E-416VOL. 2

World Bank Proiect - Hubei Hydropower Proiect

Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

Environmental Impact Assessment Report

(First Draft)

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

October 2000

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Project: Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County

of Hubei Province, P.R. China

Document: Report for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA, First Draft)

Project Manager: ZHANG Yutian Research Fellow

Team Member: MAO Wenyong Research Fellow

SONG Fu Research Fellow

SU Yibing Associate Research Fellow

SUN Xueli Engineer

JIANG Hua Engineer

NIE Yihuang Engineer

LIANG Zhenming Engineer

ZHOU Yun Engineer

JIAO Yang Assistant Engineer

Reviewed by: LI Yanwu Associate Research Fellow

EIA Unit: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

Present: CHEN Fu Research Fellow

Chief Engineer: XIA Qing Research Fellow

EIA License No. National EIA License Grade A No. 1001, issued by SEPA

Entrusted by Hubei Provincial Planning Commission

Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajilan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Iubei Proince

CONTENT

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................. 1

1.1 BACKGROUND .1.2 EIA CATEGORY AND PURPOSE OF THE REPORT .21.3 REFERENCES .................................... ; .21.4 ASSESSMENT SCOPE AND ASSESSMENT STANDARD .41.5 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TARGETS AND FOCUS OF THE EIA .5

CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT .............................................7

2.1 BASIC SITUATIONS OF THE PROJECT .72.2 TASKS AND SCALE OF THE PROJECT .72.3 LAYOUT OF KEY BUILDINGS .82.4 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT .92.5 TOTAL INVESTMENT OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT. 82.6 ANALYSIS FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT . 18

CHAPTER 3 REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS OF THE PROJECT .............. 22

3.1 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................... 223.2 ECO-ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................... 283.3 SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................... 333.4 QUALITY OF LIFE ..................................................................... 36

CIIPTER 4 ASSESSMENT ON STATUS QUO OF ENVIRONMENT .............................. 39

4.1 STATUS QUO AND ASSESSMENT ON WATER ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ................... 394.2 STATUS QUO AND ASSESSMENT ON AMBIENT AIR QUALITY ...................................... 434.3 STATUS QUO AND ASSESSMENT ON ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY .............. 44

CHAPTER 5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT ANDCOUNTERMEASURES ..................................................................... 46

5.1 IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT ON ECO-ENVIRONMENT .465.2 FORECASTING AND ASSESSMENT ON AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT .665.3 ANALYSIS FOR IMPACT ON HYDROLOGICAL REGIME .735.4 ANALYSIS FOR IMPACT OF SEDIMENT .755.5 ANALYSIS FOR IMPACT ON GEOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT .785.6 ANALYSIS FOR ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT .795.7 ANALYSIS FOR IMPACT ON AMBIENT AIR .805.8 IMPACT ON SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT .835.9 ANALYSIS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF RESERVOIR SUBMERGING ANDRELOCATION OF EMIGRATION ................................................................... 865.10 ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS ANALYSIS .................................................................... 94

CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS FOR ALTERNATIVES .............................................................1 00

6.1 NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT ................................... 1 006.2 COMPARISON WITH POWER STATION ..................................................................... 1 006.3 COMPARISON IN ALTERNATIVES OF SITE SELECTION ............................................... 1016.4 COMPARISON IN DAM LINE ..................................................................... 102

CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN AND ENVIRONMENTALMONITORING PLAN ..................................................................... 103

7.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN .................................................................. 1037.2 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PLAN .................................................................... 104

CHAPTER 8 PUBLIC CONSULTATION ...................................................................... 1 08

Reportfor EnWronmenJal hnpartAsesmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

8.1 FORMS OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION ..................................................... 1088.2 ANALYSIS FOR THE COMMENTS PROPOSED BY THE PUBLIC .................. 10.................. i

CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ................................................ 113

9.1 CONCLUSION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ................................. 1 139.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................... 1 117

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Reportfor Enironmentai Impact Assessmentfor LaJitaw Hydropower Project in Laifeng Couny of Hubea Province

CHAPTER 1 Executive Summary

1.1 Background

1.1.1 Brief Introduction Of the Proposed Project

"Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province" (Lajitan HPP) isproposed to be constructed in the upper reach of Youshui River located in BaifusiTown, Laifeng County of Hubei Province. The total investment for the proposedproject amounts to RMB 330 million yuan. The gross storage capacity of theproposed reservoir reaches to 442.8 million m , occupying an area of 3.07 km2 withan overall length of backwater for 33.1 km. The proposed Hydropower station is tobe built with a total installed capacity for 36 MW. Lajitan HPP initiated its,preparation in 1995, lasting for 5 years. The major tasks conducted in the preparationinclude:

* Proposal for Lajitan HPP completed in 1995

* Feasibility study for Lajitan HPP completed in May 1999.

1.1.2 Advance of EIA

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for this proposed project started from1999, and according to the EIA procedure applied in China, the following steps hasbeen made:

* In June 1999, Hubei Provincial Research Academy of Environmental Sciences(HRAES) was instructed by the project owner, Lajitan Hydropower DevelopmentCo., Ltd, of Laifeng County, Hubei Province to prepare the EIA Report forLajitan HPP;

* In July 1999, the outline for the EIA Report, prepared by HRAES, was approved;

* In May 2000, the EIA Report was completed by HRAES.

1.1.3 Origin of this EIA

Since this proposed project is planned to be funded by the World Bank (WB), the EIAfor this project has to meet the requirements of WB. According to the commentsprovided by WB in February 2000', Hubei Provincial Planning Commission (HPPC)recruited the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) tomake contribution to the consulting of this EIA with focus on revising andcomplementing the EIA report.

Since April 2000, on the basis of the EIA report prepared by HRAES2, CRAES hasmainly made the following contribution to the report:

* According to the comments and requirements to this proposed project providedWB, CRAES determined the main part to be revised and complemented, and got

'See Attachment B "Comments on EIA Report" to the minute of the Identification Group for Hydropower Projectin Hubei Province, February 2000.2 This report is prepared on the basis of the EIA Report prepared by HRAES, and uses tremendous data, tables andtext of the original EIA report.

Reportfor Environmental Impact AssessmentforLaj:tan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei ProWnce

contact with the project unit for preparing necessary materials;

* CRAES made necessary site visits as a part of complement, such asreconnaissance of dam site, collecting biological samples, gathering materials forcomplementation and conducting on-site consulting and investigation in variousterms;

* Based on the above tasks completed, CRAES discussed with the experts fromWB on the outline3 and EIA report4 to be revised, and finished the revision on theEIA report for this proposed project.

In the light of the EIA approval procedure applied in China and the requirements ofWB, the new version of the EIA report, revised and complemented, will be submittedto the related governmental bodies of China and the representatives of WB for review,in both Chinese and English.

1.2 EIA Category and Purpose of the Report

1.2.1 EIA Category

Based on the "Notice on Enhancing the Administration of EIA for ConstructionProjects Funded by International Financial Organizations" issued by ChineseGovernment and the classifying principles for EIA category provided by. OP4.01 ofWB, the EIA category of Lajitan HPP is identified as Category A, according to thenature and characteristics of the proposed project.

1.2.2 Purpose of the Report

Through the EIA for the proposed project, the following purposes are to be achieved:the status quo of natural enviromnent, eco-environment and social economicenvironment of the region where Lajitan Hydropower Station is to be located will bedetected, the scope and extent of environmental impacts brought by the proposedproject will be assessed, the potential environmental impacts brought by the proposedproject will be examined and identified, measures and recommendations for reducingenvironmental pollution and preventing the destruction on eco-environment will beproposed and plans for environmental protection management and monitoring will beprepared; while the public being involved, the public under the potential impact ofthis proposed project should understand the roles of the proposed project, potentialnegative impact to them and the prevention measures, the comments andrecommendations on the construction of the project provided by the public should beproperly integrated into the EIA report, so as to give scientific basis to the appropriatedecision and environmnental management of the proposed project.

1.3 References

1.3.1 Policies and Laws

(1) Item 13, "Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China";

(2) "Water Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Water PollutionPrevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China";

3See the comments on the outline provided by Mr. Scott Hanna, expert from WB, June 22, 2000.4 See the comments on the EIA report provided by Mr. Scott Hanna, expertfrom WB, September 2, 2000.

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Reportfor Envronmental Impact Assessnintfor Lajit an HydropowerProject in Laifeg County of Hubei Provnee

(3) "Water and Soil Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China";

(4) "National Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China";

(5) "Wildlife Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China";

(6) "Forest Law of the People's Republic of China";

(7) Command No. 253 issued by the State Council, "Regulations forEnvironmental Protection of Construction Projects";

(8) "Rules for Implementation of Environmental Protection Management ofConstruction Projects in Hubei Province", Hubei Provincial EnvironmentalProtection Bureau, Er Huan Zi Document 5 [88].

1.3.2 Other References

(1) Working Guideline of WB - Environmental Assessment OD4.01;

(2) "Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment" (HJ/T2.1-2.3-93);

(3) "Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment - AcousticEnvironment"(HJ/T2.4- 1995);

(4) "Technical Guideline for Environmental Impact Assessment - Non-pollutionEcological Impact"(HJ/T 19-1997);

(5) "Notice on Implementation of the Technical Guideline for EnvironmentalImpact Assessment - Non-pollution Ecological Impact", Hubei ProvincialEnvironmental Protection Bureau, Er Huan Zi Document No. 20 [1998];

(6) "Request for Instructions on the Assessment Standards of EIA for LajitanHydropower Project" by the Environmental Protection Bureau Laifeng County,Hubei Province, Lai Huanbao Document No. 03 [1999], July 2, 1999;

(7) "Notice on the Water Quality Standard for Pidu River Involved in the EIA forLajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County" by the EnvironmentalProtection Bureau of Longshan County, Long Huan Zi Document No. 7[1999], June 25, 1999;

(8) "Conmnents on 'EIA Outline for Lajitan Hydropower Project in LaifengCounty, Hubei Province"', Er Huan Han No. 117 [1999], August 5, 1999;

(9) "EIA Outline for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, HubeiProvince", July 1999;

(10) Comments on "EIA Outline for Lajitan Hydropower Project in LaifengCounty, Hubei Province" provided by the experts in the examining meeting,July 22, 1999;

( 11) "Proposal for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, HubeiProvince" and the written approval by HPPC, Er Ji Nengyuan Zi Document1178 [1995];

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan HGydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

(12) "Report for Feasibility Study on Lajitan Hydropower Project in LaifengCounty, Hubei Province" and its atlas and the geographic atlas, HubeiProvincial Hydraulic and Hydropower Reconnaissance Survey and DesignAcademy (May 1999);

(13) "Written Approval for Report for Feasibility Study on Lajitan HydropowerProject in Laifeng County" by HPPC, Er Ji Nengyuan Zi Document0291 [2000];

(14) "Report for EIA for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County, HubeiProvince", by HRAES, May 2000.

1.4 Assessment Scope and Assessment Standard

1.4.1 Assessment Scope

The specific assessment scope of this EIA covers the entire reservoir area from thesite of Wachangba to the end of the backwater, with an overall length for 33. Ikm; therelocation districts with concentrated emigration and the individual relocation pointsbackward from the original sites; the construction site of the proposed project, rawmaterials storage, excavated spoils storage and residential zones for the workersinvolved in the construction; and the downstream from the site of Wachangba to theriver outlet of Qiedao River.

1.4.2 Assessment Standards Applied

(I)GHZBI-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water", incompliance with the Water Environmental Quality Standard Class II;

(2)GB3096-93 "Standard for Noise of Urban Ambient Environment", incompliance with Standard Class I;

(3)GB3095-1996 "Standard for Ambient Air Quality";

(4)GB 12523-90 "Limits to On-site Noise of Construction Site";

(5)GB8978-1996 "Comprehensive Discharge Standard for Polluted Water", incompliance with the Standard Class 1;

(6)CJ3020-93 "Water Quality Standard for Domestic Drinking Water Source";

(7)GB5084-92 "Water Quality Standard for Agricultural Irrigation Water";

(8)GB 11607-89 "Water Quality Standard for Fishery";

(9)GB16297-1996 "Comprehensive Standard for Air Emissions", in compliancewith Standard Class 1.

1.4.3 Assessment Duration

(1) Construction Period: from the start to the completion of the proposed project;

(2) Operation Period: filling of reservoir and parallel power generation

(3) Decommissioning and rehabilitation of construction camps, works yards,

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Reportfor Enwronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

maintenance areas, etc.

(4) Reclamation of quarry sites and spoils disposal sites

1.5 Environmental Protection Targets and Focus of the ELA

1.5.1 Environmental Protection Targets

Lajitan HPP should pay attention to the conservation of the surrounding eco-environment during its construction and operation, and the environmental protectiontargets have been set on the following respects:

(1) Land resource

In view of the serious water and soil loss in the region where the project is located, inorder to effectively conserve the limited land resources, the impacts on the cultivatedland and woodland should be minimized as much as possible from the constructionand operation of the proposed project. As for especially the site of Wachangba andBaifusi Tree Plantation, effective measures for conserving the lands should be takenfor preventing new loss in water and soil.

(2) Wildlife resources

According to "Catalog of Major Protected Wild Animals At National Level","Catalog of Major Protected Plants at National Level", "Catalog of Major ProtectedWild Land Animals at Hubei Provincial Level" and "Catalog of Major Protected WildAquatic Animals", the bio-species listed in the catalogs and the local animals andplants with high economic values should be protected. For instance, the rare wildanimals to be protected include macaque, oriental civet cat, lesser civet cat, pangolin,darwins pheasant, golden pheasant, otter and andrias daridiancs. and the rare speciesof land plants cover metasequoia, ginkgo, plum fruited cluster flowered yam andeucommia ulmoides, etc..

(3) Water quality

The general water quality of the reservoir area and the water quality of the lowerreaches have to be kept same as the present quality after the reservoir is filled. Theproject is not allowed to bring any impact on the current beneficial use of YoushuiRiver and its branch Pidu River, which should be controlled under the Standard ClassII of GHZB 1 -1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water".

(4) Acoustic environment

During the construction of this proposed project, the acoustic environment of theresidential districts of Baifusi Town should be controlled according to Standard ClassI of GB3096-93 "Standard for Noise of Urban Ambient Environment".

(5) Life standard

The life standard of the emigration from the construction site of the proposed projectshould be guaranteed. After the relocation of the emigration, the level of their incomeper capita, living condition and public facilities should be kept not lower than before.

(6) Health of human beings

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubed ProWnce

The targeted group mainly involves the residents surrounding the construction siteand living in the reservoir area, workers for the construction and emigration, and greatefforts should be put into preventing outbreak of some specific diseases andcontagion.

1.5.2 Focus of the EIA

(1) Impacts on the land eco-environment and hydro eco-environment, especially therare animals and plants, brought by the construction of dam and reservoir;

(2) Analysis for the positive benefits on abasement of natural disasters, such as flood,and further regional economic development, which resulted from operation of theproposed project;

(3) Analysis for potential, long-term and negative impacts from the construction andoperation of the project.

1.5.3 Assessment Principle

(1 )To meet the regulations related to environmental protection for constructionprojects stipulated by the environmental protection agencies at national and locallevel and the sectoral administrations, as well as satisfy the ""Notice on Enhancingthe Administration of EIA for Construction Projects Funded by IntemationalFinancial Organizations" released by China and the concerned requirements of WBon EIA;

(2)Based on the specific characteristics of Hydropower projects, to highlight theassessment on key protection targets;

(3)To analyze the impacts in details on the land eco-environment and hydro eco-environment, especially the impacts on the rare hydro-bios, resulted from theproposed project in construction and completion.

(4)Referring to the feasibility of the construction of the proposed project, to reach aconclusion from the view of environmental protection, and make every effort toensure that environmental measures are workable, so as to provide firnfoundations and references to the approval agency during decision making. to theproject designer during designing, to the constructor during construction andfinally to environment management of the proposed project.

The Executive Summary is incomplete. It should also include a brief descriptionof the key impacts that are predicted to accrue as a result of the project; themeasures that will be taken to mitigate or compensate for these impacts; whetherthere will be any residual impacts that cannot be mitigated; and a briefdescription of the Environmental Management Plan that will be used to addressthe more serious impacts. The Executive Summary should also provide asynopsis of the Public Consultation that has been undertaken to obtain inputfrom various stakeholder groups.

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Report for EnWronmental lmpac Assessmentfor Lajitan Hfydropewer Project in Laifeng County of Hublb Prowne

CHAPTER 2 Overview of the Proposed Project

2.1 Basic Situations of the Project

2.1.1 Project Name and Project Unit

A) Project Name

The proposed project is named as "Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubei Province", hereafter known as Lajitan HPP for short.

B) Project Unit

The project unit for the proposed project is the Lajitan Hydropower Development Co.,Ltd., Laifeng County, Hubei Province. The unit is responsible for the dailymanagement and operation of the completed Lajitan Hydropower Station, in theposition of legal body.

2.1.2 Location of the Project

Lajitan HPP is designed to be located in the upper reach of Youshui River, 1 kmupstream from Baifusi Town of Laifeng County. The dam site is 22km away fromTangkou Hydropower Station located in the upper reach, and 53 km away from theproper of Laifeng County, in North Latitude 29°12'and East Longitude 109°14'. Thestation is close to Youyang County of Chongqing City and Longshan County ofHunan Province.

The detailed geographic location of the proposed project has been shown in Figure2.1.1.

2.1.3 Feature

Lajitan HPP will be a newly-built Hydropower station within Youshui River Basin.It will be the third cascade power station on this system.

2.2 Tasks and Scale of the Project

2.2.1 Tasks

The major task of Lajitan HPP is to generate Hydropower, and in addition LajitanHPP will also provide some other benefits, such as small-scale shipping, tourism,irrigation and aquaculture (i.e., cage aquaculture).

* Hydropower generation

The power station proposed for Lajitan HPP is designed with a total installedcapacity of 36MW, whose output is guaranteed to reach to 5.56MW (P=80%), and theannual power generated amounts to 151 million kWh on average.

* Shipping

The overall length of backwater of the proposed project is 33.1km, including 22.3kmin You River, which will link the two important towns of Laifeng County, ManshuiTown and Baifusi Town, together via water, and 10.8km in Pidu River to enhance the

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Report for Environmental Inpact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei ProWnce

friendly relation and trade links between Laifeng County of Hubei Province andLongshan County of Hunan Province.

0 Irrigation

There are vast farmland in the downstream and surrounding of the proposed LajitanReservoir, forming one of the major agricultural zones of Laifeng County. Theconstruction of the reservoir will facilitate the irrigation of farmland for 330km2 .[How much of this area is already irrigated? What is the incremental irrigationbenefit that will result from the Lajitan Project (i.e., is the 330 km2 of irrigatedland presently without irrigation?]

* Tourism and Aquatic Cultivation

A water surface for 3.07km2 will come into being after the proposed Lajitan Reservoiris filled by water, which provides favorable conditions for fish cultivation in net-cages. In addition to the marvelous natural view along the reservoir and the famousCave Fanmnao, all of these will benefit the development of tourism in Laifeng County.

2.2.2 Scale

Lajitan HPP controls an overall area for 3,369km2 with a total length of river coursefor 174 km and backwater for 33.1 km. The proposed reservoir covers a total area for3.07km2. The average annual flow is 115m /s and the gross storage capacity of thereservoir reaches to 442.8 million mi2 . The normal pool level will be 370m, with acorresponding capacity for 29.42 million m 2. The storage coefficient is 0.27 and thedead storage amounts to 19.7 million m2 . The proposed reservoir will be a ten-dayregulating reservoir. The total investment for the proposed project is expected to beRMB 330 million yuan.

2.3 Layout of Key Buildings

Major buildings to be constructed in this proposed project include: concrete gravitydam, bottom outlet for sand scouring and emptying, diversion tunnel for powergeneration. power-house and switch station. The detailed layout plan can be found inFigure 2.3.1.

The lowest datum plane of the proposed concrete gravity dam is 334.0m, the crestelevation 373.0m. maximum height of dam 39m, and the bottom of dam maximizes33.98m. The crest of dam will have a length of 115.60m, divided into 7 monoliths.

The structures for sand scouring are arranged on monolith of river bed, including 6surface scouring outlets and I bottom outlet for sand scouring and emptying. Thesurface outlet is wide for 12m, and the weir crest elevation reaches to 356m, with 6radial gates installed in size of 12x14m. The weir is designed as WES, and a plungepool is located downstream of the dam, from which the energy is dissipated throughunderflow. The bottom emptying outlet will be built in the right side of overflowdam, close to the water inlet of power tunnel, in size of 3x3m, which will also play arole in scouring sand.

The water-diversion structures will be located in the right bank, consisting of waterinlet, pressure tunnel, surge chamber and box culvert pipe. The inside diameter ofwater diversion tunnel is 8.2m, and the overall length of the tunnel amounts to

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Reportfor Envronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Prounce

264.85m. At the water inlet, an emergency gate is to be installed. Behind the surgechamber, a valve and penstock will be installed for controlling incoming waterflow.

The power-house will be constructed on the ground, the root of hill slope just alongthe river course, with rock foundation. Three power generators are planned to beinstalled in the proposed power station, with a unit capacity of 12MW for each. Inorder to facilitate defense of floods and minimize investinent, the switch station willbe built separately from the main transformer.

2.4 Implementation Plan for the Proposed Project

2.4.1 Construction Plan for the Proposed Project

2.4.1.1 Preparation for Construction

(1 )Transportation

The proposed Hydropower station will be situated approximately 1 km from BaifusiTown, and the latter 54km away from the urban area of Laifeng County, which is134km away from Enshi City via the National Road 209, and 231 km from DayongStation on Jiao-Liu Railway in Hunan Province. Enshi City is apart from YichangCity for 286km via National Road 318, and from Badong Port on Yangtze River for214km via the National Road 209. Materials for construction of the proposed projectare mainly transported depending on roads, and part of equipment can be sent to thesite of construction via railways and then roads. [Will the roads require upgradingin order for large or heavy components (e.g., transformers, turbine parts,generators, etc.) to be transported to the dam site? If so, what impacts (bothpositive and negative) will accrue as a result of road upgrades?J

(2)Electric Power Supply

The Power Supply Company of Laifeng County is responsible for supplying electricpower to the construction of the project, with a specification of power supply in2000kV/A.

(3)Water Supply

Water used for the construction of the project will be pumped from Youshui River andthe water supply volume reaches to 300m /h.

(4)Major Raw Materials

Wood: 1808m2 of wood is in need to use, which will be provided by the ForestryBureau of Laifeng County.

Cement: the construction needs cement for 44,493 tons, to be purchased from EnshiCity.

Reinforcing bar and steel: 4250 tons of these materials are needed, to be bought fromother places in China.

2.4.1.2 Division Works for the Construction

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Reportfor Environmental Impac Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projed in Laifeng County ofHubei Province

The proposed dam is located in a U-type river valley, whose banks are high andprecipitous, being comprised of vertical limestone cliffs. The riverbed is wide forabout 70m, and there is no overburden layer on the riverbed, with rocks uncovered.The datum plane of the dam to be constructed amounts to 334m, and the crestelevation to 373m. The elevation of the bottom inlet for emptying and sand scouringreaches to 346m. A division method in two phases is to be adopted. In the firstphase, the division works is designed for defending a flood encountered once in 3years, and the second phase, it will defend a flood that occurs once in 10 years. Thecofferdam will be made in concrete core-wall, enveloped by cement-rubble. It isestimated that the total cubic capacity of the cofferdam reaches to nearly 28,064.8m3 ,including concrete for 2,321.4m3, cement-rubble for 9,243.4 m3, and earth-rock for15,300 m3.

2.4.1.3 Construction of Main Works

(1) Quantity of Main Works

The main works for the proposed Hydropower station cover dam, water diversiontunnel, power-house and transformer substation. The quantity of these main workscan be found in Table 2.4.1.

