. Details of the model used and the input data used for modelling should also be provided. The air quality contours may be plotted on a location map showing the location of project site, habitation nearby, sensitive receptors, if any. The wind roses should also be shown on this map.

xxvi)       Fuel analysis shall be provided. Details of auxillary fuel, if any including its quantity, quality, storage etc should also be given.

xxvii)     Quantity of fuel required, its source and transportation. A confirmed fuel linkage should be provided.

xxviii)    Details of water balance taking into account reuse and re-circulation of effluents.

xxix)       Detailed plan for conducting monitoring of water quality regularly and mechanism for maintenance of records shall be formulated. Detail of methodology and identification of monitoring points (between the plant and drainage in the direction of flow of surface / ground water) shall be submitted. It shall be ensured that parameter to be monitored also include heavy metals in surface and ground water.

xxx)        Details regarding infrastructure facilities such as sanitation, fuel, restroom, medical facilities, safety during construction phase etc. to be provided to the labour force during construction as well as to the casual workers including truck drivers during operation phase.

xxxi)       EMP to mitigate the adverse impacts due to the project along with item wise cost of its implementation.

xxxii)     Risk assessment including fire and explosion issues due to storage and use of fuel should be carried out.  It should take into account the maximum inventory of storage at site at any point in time. The risk contours should be plotted on the plant layout map clearly showing which of the proposed activities would be affected in case of an accident taking place. Based on the same, proposed safeguard measures should be provided.  Measures to guard against fire hazards should also be provided.

xxxiii)    Details of litigation pending or otherwise with respect to project in any courts, tribunal etc. shall be provided.

 

Further, the following shall be strictly followed (as applicable):

 

a)    The land requirement for the projects should be limited to barest minimum. If the site includes or is located close to marshy areas and backwaters, these areas must be excluded from the site and the project boundary should be atleast 500 away from the ecologically sensitive areas. If backwaters form a part of the site, CRZ clearance is a must.

b)    The soil levelling should be minimum with no or minimal disturbance to the natural drainage of the area. If the minor canals (if any) have to be diverted, the design for diversion should be such that the diverted canals not only drains the plant area but also collect the volume of flood water from the surrounding areas and discharge into marshy areas/major canals that enter into creek. Major canals should not be altered but their bunds should be strengthened and desilted.

c)     Additional soil for leveling of the sites should be generated within the sites in a way that natural drainage system of the area is protected and improved

d)    The marshy areas (if any) which hold large quantities of water should not be disturbed.

e)     No waste should be discharged into canal systems, backwaters, marshy areas and seas without treatment. The outfall should be first treated in guard pond and then discharge into deep sea (12 to 15 m depth). Similarly, the intake should be from deep sea to avoid aggregation of fish. The brine that comes out from desalinization plants should not be discharged into sea but it should be recycled.

f)      To absorb the ground level pollutants, to act buffer against strong winds arising out of tropical cyclones/ storms, to reduce heat load and ameliorate environment, there is a need for shelterbelts / greenbelts / tree cover along the coastline, bunds around marshy areas, roadsides, around the project boundaries, around village boundaries, ash dykes, railway lines, around protected monuments, forts, waste places, School Campuses and other vacant lots. Coconut plantations can be developed along the coastline and near villages, Schools and forts. Stands of Casuariana should also be developed on some dunes and along coasts. Bamboos, neem and other native trees should be planted in and around at the villages.

g)     To meet the expenditure of these plantations and their management, a common Green Endowment Fund should be created by the project proponents out of EMP budgets. The interest earned out of it should be used for the development and management of green cover of the area.

h)    The villages bordering the sites are predominantly inhabitated by fishermen and the TPSs have impacts on their livelihood, although most of the fishing activity is confined to deep seas. An endowment of Fishermen Welfare Fund should be created out of CSR grants not only to enhance their quality of life through creation of facilities for fish landing platforms / fishing harbour / cold storage, but also to provide relief in case of emergency situations such as missing of fishermen on duty due to rough seas, tropical cyclones and storms etc.

i)      The project specific recommendation should be made at the time of consideration of EIA.

j)      The project proponent should submit a detailed toposheet showing the locations of project site, villages major canals, backwaters, low lying areas (marshy), coastline, sand dunes (bars), aquaculture ponds, creek, jetty and intake and outfall points. The distances from the project boundaries to the landscape features mentioned above should be marked.

k)    There should not be any contamination of soil, ground and surface waters (canals & village pond) with sea water in and around the project sites. In other wards necessary preventive measures for spillage from pipelines, such as lining of guard pond used for the treatment of outfall before discharging in to the sea and surface RCC channels along the pipelines of outfall and intake should be adopted. This is just because the areas around the projects boundaries is fertile agricultural land used for paddy cultivation.

 

4.            Besides the above, the following general points will be followed:

 

a)    All documents to be properly referenced with index, page numbers and continuous page numbering.

b)    Where data is presented in the report especially in table, the period in which the data was collected and the source should invariably be indicated. 

c)     Where the documents provided are in a language other than English, an English translation should be provided.

d)    The Questionnaire for environmental appraisal of thermal power projects as devised earlier by the Ministry shall also be filled and submitted.

e)     The consultants involved in the preparation of EIA/EMP report after accreditation with Quality Council of India (QCI) / National Accreditation Board of Education and Training (NABET) would need to include a certificate in this regard in the EIA/ EMP reports prepared by them and data provided by other organization / Laboratories including their status of approvals etc. In this regard circular no. F.No. J-11013/77/2004-IA-II (I) dated 2nd December, 2009 is posted on the Ministry’s website http://www.moef.nic.in may be referred.

 

In addition to the above, information on the following may also be incorporated in the EIA report.

 

1.         Is the project intended to have CDM-intent?

 

(i)   If not, then why?

(ii)  If yes, then

 

a.            Has PIN (Project Idea Note) {or PCN (Project Concept Note)} submitted to the ?NCA? (National CDM Authority) in the MoEF?

b.            If not, then by when is that expected?

c.             Has PDD (Project Design Document) been prepared?

d.            What is the Carbon intensity? from your electricity generation projected (i.e. CO2 Tons/MWH or Kg/KWH)

e.             Amount of CO2 in Tons/year expected to be reduced from the baseline data available on the CEA?s web-site (www.cea.nic.in)

 

2.         Notwithstanding 1(i) above, data on (d) & (e) above shall be worked out and reported. 

 

5.         The Environmental clearance shall be applied only after firm fuel and water linkages and other statutory clearances as applicable are obtained.

 

6.         After preparing the Draft EIA (as per the generic structure prescribed in Appendix-III of the EIA Notification, 2006) covering the above mentioned issues, the same shall be submitted to the SPCB for conducting the public hearing as per procedure of EIA notification 2006. The issues emerged during public hearing shall be further incorporated in the Draft EIA/EMP report. The final EIA/EMP report along with public hearing report and the requisite documents (including written objections, if any) shall be submitted to the Ministry for appraisal by the Expert Appraisal Committee for consideration of awarding environmental clearance under the provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment notification dated September 14, 2006.

 

7.         The TORs prescribed would be valid for a period of two years for submission of EIA/ EMP reports, after public consultation.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)

Director

Copy to:                         

 

1)    The Secretary, Department of Environment, Govt. of Gujarat.

2)     The Chairman, Gujarat Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Sector 10-A, Gandhi Nagar – 382 043

3)    The Chief Conservator of Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Regional Office(WZ), E-5, Kendriya Paryavaran Bhawan, E-5 Area Colony, Link Road-3, Ravishankar Nagar, Bhopal-462016.

4)     Guard File.

 

(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)

Director

 

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