Table 2.4.1 Quantity of Main Works

Item Unit Dam Diversion Powerhouse Transformer TotalTunnel Substation

Earth Excavation M 3 364927 112377 118530 29000 624834

Underground m 3 995 22800 23795Excavation

Concrete M3 93442 26883 29018 480 149823

Reinforcing Bar T 1429 1187 1065 15 3696

Steel T 11 11

Backfill Rock Residue M3 14600 22862 15300 7600 60362

Cement-rubble M3 580 580

Curtain Grouting M 2400 2400

Consolidation Grouting M 1750 4220 5970

Contact Grouting M2 1500 1500

Joint Grouting M2 1700 1700

Backfill Grouting M2 3212 3212

Sprinkling Anchor M3 50 50

New-built Roads M 500 500

Note: the diversion works include water inlet, surge pipe and pressure pipe. The above data is from "EIA Reportfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

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Reportfor EnWronmentai Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubl Pr'vince

(2) Major Machines for the Construction

The major machines and equipment to be used in the construction of the proposedproject include air drill, excavator, backhoe (face-hoe), loader, push dozer, dumptruck, air compressor, concrete mixer, horizontal concrete can, crusher, concretepump, gantry crane, and tower crane, etc..

2.4.1.4 General Layout of the Construction

Since the transportation towards the outside mainly depends on the facilities on theright bank of Youshui River, the main body of the construction is generally arrangedon the right bank of Youshui River. See Figure 2.4.1 "General Layout of theConstruction of Lajitan HPP".

As for on-site transportation, in addition to the existing roads, facilities in BaifusiTown and Shangba Road, 2 main roads will be built in field of the construction. Oneis located in the right bank of Youshui River to link the existing roads, which connectsboth ends of the power-house via the Small River Mouth and go straight upstreamtowards the foundation pit of the dam. And the other is to be constructed on the leftbank of Youshui River. The total length of the roads to be built for the constructionamounts to 3.2km. [Will the existing county road system require upgrading inorder to transport large and heavy materials to the site?]

As for auxiliary works and living facilities, they are planned to be arranged inWachangba. It is located on the way from Baifusi Town to the urban area of LaifengCounty, and 500m away from the powerhouse. It has a low surface relief and wideground surface, occupying an overall area for nearly 60,000 m2. It is to be developedas the major auxiliary yard for the construction. The auxiliary works and livingfacilities will cover an area for 2440 m2 .

* Sand borrow sites: there are 3 sand borrow sites located in the upper reaches ofYoushui River, 15km away from the site of dam.

_ Rock quarry: the Wachangba Rock Material Quarry is apart from the site of damfor 1500m

* Spoils disposal areas: the spoils disposal areas along the right bank of the riverfrom the 500m lower than the site of dam to Baifusi Bridge and the valley of thedam are to be used as the spoils sites.

2.4.1.5 Progress Schedule for the Construction

The proposed project is initially planned to finish in three and a half years (totally 42months). The preparation for the construction covers the first 7 months, in whicheach preparation for the construction will be completed and the right dam abutmentand the plunge pool start to be excavated and scaled to the water surface (with theelevation for 342m). During the first drought period, 3 monoliths will be constructedon the right bank, and 2 opening gaps will be prepared for diversion in the followingphase. In the flood period, the construction will be continued and all workscompleted except for the opening gaps. In the second drought period, the wholeconstruction will be completed. Finally, the three generators will be tested for trialpower generation, which indicates the wind-up of the proposed project.

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Reportfor Envronmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube Province

2.4.2 Plan for emigration

2.4.2.1 Scope of Submerged Area and Target for Submerged Materials In Kind

Lajitan HPP is located in Baifusi Town, in the south of Laifeng County of HubeiProvince. The proposed project will bring impacts on totally 15 administrativevillages located in 5 towns of 2 counties in 2 provinces, including the villages ofXingongqiao, Sujiaping, Sheliba, Tongzi, Zhaojiapo and Fengmu in Manshui Town,Meiziau, Nanhe and Heguang in Baifusi Town of Laifeng County in Hubei Province,and Kuda and Zhangjiacao in Huoyan Town, Dongkan in Laoxing Town,Zhangjiawan, Yanjia and Maojiang in Guitang Town of Longshan County in HunanProvince. A total of 64 villager groups in these villages will be involved. Theclearance project will cover 397 villagers in 84 families, with 16,126.1 m2 of housesto be removed. A total of 1710.5 mu of land will be completely requisitioned and 35mu for temporary use during the construction, which will actually influence 2404villagers in 540 families. Based on the existing Law for Land Requisition, anagricultural population for totally 640 will be rearranged. The project will alsoproduce some impacts on facilities for special use, including road in Class 4 for 8 km,communication cable for 8 km, four small-sized bridges, and various transmission andtransformation wire for 13 pole-km.

2.4.2.2 Plan for Relocation of Emigration

In September 29, 1999, the "Investigation and Planning Team for Relocation ofEmigration from Lajitan HPP" under the Party Committee and the government ofLaifeng County proposed the "Plan for Relocation of Emigration from Lajitan HPP".In April 4, 2000, the potential relocatees [check to make sure that this is correct]compiled their "Plan for Relocation of Emigration from Lajitan HPP" as well. Themain content of the planned relocation includes:

(1) General Guideline and Principles for the relocation

Concerning the natural and economic status quo of the region to be involved inLajitan HPP, the general guideline for the relocation is to put focus on guaranteeingthe current production and life of the relocatees is unchanged, and make therelocatees be relocated in scattered sites within a large area, with precondition tobenefit the state, the people, and the development of China. During the relocation, therelocatees should be removed as a whole, and their original administrationrelationship not rearranged, and still remains in the original administrative villages.In addition, some relocatees will be moved up and back from their original locatedsites, which is an auxiliary means for the relocation in this proposed project. As forthe development of these relocatees in the future, their primary occupations shouldstill be in agriculture, with focus on developing surrounding water area. In themeantime, various types of business should also be operated for Improving theireconomic well-being. The whole relocation process should match the pace of theconstruction of Lajitan HPP. The relocation efforts will be subsidized in the initialstage and obtain economic support from their economic production in the followingstages.

(2) Planning for Relocation of Agricultural Emigration

1 Planning for Production

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Reportfor Environmental ImpactdAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province

In this proposed project, totally 645 villagers need to be relocated. Still as farners, allof them will be reallocated with cultivated land within the scope of the villager groupthat they are administrated by, and be primarily involved in agriculture. Due to this,the types of crops and the cropping system will remain unchanged. Two differentcrops will be continuously planted in one year, such as naked oats and rice, wheat andcorn, in which grains are major. With regard to garden plots, citrus, white-skinpomelo and Chinese cedar should be considered as the focus to plant, which can beoperated by the family itself or subcontracted to others.

Integrated into the "Plan for Chinese Cedar Base for 10,000 mu in Manshui Town",the 6 villages of Manshui Town to be involved in land requisition will build ChineseCedar gardens to improve their production level and life standard, except fordeveloping part of cultivated land. Some villages in Baifusi Town of Laifeng Countyand villages in Longshan County will also develop part of land as fruit gardens, basedon the local status quo.

* Plan for Land Reclamation

The plan for land reclamation in this proposed project is to reclaim cultivated land andgardens in the places where it is convenient to take water, with low surface relief andshort distance between the residential area and the cultivated land (garden). At thesame time, part of dry land will be properly modified to paddy field and the cultivatedland with low and medium output will be improved. Both new-reclaimed land andexisting land should be jointly shared by the villager groups, and during the transitionperiod, the subsidy for living should be equally shared as well.

? Measures for Recovering the Production of Relocated Emigration

In order to facilitate the recovery of economic production and life of the relocateesas soon as possible, the following specific measures will be adopted:

a) Opportunities to provide labor services on the project should first be given to therelocatees.

b) For the living subsidy provided to the emigration at the early stage of relocation,each emigration will receive RMB 400 yuan annually for 5 years, mainlyconsidering the low output and less retums from the new-reclaimed land at theinitial stage and no returns from the new-built fruit gardens before the fruits areripe. If the emigration receive the land that is rearranged within the scope of thevillager group, and the new-reclaimed land and existing land are jointly shared, thesubsidy should be shared by the whole group.

c) Necessary plans and actions should be taken to improve the quality and output ofcrops planted by the emigration, so as to increase their income.

2 Planning for Relocation Sites for Emigration

* Arrangement of Relocation Sites

a) Principles for the arrangement

In addition to the general principles that the whole relocation project has to conformto, the followings criteria have to be complied with as well during the arrangement of

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ReportforEnWronmental Impact Assessmet for Lajitan HYdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube, Provinee

relocation:

* The original residents in the planned relocation sites are willing to accept andwelcome relocation.

* The relocation sites have spare environmental capacity and enough landresources.

* It is convenient in traffic, with completed infrastructure and social service systemin the planned sites.

* It is easy for relocatees to cultivate land. Normally it should be no longer than 2km from the residential area of the emigration to the cultivated land.

* It is safe to live.

* The new location for the relocatees should be arranged appropriately accordingto the local situation, and for each site, it is better to relocate 3 to 5 families.

b) Plan for the Arrangement

On the basis of the above-mentioned principles, and fully taking the thoughts ofemigration into consideration, a large majority of relocatees should be moved up andback to level sites near to their original living site and roads, and also close to someother villages with comparatively concentrated population, so as to facilitate therelocatess being involved in group life. The remaining smaller number of relocateeswill be moved to town area.

* Planning for Land Used for Construction of Lajitan HPP

Based on the survey on the impacted area by Lajitan HPP, and complying with thelocal real status and related regulations for house sites provided by Hubei and HunanProvinces, a quota of 50 m2 for house site per person is used in the planning for landused (including the spare room in front and back of the house to be built and the landfor traffic). Calculated on the basis of the estimated population of 405 in the designlevel year (2003), the total acreage of house sites amounts to 30.3mu.

* Planning for Infrastructure

a) Land Leveling

Due to the scattered relocation sites for resettlement in this proposed project, thewaste hills and waste land belonging to the villager groups involved will be used forconstructing new houses. The waste land will be leveled by using both means ofcutting and filling. The sites resettlement from Manshui Town and Baifusi Town arecomparatively flat, so 80% of the land used for relocation will be excavated. The on-site investigation and estimation provide that the land for 100 m2 of house will need70 m2 of earth to be excavated and similarly 70 m2 to be filled. As for the sitesresettlement from Longshan County of Hunan Province, there is more rock excavationthan earth. The scattered relocation sites determine that a large majority of land forrelocation will be leveled manually, whose cost is much lower. The land leveling feewill be calculated on the basis of 400 yuan per person, and used in ratio during theconstruction.

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Reportfor Envtironmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofH ubei Provinee

b) Public Works

Water supply: Since the relocatees will be relocated within the original village andvillager group, water will be taken via the same means as before, from either drilledwells or hill springs and streams. Villages of Meiziau and Zhangjiacao have a largenumber of hill springs and streams, so during the relocation, water storage tanks canbe built and the relocatees can directly take water from the tanks via PVC pipe.

Power supply: The existing power supply capacity of each village to be involved inthe proposed project can satisfy the demand for power after the relocatees areresettled. The only thing they have to do is to switch in the wire of 220V. And theterminal distance should be ranged from 50 to 300 m.

c) Broadcasting and Television

Broadcasting will be wired with the surrounding villages. The previous TV receiversof the relocatees can be re- installed in the new location. Otherwise, the existing TVreceiving facilities used in the relocation sites can be utilized by the relocatees.

d) Access Roads

The resettlement sites in this proposed project will be selected along the existingroads, which overcomes the difficulties in mobility of relocatees, and meets theirwillingness to relocate as well. The relocatees can just build a short access road tolink with the exiting road system.

* Social Service Facilities

The relocatees moved to the involved villages can use the existing social facilities.such as schools, clinics and service networks, so there is no need to build newfacilities like these. The rest of the relocatees that are moved to town areas haverights to use the existing social service system in the target town, including schoolsand clinics.

* Building of House for Relocatees

The houses to be built for relocatees should take their living habits into consideration.fit for agricultural activities, as well as leave enough room for further development.Preferred by the relocatees, the houses in which those being resettled are livingshould be removed by themselves, and the houses in which the relocatees are goingto live should be constructed by themselves as well. The govemment will compensatethem on the basis of the cost for rebuilding houses, according to the structure andfloor space area of original houses. The cost will be reimbursed in phases, based onthe preparation of materials for the houses and the progress made in the building ofthe house.

Because most of the relocatees are to be relocated within the village where theypreviously lived, and the relocatees moved to town areas will be no furthers than 3km away from their original living sites, all of the relocatees in this project can usethe previous houses to live during the building of new houses. Therefore it is notneeded to build up temporary houses for living. Furthermore, there is no subsidy fortemporary houses listed in this proposed project.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan HydropowerProject in Laifeng Countv of Hubd Province

(3) Planning for Recovery of Production and Living Facilities

The original facilities for production and living that need to be recovered should bere-constructed, and those facilities not necessary to recover should be compensatedreasonably. Since the plants for vermicelli made from bean starch and wine that arelocated in the impacted area of Lajitan HPP are all privately owned, these plants willnot be re-built. The families owning these plantswill be allocated with more housesites and compensated for the production facilities, losses caused by the stopage ofoperation and relocation. The private shops will be given priority to re-start theiroperation at the site near to roads, where it is suitable for its business. They willlikewise get compensation for losses from house removing, stopage of operation andrelocation.

(4) Planning for Removing and Construction of Special-use Facilities

1 Roads in Class 4

The proposed reservoir will submerge the Huoyan-Guitang Road in Class 4 located inLongshan County for 7 km, and the Yutangxi Section in Laizhi Road Line andTangkou Special-use Road for 1 km, which are located in Laifeng County. Accordingto the plans prepared by the road administrations of the two concerned counties, as forthe section in Huoyan-Guitang Road in Class 4 to be submerged, it will be elevatedfrom the section 300 m down away from Lianyudong, go through the hillside behindthe villages of Kuda and Zhangjiacao, cross over the river at the down stream ofLianghekuo via a newly-built bridge with a span of 60m, and then climb up the hillafter passing Dongkan, finally connecting with the original main road at Maojiangba.The road sector to be rebuilt is 8km in length. As for Yutangxi Section in Laizhi Lineand Tangkou Special-use Road, it will be completely moved to higher elevationaccordingly, with a total length for 3km, which requires a I Om-bridge and a 20m-bridge to be built.

2 Communication Cable

Based on the plans for re-constructing communication cable, which is provided by thetelecom administrations of Laifeng and Longshan Counties, the cable will still besuspended on poles. In order to facilitate the construction, the cable will beconstructed along side the roads to be rebuilt. The cable will be rebuilt for 9.8 pole-km including 8 pole-km in Longshan County and 1.8 pole-km in Laifeng County.

3 Transmission and Distribution Facilities for Power

The plans prepared by the power administrations of these two counties indicate thatthe power wires of 35kV and lOkV that will be submerged, will be moved to higherelevation. In Laifeng County, the power wire of 35kV is required to be rebuilt for 7pole-km, the wire of lOkV for 4 pole-km. In Longshan County, the power wire ofI OkV is to rebuilt for 3 pole-km.

4 Transport surrounding the Proposed Reservoir

With purpose of ensuring un-impeded movement of traffic in the villages surroundingthe proposed reservoir and connecting the resettlement sites of relocatees with mainroads, the plans of the traffic administrations require that a 5 km long machine-maderoad be constructed, along with 13 ferries or docks, including 6 in Manshui Town and

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmntfor Lajilan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubei Province

5 in Baifusi Town, Laifeng County, and 1 ferry and 1 dock in Longshan County, andaccess road for 20 km to link villages around the reservoir.

(5) Plan for Clearing Bottom of Proposed Reservoir

The proposed reservoir will occupy an overall water surface area for 3.07 km2 and itsdead water level is 366.5 m. 397 persons are presently living under the proposedsubmerged margin of a flood that is calculated to be encountered once in two decadesand the acreage of various houses to be submerged amounts to 16126 m2. In order toclear up every hidden danger existed before the normal operation of the proposedreservoir, it is required to clear the bottom of the proposed reservoir before waterfilling, including removing all buildings, sanitation, removing tombs and clearing upwoodland.

1 Planning for Removing Buildings and Structures

All of houses and its out buildings within the scope of clearance project have to beremoved. Walls (except for earth walls) have to be pushed over. And the uselesswaste materials that are easier to float should be burned on the spot.

As for the buildings on the ground, such as facilities for power transmission, telecomand broadcasting and its appurtenant works, when they are in the way of theoperational safety and utilization of the proposed reservoir, they have to be removed,and the equipment and materials should be transported outside of the reservoir. Afterthe clearance, the remainders of large-scaled buildings should not be higher than 0.5m above ground level. Wells and earth pits located in inundation area should besealed, filled in or covered over.

2 Planning for Sanitation and Epidemic Prevention

Sanitary and epidemic prevention treatment should be made to manure pits, pen barns,toilets and garbage. The filth from these places should be transported outside of theproposed reservoir, or laid on the ground for insolation lincineration?i andsterilization. Calcium lime will be used for sterilizing the pits, with I kg for persquare meter. And the cesspits should be filled by earth.

3 Planning for Removing Tombs

All of the tombs that were built no longer than 15 years ago have to be removedEach tomb site should be sterilized by 1 kg of calcium lime. For those tombs thathave been in existence for more than 15 years, it should depend on the local custom todecide whether it will be removed or not. The tombs for the departed persons whodied of communicable diseases and burying yards for ill domestic animals should bespecially treated and cleared up [Identify the process that is to be used to speciallytreat these sites].

4 Planning for Clearing up Woodland

Before the water filling of the proposed reservoir, plants in gardens, commercialforests and individual fruit trees should be cut from the surface of ground as much aspossible, and shipped out of the reservoir area. The remains of stumps and stubbleshould not be taller than 0.3m above ground level. Firewood should be cut and thentransported out of the reservoir area. The floatable residuals, such as branches and

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Count of Hubei Province

dead wood, should be piled up and burned before the water filling of the reservoir.

2.5 Total Investment of the Proposed Project

The total investment of the proposed project is expected to be RMB 333.2159million yuan, including static investment for RMB 262.933 million yuan.

2.6 Analysis for the Proposed Project

2.6.1 Analysis for the Construction of the Proposed Project

During the construction of the proposed project, various constructing activities, suchas occupation of land, earth-rock excavation, mechanical works, wastewater andspoiling of wastes, will doubtlessly bring adverse impacts on the natural eco-environment of the assessed area, which will be mainly distributed within theconstruction site of the main works of the proposed project and last for a specificlimited period.

(1) Vegetation Destruction and Water and Soil Loss

During the preparation and construction of the proposed project, land will be leveled.Roads will be built for 3.2km to facilitate the construction. Earth and rock will beexcavated for 624,834 m3 , and underground rock excavation for 23195 m3 . Theconstruction plants and residential facilities will occupy an area for 24400 m3 . All ofthese will destroy part of vegetation on the banks of Youshui River in Lajitan andWachangba. If there is no measure to recover the destroyed vegetation, water and soilwill be largely lost when it is in rainy season. There is no virgin forest in theconstruction area of the proposed project, which is normally covered by secondaryshrubbery and wasteland. Few farm land has been developed here. So the destructionon vegetation resulted from the construction of the project is limited.

(2) Wastewater

The wastewater from the construction mainly contains the wastewater from theconstruction plants and the domestic sewage produced by the construction staffs.

The former includes the wastewater from filling of cofferdam, water discharged fromfoundation pits, rinsing water for sand and rock materials processing system. curingwater for concrete mixing and placement, water for cement grouting and rinsing waterfor construction mechanical equipment (polluted slurry by oil). etc.. The principalpollutant in the wastewater is suspended solids (SS).

Shown from analysis for similar projects, the concentration of SS in the wastewaterdischarged from foundation pits is around 2000mg/L, pH value is 11 to 12, and thedischarge volume of the wastewater amounts to 250 m /h. As for the sand and rockmaterials processing system, when rinsing the sand and rock materials by water,slurry and fine sands whose diameter is less than 0.15mm in quarry sand and rockmaterials will be carried away, which makes the concentration of SS in the usedrinsing water reaches to 30000mg/L. The rinsing water discharged from the sand androck materials processing system amounts to nearly 270 m3 /h.

Calculated on the basis of 800 construction workers, with 200L of water used perperson per day, and 90% of used water to be discharged, the domestic sewage will be

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Lawfeng County of Hubei Provnce

144 m3/d. The concentration of major pollutant BOD5 is from 250mg/L to 500mg/L,and that of CODCr is from 300mg/L to 600mg/L.

(3) Waste Gases

The construction activities in Lajitan HPP will chiefly bring following impacts on theambient air of the construction area: dust emissions from foundation excavation ofmain works, backfilling of earth and rock, sand and rock processing and screening,materials loading and unloading in cement storage, filling materials into concretemixing tower, etc; dust emissions and waste gases from the operation of constructionmechanical equipment, transportation process inside and outside of the constructionsite; and dust emissions and waste gases from rock blasting.

The major pollutants in the waste gases cover TSP, S02, NOx, CO, hydrocarboncompounds and lead compounds.

TSP is mainly produced from excavation, transportation, blasting and grinding of rockmaterials. According to the actual measured data on the construction of similarHydropower projects, the concentration of TSP emitted from the construction site canbe as high as 150mg/mi3, and that of IP as 0.45-0.6mg/m3 .

It can be learnt from the type and category of construction machines used in thisproposed project that the principal fuel used in the project is diesel oil. It is estimatedthat during the construction period the diesel oil will be used for 1410 tons andgasoline for 35 tons (the specific gravity of diesel oil is ranged from 1.05 to 0.96, andthat of gasoline is 0.75). The emissions from the above mentioned fuels used in theproject can be found in Table 2.6.1.

Table 2.6.1 Emissions from Construction of the Proposed Project

Fuel Consumption Pollutant Emission Emission Total (t/a)of Fuel (m3 /a) Coefncient Amount (L/a)

(kglm')

Gasoline 6.6 SO, 0.3 0.001

NO, 21A 0.139 S02: 1.505

CO 169.0 1115 NOx: 21.007

Hydrocarbon Compounds 33.3 0.220 CO: 13.805

Lead Compounds. 2.1 0.014 HydrocarbonCompounds:

Diesel oil 470 SO, 3.2 1.504 2.288

NOx 44.4 20.868 LeadCompounds:

CO 27.0 12.690.296

Hydrocarbon Compounds 4.4 2.068

Lead Compounds. 1.6 0.282

Note: The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province",prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

(4) Noise

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Reportfor Envronmentai InactA ssessmentfor Lajifan HYdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel ProWnce

Sources and intensity of noise generated in the construction of this proposed projecthave been listed in Table 2.6.2.

Table 2.6.2 Sources and Intensity of Noise Generated in the Construction ofThis Proposed Project

Type of Noise Source Generation Section Sound Level dB (A)

Fixed Point Source drill, air compressor. excavator, 95-120vibrating, mixing machine

Mobile Line Source Crane, bulldozer, auto truck and 85-95other transportation vehicles

Noise from Blasting Blasting of hills and rocks 130

Note: The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province",prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

The noise generated from the construction of Lajitan HPP involves the followings:

* Fixed and continuous noise produced by drills, compressors, and otherconstruction machines, mainly from the activities, such as excavation of earth androck, processing of sand and rock materials, grinding and mixing of concrete.This kind of noise always has characteristics like high grade of sound level andcontinuous impact from the sources.

* Noise from blasting at fixed time and fixed sites. This kind of noise is mainlygenerated from the blasting of hills and rocks during the rock excavation (forexample, underground excavation, and quarry rock excavation), which hascharacteristics such as high grade of sound level and short duration of impact.

3 Mobile noise from transportation. The noise is mainly caused by thetransportation vehicles, with characteristics of high intensity of noise sources andhigh mobility.

(5) Solid Wastes

The solid wastes of the proposed project are mainly composed by the spoils from theconstruction and lesser amounts of domestic refuse.

The total amount of earth and rock excavation (including underground excavation) inthis proposed project adds up to 648,629m3 , but only 60,924m3 is to be used forbackfilling and placed rock fill and the rest 587,687m3 of earth and rock will bespoiled. That is to say over 90% of the total earth and rock excavated will bedisposed of in spoils areas. The planned spoils disposal sites are located on the rightbank down strean of the proposed dan site and Wachangba, which may cause jam inriver course and water and soil losses if there is no proper countermeasures taken forthe spoils.

2.6.2 Analysis for Operation of the Proposed Project

Water is one kind of clean energy, which determines Hydropower generation to be acleaner technology and basically bring no pollution to the environment. The impactbrought by the operation of this proposed project mainly contains the followings:

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Reportfor EnWronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Rvdreopoer Project in Laifeng County of Hube Province

(1) Reservoir Filling

After the proposed reservoir is constructed and filled by water, it can be used forpower generation, irrigation, cultivation, and transportation, etc, all of which willbenefit the social economic development of the assessed area. In the meantime, thefilled reservoir will change the hydrological regime of the original rivers, andgenerate some specific impacts on the eco-environnent of the reservoir area andinvolved rivers, on the water flow, water temperature and health of human beings.The proposed reservoir will also produce irreversible impacts on those land plants tobe submerged and those aquatic organisms that are not fit for living in deep water.The migration and breeding of some certain creatures will be influenced as well.

The filled reservoir may bring some environmental risks, such as karsts leakage,small-sized caving of bank, and reservoir-caused earthquake (i.e., induced seismicity).

(2) Loss from Submergence

Based on investigations, the major loss from the submergence covers land requisitionfor 1710.5mu and houses to be removed for 16126.1m2 .

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projedc in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

CHAPTER 3 Regional Environmental Status of the Project

3.1 Natural Environment

3.1.1 Geographic Location

Laifeng County of Hubei Province is quite close to Youyang County of ChongqingCity and Longshan County of Hunan Province. Laifeng County is 134 km away fromEnshi City via the National Road 209, and Enshi City is 286 km away from YichangCity via the National Road 318. Laifeng County is geographically located in NorthLatitude 29012'and East Longitude 109°14'.

3.1.2 Topographic and Geomorphic Features

Laifeng County is long and narrow in north-south, and its northern part is wider thanits southern part in direction of west-east, just like a leaf of robur. In general, itssurface relief is highest in the southeast and lowest in the northwest. The edge ofWuling Mountains passes through the whole county from the southwest to northeast,which makes the topography of the county complicated, covered by continuousmountains and hills and crossed by rivers and streams. The topography of thenortheast and southeast of the county along the banks of Youshui River is mainlydominated by low hills, basins and valley plains, belonging to valley basin. Theabsolute elevation of Laifeng Basin is from 400 to 460 m, and that of the region insouth of Laifeng Basin lower than I OOOm, which belongs to low-relief terrain. Exceptfor Laifeng Basin and some small-sized partial intermountain basins and unclosedvalleys in low and flat relief, most of other regions are in steep terrain.

Youshui River Basin is located in Wuling Mountainous Region along the joint-boundaries of Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Chongqing City and GuizhouProvince, which belongs to uplift zone in neotectonic movement. The absoluteelevation of the basin is normally ranged between 360m and 700m, with depth of cutfor 150m to 305m, and the movement has eroded the low-relief terrain. Karst hasbeen developed within the basin, which produces a large number of solution cavesand underground rivers. The famous karst features include Feng Cave, Popo Cave,Nianyu Cave, Remi Cave, underflow stream of Mao Cave and surrounding solutioncave groups.

The proposed reservoir area is generally higher in the north and east and lower insouth and west, and the upper stream of the reservoir is located in a small-sizedopening valley, and the downstream has many U-shaped river valleys. The hills alongthe banks of the river are high for 600m to 800m, and the elevation of valley bottomranges from 340m to 365m. The first terrace is obvious along the river, higher thanthe water surface of the river for more than 10 m.

The site of dam in the proposed project has been decided to arrange in a canyonsection, with river flowing from east to west. The riverbed is wide for 70 m and theelevation of the dam is from 337m to 342m. The average depth of water through outthe entire year is 2.5 m. The river valley looks like a "U", with steep limestone walls.The elevation of the hills is 540m to 700m.

3.1.3 Geological Features

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Repor for Enwronmental Impaci Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

Laifeng County is located in the vermicular region from Suan'enjiaoyuan, one of thefour biggest fracture zones in the west of Hubei Province, to the southern edge ofXianfeng Fracture Zone. It belongs to a part of umbones in the neocathaysianstructural system. Nearly all stratums are of outcrop, most of which are sedimentaryrocks, and dominated by Triassic calcareous rock.

Lajitan HPP is located in the southwest mountainous area of Hubei Province, in theruche of Bamian Mountain Platform of Shangyangzi Platforms, Yangzi Metaplatform,and the south edge of fold of Enshi Mountain. Within the area, there is the cuttingarea of Xianfeng Active Major Dislocation and Baifusi Major Dislocation. Accordingto "Zoning Map for Earthquake Intensity of China" (1990), the basic earthquakeintensity of this area is lower than VI degree. Except for the Devonian stratum andcarboniferous stratum, all of the other stratums from Cambrian to Quatemary havebeen in outcrop, mainly composed by a set of carbonate rocks and fragment rocks.The bearing of trend of the mountains along the banks of Youshui River is beingcontrolled by the structural system, and the folds and major dislocation are distributedin N250-45E'. Youshui River has developed along the structural line, flowing fromnortheast to southwest.

The folds in the proposed reservoir area are simple and mainly belong to syncline.There are Xiaojiaba Syncline and Lianghekou North-directed Syncline in thenorthwest edge of the reservoir area. The synclines are located in the edge of themountainous area, in small scale. The major dislocations in the reservoir area areLianghekou Dislocation, Manshui-Shadaowan Dislocation, Baifusi Dislocation,Yangjiachang-Hongyan Dislocation and Yangjiaping Dislocation. The ground waterin the reservoir area mainly consists of phreatic water from pores and fissures andkarst groundwater. The chemical content of the ground water is bicarbonate freshwater, without any erodibility to concrete.

In the site of the proposed dam, calcareous rocks under very-thick system have beenof outcrop, and scattered alluvium of Quaternary System has been distributed on thehillside. The site of the proposed dam is located on a homoclinal terrene whose dip ofattitude is 80°-110°with angle of dip of 4°-8°. The attitude has been changedpartially. Except for the Baifusi Major Dislocation, the other dislocations at thedamsite are small scale, without any development. Karst at the damsite has beenalready developed, but distributed intermittently. The development attitude of thefirst layer of karst is around 342 m, which is the datum plane of eroded river bed, andthe solution caves (KI-K4) in this layer have been developed in small scale withshort extending. The second layer has developed to an attitude of 355m to 365m,which is the first terrace in this area, and the solution caves (K3, K5 and K8) havebeen developed in large scale. The third developed layer is on 380 m of altitude, atwhich there exists phreatic water, with many springs cropped out. However only theSolution Cave K2 (Spring q7) has undercurrents, with water flow throughout theentire year (the flow volume reaches to 0.1-0.3m3/s), and water flows in spring q8year in and year out. The other springs belong to seasonal and intermittent springs.

3.1.4 Climate

Decided by the non-zonal impact, a special climatic zone has been formed in LaifengCounty, different from the normal climate in the plain lake area. In the area with lowhills and plains whose elevation is less than 800m, the climate belongs to monsoon-

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Reportfor EnvWronmental Impacd Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province

humid mountainous climate of subtropical zone, under which the four seasons havebeen clearly demarcated with spring longer than autumn and summer longer thanwinter. In the secondary high mountainous area where the elevation ranges from800m to 1200m, it is similar to the monsoon-humid mountainous climate ofsubtropical zone under the South Temperate Zone, and various seasons are clear withlate spring and early autumn. In the high mountainous area whose elevation is no lessthan 1200m where it is a similar climate like the monsoon-humid mountainousclimate of the South Temperate Zone, with short summer and long winter, and thewinter normally lasts for 5 months.

The Youshui River Basin is located in a monsoon climatic zone of the SubtropicalZone where the winter is cold and summer is hot, but the seasons are still clearlydistinct. This basin is always controlled by the polar continental air mass in winter.When cold wave is coming, the temperature will decline below zero centigradedegree, mixed by heavy wind and rain and snow. In spring, while the oceanic warm-humid air mass goes north, it will conflict with the polar continental air mass, whichresults in plum rains. After May, the warm air mass from the southwest grows fast,followed by the main rainy season during the mid June to mid July, and quite heavystorm rainfall is always formed, lasting for a long time and covering a large area.During August and September, the western pacific anticyclones begin to control thebasin, and it is always dry. From October, the polar continental air mass becomesstronger and stronger until the winter. The mean annual temperature of this basin is38.9E (July 26, 1991), and the lowest temperature ever reached to -8.30 (January30,1997). The average annual precipitation is 1353mm, average annual amount ofevaporation 1005mm, average annual relative humidity 82%, annual averageatmospheric pressure 16.2mb, and the average annual wind speed is 0.7m/s. Thehighest wind speed in this basin reached to 20m/s (August 1, 1997).

The natural precipitation of this basin in various seasons is mainly deternined by themonsoon circumfluence, and has clear seasonal changes. The precipitation in winteramounts to 81.6mm, accounting for only 6% of the entire precipitation in a year. Itwill increase to 411.7mm in spring, accounting for 30%. During April to May, thelow-temperature spring rain occurs frequently. From the mid June to mid July, itenters into the period of plum rains, with an average duration of 37 days annually.During the period of plum rains, the average annual precipitation reaches 276.4mm,but may increase up to 500mm to 600mm in the years with "heavy plum rains".

In the last 3 decades, the maximum monthly precipitation has been 500-1 000mm, themaximum daily precipitation (in 24 hours) 250mm, the maximum precipitation in onehour 90.8mm, and the maximum precipitation in 10 minutes is 28mm. During June 7to 14, 1983, the precipitation of the whole county even reached to 600mm.

3.1.5 Hydrologic Feature and Water Systems

There are 25 rivers going through Laifeng County, with an overall length for 485.7m.Youshui River is the major one, crossing the east part of the county from north tosouth. The main river branches upstream of the Jilongtan are Jinjia River, ChayuanRiver, Kada River, Shuanjian River, Longshan River, Xinxia River, Laoxia River,Qiedao River and Pidu River. All of these branches, together with Youshui River,form a water system in the shape of a comb.

Youshui River originates from Youyuan Mountain in Hefeng County, Hubei Province.

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Reportfor EnWronmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projet in Laifeng County ofHubei Province

Its source consists of water from caves, springs and underground currents. The rivercomes into being at Luoguchuan, and then goes through Suan'en County and LaifengCounty from north to south. From Leping, the river starts to wander through theboundary of Hubei and Hunan Province until Jilongtan of Laifeng County, and comesinto Chongqing City. The river then goes across Shidi and Liye, and after enteringHunan Province, turns to go east. It finally joins in Luanshui River at Luanling ofHunan Province. The river is 427km in length, draining an overall area of18,530km2 . The average falling gradient of the river bed is 1.1 %o.

Youshui River is cut into upper stream and down stream by Youshui StoneEmbankment, and Lajitan HPP is planned to be constructed in the former. The totalarea controlled by the dam amounts to 3369km2 . Based on the land form and junctionstatus of the river course, Youshui River upstream of the Jilongtan has been dividedinto 3 sections. One is the section upstream of Shuitianba in Shadaoguan County,which is a desolate remote mountainous area with quick water and great fallinggradient. This section is about 38km in length from Baishui to Shuitianba, with anaverage falling gradient of 6%o. The second section is from Shadaoguan to the urbanarea of Laifeng County, with some large branches joined in. It turns calm and wide inthis section, and is an area with low hills and discontinued valleys, with a length for39km and average falling gradient of 2.8%o. The last section covers the reach fromLianghekou of Laifeng County to Jilongtan, with an overall length for 103km andaverage falling gradient of 1.16%o. From Lianghekou in north to Longzui in south, itis a basin within hills, 30 km from north to south and 20 km from west to east, inwhich the relief is calm and plain, with cultivated land for nearly 50,000 mu. It istableland in the hills between Longzui and Yutang, and the area down from Yutang toBaifusi is valley.

There is a large volume of rains in this basin, and the runoff of the river mainly comesfrom precipitation, whose distributed volume in different seasons is mainly associatedwith the precipitation in the same season. The central area of storm rainfall inYoushui River Basin is located in the middle and upper stream of the river, mainly interms of frontal rain, followed by heat thunderstorm.

There are 4 hydrologic stations located upstream of the Jilongtan in Youshui RiverBasin, including Laifeng Hydrologic Station, Gaoluo Hydrologic Station. DahebaHydrologic Station and Maodong Hydrologic Station. The proposed project choosesthe Maodong Hydrologic Station as its major calculation station. and LaifengHydrologic Station as the reference station for extended data. Maodong HydrologicStation is located 1.0 km upstream of Baifusi Town, and 80km downstream of thesite of the proposed hydropower station. This gauging station has systematic actualmonitoring data on water flow from 1972 to 1988.

At the site of Lajitan HPP, the average annual water flow is 115m3/s, average annualvolume of runoff 3.63 billion m3, and the average annual depth of runoff is 1076mm.The volume of runoff within the basin changes little year by year. Referring to theannual runoff, the maximum volume occurred in 1980, whose average volume ofwater flow is 183m3/s, and the least in 1981 with an average water flow of 64.0m3 /s.

However the runoff is distributed unequally within one year. The runoff during Aprilto September accounts for 77.9% of the total volume in an entire year. The monthwith maximum monthly runoff on average is July, reaching to 250m /s. The runoff inNovember to March occupies only 14.8% of the total, in which the least monthly

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubel Province

runoff on average occurs in January with a runoff of 20.8m3 /s. Maodong HydrologicStation got its maximum monitoring data on water flow on July 4, 1980, whichamounted to 4470m3/s, and least monitoring data of 3.03m3 /s in 1974.

3.1.6 Soil

Laifeng County is located in the mountainous area at the southwest edge of HubeiProvince, which is the joint point of Hubei Province, Hunan Province and ChongqingCity. There are various kinds of soil in Laifeng County, totally including 126 soilspecies in 46 soil genus in 15 subcategories in 8 soil groups ( i.e., red soil, yellowsoil, yellow-brown soil, lime soil, red porcelain clay, bog soil, tidal soil and paddysoil). Among these kinds of soil, the red soil, yellow soil, yellow-brown soil andpaddy soil dominate the whole county in acreage, accounting for 10.9%, 55.91%,22.45% and 9.2%. The total acreage of soil resources in the whole county adds up to115,084.5hM2, occupying 85.34% of the total area of land. The acreage and basicphysical and chemical characteristics of various soils in the proposed reservoir areacan be found in Table 3.1. 1.

Table 3.1.1 Characteristics of Soil in Lajitan ReservoirArea

Item Yellow Soil Red Soil Yellow-Brown Soil Paddy Soil Tidal Soil Redporcelain clay

Acreage (hm2 ) 13809 10551 1520 1977 38 10

Percentage in 49.49 37.81 5.45 7.08 0.13 0.04Acreage (%)

Depth (cm) 0-100 0-60 0-100 0-100 0-76

PH 4.3-5.6 4.3-6.6 4.5-8.4 4.7-8.2 7.6-8.0 /

Organic Matter (%) 0.34-3.09 0.34- 0.77-3.08 0.29-4.49 0.79-1.813.09

Total Nitrogen (%) 0.038-0.116 0.038- 0.040-0.145 0.025- 0.044-0.0960.135 2.245

Total Phosphor (%) 0.010-0.041 0.011- 0.014-0.044 0.010- 0.023-0.033 /0.028 0.043

Total Kalium (/) 0.73-4.72 1.20- 0.83-L.75 0.73-3.47 0.97-1.072.21

Volume Weight (%) 1.41-1.80 1.41- 1.05-1.63 1.29-1.74 /1.80

Content of Gravel 3.7-60.0 2.7-39.8 19.5-42.0 2.0-68.0 60.0(%)

Note: The above data is from "EIA Report for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province",prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

The Laifeng Basin in the northeast of the county is mainly covered by red soil andpaddy soil, which is the base of the county for crops and citrus, accounting for 26%and 97.7% of the total in the whole county respectively. Red soil, yellow soil andpaddy soil are largely distributed in the low hills and valleys in the south of the

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Reportfor Enwronmental ImpacAssesentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

county, and the soil is mainly originated from arenaceous shale. This area is one ofthe bases for forestry, in which the output of tung oil nut and oil tea occupy 60.4%and 44.6% of the total in the county respectively. In the low hill area of the middleLaifeng County, it is chiefly covered by yellow soil and paddy soil, and the quality ofthe cultivated land ranks a position over the medium level. Paddy, rape seed andcured tobacco are the major products from this region, and the average acreage ofcultivated land per capita in this region is 1.34 times that in the whole county.Limited by the characteristics of the soil in this region, more than 45% of cultivatedland produces less output of crops, but it is quite suitable for developing forestry here.The western edge of the county, covered by low, medium and high mountains, is aregion where the relative elevation changes most largely in Laifeng County, with alarge number of mountains but few population. This region is largely covered byyellow soil and yellow-brown soil, with rapid gradient. So there are a lot ofdisadvantages to developing farming. There exits small-sized paddy field in thisregion, and the dry land with low output accounts for 85% of the overall dry land.Therefore, it is fit for reforming the cultivated land to forest, so as to conserve waterand soil through the development of forestry.

The proposed reservoir will be constructed in a platform along the river, where thesoil has mainly originated from arenaceous shale, quartemary clay and alluvium ofriver in recent times. Yellow soil and red soil also dominate this region, followed bypaddy soil and yellow-brown soil. These soils have less fertility. Along the banks ofthe river, paddy, potato, sweet potato and vegetables should be considered as themajor crops to plant, and on the hillside, corn, potato and fruit trees can be cultivated.

From Luoyintan of the reservoir area down to 500m away from the site of dam, it issurrounded by low hills in height of 600-700m, which are all fallen sharp with anormal gradient of 70°-90°. The hills consist of calcareous rocks, covered by thinsoil layer, which is mainly yellow and red soils. There is no crop on the hill less trees,but a large quantity of bushes.

3.1.7 Mineral Resources

Laifeng County has few kinds of mineral resources with little reserves as well.Except for the coal mines, the other kinds of mineral resources are not valuable toextract. Coal mines are mainly distributed in Tianba, Longzui, Wutai and Xita insouth of the county, with an already discovered reserve for 7.6 million tons. Ironmines are scattered in Ganxi, Tianba, Guangguo, Labisi and Gaodongxupu, withsmall reserves. Gypsum is largely distributed in the piedmont of Banbiancheng andShatuo, with high quality but small reserves. Limestone and dolomite are chieflyreserved in Zhuba, Tianba, Shiliping, Sanhu and Jiusi, with comparatively largerreserves and pure quality. Alum clay mines are distributed in Wutai, Ganxi andShazitian, with a reserve of over I million tons. Barite reserves are found inCizhucao of Sanhu, Sanbaoling and Meiziya, with high quality and a reserve of 0.33million tons. Lead-zinc ores are mainly located in Tongmuwan of Geleche andQianchangping of Sanhu, with high quality and large reserves. Manganese mineralsare distributed along the two veins of Lasa-Jingzhu and Tianjingba-Jingzhu in BaifusiTown, but with small reserves. Sulfur mainly comes from Mucheba of Baifusi withsmall reserves. Quartzite is largely distributed in Liujiapo of Dahe with a reserve of0.5 million tons.

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Lawfeng County of Hubel Prowice

3.2 Eco-environment

3.2.1 Terrestrial Eco-environment

(1) Terrestrial Plants

The proposed reservoir is located in the low hills in the southern area of the county,within the administrative districts of Manshui Town and Baifusi Town. The majorvegetation growing below elevation of 800m includes mixed forests with bothdeciduous woods and broadleaf woods and shrubbery. Broadleaf evergreen forest,mixed forests with both deciduous woods and broadleaf woods and needle leaf wartnforest dominate the mountainous area at the elevation from 800m to 1200m where theforest cover rate amounts to 45%. The major vegetation in the proposed reservoirarea has been described in Table 3.2.1.

Table 3.2.1 Major Vegetation in Proposed Lajitan Reservoir Area

Category Major Vegetation

Natural Cunninghamia lanceolata. Pinas massoniana. Pinus arrnandii. Cupressus. Cinnamon. Phoebe.Vegetation Ginkgo biloba, Taxus wallichiana. Cephalotaxus hainanesis. Quercus aliena. Firmiana

platanifolia. Pterocarya stenoptera. Sapium sebiferum. Camptotheca. Robinia. Paulowniafargesii, and Ligustrum lucidum. etc.

(Chinese fir. Massons pine. Armand pine. Cypress. Camphor tree. Nanmao, Ginkgo. Yew.Plum-fruited cluster flowered yarn, Quercus aliena. Phoenix tree.

Cash Vegetation Metasequoia glyptostroboides. Vemicia fordiii. Toxicodendron vemiciftuum. Trachycarpusfortunei, Musa basjoo. Castanea mollissima. Diospyros kaki. Citrus sinensis. Prunnus.Camellia oleifera. Camellia sinensis, Eucommia ulmoides. and Magnolia offEcinalis.

Crops Paddy. Com. Wheat. Sweet potato, Potato. Sunflower. Giantarum. various vegetables andTobacco

Within the involved region of the proposed project, Metasequoia glyptostroboidesbelong to the first-class key protected plants at the national level, ginkgo biloba.Cephalotaxus hainanesis and Eucommia ulmoides are the second-class key protectedplants at the national level, and Phoebe, Chinese douglas fir. Chinese redbud andMagnolia officinalis belong to the third-class key protected plants at the nationallevel. [Although you state below that there is nearly no virgin natural or oldforest vegetation cover remaining in the project area, you do not state whetherany of these listed species are found (or likely to be found) within the projectarea, particularly within the inundation zone, construction areas, new roadalignments, or resettlement sites. Having seen the area, I think it likely that dueto the amount of land development for agriculture in the inundation zone thereare few, if any, of these listed species still growing within the project setting.However, this needs to be confirmed and stated in the EIA document if this is thecase, and sources of information (field studies, discussions with local forestryofficials, published reports, etc.), need to be referenced.]

Affected by the circumfluence of monsoon, the natural precipitation clearly changesaccording to season, so the vegetation shows vertical distribution geographically.

The basins in hills and wide tableland in river valleys (with elevation of 360m to390m) have been cultivated to farmland, on which some crops are planted, such aspaddy, soybean, sweet potato and vegetables. On the hillsides, corn, potato and some

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Reportfor Enwronmental Impaa Assessmentfor Lajitan 1Jvdropower Project in Lairfeng County ofHub., Prownce

cash crops like vernicia fordii and fruit trees are mainly planted. As for thedistribution of vegetation, the valleys are covered by broadleaf and deciduous forestsand shrubbery, the hillsides by broadleaf evergreen forests, mixed forests withbroadleaf and deciduous woods and warm needle leaf forests, and the top ofmountains by deciduous forests and warm needle leaf forests. The forest cover rate ofthe involved area in this proposed project reaches to 45%. and the amount of growingstock of living trees is 9.6m3 /hm3 on average, most of which are young plantationgrowth and natural secondary growth. There is nearly no virgin mature (i.e., oldgrowth) forest in this area. Therefore it is obvious that the eco-environmentalfunction within the proposed reservoir area has less sustainability, and the water andsoil loss in medium intensity can not be ignored.

(2) Terrestrial Animals

The wild animals in the surrounding area of the proposed reservoir are listed in thefollowing Table 3.2.2.

Table 3.2.2 Major Wild Animals in the Surrounding Area of Lajitan HPP

Category Major Wild Animals

Beasts Susscrofa moupinensis. Lepus capensis auriqineus, Meles. Viverricula indica.Erinaccus europaeas, Mustela sibirica. Microtus arvajis, Tamiops swinhoeipyrrhomerus, Macaca mullatta. Moschus spp. Lutra spp, etc.

Birds Pica. Acridotheresc cristaellus. Corvus macrohynchus. Passer montanus saturatus,Streptopelia orientalis, C. Poliocephalus, Picus canus, Egretta qarzetta, hirunndorustica. Chrysolophus spp.. etc.

Reptilia Colubridae, Trionyx sinensis. Chinemys reevesii, etc.

Second-Class Key Protected Macaca mullatta, Moschus spp. Oriental civet cat. Pangolin. eagles, DarwinsAnimals at National Level pheasant, Red-abdomen Golden pheasant. Lutra and Andrias daridiancs

Key Protected Animals at Fawncoloured fox, Coloured-face fox. Fallow deer, Goral. Hare, Meles. MustelaHubei Provincial Level sibirica. Tamiops swinhoei pyrrhomerus, Grey-breast bamboo partridge, Hirundo

rustica. Pica, Acridotheresc cristaellus, Streptopelia orientalis, C. Poliocephalus,Egretta qarzetta, common merganser, acutilingual pallas pit viper, coral snake,batrachia, and Chinese Giant Toad

(3) Assessment on the Current Status Quo of the Terrestrial Eco-environment

It is quite convenient in traffic accessing the site of the proposed project, withconcentrated population. The region where the proposed project is located has beendeveloped early, and it is quite common and frequent to take economic activities. Allof these have brought considerable impact on the ambient eco-environrnent. Thelarge-scale felling of forests on the low hills along Youshui River, cultivation andimmoderate hunting of wild animals have destroyed the virgin forest system, whichnow has not existed any longer. Along the river banks in which Lajitan HPP is to bebuilt, the plants protected at the national level are seldom found, nor are the large wildanimals. Andrias daridiancs, one of the aquatic animals, has disappeared for 10years. Within the construction scope of the proposed project and the area to besubmerged, there are no rare wild animals and plants found. Only a few of the rarewild animals and plants protected by the state are distributed on steep cliffs anduntouched remote mountains in the upstream of the river, but the species and volumeare quite limited. These animals and plants are also in danger, threatened by dyingout due to low population numbers.

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubed Province

3.2.2 Hydrologic Eco-environment

(1) Phytoplankton

Based on the on-the-spot sampling and analysis, the phytoplankton living in theassessed area can be categorized into 14 genus in 4 phylum, including 1 genus incryptophyta, 1 in pyrrophyta, 9 in bacillariophyta and 2 in chlorophyta, which hasshown in following Table 3.2.3.

Table 3.2.3 Phytoplankton in Lajitan Reach of Youshui River

Species Volume (10'/L)

Cryptophyta Chroomonas Hansg 5.64 5.64

Pyrrophyta Peridinium Ehr 2.82 2.82

Bacillariophyta Cyclotella Sp 11.28 47.94

Diatoma De Cand 5.64

Cymbella Ag 8.46

Novicula Bory 5.64

Achnanthes Bory 5.64

Anomoeoneis Pfitz 2.82

Nitzschia Hass 2.82

Synedra Ehr 2.82

Cocconeis Ehr 2.82

Chlorophyta Scenedesmus Mey 11.36 14.1

Selenastrum Sp 2.82

Total 70.5

From the above table, it can be seen that among the phytoplankton in Lajitan reach ofYoushui River, bacillariophyta occupies the most in terms of not only species but alsovolume, accounting for 69% of the total species and 68.0% of the total volume. Thewater body dominated by bacillariophyta belongs to clean water. The total volume ofcells is 0.705 million per liter, less than the standard of I million per liter, whichindicates the water quality is good and acceptable.

(2) Zooplankton

Zooplankton in the water body of the site of Lajitan HPP consists of 4 phylum,including 2 genus in protozoa, 4 in rotifer, 1 in cladocerans and 1 in copepoda, shownin following Table 3.2.4.

Table 3.2.4 Zooplankton in Lajitan Reach of Youshui River

Species Volume (I/L)

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Reportfor Environmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitam Hfydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

Protozoa Strombidium Sp 80

Epistylis Sp

Rotifer Pedalia mira 160

Keratella cochlearis

Polyorthra trigla

Platyias quadricomis

Cladocerans Bosmina longirostris 2

Copepoda Mesocyclops leuckarti I

Total 243

The zooplankton in Lajitan Reach of Youshui Rive is mainly composed by the genusthat is able to withstand medium pollution or is not able to endure any pollution.Especially the pedalia mira and platyias quadricornis in rotifer have high requirementon water quality. The total volume of zooplankton in the target water body is 243/L,far less than the standard of I OOO/L. That is to say the water quality of Lajitan reachis comparatively clean.

(3) Zoobenthos

Historically, zoobenthos in Lajitan reach consisted of 5 genus in 3 phylum, includingPelopia Sp, Polypedilum leucepus, Limnodrilus helveticus, Branchiura Sowerbyi andHippeutrs Sp. The first four genus dominated the composition of zoobenthos in thetarget water body, which can not prove the water is clean. The major reason isbecause the sampled water body has been affected by cultivation activities, whichcauses a large number of nutritive substances to accumulate in the bottom mud of thewater body. However, generally speaking, the species of zoobenthos in Lajitan reachare rich. Particularly, the existence of hippeutrs spp. indicates the good quality of thewater. Measured by the diversity index, that of the zoobenthos in Lajitan reach is3.95. Normally if the index exceeds 3, the target water body can be considered asclean water. The detailed species of zoobenthos in Lajitan reach have been includedin Table 3.2.5.

Table 3.2.5 Zoobenthos in Lajitan River Reach of Youshui River

Species Volume (I/L) Biomass (gIm2)

Pelopia Sp 120 0.4040

Polypedilum leucepus 40 0.1400

Limnodrilus helveticus 800 4.2800

Branchiura Sowerbyi 280 2.4440

Hippeutrs Sp 80 3.3680

(4) Fishes

Historically, the Youshui River had rich resources of fish. According to the historicalrecords, fish were represented by 42 genus of which 8 were bagridae. Four orders,

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County ofiHubei Prownce

including 30 genus in cyprinidae, accounted for 71% of the total. There were 34genus of commercial fishes, mainly involving cyprinus carpio, carassius auratus,megalobrama terminalis, hemiculter leucisculus, opsariichthys bidecs, parasilurusasotus, misgurnus anguillicaudatus, monopterus alaus and siniperca chcatsi, etc.. InYoushui River, there also exit some rare genus, such as onychostoma sima andsiniperica chcatsi, which are tasty and valuable in commercial sense. In the past,there lived anguilla, one of migratory fishes, however due to several alreadyconstructed cascade hydropower stations upstream and downstream of the proposedLajitan HPP, the migration pathway for anguilla has been blocked, so anguilla hasdisappeared in the river reach where Lajitan HPP is located.

The above analysis shows that historically there were rich fish resources in theYoushui River, mainly represented by cyprinidae, which had specific commercialvalue but low abundance. The construction of cascade hydropower stations hascaused the migratory fishes to disappearin this river reach.

[you have still not indicated what the relative abundance of the various fishspecies is at the current time. You need to do this in order to determine themagnitude of impacts that will be brought about by creating anotherimpoundment on the river in the form of the Lajitan reservoir.]

(5) Amphibian

Andrias daridiancs is the maximum caudiferous amphibian in China, belonging to thesecond-class protected animals at national level. It normally lives in clear hill torrentsand springs at the elevation from 200m to I O0Om. Its living requires the water withhigh quality, high content of dissolved oxygen, high speed of water flow and withoutany pollution. The water quality of the river reach where the proposed Lajitan HPP islocated is suitable for the living of andrias daridiancs. But unfortunately, theactivities of human beings in recent years has made the volume of andrias daridiancsdeclined sharply, and it is hard to find them in the river reach of Lajitan now.

Rona spinasa is also a large bodied amphibian, belonging to genus batrachian. Itsbody may be long (100-120mm), and accustomed to living in hill torrents andwaterfalls in the shade. The meat of rona spinasa is delicious and also haspharmaceutical value. However, over-exploitation of rona spinasa by man in recentyears has directly resulted in a rapid decrease of of this amphibian, and it is seldomfound in the river now.

(6) Assessment on the Status Quo of Hydrologic Eco-environment

The phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos in the hydrologic ecosystem ofLajitan mainly consist of clean-enduring species, but with little volume. The diversityindex of the zoobenthos is over 3, indicating that the water is clear and clean in thisriver reach with less pollution. Various commercial fishes and amphibian havehistorically been found in the Youshui River, but due to over-exploitation by humanbeings the presence and abundance of these species has caused them to declinerapidly, and it is hard to recover in short time. Especially, the construction of cascadehydropower stations upstream and downstream of Youshui River makes it impossiblefor migratory fishes like anguilla to complete its spawning migration such that it hasfinally died out in this region. It is clear from the above analysis that the hydrologicecosystem in Youshui River has been effectively destroyed by past and recent human

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Reportfor Environmental Impacd Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projed in Laifeng County of Nl4bel Province

interference.

3.2.3 Status Quo of Rare Species

Based on the investigation on the submerged area of the proposed reservoir, there areno rare wild animals and plants in this area, so the construction of the Lajitan HPPwill not directly bring impact on rare species. On some untouched steep cliffs in thisregion, there still grow some rare species of tree, such as Metasequoiaglyptostroboides, Ginkgo biloba, eucommia ulmoides, magnolia officinalis, andphoebe. During the construction of this proposed project, some effective measureswill be taken into effect and then benefit the protection and further development ofthese rare species. [What effective measures will be taken? These should beclearly stated in the EIA Environmental Management Plan]

Andrias daridiancs belongs to the second-class protected animals at the national level,and is the largest caudiferous amphibian in China. Within the involved area of theproposed project, it is believed to have died out or been removed by over-exploitationyears ago.. Andrias daridiancs mainly lives in higher mountain tributaries upstreamof Youshui River and also in other rivers in Laifeng County. It is obvious that the keyreason extinction of andrias daridiancs from the project area is the over exploitationby human beings, instead of the loss of habitat. As long as the regulations forprotection of wild animals are executed completely and enforced strictly, and theimportance of protection of wild animals and maintenance of ecological balance havebeen actively and fully disseminated, various rare species including andrias daridiancscan be protected and grown in Laifeng County.

3.3 Social Environment

3.3.1 Population and Social Economy

According to the Statistic Yearbook of Laifeng County, 1997, by the end of 1997, thetotal population of Laifeng County amounted to 299,000 million in 86,813 families,including 69,086 agricultural families. Among the total population, the non-agricultural population reached to 45,000 and agricultural population to 254,000,accounting for 15.1 % and 84.9% of the total respectively. There are 144,200 femalesand 154,800 males, accounting for 48.2% and 51.8% respectively.

In 1997, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Laifeng reached to RMB 998.97million yuan, increased by 12.5% on the basis of the GDP in 1996. The totalindustrial output value was RMB 708.85 million yuan, 15.3% higher than that in1996. The total agricultural output value amounted to RMB 278.66 million yuan,increased by 8.23% compared with that in 1996. The net income of farmers percapita was RMB 1,361 yuan and the disposable income of township citizens percapita was RMB 3,867 yuan.

The proposed Lajitan Reservoir is located in Baifusi Town and Manshui Town. In1997, Baifusi Town had 6,857 families with a population of 26,812. The total acreageunder agricultural production was 6703.87hm , with a total output of 16,229 tons andtotal output value of RMB 26.12 million yuan. The total industrial output value ofBaifusi Town reached to RMB 13.09 million yuan in 1997, the total agriculturaloutput value to RMB 41.99 million yuan, and the annual net income per capita wasRMB 1,569 yuan. Manshui Town had 5,312 families with a population of 20,138.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hfydropower Project in Laifeng County ofHubei Province

The total acreage under agricultural production was 56,811 mu with a total output of10,988 tons and total output value of RMB 11.96 million yuan. The total industrialoutput value of Manshui Town amounted to RMB 5.41 million yuan, the totalagricultural output value to RMB 27.53 million yuan and the annual net income percapita was RMB 1,407 yuan.

3.3.2 Status Quo of Industries

By the year of 1997, Laifeng County had had nearly 90 industrial enterprises,involving food processing, cigarette, textile, fertilizer, cement and printing, etc.. Theindustrial set-up is dominated by food processing, together with the development oftextile, building materials, chemical industry and energy generation. Among the totalindustrial output value, the output value of light industry occupies 85.35%, and that ofheavy industry only occupies 14.65%. In 1997, the output of major industrialproducts shows as follows: raw coal 186,800 tons, cement 53,500 tons, raw silk 26tons, cigarette 116,800 boxes, soft drinks and wines 5,535 tons, brick 50.23 millionand power generated 97.28 million kwh.

The whole county had cultivated land for 17.346 million hM2 in 1997. Withprecondition to ensure the production of grains, the county also developed some otheragricultural fields with local characteristics, like cultivation of pigs, fishes, ducks andsilkworn, and planting of ginger, tobacco and citrus reticulata. The output of majoragricultural products has increased steadily. For instance, in 1997, the countyproduced 136,000 tons of grains, 11,900 tons of vegetablw oila, 5,630 tons oftobacco, 484 tons of tea, and 10,312 tons of fruit.

In the entire year of 1997, the county planted trees for a total area of 2036.8 hm2 ,renewed for 106.7 hm2, and scattered trees for 950,000. The main forest productsinclude 607 tons of tung oil nut, 299 tons of rapeseed, 1027 tons of raw lacquer, 24tons of palm fiber and 39 tons of gallnut.

Meanwhile, the livestock raising and aquaculture fishery have also developed inLaifeng County. In 1997, the livestock raising produced a total output value for RMB84.47 million yuan, and aquaculture fishery produced as 1032 tons.

3.3.3 Traffic and Communication

Laifeng County is located at the boundary of Hubei Province, Hunan Province andChongqing City, which is a major distributing center for materials. At present, thecounty mainly depends on the National Road 209 and some provincial roads to accessEnshi City. Longshan County and Zhangjiajie of Hunan Province, and it is convenientin traffic. Laifeng County is 134 km away from Enshi City via the National Road209, and 231 km away from Dayong Station of Hunan Province on Jiao-Liu Railway.Enshi City is 286 km from Yichang City via the National Road 318, and 214 km fromBadong Port on Yangtze River via the National Road 209. Within the administrationof Laifeng County, the overall length of road is 317.4 km, including national roads for9.01km, provincial roads for 93.35km, county roads for 54 km and town road for161.05km. There are 187 villages linked with the roads. And the annual freightturnover reaches to 56.02 million ton.km, and the annual passenger miles to 61.81million person.km.

Digital transmission has been finalized in the entire communication system of the

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Reportfor Environmental InmacAssessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Country of Hube, Province

county. In 1997, there were 7869 users of telephone in the county, increased by27.45% on the basis of that in 1996, including 1463 users in rural area, which is raisedby 51.61%. The output value in postal sector reached to RMB 10.29 million yuan in1997. The county has 9 post offices, and 117 public telephone booths. The post roadin rural area is long for 2374km. In recent years, the mobile communication has beendeveloping as well.

The access of the proposed project will mainly depend -on a single lane road. Theroad from Baifusi Town to Laifeng County seat belongs to a Class 4 road, which ispresently being reconstructed .

3.3.4 Status Quo of Land Utilization

The total acreage of the proposed reservoir area, together with the surrounding landadministrated by Manshui Town, Baifusi Town and Huoyan Town, is approximately40,OOOhm2. By the end of 1995, 29,677 hM2 of land had been utilized, accounting for74.18% of the total. The details can be found in the following Table 3.3.1 and Figure3.1 "Map for Land Utilization of Laifeng City".

Table 3.3.1 Land Utilization of the Lajitan Reservoir Area and SurroundingArea (Statistics in 1995) Unit: hmb2

Town Manshui Baifusi Huoyan

Category

Total Acreage of Land 13571 19057 7376

Forests 6554 8146 5673

Cultivated Land 2751 3239 841

Garden Plots 175 461 0.2

Villages and Towns 289 326 69

Land used for industries and mines 15 26 4

Land used for traffic 90 113 20

Water area Rivers 237 326 44

Others 114 145 20

Unutilized Land 3346 6275 706

Since the local economy of this region is dominated by agriculture, the output valueof cultivated land will directly influence the standard of living of the local people.However, the cultivated land only occupies 23% of the total utilized land, with poorquality. Of this, 81.79% of the paddy field in Manshui Town and Baifusi Town isgraded in Grade 3 or 4, and 87.23% of dry-farmed land in Grade 4, 5 or 6 (dry-farmedland accounting for 43.5 1% of the total cultivated land, and for 67.66% if includingterraced field). So the productivity of the cultivated land is quite low. The acreagewith output of corn less than 250kg/mu occupies 72.63% of the total land for cornplanting. The average output value of various grains is around RMB 438 yuan, andthe net income per capita is RMB 1,488 yuan. The cultivated land in Huoyan Towncan only produce grain for 198kg/mu, among which the land with dry-land corn (with

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Reportfor Environmental Impad Assessmentfor Lajitan IHydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubed Province

an average output of 233kg/mu) and potatoes (with an average output of 197kg/mu)planted accounts for 57.16% of the total crops field.

This region has a large forest area, covering approximately 20372hm2, accounting for51% of the total acreage of land, and 69% of the total utilized land. But the forestland is primarily distributed on low hills and secondarily on the highest mountainswhich are covered by secondary forest and shrubbery. Of this, 67.23% of the overallforest land is covered by commercial forests, which is a sound result from closing ofhillsides to facilitate afforestation in the last decade.

There is little land used for garden plots, occupying 2% of the total utilized land.Based on the local plan for land utilization, while continuing planting of trees andcreating more forests, the local government is planning to increase an area of 2hM2

per year to plant fruit trees and commercial forests, so as to raise the income offarmers.

Among the utilized land in this region, only 0.7% of land has been used fortransportation corridors. Except the roads between Manshui Town and Baifusi Townand between Huoyan Town, Lianghekou and Baifusi Town which are constructed attown level, the other roads at village level are all in poor conditions. Water coursesare also used for traffic in this region, mainly depending on the main and branches ofYoushui River, but it is greatly influenced by the change of season, and only fit fortraveling of small-sized ships. Water flows quickly in the Maodong reach on the mainYoushui River, so ships cannot pass this reach.

Water area dominated by Youshui River only accounts for 3% of the total utilizedland, including 607hm2 of river acreage, occupying 2.3% of the total utilized land.The volume of fishes harvested from the river is about 143 tons per year, with acorresponding income of RMB 0.7 million yuan.

Only 45hm2 have been used for mines in this region, largely for stone quarry. Stonesfrom these quarries are used for building and paving. The residential area for villagesand towns is 684 hm2, accounting for 2.3% of the total utilized land, including houses,pens and courtyards. The acreage for this use has been rapidly increased by 30 hm2

annually, which poses a potential danger for the decrease of cultivated land.

There are 10327 hm2 of land having not been used in this region, accounting for25.82% of the total land, which is dominated by uneven ground, bare soil, bareconglomerate rocks and raised paths through the field. Currently the localgovernment and involved administrations are putting great efforts on planting trees,revising cultivated land on slops to terraced land and paving roads to do their utmostto fullv utilize the land resources and improve the status quo from its poor economiccondition.

3.4 Quality of Life

3.4.1 Culture and Education

Altogether, 99.59% of the school-aged children in the entire county have beenenrolled in school, and the quota of enrollment into middle school reaches to 79.98%.Laifeng County has a total of 158 schools at various levels, including I ordinarytechnical secondary school, 11 ordinary middle schools, 144 ordinary primary schools

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Reportfor Environmental ImpactAssessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hsbe Prownce

and 2 middle schools for farmers. In Baifusi Town and Manshui Town where theproposed Lajitan Reservoir is located, both primary schools and middle schools are inexistence, and the quota of enrollment into middle school is 79.98%.

There are 41 cultural institutions in the county with an overall staff of 150. Thelibrary at county level collects various books for 0.101 million copies. Seventeenpersons work in 98 broadcasting and TV stations, and the audience covers 90% of thetotal population in both broadcasting and TV systems.

3.4.2 Medical and Health

The medical and health systems have been well planned and developed continuouslyin Laifeng County. By the end of 1997, there were a total of 12 hospitals in thecounty, with 540 sickbeds and 1008 specialized health personnel, including 447doctors. The county has 61 clinics with 118 sickbeds. In addition, there is I healthand epidemic prevention station, I health center for women and children, and Iinstitute for drug control in Laifeng County.

(1) Epidemic Situation of Infectious Disease

According to the information provided by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Stationof Laifeng County, in Manshui Town and Baifusi Town where the proposed reservoiris located:

1 The major acute infectious diseases basically show a declining trend in itsincidence rate;

2 The main infectious diseases occurring in resent years include hepatitis, entericinfectious diseases like dysentery and infectious diseases in respiratory tract likepulmonary tuberculosis, all of which are related to the poor sanitary condition andbad health habits of the residents in the reservoir area.

(2) Natural Focal Disease

There is no malaria, hemorrhagic fever or ancylostomiasis encountered in this region.

(3) Native Disease

The principal native disease of Laifeng County is the iodine deficiency disease. Thedata provided by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Laifeng Countyshows that in the general investigation in 1982, the incidence rate of iodine deficiencydisease was 3.15% with a seelling [ceiling?] rate of 24.5%. In the investigation in1999, only 3 persons got the disease among the 400 investigated persons, in which theincidence rate is 0.75% and the seelling [ceiling?] rate is 7%. It is obvious thatthrough the treatment and education on the prevention measures by the healthinstitutions, iodine deficiency disease has been effectively controlled.

In Baifusi Town, the medical and health network at both the town and village levelshas been initially established, in which 12 health stations at village level have been setup with both doctors and nurses for a total of 17 health care professionals. InManshui Town, there are 10 health stations at village level with 16 health careprofessionals (doctors and nurses).

3.4.3 Income and Consumption of Citizens

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Reportfor Environmental Impac Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Projecl in Lawfeng Countv ofHubei Province

The economy of Laifeng County depends on its agriculture, and 84.9% of thepopulation in the county are farmers. The major industries in the county are lightindustry including food processing, cigarette, textile, fertilizer and cement. Theoutput value of the light industrial sector accounts for 85.35% of the total industrialoutput value. Baifusi Town and Manshui Town where the proposed project is locatedare the major agricultural zones of Laifeng County, and its total agricultural outputvalue amounts to RMB 27.53 million yuan. The annual net income of farmers percapita is around RMB 1400 yuan, far lower than the national average of RMB 2400yuan and the provincial average of RMB 2100 yuan in Hubei Province. Therefore,the involved area of the proposed project is a poor area in west of Hubei Province.The net income of farmers per capita is RMB 1361 yuan per year and the disposableincome of citizens per capita is RMB 3867 yuan per year.

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Report for EnWronmental Impacr Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Ldfeng Countv of Hube Province

CHAPTER 4Assessment on Status Quo of Environment

4.1 Status Quo and Assessment on Water Environmental Quality

4.1.1 Monitoring and Assessment on Status Quo of Water Quality

(1) Arrangement of Monitoring Section

After the Lajitan HPP is completed, the water will back up to within 200 m of theTangkou Hydropower Station. Therefore the scope of monitoring on water qualitystatus quo should cover the river reach from the site of 200 m down from TangkouHydropower Station to Baifusi Bridge that is 500m down from the proposed Lajitandamsite. A total of 5 monitoring sections will be established.The detailedarrangement can be found in Table 4.1.1 and Figure 4.1.

Table 4.1.1 Arrangement of Water Quality Monitoring Sections

No. Location of the Section Remarks

I 200m down from Tangkou Hydropower Comparison Section in Upstteam of the Proposed ProjectStation

2 Nanheren Ferry Control Section of Submerged Area

3 Branch of Pidu River Control Section of Tributary Branch

4 Original Hydrologic Station at Lajitan Control Section of the Site of Proposed Dam

5 Baifusi Bridge Reduction Section in Downstream of the Site of ProposedDam

(2) Monitoring Items and Analysis Method

Based on the beneficiary uses of the water body in the assess region and thecharacteristics of the impact brought by the proposed project, the monitoring itemswill include: water temperature, pH value, SS, BOD5, permanganate index, dissolvedoxygen, total phosphorous, N0 3 , NO02, nonionic ammonia, Kjeldahl nitrogen andtotal coliform group. These analyses conform to the related provisions in"Monitoring and Analysis Method for Water and Wastewater" (Third Version).

(3) Time Schedule and Frequency of Monitoring

Water quality monitoring will be conducted twice during low water period (January2000, which is also the time of fertilizer application in the assessed atea). Water ineach monitoring section will be sampled at the surface on the central vertical line ofwater body.

[Status quo water quality monitoring should also be undertaken during the floodseason and during the period between the dry and rainy seasons prior tocommencing construction of the project and the results compared with thoseshown below for the dry season.]

(4) Results from Monitoring

To date, status quo water quality monitoring has been carried out on thefollowing dates: ?????????????????. The results from the monitoring are shown

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Reportfor Environmental Inpact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Habei Province

in Table 4.1.2.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajilan Hyrdropower Project In Laifeng County offHubel Province

Table 4.1.2 Results from Monitoring on Current Water Quality of Lajitan HPP

Items 200m down from Tangkou Nanheren Ferry Pidu River Branch Site of Lajitan Dam Baifusi Bridgellydropower Station

Time of Sampling 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average 10/1 12/1 Average

pi] 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.6

Water Temperature[l 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

DO mg/L 8.92 9.04 8.98 10.16 9.76 9.96 9.48 9.62 9.55 9.64 9.44 9.54 9.20 9.48 9.34

Total P mg/L 0.022 0.024 0.023 0.043 0.037 0.040 0.038 0.040 0.039 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.012 0.011

SS mg/L 12.00 12.34 12.17 12.00 12.50 12.25 13.00 12.82 12.91 12.00 12.42 12.21 13.00 12.62 12.81

Total coli group. /L 2000 2100 2050 2300 2300 2300 680 540 610 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300 2300

BOD5 mg/L 2.84 2.04 2.44 2.20 2.62 2.41 2.72 2.36 2.54 2.28 2.64 2.46 2.52 2.34 2.43

CODM, mg/l. 2.36 2.42 2.39 2.26 2.56 2.41 2.23 2.47 2.35 2.40 2.62 2.51 2.34 2.48 2.41

nonionic ammonia 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01mg/L

NO3 mg/L 0.205 0.185 0.195 0.150 0.148 0.149 0.245 0.265 0.255 0.155 0.183 0.169 0.150 0.180 0.165

NO2- mg/L 0.091 0.083 0.087 0.062 0.048 0.055 0.046 0.058 0.052 0.052 0.046 0.049 0.040 0.042 0.041

Kjeldahl Nitrogen Not Not Not 0.5 0.5 0.5 Not Not Not Not Not Not Not Not Notmg/L detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected detected

Note: The above data is originated from "EIA Report for l.ajitan I lydropower Project of Laifeng County, I lubei Province" (prepared by HPRES, May 2000.

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Province

(5) Assessment on Status Quo of Water Quality

1 As for the item that is required to meet the standard for 100% in GI-IZB1-1999 "QualityStandard for Surface Water Environment" (i.e. dissolved oxygen), 100% of the monitoringvalues at each section have met the required.

2 As for the items that are required to meet the standard for 80% in GHZB1-1999 "QualityStandard for Surface Water Environment" (i.e. temperature of water, pH value, BOD5,permanganate index, total phosphor, N03-, NO2-, nonionic ammonia, and Kjeldahlnitrogen), 50% of the pH values at the Monitoring Section 1# meet the standards, whichmeans that overall, the standard has not been met. The other monitoring value has met thecorresponding standard for 100%, and satisfied the requirement of the Standard.

The major reason responsible for part of monitoring items at the Monitoring Section l#failing to meet the standard is because there is a large volume of hillside cultivated land in themountainous area from Tangkou Hydropower Station to Nanhe, with low forest covering rateand heavy loss of water and soil. The acidic materials in the soil (mainly red soil) have beencarried into the river, and cause the pH value to fail in meeting the standard.

Generally speaking, the current water quality in the river reach where the proposed reservoiris to be construction is good. Except for pH at the Monitoring Section 1# which fails tomeet the standard, other monitoring items completely meet the requirement of water qualityfor water area in Class II on lindicate the dates sampling was conducted], provided byGHZB 1-1999 "Quality Standard for Surface Water Environment".

4.1.2 Investigation and Assessment on Water Pollution Sources

According to the field reconnaissance investigation, currently there are no concentratedindustrial mining zones or scattered industrial zones along the river banks of the proposedreservoir area. Only a few small scale town and village enterprises or private enterprises arelocated in the assessed area. The most significant of these include quarrying of quartzite andwood product, neither of which discharge any wastewater. The domestic sewage from ruralresidents has been mostly discharged into individual septic tanks. After biofermentation itwill be directly used for fertilizing the cultivated land, instead of discharging into the river.Therefore these is no point source pollution in the assessed area at present.

The dominant industry of Lajitan is agriculture, so the area pollution source is mainlycomprised of fertilizers lost from the farmland together with soil. The principal pollutantsfrom the pollution sources are N and P205 . The volume of loss can be calculated according tothe predictive equation for the loss of nutritive substance in soil, provided by "EnvironmentalImpact Assessment Code for Hydropower Project (Trial Version)" (SDJ302-88). The volumeof loss of nitrogen and phosphorous in soil can be calculated as follows:

E=aSNp+bdcFNp (4.1.1)

In the above equation:

E- Total predictive volume of N and P lost from soil and entering into the proposedreservoir, t/a;

SNp--Total volume of N and P in the soil that enters into the proposed reservoir, which

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Reportfor Environmentaol Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province

comes from the total volume of soil that enters into the proposed reservoir by the contentof total N and total P in the soil;

a - Depletion coefficient of N and P during the course from the original location to theproposed reservoir. That of N is 70% and that of P is 95%, so 30% of N and 5% of P willenter into the target water body;

FNP - Level of fertilizer application, t/a;

b - Average content of N and P in fertilizer. The standard fertilizer contains 23% of Nand 15% of P;

c - Rate of fertilizer absorbed by crops. The rate for N is 30% and for P is 15%, so thetotal volume of N and P entering the target water body is 70% and 85% respectively;

d - Rate of fertilizer loss after entering soil and water. The rate for N is 30% and for P is5%.

Based on an investigation, the average utilization rate of fertilizer (actual amount) in thereservoir area in recent years is 354t/a, including nitrogenous fertilizer for 240t/a andphosphorous fertilizer for 114t/a. After converting into available nitrogen (on the basis of Ncontent for 23% on average) and available phosphorous (on the basis of P content for 15% onaverage), the total nitrogen and phosphorous will be 55.2t/a and 17.1 t/a respectively.

According to the feasibility analysis report, the total volume of soil loss in the reservoir areawill use the annual average sediment load at the site of the proposed dam, which is152.3x 104t/a. The average content of N and P in soil can be found in a general investigationon soil, which is 0.12% and 0.035% respectively. Therefore, the total volume of N and P inthe soil that enters into the target water body are 1828t/a and 533t/a respectively.

Substituting the above mentioned parameters into the equation (4.1.1), the total load of N andP entering into the proposed reservoir can be reached, which are 560.0t/a and 27.4t/arespectively.

The investigation on the status quo of pollution sources shows that the major waterenvironmental issue existed in the proposed reservoir area is the area pollution caused by theeutrophic substances from water and soil loss. The loss volume of N and P together withwater and soil loss accounts for over 98% of the total volume of N and P entering into theproposed reservoir. Therefore, water and soil conservation is quite important for theprotection of water quality in the target reservoir area.

4.2 Status Quo and Assessment on Ambient Air Quality

Considering that there are no significant air pollution sources within the assessed area,monitoring on the ambient air quality is not included in this assessment. The air pollution islargely contributed by sources such as emissions from burning of coal, wood charcoal andfire wood in the daily life of the local residents. In addition, exhaust and dust emissions fromautomobiles have also contributed as sources of pollution.

The low population and less developed traffic in the assessed area contribute to the lowemissions from both area sources and point sources, which has little impact on the ambientair quality. The local environmental protection administration carried out a 7-day monitoringprogram on the ambient air quality of Baifusi Town in May 1995. The result shows that the

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Reportfor Environmental Inpact Assessmentfor Lajitan H(vdropower Project in Lawfeng Countv of Hubei Province

average concentration of TSP and SO2 was 0.012mg/m and 0.023mg/m, which has alreadymet the requirement of the Standard Class I provided in GB3095-1996 "Quality Standard forAmbient Air Environment". Based on this evidence, it is concluded that the ambient airquality of the assessed area is good. In recent years, the population and traffic volume havenot increased appreciably, and no new enterprises have been established that are likely tocause air pollution. Therefore, the current ambient air quality of the assessed area is expectedto remain at acceptable levels.

4.3 Status Quo and Assessment on Acoustic Environmental Quality

4.3.1 Monitoring on Status Quo of Acoustic Environmental Quality

(1) Arrangement of Monitoring Points

Taking the site of proposed dam as the center, totally 6 major monitoring points weresampled at the construction area on the right bank and the residential area of Baifusi Town on?999999999 [indicate dates when sampling was conducted]. Details can be found in Table4.3.1.

Table 4.3.1 Arrangement of Noise Monitoring Points

No. Location Remarks

I The site of proposed dam

2 Residential house on the left bank. 300 m down from the site of Construction areadam at the elevation of 400m

3 Wachangba. 500m away from the plant buildings Construction area. processingsystem and storage

4 Surge chamber on the right bank. 200 m down from the site of Construction areadam at the elevation of 351 m

5 Plant buildings on the right bank. 300 m down from the site ofdam

6 Baifusi Bridge. I km down from the site of dam Residential area, traffic

(2) Monitoring Frequency

The monitoring will be carried out once in the morning, aftemoon, and night respectively.It will last for 3 days. While monitoring the traffic noise, the traffic volume will also bemonitored.

(3) Monitoring Method

According to GB/T4623-93 "Monitoring Method for Noise in Urban Area" and GB12523-12524-90 "Limits and Monitoring Method for Noise on the site of Construction", theEquivalent Continuous Sound Level A will be monitored in units of decibels [dB (A)].

(4) Monitoring Results

The results have been listed in details in Table 4.3.2.

Table 4.3.2 Results of Noise Monitoring for Lajitan HPP in Laifeng County,

Hubei Province Unit: dB (A)

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Reportfor Envronmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan 1lydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

January 10 January II January 12

Morning Afterno Night Morning Afterno Night Moming Aftemoon Nighton on

Site of Dam 39.4 41.2 24.1 38.8 41.3 23.8 39.1 10.7 24.2

Residential House 31.6 34.7 24.2 31.2 34.6 24.1 30.8 35.2 24.3on Left Bank (300m down from thesite of dam)

Wachangba (500 m 32.1 36.6 23.7 32.2 35.8 23.5 32.5 35.2 24.1down from the siteof dam)

Surge chamber 34.2 36.2 23.6 34.3 36.4 23.4 34.5 36.3 23.8(200 m down fromthe site of dam)

Plant buildings 35.6 38.5 23.2 35.2 38.3 23.5 35.7 39.2 23.4(300 m down fromthe site of dam)

Baifusi Bridge 51.4 52.5 42.2 52.1 52.7 42.3 51.8 52.9 42.4

(10) (10) (1) (10) (10) (1) (10) (10) (1)

Note: the figure in bracket refers to the traffic volume in unit of set/h.

4.3.2 Assessment on Status Quo of Acoustic Environmental Quality

From the above monitoring results, it is obvious that there is no large-scale noise point sourcewithin the assessed area at presednt, and the noise pollution from traffic is also minimal. Theresults indicate that the acoustic environmental quality of the assessed area is good at present,and all of the monitoring values are lower than the limits of Standard Class I in GB3096-93"Monitoring Method for Noise in Urban Area".

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Provnce

CHAPTER 5Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Project andCountermeasures

5.1 Impacts of the Proposed Project on Eco-environment

5.1.1 Landscape

(1) Impacts of the Proposed Project

During the construction of the proposed project, a dam, diversion canals, power-house andauxiliary works will be built. The main works will generate 64.48x 104m3 of earth and rockexcavation and fill, from which spoils will be disposed of in spoils dumps. In addition, -theconstruction workers and other related personnel will enter the construction site of theproposed dam. All of these will partially change the natural landscape. The proposed projectwill also vary other landscapes within the scope of the construction of the project, such as thesecondary forests, shrubbery, cultivated land on hillsides, houses in the involved villages andartificial gardens. Part of cultivated land or gardens may loose its capacity to produceagricultural and forest products. In return, a yard busy in construction will come into being,covered by construction sheds, mechanical equipment, roads, transportation motor vehicles,and workers constructing the dam and other works.

After the project is completed, the normal pool level of the reservoir will be 370m, with anoverall length of backwater for 33.1 km, so a river-type reservoir in an area of 3.07km2 will beformed in the river reach of Youshui River from Tangkou to Baifusi. The raised water level,widened river bed and reduced water velocities in the reservoir will change the original eco-environment of the valley and turbulent river, and sharp relief of the hills along the rivervalley. The natural U-shaped river valley and cultivated land on hillsides will be varied, andnew landscape in the form of a lake will appear.

(2) Conservation and Construction of Landscape

1 Established trees growing within the construction site that can be conserved should bemaintained in the original location Those trees that cannot be conserved should berelocated to the nearest suitable place to the extent that this is possible. While quarryingearth and rocks, great attention should be paid, so as to avoid destruction of the forests andvegetation in the construction area. The surface earth should be removed and stockpiledto facilitate the recovery of the eco-environment. As for the construction site and the siteof proposed dam. afforestation should be made according to the requirement of design.which will beautify the new landscape.

2 Residential population of the reservoir area has to be strictly controlled based on thebearing capacity of I mu of cultivated land per capita. On the cultivated land on hillsidewith a gradient below 25°, intercropping method of cultivation should be used, or themethod of cultivation on crossing slopes with isoheight plant fence to stabilize N can bealso applied. These methods will reduce the water and soil loss of hillsides by over 60%,as well as improve the quality of earth and maintain fertilizer. As for the cultivated landwith a gradient over 250, it is recommended that as many trees be planted as possible sothat the cultivated land is replaced by forests.

3 At elevations of 300m to 1000m within the reservoir area, the forest for conservation ofheadwaters, forest for conservation of water and soil and forest for bank protection will be

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project In Laifeng County of Hubel ProWnce

established accordingly from higher to lower elevations, so as to create protective forestfor eco-environment. The forest covering rate of the proposed reservoir area will beenlarged to over 70% progressively. Therefore the landscape of the reservoir area will beconserved and improved. The whole landscape eco-system of the reservoir area will berebuilt through the projects, such as modifying the cultivated land on hillside to terracedland, applying the bio-fences and planting forests.

5.1.2 Terrestrial Ecosystem

(1) Impacts of the Proposed Project

The proposed project will occupy an area of 2.44hm2 permanently, which is mainly coveredby shrubbery, waste hillsides and valleys with rocks, with few natural sectary l????] forestand scattered fruit trees in yards. During the construction of the proposed project, the humanactivities, such as land leveling, paving access roads, excavation of earth and rocks andspoils disposal, will cause unavoidable destruction of secondary forests and partially decreasethe green land. Consequently, the amount of bare land surface will increase. But all of thesefactors will have little impact on the vegetation around the construction site.

After the proposed reservoir is filled by water, 692.5 mu of cultivated land (including 209.2mu of paddy land and 383.3 mu of dry farmed land) within the overall submerged area will beinundated and, therefore, lose its capacity to produce grains. About 369.4 mu of forest otherterrestrial plants in the bottom land of valley will be submerged and vanished, and replaced byaquatic plants in the shallows of the reservoir. Other plants living around the proposedreservoir area are distributed widely and tied closely I???????I, which will not disappearafter the reservoir is filled . Most of the terrestrial plants presently found in the area that willbe inundated are mainly cultivated. Only a small proportion of the land that will besubmerged in this project supports the wild (native) plants. Therefore, within the impactedarea few native plants will be affected. Except for the increase in water area, other landscapeof the eco-environment in the involved area will remain more or less in its current state.

The major protected plants of Laifeng County include Chinese douglas fir, yew, eucommiaulmoides, cinnamon, phoebe, trachycarpus fortune, magnolia officinalis, Coptis chinensis,Schneider zelkova, bastard mahogany and henry emmenopherys. Since none of these plantsare found growing in the proposed construction site or impacted area of the proposed project,the implementation of the project will have no adverse effect on the protected plants.

The concentration of human population in this area of China which forms a transportationcrossroad for Hubei and Hunan provinces and Chongqing City has resulted in early economicdevelopment of this area, which generated obvious impacts on the natural eco-environment.Especially after the 1980's when the uncontrolled felling of forests on the hills along YoushuiRiver, land cultivation and catching of wild animals contributed to the destruction of virginforests and the local ecosystem. In addition to the impacts to the aquatic environment broughtabout by building of cascade hydropower stations in the upper reaches of theYoushui River,large-sized wild animals have seldom appeared in the surrounding area of the proposedreservoir. Andrias daridiancs has not been recorded in the area over the last ten years, likelyas a result of over-exploitation by man being. There are no other rare wild animals or plantsfound in the proposed construction site and inundation area of the reservoir. Up to now onlya few dispersed species of wild animals exist in the proposed project area, and there is nospecial habitat remaining in the project area which can offer protection. No specific route formigration of wild animals has been identified. Ion what basis are these conclusions made?There are no references or studies cited that lend credence to these statements.

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Reportfor Environmental Impac Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Lawfeg County of Hubei Province

Supporting documentation or evidence is required to support these statements,otherwise it remains simply conjecture on the part of the authors of this EIA document]As for those wild animals full of energy living in farmland and shrubbery, such as microtusarvajis, lepus capensis auriqineus, mustela sibirica, meles and Sus scrofa, they will moveupward in the early stage of water filling, so the volume of these animals may increase aroundthe reservoir. [Again, what is the basis for such statements? What habitat do theseanimals require to sustain themselves? I have not seen any information that suggeststhere will be more habitat available around the reservoir once it is created, so how canthis statement that the numbers of these animals will increase, be supported?] But thewild animals living in the mountainous area along the river will be less influenced. Generallyspeaking, the construction of the proposed project will not result in large-scale negativeimpacts on the terrestrial ecosystem within the construction site and submerged area. By

2contrast, once the reservoir is full, a water area in 3.07km will be created. The existence ofa wide water area and wetland and diversified hydro circumstance resulted from the fittingclimate will become more productive for aquatic plants, aquatic birds and animals to live.Consequently, the species and volume of migratory birds and aquatic birds and other animalswill increase [this will only be the case if the margins of the reservoir are sufficientlyshallow to support rooted floating and emergent aquatic vegetation, and the reservoirmargins do not suffer repeated drawdown and flooding, actions that will reduce theability of shoreline vegetation to develop into viable wetland areas. If no such habitat islikely to develop, the claim that migratory birds, aquatic birds and other animals willincrease in number is false and misleading. These claims need to be substantiated byinformation regarding reservoir morphology and operation].

(2) Conservation of Terrestrial Ecosystem

1 While the residents living in the proposed reservoir are being relocated, measures likeprohibition of game-hunting and tree felling, closing of hillsides to facilitate afforestationand modifying cultivated land on the hillsides with a gradient over 25 should be broughtinto effect, so as to recover the original ecosystem and create a better habitat for terrestrialterrestrial plants and animals.

2 When the resettlees have been relocated, they should be allocated 0.67hm2 (,mu) ofcommercial forest, which is the goal listed in "Green Enriching Project of Hubei Province".Combined with the locate status I?????I, commercial woods that should be developedinclude: walnut, castanea mollissima, aleurites fordii, ginkgo biloba, ratherripe citrussinensis, camellia sinensis and medicinal materials. In the initial stage, the purpose is toincrease the income of the resettlees, but in the following stages, these commercial woodsshould be developed further Ifor the purpose of ????].

3 Related policies should be conformed to during the construction of the project. Whiledeveloping the economy of the mountainous area, the vegetation and forests around thereservoir area should be protected and the habitat for wild animals should be conserved."Forest Law" and "Wild Animal Protection Law" should be widely disseminated andstrictly put into effect, so as to improve the protection of rare species in danger, especiallythose key protected wild animals and plants at national and provincial level, and further toguarantee the stability of the bio-diversity in the reservoir area IThis is a contradictorystatement. In an earlier section it was indicated that there are no rare plants oranimals remaining within the project setting so there were no significant impacts thatwould accrue to them. Now the statement is being made that policies should beimplemented to protect and enhance species in danger. Either there are no species at

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Reportfor Enironmental impact Assessment for Lajita, Hydropower Project in Lalfeng County f oHubei Prownee

risk, or there are, in which case the project will generate potentially significantimpacts upon the few remaining rare plants and animals in the project area. Which isit?].

5.1.3 Aquatic Eco-environment

(1) Aquatic Eco-environment

In order to make a comparison, a similar investigation has been done for the TangkouHydropower Station, located 30km upstream from Lajitan. The comparison of the resultsfrom both investigations shows:

(a) Phytoplankton

The two river reaches have the same 4 phylum, i.e. cryptophyta, pyrrophyta, bacillariophytaand chlorophyta. The only difference is occurred in the number of genus in each phylum, asshown in the following Table 3.2.6.

Table 5.1.1 Comparison in Phytoplankton between Lajitan and Tangkou

Cryptophyta Pyrrophyta Bacillariophyta Chlorophyta Euglenophyta Total

No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. ofgenus cell genus cell genus cell genus cell genus cell genus cell

Lajita Surf 1 5.64 1 2.82 9 47.94 2 14.1 13 70.5n ace

Tangk Surf 2 5.64 2 47.94 2 11.28 5 262.2 10 327.1ou ace 6 2

Bott 2 155.1 2 11.28 2 33.84 4 141 1 2.82 l l 344.0Om 4

Ave 2 80.37 2 29.61 2 22.56 7 201.6 1 1.41 14 335.5

rage I III 3 8

Note: The unit is 104/L.

Shown from Table 3.2.6, after the proposed Lajitan HPP is constructed, the number of genusin the reservoir will be similar to that in Tangkou Reservoir.

The composition of genus in phytoplankton will be enlarged, and euglenophyta will appear inLajitan, and total volume will increase from 0.705 million per liter at the current level up to3.3558 million per liter. That is because the reservoir to be constructed will form stable waterbody, which turns lake-type water body from river-type. Water velocity in the reservoir willdiminish, and the depth of the water body will increase. Nutritive substances, such assediment load, carried from the upstream will be accumulated in the reservoir, benefiting thegrowth of phycophyta, so both genus and volume of phycophyta will increase. The volume ofphycophyta reaching to 3.3558 million per liter in Tangkou reservoir proves the water body atmedium nutritional level, which shows Tangkou Reservoir has been organically polluted tosome extent. Therefore, great attention should be paid to the proposed Lajitan HPP as early aspossible, to prevent the water body to develop towards eutrophication Iwhat sort of actionsneed to be taken to prevent Lajitan from becoming moderately eutrophied likeTangkou?J.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfer Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province

(b) Zooplankton

The increase in phytoplankton in the proposed reservoir to be constructed by Lajitan HPP willconsequently result in the increase in zooplankton. The following Table 3.2.7 indicates thatthe genus of zooplankton in the surface of Tangkou Reservoir does not rise, and that in thebottom decreases. That is mainly caused by the deepening of water, which makes thetemperature of each water layer differ from each other. So the bottom layer is not fit forpropagation of zooplankton whose volume declines accordingly, shown in Table 3.2.8.

Table 5.1.2 Comparison in Genus of Zooplankton between Lajitan HPP (to be built)and Tangkou Reservoir (already existed) in Youshui River

Species Lajitan Surface of Tangkou (0.5m) Bottom of Tangkou (lOm)

Protozoa Strombidinm Sp + +

Epistylis Sp + +

Cinetochilum +margavitaceum

Rotifer Pedalia mira +

Keratella cochlearis + + +

Polyarthra trigla + + .+

Platyias quadricomis +

Asplanchna Sp +

Cladocerans Bosmina longirostris + +

Copepoda Mesocyclops leuckarti + +

Cyclops vicinus +

Table 5.1.3 Comparison in Genus of Zooplankton between Lajitan HPP (to be built)and Tangkou Reservoir (already existed) in Youshui River

Protozoa Rotifer Cladocerans Copepoda Nauplius Total

Lajitan 80 160 2 1 1 244

Tangkou 250 400 5 6 16 674

(c) Zoobenthos

In the investigation on Tangkou Reservoir, only glabrous genus and midge larva are founded,2the volume is about 350/m . In the deep water of the reservoir, due to oxygen depletion at the

bottom, it is only suitable for glabrous ones and midge larva to live, because they are able toendure oxygen depletion. But in the surrounding area of the reservoir, the shallow and highquality water provides favorable environment for those clean-enduring hydrologic insects togrow, as well as mussels and spiral shells. In the meantime, the benthic fishes are alsoprovided with a great number of food sources.

(d) Fishes and Amphibian

Along with the change of habitat in the target river, the species of those small-sized benthic

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hube Provnce

fishes loving the habitat with running water, living in the river reach where Lajitan HPP is tobe built, will decline sharply. Some of them will move to the tail of the proposed reservoir, orgo up to the upstream for finding out a better habitat [but if Tangkou is located at thebackwater end of Lajitan, where will these organizms go?]. However as for those fisheswho like to live in reservoirs on river course, such as the large commercial fishes likectenopharyngodon idellus, cyprinus carpio, mylopharyngodon aethops, carassius auratus,parasilurus asotus and siniperca chcatsi, they will multiply fast, and the output will increasesignificantly [two species mentioned here (ctenopharyngodon idellus andmylopharyngodon aethops are not listed as being historically present in the river basedon data provided in an earlier section of this EIA report. Therefore, how will they beintroduced to the reservoir in such a manner as to become viable breedingpopulations?]. Batrachia, an amphibian will also grow faster. Especially the edge of thereservoir will be quite suitable for amphibians, whose species and volume will increasesimultaneously. [earlier you indicate that batrachia lives in hill torrents and waterfalls inthe shade, so how will this amphibian, that has not been seen in recent years in the river,benefit by the reservoir when this is not its preferred habitat?]

After the reservoir constructed, a water area of 3.07km2 will be formed. Aquaculture can bedeveloped in the reservoir. The species of commercial fishes -will increase further. Thevolume of these fishes, such as mylopharyngodon aethops, ctenopharyngodon idellus, silvercarp, cyprinus carpio, carassius auratus and parasilurus asotus, will also increase, and theoutput of these fishes will reach to 20-30 tons annually [on what is this prediction foraquaculture production based? From where will brood stock be obtained, and at whatcost to the locals who are trying to develop an aquaculture industry?].

The dam to be built in Lajitan HPP will separate the upstream and downstream of YoushuiRiver. Though there are no migratory fishes in the involved basin, the eco-environment forthe semi-migratory fishes in this area will be changed, and cannot be soundly recovered in ashort time. Therefore the fish resources of this basin cannot be reinforced as necessary. Thevolume of harvesting of native fishes will decrease to some extent within 2 or 3 years after thedam is constructed.

In order to minimize the declines in fish harvesting caused by the dam, in addition to thedevelopment of aquaculture within the reservoir, some actions have to be taken downstreamof the dam, so as to enhance the conservation of fish resources. Firstly, after the dam iscompleted, a certain volume of water has to be guaranteed to reach to the downstream, so abalance between power generation and release of water should be reached, to ensure thatenough water flow in downstream without any break and dry river bed. Secondly, toconserve fish resources downstream, it is required to release water with large volume forseveral times by the proposed reservoir during the propagative period, especially the periodfrom mid-May to the first ten days of June. So the gain of water in downstream will bestrengthened, which will create a satisfactory condition for spawning of fishes. [whatvolume of water is required to be released for fishery mitigation flows during differenttimes of the day and different seasons? If water is already going to be spilled during theflood season when downstream fish populations are migrating, then there will be nosacrifice between energy generation and maintaining fish flows. The key concern is forfishery mitigation flows during the dry season when there is a potential during certainparts of the day to dewater the section of river between the downstream face of the damand the tailwater from the power house. Is spilling necessary to provide water in thissection of the river for part of the day during the dry season months and, if so, howmuch water needs to be spilled? If there are no fish populations to sustain, then it is not

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan HVdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hlubet Province

an issue.]

Gas bubble disease of fish means fish dies of dissociative bubbles formed in blood vessel orsome specific tissue when living in water body with over saturated resolvable dissolved gases,which is caused by the uncontrolled release of water from large-scaled hydropower stationsupstream. Normally speaking, when the total gas saturation percentage exceeds 115%, it isquite easy for fishes, especially juvenile fishes, to be affected by gas bubble disease. Themajor gas responsible for the gas disease of fish is nitrogen gas. As investigated, theproposed Lajitan HPP as planned is small in size, and the project will use underflow todissipate energy with sound effect on this issue. In addition the project has less requirementon water cushion under the dam. Therefore, the project will have less impact on thepercentage of gas saturation, and it is hard to make the water body over saturated. In additionthe output of natural fishes in this river is low. So the proposed Lajitan HPP will have less ofan impact on gas bubble disease in fish.

Table 5.1.4 Life Habit of Related Fishes in Youshui River

Species Life Habit Feeding Habit Spawning condition Distributionin China

Cyprinus carpio Benthonic fish, like Polyphagia, juvenile Spawning in April and May, Every waterto live in the soft fish eating plankton, and the eggs with mucosity, system nationbottom and aqueous and adult fish eating attached to float grass wideplants, with strong spiral shell, larva ofadaptability insect and float grass

Carassias auratus Eurvtopicity fish, Polyphagia. eating float Spawning during March to Every waterable to live in various grass, plankton and August and the eggs with system nationkind of water body benthonic life mucosity. Spawned after wideand like to stay in one winter, the fish is ableaqueous plants and to spawn. so it has strongshoal rivers and reproductive capacity.lakes.

Ctenspharyngodon Live in medium and Eating float grass Spawning in upstrean of Yangtze River,idellus substrate layer of rivers during March to June, Zhujiang River

water the eggs sink to the bonom and HeilongjiangRiver

Megalobrama Live in substrate Juvenile fish eating Spawning during May to Lakes in middleamblycephala layer of water, and plankton. and adult fish June. the eggs with and downstream

stay in open water eating float grass mucosity. and attached to of Yangtze River.area with muddy float grass and it can also bebonom and emigratedsubmerged plants

Megalobrama Live in medium and Juvenile fish eating Spawning during April to Water systems interminalis substrate layer of zooplankton and adult June, it requires flowing the northem

water fish eating aquatic water to spawn. plains andplants Heilongjiang

River

Onychostoma sima Live in rivers with Eating thallobionta Spawning in beaches with Main andquick water flow and quick water and sands and branches ingravel bottom, and rocks during April to May upstream oflike to stay at the Yangtze Riverbottom

Siniperca chuatsi Live in rivers and Eating shrimps and Spawning during May to Widelylakes fishes August, requiring flowing distributed from

water Heilongjiang to

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajiten Hydropower Project in Lalfeng County of Hubei Provnce

Species Life Habit Feeding Habit Spawning condition Distributionin China

Hainan Island

Anguillajaponica Originally live in sea Eating fishes, shrimps, Spawning in seawater Every sea areawater, go against spiral shell and insects and all waterriver to grow in fresh systems fromwater, and normally Liao River tostay in caves. Hainan Island

Opsariichtys bidens Like to live in Eating fingerlings and Spawning during March to Water systemsflowing water in hill aquatic insects June from north Chinatorrents with rocky to Hainan Islandbottom

Hemiculter Live in the upper Polyphagia Spawning during May to Most in the waterleucisculus layer of water along July. the eggs with mucosity system in the

banks in flowing plains in eastwater or dead water

Monopterus alba Always stay in mud Eating aquatics animals, Spawning during June to Fresh waterpits aquatic insect and August nation wide

fingerlings

Misgumus Small-scale Eating invertebrate and Spawning during June to Widelyanguillicaudatus benthonic fish thallobionta August distributed

Note; the above data mainly comes from the "Taxonomy of Backboned Animals" (Zuoxin NA. Agricultural Press. 1982) and-Animal Icon of China" (Baoshan ZHENG. Sciences Press, 1987)

(2) Impact of the Proposed Project

During the construction of the proposed project. the water and soil loss caused by the largevolume of earth-rock excavation and piling up the spoils in the beach of the river will makethe water in downstrean of the dam turbid. This may bring some specific short-term impacton the biologics living in the river that prefer clear water. ithen you need to designprotective measures to isolate the spoils from the water course such that there is norelease of fine textured materials that will result in turbid water. One way to do this is toconstruct a rock coffer dam between the river and the spoils, in effect creating a spoilsdam. The spoils should not be placed on river bars such that the fines can be washed outof them, causing turbidity to increase by more than 25 mg/I. If TSS is likely to increaseby more than this than appropriate mitigation must be recommended.1 However afterthe reservoir is completed, the previous river landscape will be modified to become anartificial lake area. The local hydrological regime will be consequently changed. includingthe slowed water velocity, enlarged surface of water area and relatively quiescent water body.The shallow water area along the edge of the reservoir will be propitious to growth andpropagation of plankton and other aquatic fascicular plants, which will change the speciesstructure of plankton and aquatic plants, and increase their volume. Great changes will alsotake place in the setup and volume of original benthic fauna, and these benthic fauna willbecome a superior species in the bottom of the shallow water in the reservoir, where there isdistributed rich nutritive substances. [what is the percentage of shallow water habitat lessthan 2 m in depth that will be created along the reservoir margins, compared to the totalarea of the reservoir?] The banks of the reservoir and the tail water area will turn to thehabitat for the mollusc like field snail, mussel and corb shell, and midge larva and aquaticinsects, with greater species and volume than the current ones.

The proposed reservoir will be a mixed reservoir without appreciable vertical temperature

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

stratification. The water temperature will change following the change of season, just likenatural rivers. So there is no impact on aquatics caused by water temperature differences withdepth. Along with the change in circumstance of the river, small bottom fishes living inprevious river reaches where the reservoir is located will decline sharply. But thecircumstance with flowing water still exists in upstream of the river, so these biologics lovingcircumstance with flowing water can keep on living. tare you referring to the YoushouiRiver or its tributaries. Since the backwater of the Lajitan Reservoir will meet thetailwater of the Tongkou Reservoir, there will be no upstream habitat in which riverinefish species can take refuge, other than the remaining tributary streams. What is theavailable habitat in these tributaries, and to what extent is this habitat presentlyutilized?]. As for the fishes living in open area, especially those large fishes that can becultivated in a river-course reservoir to produce commercial value, such as ctenopharyngodonidellus, cyprinus carpio, mylopharyngodon aethops, carassius auratus, parasilurus asotus andsiniperca chcatsi, they will increase in productivity in the reservoir In addition the species ofamphibian (batrachia) and aquatic reptilia (Chinemys reevesii and Amyda sinensis) will bealso enlarged. [see my earlier comments on batrachia]

In general, the construction of the proposed Lajitan HPP will bring specific short-termimpacts on some organizms living in wide area within the impacted scope of the project, aswell as the terrestrial plants and some small fishes presently occupying sections of the riverthat will be submerged under the reservoir. However, the project will not threaten or causethese organizms to die out. [this statement contradicts earlier ones that indicates somespecies will be threatened and will not survive in the reservoir. Revise the document tobe consistent. If some species will die out due to change in the aquatic habitat, thenclearly state which ones you anticipate will be affected and whether they are currently ofeconomic or ecological significance (e.g., due to their rarity, etc.) in the area.]Additionally, the newly-created manmade lake-type eco-environment in the surrounding hillsand the circumstance with wetland areas that will be created by the reservoir will form a newecosystem in the reservoir area, which will increase the species and volume of aquatics, andespecially provide opportunities to develop the commercial fishes through aquaculture.

Impacts on Aquatic Eco-environment downstream of the Dam as a result of restrictedflowsDuring the course of dam construction and filling of the reservoir, the water flowwill be interrupted between the upstream and downstream for specific period. Iwhat isthe timing and estimated duration for this interruption in downstream flows? Whatmitigation measures are available to minimize or offset the consequences? Whatresources are at risk (fish species? Agricultural irrigation?)] If the flows arecompletely interrupted, and if no other measures are taken, the aquatic organizms will bethreatened down in the river reaches downstream of the dam. Fortunately, from the dataanalysis and on-site investigation, it can be concluded that the proposed LajitanHydropower Station has the following features that can guarantee the living of theaquatics in the downstream:

0 In the downstream of the dam, there are several branches join in the river course (Table5.1.5)

Table 5.1.5 Major Branches Joined in the downstream of the site of LajitanHydropower Station

Branch Distance down from the site Average Minimum Flow(kmn) Rate (m3/s)

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Province

Laotangwan 0.2 0.1

Qiedaogou 0.4 4.0

* The minimum flow rate of Youshui River from actual monitoring in history is 3.03 m3/s(January 1974), and average minimum flow rate is 20.8 m3/s. The flow rate in driestperiod is still comparatively large;

* The reservoir in Lajitan HPP is designed to regulate once in ten days, which providesreliable guarantee to continuous water flow in the downstream of the river.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the construction and operation of Lajitan HPP will notresult in complete dewatering of the river course which would threaten the existing aquaticorganizms located in waters immediately downstream of the dam.

(4) Conservation and Development of Aquatics

1 Enterprises producing heavy pollution should be forbidden from being introduced intothe proposed reservoir area, especially the small enterprises in 15 sectors, like pulp andpaper, fertilizer and smelting, which has been strictly controlled by the state. This actionwill avoid the pollution in the headwater of the reservoir and the degrading of the eco-environment.

2 Integrated with the comprehensive control and development of the small river basins,some protective ecological measures should be taken according to the real status of thereservoir area, including clearing up of dangerous rock masses, abstraction I????J ofdrains, reducing the burden of the slope prevention j????], closing of hillsides tofacilitate afforestation and returning land now used for farrning to forestry. Depending onthe extent to which these measures are adopted, the area with water and soil loss inYoushui River Basin may be effectively controlled. Protection pits l?????] should beprepared for impound of water sources. Ecological construction should be carried out inlarge scale with great efforts. Therefore, the reservoir area will be enhanced in thefunction of water and soil conservation, and various disasters like flood, rock fall andmud rock flow, will be effectively decreased, so as to avoid the blockage of the reservoir,introducing large volumes of sediment into the reservoir, and degrading the habitat ofaquatic organizms.

3 The natural cultivation (or eco-cultivation) should be developed progressively in thereservoir. If permitted by the conditions, cultivation of fish in net cages should also beencouraged in proper water area ( to cover no more than 1% of the water surface of thereservoir). However; it should be noted that while the economy of the reservoir ispromoted, great attention has to be paid to the environmental capacity, so as to protect theaquatic eco-environment of the reservoir and ensure the water quality to satisfy thebeneficial use in Class II water area, required by the standard G8ZB 1-1999.

5.1.4 Water and Soil Loss

5.1.4.1 Assessment on the Impacts of Water and Soil Loss

The water and soil loss in the reservoir area is mainly caused by soil erosion caused by runoff.Open slope erosion is the major concern, followed by gully erosion and gravity erosion.Open slope erosion largely occurs in sandy slopes with efflorescent shale and the places withearth coming from sandrocks. The gravity erosion takes place in valleys with steep cliffs.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

And the gully erosion occurs in plain area with low hills.

There are several causes for the loss of water and soil. One is the natural cause, such as relief,precipitation and vegetation. The reservoir is located in an area with high mountains andsteep slopes. The slopes have long face and thin earth layer. The covering rate of vegetable islow. In addition to the large volume of rainfall in a narrow period, it is quite easy to formoverland flow and then result in loss of water and soil. The second cause is from humanactivities, for instance, construction of hydropower project works, paving of road, relocationof people to undeveloped land, and excavation of wasteland on which trees have been cutdown . During the construction of hydropower project works, paving of roads andresettlement of project affected people large volumes of rock and earth spoils can begenerated. If there is no prompt countermeasures to be taken, it will doubtless cause waterand soil loss to different extent.

(I) Assessment on Impact of Water and Soil Loss during the Construction

1 Analysis of General Equation for Water and Soil Loss

During the construction of the proposed project, a lot of activities will destroy the originalfunction of the area in water and soil conservation, including paving of roads for theconstruction, building of houses for production and living, leveling of land, building up ofconstruction plants, excavation and construction of hydropower project works andresettlement of project affected people. In this period, a significant quantities of earth androck will be moved, which will lead to distrubance of the surface earth, bareness of parentmaterials for soil and efflorescent rocks, confusion in the surface and ground water system,and finally reduce the erosion-resistance of the surface soil. The solid wastes from theconstruction provide a large quantity of loose accumulated material sources for the loss ofwater and soil. If these wastes are piled up and disposed of as spoils without properly controlmeasures in place , serious loss of water and soil will be initiated in the construction site anddownstream area.

The general equation for water and soil loss is described as follows:

A=R-K-LsCP (5.1.)

In the equation:

R- Precipitation-Runoff Factor. The value of the precipitation factor in a region. Ry canbe calculated from the following formula recommended by the United Nations Food andAgriculture Organization:

12 (IP51og8-0.8188)

R., =11.735x10 PJ=i

P-Average annual precipitation in this region (mm). Pi is the monthly precipitation onaverage in each year in the region. According to Table 5.1.6, the average annualprecipitation factor Ry=259.98;

K- Erodability factor. The reservoir area is largely covered by sand soil whose organiccontent is lower than 1%, calculated on the basis of 0.5%. From the Table 5.1.7 "K Valueof Various Soils", it can be reached that KEO0.27;

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Ls- Landform factor. The difference in the elevation between the two sides of theconstruction site is 31m, the slop length LO400m, the gradient e04.4'. Based on theformula Ls 0E .07(L/22)0° 28(E/l 0) .45 provided by Zhongshan JIANG of Research Institutefor Northwest Water and Soil Conservation, Chinese Science Research Academy, it canbe reached LsDO.78;

C- Crops management factor. The construction site is not covered by any crop, so CO 1;

P-Erosion-protection factor. When there is no measure used, PE 1.

Table 5.1.6 Eigenvalue of Precipitation in the Youshui River Basin

above Maohe Hydropower Station

Month Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total

Average annual 30.7 38.6 72.7 135.7 214.6 258.3 266.9 193.5 156.4 114.2 65.7 32.8 1580.1precipitation(mm)

Percentage in the overall 1.9 2.4 4.6 8.6 13.6 16.3 16.9 12.2 9.9 7.3 4.2 2.1 100.0year(%)

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province'", prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

Table 5.1.7 K Value of Various Soils

Organic ContentType of Soil

0.5% 2.0% 4%

Sand 0.05 0.03 0.02

Fine Sand 0.16 0.14 0.10

Very-fine Sand 0.42 0.36 0.28

Loamy Sand 0.12 0.10 0.08

Loamy Fine Sand 0.24 0.20 0.16

Loamy Very-fine Sand 0.44 0.38 0.30

Sandy Loam 0.27 0.24 0.19

Fine Sandy Loam 0.35 0.30 0.24

Very-fine Sandy Loam 0.47 0,41 0.33

Loam 0.38 0.34 0.29

Note: The above data comes from *EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province-', prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

From the above, it can be calculated that the loss of soil in unit acreage A=54.75t/hm2 -a. Theconstruction will occupy a temporary area for E2400m2 , so the annual water and soil loss inthe construction site will be 133.59t.

2 Mechanical Analysis for Rock and Soil [with the exception of the last paragraph insection 2, this entire analysis should be moved into an appendix]

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The total volume of the spoiled earth and rocks is estimated to be in the order of 717,100 m during the construction of the proposed project (including that from main works, building ofroads, sand and rock material processing and storage yards and relocation of emigration),(see Table 5.1.8). Calculated on the basis of the unit weight of the spoils for 2.2t1m3, the totalspoils will weigh approximately 1.5775 million tons. The spoils contain the surface soil,sands, gravel and pieces of bedrock left from the excavation of the works, brick rubbles fromthe removed houses and overburden and waste rock from the rock quarries. The surfacewater flow formed after precipitation will scour these substances. Under the conditions withsame precipitation, water flow and gradient in the same region, the semi diameter (mass) ofthese substances decides its scouring-resistance. The increase in the semi diameter of theparticle enlarges its cubage, as well as stress surface. The water in same flow rate generatesdifferent force at different stress surfaces. Based on the principle of dynamics, when thestress surface increases, the resistance to the water flow accordingly increases, i.e. thescouring force to the particle increases. As for the same kind of substance with same density,when the semi diameter increases, its gravitational force will accordingly increases, and thefrictional force received by the substance will also increase, but the scouring forces to thesubstance increases in cube on the basis of the increase in the semi diameter. That is to saythe increase in the resistance force will be bigger than that in scouring force. It is obvious thatthe bigger the semi diameter of substance, the harder it is washed out by water. The spoils inthe construction site mainly consist of surface soil, sands, gravel and small pieces ofbedrocks. The structural stability of the excavated soil will directly influence the volume ofwater and soil loss. The structural stability of soil contains dynamic stability, biologicalstability and hydrological stability. The soil in the construction site is largely sands, loamsands and little clay. Sands and loam sands have weak dynamic and hydrological stability inits structure, so the structure is easy to decentralize to small particles after being excavatedand soaked by precipitation. Clay is strong in its dynamic and hydrological stability, but itaccounts for less proportion in the soil. So once the structure of clay is destroyed, it is hard tore-centralize and form in new structure. Since the biological stability has less influences inthe structural stability of soil in the construction site, it is not included into the analysis.

Table 5.1.8 Volume and Distribution of Spoils in Lajitan HPP

Item of Volume of Filling Volume of Location of RemarksExcavation Excavation Spoils Piled Spoils

Main Works 64.86 6.04 58.82 Spoils Yard 2'

Cofferdam 1.39 Spoils Yard lI

Roads 9.6 9.6 Spoils Yard 3a

Sand Material 6.0 1.0 Back filled nearbyYard

Rock Materials 1.2 0.2 Pilled up nearby Materials forYard construction:

5.0x104m3

Removal of Houses 0.7 Spoils Yard 2a Materials forin Construction Site construction:

_Ox 1 04m3

Total 81.66 6.04 71.71

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Note: Unit of the data is 104m'. The above data comes from "ELA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in HubeiProvince", prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

In addition, analyzed from the erosion resistance, the clay, sandy soil and sandy loam withsmall diameter and loose structure binds together depending on binding power and frictionalforce of internal surface. Therefore, it is easy to separate in smaller particles affected bywater flow, and become suspended load, which will produce great potential deleterious effect.Sands and gravel with large diameter and tight structure are formed by numerous fine rockcrystals, which is uneasy to disperse affected by water flow. But it has poor erosionresistance, and is easily disturbed by water and lost. The lost sands and gravel will shape inbed load, and generate certain deleterious effects. The bared bedrock and shivers from theexcavation all belongs to the very-thick calcareous rock under the Ordovician System, whichhas strong erosion resistance and is hard to effloresced and harassed by water.

lOnly the paragraph immediately below should be included in section 2. The precedinganalysis should be moved into an appendix.

From the comprehensive analysis for the erosion resistance, scouring resistance and stabilityincluding in Appendix ??, among the spoils in the construction, surface soil, sands, graveland small pieces of bedrock are most easy to be eroded. From the on-site investigation, it isestimated that these kinds of substances in the spoils account for 55% of the total, and the lossof water and soil will reach to 867,680 tons.

3 Hydrological Analysis [this entire section down to the next bold note should be movedto an appendix. A paragraph summarizing the impacts should be included in thebody of the report in this section]

The extemal force causing the erosion of soil in the site of reservoir is mainly hydropower.The soil loss caused by precipitation can be divided into two processes, firstly soil particlesseparate from soil mass, and then the separated soil particles are scoured by water flow.Raindrops falling on the surface of the earth will sputter soil and make soil separate from theearth. Part of rainwater filters the ground and the other forms surface runoff. Most of thesediment during the loss of water and soil originates from the separated soil particles whenrain drops on the earth. And the surface runoff will also carry part of soil particles, facilitatedby the beating of raindrops.

When the runoff is caused by excess rainfall and over impoundment, the soil particles beatenand separated from the ground will move together with the surface runoff. Due to thedifference in elevation, the runoff will flow towards the downstream river course effected bygravity.

The following is an experiential formula for erosion by drop:

E=kV4. 33d' .07iO.65 (5.1.2)

In the formula:

E-Volume of Sputtered Soil in 300 min, gO

k-Soil Constant, that of fine sandy loam is 0.0007660

d-Diameter of raindrop] 7mm]

I-Rainfall intensity, cm/hO

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v-End speed of raindropElm/sE

From the above, the volume of sputtered soil caused by a heavy precipitation is decided by therainfall intensity, speed of raindrop and diameter of raindrop. The measures taken for thespoils can slow the end speed of rainfall, debase the rainfall intensity, so as to reduce thevolume of sputtered soil by raindrops and furthermore release water and soil loss.

In addition, the calculation of sediment yield of slope runoff can consult the formula forsediment discharge

f=0.4Q 2.5 (5.1.3)

In the formula:

8gRJf= u2

r5D l --r gDr

Q) rhJ(rS - r)D

g,-Unit sediment dischargeOkg/(s.m)O

u-flow velocityOm/sO

rs-Unit weight of sedimentO2650kg/m3[:1

D-Median size of sediment particleElm]

r-Unit weight of sedimentE 1000kg/m3D

J-Water surface slope:

R-Hydraulic radius EmL

g-Acceleration of gravity] 9.8m/s2 E

Equation (5.1.3) can be converted intoF]

5 3

0.05r,h2J2U 2

r

_1)2 g2 DRr (5.1.4)

Substitute r,=2650kg/m 3Erl-000kg/m 3 into the equation and reach the followings:

5 3

15 .5 4 h2J2U 2 (5.1.5

RD

Overland runoff rate isO

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1 2

u =-J 2 h 3

n

Hydraulic radius is:

R- 2ah3(1 + a)

Substitute them into Equation (5.1.5)0 then the following is reachedO

23 5

g = 15.54 h 6 j 2 (5.1.6)n 2RD.

With regard to the construction site, the Water Surface Slope (J) (i.e. sin4.4°=0.0075) andthe median size of the spoils from excavation are fixed values, and the a in Hydraulic radiusR is parabolic spreading coefficient, which is decided by the slope flow and rate. It isobvious that the value of R is determined by the precipitation of the region, and the latterchanges little from year to year, which can be considered as a fixed value. Therefore thefinal decisive factor for gs is the roughness of slope (n). If there is no special controlmeasure taken for the spoils, the value of n will be 0.025. Otherwise, it will be raised to0.15, increased by 6 times. Therefore from Equation (5.1.6), it can be seen that when gs willbe reduced down to one thirtieth of the level when there is no special measures taken, andthe total loss volume of water and soil in the construction site also to one thirtieth of thelevel before.

[the preceding part of section 3 should be moved into a separate appendix]

(2) Assessment of Impact of Water and Soil Loss during the Operation

During the operation of the proposed Lajitan HPP, water and soil loss will directly impact thewater filling and power generation of the reservoir [refer to soil erosion and hydrologicanalysis in the two separate appendices]. The planned area for the reservoir area is 245kM2n. Based on the data provided by the local water resources bureau (see Table 5.1.9), theoverall area of Youshui River Basin under the administration of Laifeng County reaches to307.45 km2 . As the greatest erosion occurs in the reservoir area (upstream of the site of dam),and the medium and light erosion is distributed equally in the Youshui River Basin withinLaifeng County, it is initially estimated that the annual volume of water and soil loss in thereservoir area is 499.200 tons based on the percentage of erosion surface area in the totalbasin. Most of lost soil and sands will enter into the reservoir and be stilted up at the bottomof the reservoir, which will increase the elevation in front of the dam year by year. Accordingto the sediment data in the Feasibility Analysis Report, the elevation in front of the dam willrise to 354.3m 50 years later. The current elevation of the dam site is 334 m. Therefore, 20.3m will be sediment, which will continuously offset the water filling capacity of the reservoir,and shorten the life of the reservoir as well.

Table 5.1.9 Status Quo of Water and Soil Loss in Youshui River Basin

Grade Acreage with Annual Erosion Average Erosion Average ThicknessWater and Soil Modulus (t/km ) Volume(Ot) of Lost Soil(mm)

Loss (km2)

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentffor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

Grade Acreage with Annual Erosion Average Erosion Average ThicknessWater and Soil Modulus (t/km 2 ) Volume([t) of Lost Soil(mm)

Loss (kM2)

Strongest 32.84 5000-8000 21.35 3.7-5.9

Medium 85.35 2500-5000 32.00 1.9-3.7

Light 25.66 500-2500 3.85 1.9

Total 143.86 57.2

Note: Unit of the data is 104m3. The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in HubeiProvince", prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

Based on the above analysis, effective vegetable and engineering measures for conservationof water and soil should be applied within the prevention scope of water and soil loss in theproposed project (construction site, spoils yards, sand and rock materials yards and relocationdistricts of emigration).

5.1.4.2 Scenario for Water and Soil Conservation

(1) Engineering Measures

1 Prevention Measures for Spoils from Main Works

The main works of the project will require a total excavated volume of earth and rock ofapproximatgely 648,600 m3 , and embankment for 60,400 mi3 , with spoils for 585,200 m3 . Thetotal earth and rock used for cofferdam amounts to 11,600mi3, including 2321.4 m3 ofconcrete, 9243.4 m3 of cement-rubbles, and the spoil from removal of houses is 13,900 m3 . Inorder to properly handle the spoils for the construction, 3 sites for spoils disposal areproposed. Spoil Disposal Site I # is located in wash land on the right bank of the river 500 mdownstream from the dam site to Baifusi Bridge. Spoil Disposal Site 2# is located inLaotangwan on the right bank downstream from the damsite. Spoil Disposal Site #3 islocated in wash land on the right bank from Baifusi Bridge to Qiedao River. Between SpoilDisposal Site l# and the river course, a cement-rubble gravity spoil-retaining dam 12 m to 14m high will be built with a dam crest width of 2 m. The dam crest will be flush with or alittle higher than the ground surface of Baifusi Town. The side slope facing the water will beconstructed with a slope of 1:0.2-1:0.25. The side slope facing the spoils will also beconstructed with a slope of 1:0.1.

A spoil-retaining dam will also be built in Spoil Yard #2 with a dam crest height of 1Om to12m and a 45m long 3 m wide dam crest. at a design elevation of 370m. The side slopefacing spoils is designed at 1:0.1, and the other side slope at 1:0.25. Drain holes will bearranged in the body of dam.

An earth-retaining wall is to be constructed in Spoil Disposal Site #3, which is 13 m in height,and 0.5m wide at the top. The side slope facing the water has been designed at 1:0.2 and theother side is at 1:0.2. All of these retaining dams (walls) will be arranged in parallel withflow filament.

2 Protection Measures for Spoils from Construction of Roads

The newly-built roads in the construction project will include the roads climbing up the dam,2 roads used for the construction along river bank respectively within the construction site,

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temporary roads in auxiliary plants and residential district, and widened road sections onprevious roads. The total length of the roads is 3.2 km. On the basis of the roads to beconstructed in width of 8m on average, the on-site investigation shows that the spoils from thebuilding of roads will reach to 960,000 m3 , which is to be piled up in the spoil disposal sitebehind the refueling station of Baifusi Town. A spoil-retaining wall will be built between thespoil yard and refueling station, to prevent the spoils from being scoured onto roads andlower plain area. The wall has been designed with a width of 0.4-0.6m, height of 1.2-1.6mand length of 150m.

In addition, drains will be installed along the two sides of the subgrade. The drains will be0.3-0.4m wide, and 0.4-0.5m deep. The side slope has been designed at 1:2. The spoilsfrom the excavation of drains will be used for hardening road surfaces.

3 Protection Measures for Spoils from Relation of Resettlement

7680 m3 of housing demolition debris will be removed from the construction site, including6079.29 m3 of houses built in brick-concrete and rock-concrete. During inundation of theproposed reservoir, all of these houses will be required to be removed. Based on aninvestigation, spoils will be generated for 0.9 mi3 / m 3 , and 7,000 m 3 in total. All of thesespoils will be transported to the spoil disposal site located on the right bank downstream ofBaifusi Bridge. When the project affected people are relocated, they will be moved as awhole. Two new residential districts for resettlement will be located in a level and openarea, so the earth and rocks excavated can be fully backfilled during the building of housesand fundamental agricultural construction. Consequently no spoils will be generated. Alongthe road of new residential districts for emigration, drains should be built along both sides ofthe road, with the bottom width of 0.4-0.6m, surface width of 0.4-0.6m, depth of 0.5-0.6m.

(2) Vegetable Measures and Recovery of Cultivated Land

1 Land Temporarily Used for Construction

The construction will temporarily use land for 24,400 m2. After the completion of the project,all of the wastes should be cleared up. Soils stockpiled at the start of construction should bespread over areas that are to be revegetated, and grass and trees should be planted in the spareland between houses and roads.

2 Spoil Disposal Sites

There are 3 spoil disposal sites in this project, occupying a respective area for 1.9 hm 2, 4.2hm2 .and 0.8 hM2, totally for 6.9 hm2 . The 3 spoil yards will be located in the area betweenBaifusi Town and construction site. After the finish of the project, the spoils disposal sitesshould be leveled and cleared up, covered with soil and partially planted with trees. [whyonly partially plant with trees? Why not plant the whole area with trees and turn thisarea into a park? What will happen to the rest of the area not planted with trees?] Theland can be re-cultivated, the town in which the spoils disposal sites are located can begreened and the air can be purified. Therefore a clear space is provided to the local citizensfor relaxation and amusement.

3 Land Occupied by Domestic Refuse

The total discharge volume of domestic refuse during the whole construction period will beapproximately 1100-1 200 m3 , occupying an overall area of 1800 m2 . The refuse is normallycollected and disposed of at a centralized municipal refuse disposal site. Since the furthest

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municipal refuse disposal site is 2km away from the spoil yards, and the nearest is 1 km away,all of the domestic refuse can be transported to the spoil disposal sites, which will be finallyleveled, cleared up and planted with trees and grass. [if there is any chance that thedomestic refuse will generate leachate that can percolate through the spoils material andenter the river, then the spoils disposal sites should not be used for project relatedmunicipal disposal. Instead, a purpose built refuse disposal site should be constructedaway from any surface water course or groundwater source used for domestic orirrigation purposes.]

4 Land Occupied by Construction Refuse

The overall construction will produce refuse for 300-400 m3 , which is distributed in scatteredarea with little individual volume. So it is better to choose low-lying land nearby for fillingthe construction refuse, which will then be covered by soil, with trees and grass planted. Theoverall area will be 250 m2. [Construction refuse should be inert material such as wasteconcrete and must not contain any toxic substances (i.e., no waste oil filters, oil orlubricant containers, batteries, etc. ) Any construction wood debris should be burned.

5 Road for Construction

Trees should be planted at 4 m intervals on both sides of the 3.2 km of newly-built roads.This will require planting of 1600 trees in total. Sophora japonica and oriental plane can beselected to plant. As for the hillside with gradient over 250 in the reservoir area, farming landshould be returned to be afforested, to gain ecological benefit and economic benefit at thesame time. Commercial forest is recommended to greatly develop. Some fruit trees (such ascitrus sinensis, castanea mollissima, and prunnus) and commercial trees can be planted.

(3) Requirements for Water and Soil Conservation

On the basis of adopting the above mentioned measures for preventing water and soil loss, thefollowing requirements are recommended for water and soil conservation:

1 Requirements for Handling the Spoils from Sand and Rock Materials Yards

The sand materials needed for construction mainly come from the 3 sand borrow siteslocated upstream 15 km away from the dam site, one of which supplied sand materials for theconstruction of Tangkou Hydropower Station. The sand materials are directly sorted in thequarries located in river course. If the spoils can be backfilled in time, no loss of water andsoil will take place. Iremoval of sand from river borrow sites should only be done duringthe dry season when there is no water (and therefore no fish or fish eggs to disturb)]

The rock materials needed in the construction are originated from the rock quarry inWachangba, 1500m away from the site of dam. After the rock materials are sorted in thequarry, the spoils should be sent to the spoil disposal sites. . It should not be permitted toallow spoils to accumulate within the rock quarry for prolonged periods before the spoils aredisposed of at one of the spoils disposal sites.

2 Requirements for Handling the Temporary-use Houses and Land

If the temporary houses and barrier walls built during the construction have no use any more,they should be removed immediately. The waste materials should be carried to the spoilyards. The used land should be leveled, the surface of ground should be hardened, or coveredwith soil and planted with grass and trees for re-cultivation. When the temporary-use land is

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retired, it should be cleared up, leveled, hardened or covered with soil and planted with grassand trees as well.

3 Requirements for Handling the Spoils from the building of roads on the left bankdownstream of the Dam Site

For the roads built on the left bank downstream of the damsite, the spoils left from thedemolition should be transported to one of the spoils disposal sites. While the roads are built,the drains should also be excavated and constructed as well. Spoils from the excavation ofdrains can be used for hardening road surfaces, and are not allowed to pile up along the roads.

4 Requirements for Water and Soil Conservation in Resettlement Areas

The earth and rocks from excavation and that for backfilling during the construction of newresidential districts will be equal in volume, so there is no spoils generated from theconstruction, and furthermore there is no impact of water and soil loss caused by the spoils.However, if the drains are not good enough, water and soil will also be lost in the surroundingarea of the new residential districts. The new districts are close to low hills in the north-westand near to the river course in the southeast. With the purpose of preventing water and soilloss, earth-retaining walls, cutoff ditches and drains should be built on the west side of thenew districts, and the water collected in drains will be discharged into the river.

5 Requirements for Reasonable Development and Use of Land Resources

It should be forbidden to cultivate the steep hillsides having a gradient over 250 Instead,farmed hillsides should be reforested, and waste hillsides should be planted with trees. Onhillsides with lesser gradients (i.e.,5°-25°) in the reservoir area, the real status of water andsoil loss should be fully taken into consideration to modify the hillside into terraced fields,and then decide the length, width and space of terraced fields to be built, and the height ofearth or rock cross walls. The cultivated land in areas with a gradient less than 50 includingpaddy land and dry farmed land should be well arranged, based on its irrigation condition,fertility of loam, intake of light and heat and precipitation. Ferries, plant-houses, storage andresidential houses should not be built on the soft soil materials along the banks of thereservoir, and the human activities, like industrial production and storing and transportation offreights, should not be permitted to take place in this area as well. It is fit for building flowerterrace and grassland and planting trees for viewing and admiring, so as to give local people afree space for relaxation.

6 Preventing Landslide and Avalanche of Reservoir Banks

Two small-sized landslides have been idenfitied in the on-site investigation. One occurs onthe right bank of dam site of Tangkou Hydropower Station. The deep excavation of damfoundation leads to a small scale landslide. A retaining wall has now been constructed at thefoot of the mountain, which effectively prevents further mass wasting of the landslide. Theother landslide occurs upstream of the new residential districts where only minor masswasting occurs. It is caused by cultivation on steep hillsides, and now the farmed land on thehillsides has been reforested. The geologic framework of the reservoir area is stable, sonatural landslides will not take place in general sense. If there is any landslide encountered, aretaining wall should be constructed at the bottom of the hill, so as to lighten the burden ofsliding land, and cut off the flood from the top of hill to avoid it entering into the sliding land.The area with serious landslide should be fixed by anti-slide piles and slip band.

The steep banks of the reservoir should be planted with trees, so as to divert and separate the

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surface runoff formed from precipitation. Some other engineering facilities, such as placedstone pitching, should also be constructed to prevent failure of reservoir banks. As forterrace or plain-dam banks of the reservoir, grass and trees should be planted on the slopes, toreduce the erosion of water and stabilize the banks. The banks with-small scale mass wastingshould be repaired to avoid enlargement of the slope failure.

5.2 Forecasting and Assessment on Aquatic Environmental Impact

5.2.1 Aquatic Environmental Impact during the Construction

Based on similar projects, during construction, the average discharge amount of wastewaterfrom production has been 270m3 /h, and the discharge amount of major pollutant SS has been90.7t/d. The concentration of SS in the wastewater discharged from the foundation pit canreach 2000mg/L, with high pH values (1 11-12). The concentration of SS in the waste waterfrom sand and rock materials washing can reach 3000mg/L. SS in the productionwastewater mainly consists of sediment. A large majority of wastewater is discharged directlyinto the downstream reaches of the river below the dam site. It is estimated that up to144m3/d of domestic sewage will be generated, and the concentration of major pollutants,BOD and COD, can reach 250-500mg/L and 300-600mg/L respectively. This sewage isexpected to be largely composed of washing water and rinsing water of construction workers.A part of domestic sewage is discharged into the river nearby, and the other part enters into asimple septic tank for treatment. [does this mean that grey water (i.e., from washing) isseparated from sewage effluent (i.e., from toilets) with the former being discharged tothe river and the latter being treated in septic tanks? All waste water from washing andhuman waste should be treated in septic tank systems. No domestic sewage, grey wateror otherwise, should be released directly into the aquatic receiving environment]

The total volume of wastewater generated from both construction works and domestic useduring the construction period amounts to 6624m3 id, and annually to 21.6x I04 m3/a.Compared with the runoff amount of Youshui River in the dry period (P=80, 26.1 m3/s), theratio of wastewater and clean water is 1:340. The directly discharge of wastewater generatedfrom construction processing into the river is a short-term activity, which will end with thecompletion of the proposed project. The construction wastewater may bring short-termimpact on the water quality of partial water area within the construction site. iconstructionwater, especially that from aggregate washing, drilling operations, and concrete plants,should be processed through appropriately sized settling ponds to remove all suspendedload and contaminants such as oil/grease. No untreated water should be dischargeddirectly into the river].

After the completion of plant-houses, auxiliary facilities and residential districts, the domesticsewage will be completely discharged into simple treatment facilities and then discharged intoYoushui River after being treated. Therefore, after the finish of the project, the beneficial useof the downstream water area will not be impacted in general sense.

5.2.2 Forecasting on Eutrophication of the Proposed Reservoir

The forecasting will use the following model

L(1-R)

Hp.

In the equation:

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Reportfor Ensronmenlal inact Assessment for Laiwan, Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of abei Province

P-Concentration of N and P in the reservoirDmg/LO

L-Load of N and P entering into the reservoir,g/m2a

H-Average water depth of the reservoirElmil

pu-Hydraulic scouring coefficient of]mE

R-Retardation coefficient of N and P

Among the above, the calculation formula for the hydraulic scouring coefficient p,,is shown as follows:

pw=QN

In the formula:

Q-Annual reservoir inflow[Im3 /aEl

V-Reservoir capacityElm3 0

R=0.246exp(-0.27 1 Qi)+0.574exp(-0.00949Qi)

In the formula:

Qi-Hydraulit load7Qj=Q/A, m/aO

A-Water Surface Acreage of the reservoirElm2 .

Under the worst condition after the completion of the proposed reservoir, i.e. where noconsideration has been made to reduce water and soil loss and limit the use of fertilizer onland that will be submerged or used by humans, the inflow amount of N and P into thereservoir is calculated on the basis of the current level. Then the load of N and P is182.4g/m2.a and 8.9g/m2.aEl

Table 5.2.1 Forecasting Parameters for Eutrophication of the Proposed Reservoir

Parameter Q(m3) V(m3) A(m2) H Pw Qi(m/a) R

Value 26.27xlO" O.297XlI0 3.077X106 9.45 125 1181 3.077XI04

Note: The above data comes from *'EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

Table 5.2.2 Forecasted Concentration of N and P in the Proposed Reservoir

Benchmark Year of Forecasting 2005

Concentration of Total N (mglL) 0.15

Concentration of Total P (mg/L) 0.008

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for. Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube Province

Siergensew categorized lakes into 7 categories based on the degree of eutrophy, andformulated criteria for identifying eutrophication of lakes. These criteria can be used to assessthe degree of eutrophication of a After Lajitan Reservoir is completed, the forecastedconcentration of total P is 8mg/m3 . Based on this, it can be determined that after the start ofoperation of the reservoir, it be nutrient deficient, that is to say the area pollution will not leadto eutrophication of the reservoir.

5.2.3 Forecasting on the Water Temperature of the Proposed Reservoir

Because there is no actual monitoring data on the water temperature of Youshui River, variousmethods will be used for calculating and analyzing the water temperature of the reservoirduring its operation, including analogy method and empirical method.

The water temperature of a reservoir is one of the important indicators for assessing theaquatic environment. China's fish resources are dominated by the fishes living in warmwater, and the favorable water temperature for them is 15-300E. In the meantime, watertemperature is also important for the growth and propagation of migratory fishes. Theappropriate water temperature can promote their spawning and hatching, otherwise, it willplay a negative role. It is clear that water released from a reservoir can change the watertemperature greatly, which will bring great impact to the aquatic organizms downstream of adam. Water temperature will also influence the quality of drinking water. The optimumtemperature of drinking water ranges from 7 to 12 D0. Within a specific scope, the higher thewater temperature, the stronger the propagation capacity of microbes. Thereby the sanitationstatus of tap water be reduced. Rice is therrnophilic crop, so the water temperature in paddylands also has an impact on growth and yield. The optimum water temperature for paddy is28-32 E and the temperature is not allowed to be lower than 230. Otherwise the yield ofpaddy will decrease. The water temperature has a close relationship with water quality,especially has obvious impacts on the indicators, like DO, BOD5, COD and total coliformbacteria. In addition, water temperature of a reservoir can also provide indispensable data forstudy and monitoring on water seepage and leakage of concrete dams. Therefore, the studyand analysis on water temperature of reservoir has significant role in comprehensiveutilization of water resources, protection of water quality and bringing a reservoir into fullutilization.

1 Water Temperature Structure of Reservoir

Conditioned by solar radiation, reservoir capacity, water inflow and dispatching mode ofreservoir, water temperature varies in reservoir at different depth of water. Normally thereservoir can be classified into 3 types, mixed, stratified reservoir and transition types.

* Mixed Type (Isothermal Type): At any time, the water temperature in the reservoir isdistributed uniformly throughout the littoral gradient;

* Stratified Type: While the temperature turns up, the water temperature of the reservoirsurface is obvious higher than that of the middle and bottom layers, resulting in stratifiedwater temperatures. The gradient of temperatures can reach to over 1.50/m. The watertemperature of the bottom varies within 15 0 in a year.

* Transition Type: This type of reservoir has both characteristics of mixed type andstratified type.

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2 Identification of Type of Reservoir based on Water Temperature and Impact Analysis

With regard to the identification of the type of reservoir based on water temperature, theidentification method with the values ofa and ,B proposed by Japanese scholars is alwaysapplied in China, i.e. to get the value of a through the following formula and then to identifythe type according to the values listed in Table 5.2.3

Average Annual Runoff (m2/a)a iotaF Reservoir Capacity (nmJ

Table 5.2.3 Identification of the Type via the Value of a

Value of a Type of Reservoir based on Water temperature

<10 - Stratified Type

>20 Mixed Type

10-20 Transition Type

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

From the above data, the calculated value of a for Lajitan Reservoir is 123 (>20), so theproposed reservoir belongs to mixed type, i.e., it will not be thermally stratified.

3 Forecasting on Water Temperature

3 Forecasting on average annual water temperature and average monthly temperature of thereservoir surface

In China there are various methods to calculate the water temperature of a reservoir, mainlyincluding air-water temperature correlation method, latitude-water temperature correlationmethod and heat budget method. The latitude-water temperature correlation method isnormally used when lacking water temperature observation data. Its principle is developedfrom the relation between the water temperature of a reservoir and the latitude in which it islocated, which causes the water temperature to vary according to the change of latitude.Therefore the relation curve for latitude and water temperature can be established, and then onthe basis of latitude interpolation method, the average monthly water temperature can beobtained.

Lajitan Reservoir will be located in North Latitude 29012'. Based on the above mentionedmethod, the average annual water temperature and average monthly water temperature ofLajitan Reservoir surface have been calculated and listed in Table 5.2.4.

Table 5.2.4 Comparison between Forecasted Water temperature of Lajitan ReservoirSurface and the Average Monthly Temperature of the Site of Dam

Tem. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul, Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Ave.

T, 0.3 10.0 12.3 18.2 23.0 26.3 29.6 29.6 26.0 22.5 18.0 13.2 19.9

T2 5.6 6.9 11.5 17.0 21.0 24.7 27.5 27.1 23.1 17.5 12.2 17.4 16.8

T1-T2 4.9 31 0.8 1.2 2.0 16 2.1 2.5 2.9 50 5.8 5.8 3.1

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Report for Environmental ImpadA ssessmeni for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel PrownceNote: TI means the temperature of water surface and T2 means the average monthly air temperature in unit of O. The abovedata comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province', prepared by HRAES, May 2000.

Shown from Table 5.2.4, the lowest water temperature of Lajitan Reservoir will appear inJanuary and February, and highest one occur in July and August. The annual temperaturerange is 19.60. compared with the average monthly air temperature observed in the site ofthe proposed darn, the average monthly water temperature is higher than the average monthlyair temperature with a gap from 0.2 to 5.80, and the annual range is 3.10. After thecompletion of the proposed reservoir, the water temperature of the surface will bring someimpacts on partial ambient climate

0 Forecasting on the water temperature behind (upstream) of the dam

The empirical formula proposed by the Northeast Hydropower Pioneering and DesigningAcademy is applied in the calculation of water temperature on the upstream side of the damin various months with various water temperatures. The formula is described as follows:

Ty=(To-Tb)exp(-(Y/X)')+Tb

In the formula:

Ty-Water temperature in front of dam, 3 i7

To-Average monthly water temperature of the reservoir surface, 3 E

Tb-Average monthly water temperature of the reservoir bottom. The monthly water temperature

of the mixed reservoir bottom can be found in SDJ302-88 "Criteria for EIA on HydropowerProject (Trial Version)"

Y-Water depth in front ofdamf3mfC

n,X-Parameter related to month:

15 m2

m2 35

40 m 2

m 2.37(l + 0.1m)

In the formula:

m-Month

Then the results from forecasting have been listed in Table 5.2.5 0

Table 5.2.5 Forecasted Vertical Distribution of Water Temperature behind(upstream) of the Dam

Water Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Depth(m)

2 10.5 10.0 12.2 18.0 22.4 25.9 29.3 29.5 26.0 22.5 18.0 13.2

4 10.5 10.0 12.1 17.6 21.6 25.3 28.8 29.2 25.9 22.5 18.0 13.2

6 10.5 10.0 11.9 17.2 20.7 24.6 28.0 28.8 25.7 22.5 18.0 13.2

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Water Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.Depth(m)

8 10.5 10.0 11.6 16.9 19.9 23.9 27.1 28.1 25.5 22.4 18.0 13.2

10 10.5 10.0 11.3 16.5 19.1 23.2 26.2 27.4 25.1 22.3 17.9 13.2

12 10.5 9.9 11.0 16.2 18.4 22.6 25.2 26.5 24.6 22.2 17.9 13.2

14 10.5 9.9 10.7 15.9 17.8 22.0 24.3 25.6 24.1 22.0 17.8 13.1

16 10.5 9.8 10.4 15.6 17.2 21.4 23.4 24.6 23.4 21.7 17.7 13.1

18 . 10.5 9.7 10.1 15.4 16.7 21.0 22.6 23.7 22.8 21.5 17.6 13.0

20 10.5 9.6 9.9 15.2 16.3 20.5 21.9 22.9 22.1 2 21.2 17.4 12.8

22 10.5 9.5 9.8 15.1 16.0 20.2 21.3 22.1 21.4 20.8 17.2 12.7

24 10.5 9.4 9.6 15.0 15.7 19.9 20.7 21.4 20.8 20.5 16.9 12.5

26 10.5 9.4 9.5 14.9 15.5 19.7 20.3 20.8 20.2 20.1 16.6 12.2

28 10.5 9.3 9.4 14.8 15.3 19.5 19.9 20.3 19.7 19.8 16.4 11.9

30 10.5 9.3 9.4 14.7 15.1 19.3 19.6 1 19.9 192 19.5 16.1 11.5

Note: The unit of the data in the table is [. The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in

Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES. May 2000.

Based on the results from the forecasted vertical distribution of water temperature in front ofdam, a vertical distribution curve based on the water temperature in typical months has beenprepared as Figure 5.2.1.

Water temperature Jan. Apr Aug Nov.

35

30

25

20 _

15

10

5 IhWater

0 Depth (M)

-2 --4 6--8-X10 12-14 16 18-20 22-24 26 28 30

Figure 5.2.1 Vertical Distribution of Water Temperature in Typical Month

From the above table and figure, it is obvious that the general trend in variation of watertemperature on the upstream side of the dam is as follows: the water temperature at variouswater depth of reservoir changes little in winter, spring and autumn. In winter the watertemperature remains unchanged, and in spring and autumn, it declines along with the increaseof water depth, but over a limited range. Only in winter, the water temperature significantlydeclines accompanied by the increase of water depth, with large difference, nearly raised by

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10 0. Within a year, the water temperature changes greatly from season to season. The lowestsurface water temperature occurs in January and February, and highest ones in August andSeptember. The underwater temperature changes following the same rules. These features ofwater temperatures support the conclusion that the proposed Lajitan Reservoir is a mixedtype reservoir.

0 Forecasting on released water temperature of reservoir

The released water temperature of a reservoir is connected with the dispatching mode,elevation of the water intake and the time of flood discharge. The monitoring data forXin'anjiang Reservoir, Danjiangkou Reservoir and Liujiaxia Reservoir of China indicates thatthe water temperature of a river course below a dam corresponds with the water temperatureat certain depth of reservoir, which is normally 15-20m below the dam. Taking the watertemperature at 16 m reservoir depth as the short-range water temperature downstream of thedam, the downstream water in each season is estimated and shown in Table 5.2.5.

Comparing the predicted downstream water temperature with the temperature of the reservoirsurface listed in Table 5.2.5, it can be seen that a small difference is predicted in watertemperature between the released water and surface water in winter and spring, i.e. in January,February, November and December. But the former is lower than the latter during April toOctober, especially in June, July, August and September. The maximum temperaturedifference rises to 5.90 in July and August. The maximum released water temperature occursin August, to be 23.70.

E Forecasting the Impacts

The construction of the reservoir will produce potential negative impacts on agriculturalirrigation, mainly because the change in water temperature may affect the growth of somethermophilic crops that are irrigated by water taken from the river downstream of the dam.[Although you indicate below that there is little paddy land immediately downstream ofLajitan that would be affected by cooler irrigation waters, and you mention that by thetime the river is used for irrigating paddy land 40 km downstream the temperatures willbe back to normal, you have not estimated how far downstream of the tailrace dischargethe water will have to flow before it reaches a temperature equal to that of the waterflowing into the reservoir. Nor have you mentioned that during periods of reservoirspilling, a considerable volume of water will be taken from the reservoir surface andmixed with the tailrace discharge water, which will tend to off-set the temperaturedifferential between cooler water discharged from 16 m depth and surface waterspilled.] For example, during the grain filling stage of paddy (normally in June), the optimumwater temperature for irrigation is 28-320, and can not be lower than 23 E in general.Otherwise its yield may decrease. When using water from reservoir for irrigation, it is betterto take out the surface water with higher temperature to meet the optimum irrigation watertemperature requirement of paddy. Though the temperature of water released from thereservoir is lower than 23 f[ in June, the on-site investigation shows that due to themountainous setting downstream of the proposed reservoir, most of the agricultural land isdry farmed land, with only limited scattered paddy fields located approximately 40 kmdownstrearn from the dam. As the distance from the reservoir increases, the released waterfrom the reservoir will continuously warm as it receives sunshine along its course, which willincrease water temperature. In addition, water from the Qiedao River which joins theYoushui River downstream of the proposed damsite, will mix with the cooler releases fromthe reservoir thereby ameliorating some of the effects of cooler reservoir water releases,

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which will offset the impacts on crops. Therefore, the negative impact on irrigation broughtby the change in water temperature is limited and within acceptable parameters.

5.2.4 Possibility of Heavy Metal Leaching after the Completion of Reservoir

In regions where sulfide bearing mineral deposits are found, there is concern that fracturedrock may be the source of acid leachate containing heavy metals. Fractured sulfide bearingrock that is disposed of in waste rock spoils disposal sites can produce acid drainage throughbiochemical processes. As sulfide bacteria attack the rock under aqueous conditions, sulfuricacid is produced. The acidic waters draining through the spoils can release copper, lead, zinc,arsenic, and other heavy metals that may be bound up in the mineral bearing sulfide rockThese contaminants can contaminate reservoirs if spoils disposal sites are located within theinundation/drawdown zone. They can likewise affect downstream water quality if the spoilsdisposal sites are located adjacent to the river downstream of the dam.

Based on a review of the geology in the project area, it is not expected that acid rockleaching will result from excavation and disposal of waste rock on the Lajitan project, becauseof the following::

* The engineering geological investigations indicate that the bed rock of the reservoir areaprincipally consists of carbonate rock and clastic rock, in which heavy metals are notpresent. la table should be presented that provides a breakdown of the mineralcompomposition of bedrock in the area of the damsite and rock quarries.j

* Within the scope of the reservoir area, no heavy metal resource has been found; [providereferences to indicate how this conclusion has been reached]

* The monitoring on the status quo of water quality of Youshui River shows no pollutioncaused by heavy metal.

Therefore, the impact of heavy metal pollution leached from bed rock is not likely to be anissues once the reservoir is filled by water and the hydropower project is in operation.

[I don't see any discussion on the downstream effects of flow regulation on dissolvedoxygen or nutrient availability, issues that are important for survival of aquaticorganizmsj

5.3 Analysis for Impact on Hydrological Regime

(A) Assessment on Hydrological Status of the River Section

A correlation analysis has been made on the hydrological data at Laifeng Hydrological Stationand Maodong Hydrological Station for the same time period. Based on the results of thecorrelation analysis, the hydrological data collected from Maodong Hydrological Station over17 years has been interpolated and extended to produce a series of flows at MaodongHydrological Station (i.e. the site of proposed dam) covering a total of 31 years from 1958 to1988. Frequency analysis has been carried out using the data at Maodong HydrologicalStation to produce the following results: average annual flow rate is 11 5m3/s, average annualrunoff volume is 3.63 billion mi, and average annual runoff depth is 1076mm. The runoffwithin the river basin varies little year by year, and its variability coefficient is 0.26, but it isallocated unequally in one year, which conforms to the allocation of precipitation within theyear. Details can been found in Table 5.3.1.

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Habe Province

Table 5.3.1 Internal Allocation of Runoff Volume at the Dam Site of Lajitan Reservoir

Month Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct Nov. Dec. Ann.

Average Flo 20.7 27.6 61.3 122 201 238 250 131 128 99.8 65.0 28.7 114.5(M3/S)

Allocation Rati 1.5 2.0 4.5 8.9 14.6 17.3 18.2 9.6 9.3 7.3 4.7 2.1 100

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province". prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

Shown from Table 5.3.1, the runoff volume during April to October accounts for 85.2% of thetotal volume in the entire year, and that during December to March next year for only 14.8%.The maximum annual runoff is in July, followed by that in June, accounting for 18.2% and17.3% of the total respectively. Minimum annual runoff is in January, accounting for only1.5% of the total.

The damsite is located in a valley, with steep banks and bare bed rock along both sides of theriver. The river bed is wide for 70m, the average annual water level is 343m and the averagewater depth is 2.5,

(B) Analysis for Impact on Hydrological Regime

Once the proposed Lajitan HPP is completed and in operation, a water area of 3.07 km2 willexist at the normal pool level (370m), which changes the original natural river course wherethe reservoir is located. In order to meet the need of hydropower generation and floodregulation during the flood season, the storage and released volume of the reservoir will beadjusted appropriately. Meanwhile, the sediment in the reservoir will be aggraded year byyear. All of these factors will make the water level, flow volume and flow rate of the riversection that the reservoir is located in changed accordingly.

(1) Hydrological Characteristics of the Proposed Reservoir

* Runoff

The proposed Lajitan Reservoir is designed to regulate once in ten days. After the reservoir isoperational, the inflow runoff is still from the natural inflow, and the outflow is regulated bythe reservoir according to the regulation rules. But in general, a balance will be met in theannual inflow and outflow.

* Water level

The operation of the proposed reservoir will generate obvious impacts on the water level.The normal pool level of Lajitan Reservoir is 370m, the dead water level is 366.5m, and themaximum degrading depth of the reservoir is 3.5, which makes the water level of the riversection within which the reservoir is located vary greatly. During the flood season, thenormal pool level of 370m is the start point of regulation, and the water level of this riversection will be elevated by 27m, compared with the pre-reservoir natural level (343m).

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* Flow velocity and flow rate

After construction of the proposed reservoir, the flow velocity in this river section will bereduced compared to the former river flows. During the non-flood period, the water flowwithin the entire reservoir will tend to be sluggish when the reservoir is at normal pool level.The reservoir will abe regulated in flood period, starting from the normal pool level, and thewater level of the reservoir will be maintained at 370m. At this time, the inflow is equal tooutflow. And the flow velocity and flow rate is related to the flood at that time. The relationbetween water level and flow rate at the site of dam of Lajitan Reservoir is shown in Table5.3.2.

Table 5.3.2 H-Q Relation Sheet for the Dam Site of Lajitan

Water Level (m) 342 343 345 347 350 354 358 364 368 370

Flow Rate (m3/s) 12 11 435 845 1545 2565 3710 6220 8750 10520

Note: Ale above data comes from "EIA Reporl for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

(2) Hydrological Regime Downstream of the Dam

3 Runoff

The operation of Lajitan Reservoir cannot influence the annual runoff volume downstreamfrom the dam in general. The only thing the reservoir will do is to regulate and allocate therunoff within a year. During the flood period, the released water flow is similar to the naturalflow, but during non-flood period, the reservoir will play a significant role in regulating therunoff downstream of the dam. The released water flow from the reservoir during the non-flood period (November to March next year) increases marginally on the basis of the naturalflow, and during other periods, the reservoir will regulate the released flow according to theneed of power generation. Generally speaking, the average monthly flow rate downstreamof the dam varies within the range of natural variation.

* Water level

The water level of the river downstream of the dam is decided by the released flow fromLajitan Reservoir. The proposed reservoir is designed in normal standard to resist the floodencountered once in 50 years, and the corresponding water level in in the reservoir is 370m.At this time, the released flow rate will be 661 Om3/s, and corresponding water leveldownstream will be 364.75m. When the dam is verified by the flood that occurs once in 500years, the water level ( downstream of the dam) will be 372.48m, released flow rate will be9276m3 /s and corresponding water level downstream will be 368.62m.

5.4 Analysis for Impact of Sediment

(A) Status Quo of Sediment in the River Section where the reservoir is located

Calculated from the data on sediment monitored by Maodong Hydrological Station, itsaverage annual sediment concentration is 0.42kg/m3 , and the average annual sedimentdischarge is 49.7kg/s. The allocation of sediment load is similar to that of runoff within oneyear. The sediment load during April to October accounts for 98.5% of the total in the entireyear, and that during November to March of the next year for only 1.5%. It is in maximum inJuly, accounting for over 30%, and in minimum in February. The sediment load varies

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Reportfor Environmental Impad Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hube Province

considerably from year to year. The maximum load calculated for 1980, was 3.433 milliontons, and the minimum in 1972 was 0.687 million tons.

Based on the sediment data of Maodong Hydrological Station, it is estimated that the averageannual suspended sediment load at the dam site of Lajitan Reservoir will be approximately1.523 million tons and modulus of sediment transportation will be 452.lt/km . If the bedload is calculated on the basis of 15% of the suspended load, it will be 0.228 million tons.

(B) Analysis for Sediment Deposition in the Proposed Reservoir

(1) Sediment Deposition in the Proposed Reservoir and Loss of Reservoir Capacity

* Sediment Deposition vs Sediment Elevation on the upstream side of the Darn

The drainage area upstream of Lajitan Reservoir is composed of Quatemary deposits andarenaceous shale, in low relief and developed vegetation. The head section of the proposedreservoir is covered by bare and hard bed rocks with strong resistance capacity to weathering.In addition, the reservoirs of small hydropower stations in the upstream reaaches, such asWantang and Tangkou Hydropower Stations trap the sediments, so there is less bed loadsediment entering into the proposed reservoir than into other reservoirs.

On the other hand, construction of Lajitan Dam will change hydraulic elements, and slow theflow velocity in the river section where the reservoir is located. These sequentially make iteasier for sediment deposition to occur within the proposed reservoir, and the sedimentdeposition will be much thicker than before.

Table 5.4.1 Results from Calculation of Sediment Deposition in Lajitan Reservoir

Years of Deposition (years) 10 20 30 50

Deposition Amount (lO,OOOm3) 299.5 599 898.5 1498

Elevation of Deposition (m) 343 345.9 351 354.3

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province". prepared by HRAES.May 2000.

Lajitan Reservoir is to be regulated once in 10 days with a storage coefficient of 0.27%.Supposing the dry unit weight of suspended sediment and bed sediment be 1.3t/m3 and1.4t/m3 respectively, the annual sediment inflow into the reservoir is calculated in 1.335million m3. If the sediment retaining rate is 0.224, the deposited sediment in the reservoir indifferent years can be worked out. The estimated rates are shown in Table 5.4.1. Accordingto the experiential method of acreage subtracting, the elevation of sediment upstream of thedam in different years can be estimated This is shown in Table 5.4.1 as well.

From Table 5.4.1, it is clear that in the operational phase of Lajitan Reservoir, sediment isnormally deposited at the same rate. Sediment deposition over a ten-year period isestimated amounts to be about 2.995 million m3.

* Loss of Reservoir Capacity

Analyzed from the results of the calculation of sediment deposition in Lajitan Reservoir, therate of deposition is generally even (except for a little faster in the beginning of operation).Therefore, little difference exists in the annual capacity loss of Lajitan Reservoir. However,since the capacity of the proposed reservoir is not large (totally 44.28 million m3 ), the

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capacity loss in ratio caused by sediment deposition is considerable. The detailed capacityloss of the reservoir is shown in Table 5.4.2.

Table 5.4.2 Estimation of Capacity Loss of Lajitan Reservoir

Years of Deposition (Years) 10 20 30 50

Loss of Capacity (lO,OOOm3) 299.5 599 898.5 1498

Remaining Capacity (l O.OOm3) 4128.5 3829 3529.5 2930

Ratio of Remaining Capacity (%)93.2 86.5 79.7 66.2

Ratio of Lost Capacity(%/o) 6.8 13.5 20.3 33.8

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province', prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

Table 5.4.2 shows that after being in operation for 20 years, 86.5% of the reservoir capacitywill remain, and after 50 years, it will decline to 66.2%. The loss of reservoir capacity will beincreased by 6.8% annually on average.

(2) Period of Time and Distribution of Sediment Deposition

Most of sediment deposition will occur perennially in the dead storage located in thebackwater zone. That is because this zone has deep water, slow flow velocity and poorsediment-carrying capacity, which determines most sediment is deposited in this zone. Thesediment deposition is always distributed immediately upstream of the dam where the wateris deepest, and the least in the end of reservoir.

The Tangkou Hydropower Station is located 22.3km upstream of the Lajitan Project. Part ofthe sediment is trapped by Tangkou Reservoir, so the bed sediment entering into LajitanReservoir is less than that entering into other reservoirs in the non-flood period. However, inflood period, the sediment discharge from the upstream reservoirs will increase the sedimentload inflowing into Lajitan Reservoir.

On the other hand, the reservoir is regulated in the flood control level during flood season. Alarge volume of flood inflows in the reservoir and water in the river contains highconcentration of sediment. The sediment carried down by the released water from upstreamreservoirs and the deposited sediment in the end of Lajitan Reservoir will be pushed to thedead storage in perennial backwater zone by flood waters and then deposited. Therefore, it isestimated that a large quantity of inflow sediment load will enter into and be deposited in thereservoir during flood season.

(C) Analysis for Impact of Sediment Deposition and Countermeasures

The sediment deposition along the river course of the reservoir area will lead to a rise in riverbottom elevation, and possibly to a rise in the surface profile of the backwater accordingly. Inflood period, it may elevate the water level of the flood, and accrete the submerging riskbrought by flood. Hence, effectively measures should be applied to minimize the depositionof sediment in the proposed reservoir, so as to reduce the negative impact resulting fromsediment deposition.

The following countermeasures are recommended:

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(1) The most essential measure to reduce the sediment deposition in the reservoir is tocontrol the sediment of Youshui River Basin scoured into Youshui River, so as todecrease the sediment content of river water. Therefore, great attention and efforts haveto be made to the control of water and soil loss in the surrounding area upstream of theproposed reservoir.

(2) Regulation of the reservoir should be optimized, and flood release during flood periodshould be fully used to discharge sediment in the reservoir, so as to save the reservoircapacity and prolong the service life of the reservoir.

(3) Professional institution should be set up to enhance the monitoring on sediment, so as tolearn the sediment content in the river water, sediment deposition rate within thereservoir and variation trend of water level. Any problem encountered should be settledin time.

5.5 Analysis for Impact on Geological Environment

(A) Regional Stability

Lajitan HPP is located in the southwest mountainous area of Hubei Province. Referring to itsregional structure, it is located in the ruche of Bamian Mountain Platform of ShangyangziPlatforms, Yangzi Metaplatform, and the south edge of fold of Enshi Mountain. Within thearea, there is the cutting area of Xianfeng Active Major Dislocation and Baifusi MajorDislocation. A region, not far from the site of dam, has been uplifted since YanshanianMovement, with slow velocity in recent period, which belongs to interval phase. So the earthcrust is relatively stable. There is no record of recent earthquakes over Degree VI in thesurrounding area of the proposed project. According to "Zoning Map for EarthquakeIntensity of China" (1990), the basic earthquake intensity of this area is Degree VI.

(B) Engineering Geology of the Reservoir Area

* Stability of Reservoir Bank

The end of reservoir is covered by arenaceous shale and Quatemary deposit, with low reliefand developed vegetation. At the head of reservoir, the reservoir walls are hard anduncompleted calcareous rock, which has strong resistance capacity to weathering. Nounstable side slope is found, and the reservoir bank is stable.

* Reservoir Leakage

The end of Lajitan Reservoir is composed by arenaceous shale under Silurian System,distributed with first deposit terrace along the river Leakage is not anticipated. BaifusiMajor Dislocation cuts through the whole reservoir area and extends to the upstream, but thisdislocation belongs to a compression fault. In the dislocation, the arenaceous shale underSilurian System has been weathered to clay, which can play a role in providing a water-tightjoint. In the head section of the proposed reservoir, the reservoir wall consists of calcareousrock, with developed karst. The saddle of Lagua Col on the right bank is 600m away fromWachangba located in the neighboring valley. Based on the geological data, the groundwaterlevel is the same as the maximum design water level, so there exists little possibility for theproposed reservoir to seep water to the neighboring valley. In the bay on the left bank, themassif is thick for 11 OOm, and no large solution caves or outcrop of springs exist along theriver section downstream, so the possibility is also little in the bay on left bank to seep water.

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(C) Engineering Geology of the Dam Area

From east to west in the river section where the dam will be located, the shape of valley issymmetric in both river banks, the river bed is wide for 70m and the water deep for 2.5mthroughout the year. There is no cover on the river bed. The occurrence of rock. extendsupstream and tends to the left bank, with an angle of inclination for 3°-8°. The damfoundation is thick calcareous rock under Ordovician System, which is hard in quality withstrong resistance capacity to weathering. The rock structure is sound.

In the "Feasibility Analysis Report for Lajitan HPP", the engineering geological condition ofthe recommended bottom dam line is superior to that of upper dam line, with short powercave-wire. The bed rock has been lightly weathered in the bottom line, and is highlyimpervious. The elevation of the bottom of grouting curtain is comparatively higher. But thebottom dam line is near to the Solution Cave K8, and the Dislocation F2 extends to the damfoundation, so the leakage along the Dislocation F2 is an issues which should receiveattention. By-pass seepage of the bottom line is not heavy. The ground water level of theright bank is lower than that of left bank. The by-pass seepage mainly depends on beddingsolution cracks and crannies, and there is no pipe-type channel found for the seepage. Theseepage can be controlled by grouting.

5.6 Analysis for Acoustic Environmental Impact

(A) Construction Period

(I) Noise Source Intensity

During the construction, the noise sources can be categorized into two types, stationary sourceand mobile source.

(2) Forecasting and Analysis for the Impacts

This proposed project applies the Standard of GB12523-90 "Limits to On-the-spot Noise inConstruction", i.e. the noise should be controlled below 55dB(A) at night, 7OdB(A) indaytime, and 75dB(A) while concrete is being mixed

0 Stationary source

The following formula will be used in the forecasting:

Lp=L,-A,-K

In the formula:

Lp-Sound pressure level at the site r m from the sound source, dB(A)E

LK-Sound pressure level, dB(A) E

Ar-Decrement of sound at the site r m from the sound source, dB(A)O A,=20gri

K-Correction coefficient of decrement. Here K is 8 D

When taking the maximum noise, i.e. demolishing in 130dB and pressing of sand and rocks in120dB as the stationary noise source, the forecasting results are shown in Table 5.6.1 .

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Table 5.6.1 Impacting Scope of Stationary Noise Source

Distance from the Noise Source (m)Source Intensity

50 100 200 400 800 1600

130[dB(A)] 88 82 76 70 64 58

120[dB(A)] 78 72 66 60 54 48

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County in Hubei Province", prepared by HRAES,May 2000.

From the above table, it is clear that the noise value of maximum source intensity can becomplied with the standard at the site 400m away from the noise source. Baifusi Town ismore than 500 m away from the construction site of the main works of the proposed project,so the construction noise will have no obvious impact on Baifusi Town.

* Mobile source

Since part of spoil yard is located within Baifusi Town, the noise generated from the motorvehicles transporting spoils will impact Baifusi Town. Compared with the similar project, itis estimated that the noise can be complied with the standard in the area 50m away from theboth sides of mobile line source, so the impact field is narrow. After the project is completed,the noise impact on Baifusi Town caused by mobile sources will disappear. The noisegenerated from mobile sources in other area will mainly impact the construction workers, sothe impact field and time duration is also limited. [if residents of Baifusi Town will beaffected by mobile noise sources that exceed the standards within the zone 50 m of theroad, what mitigation measures will be recommended to ensure that residents are notunduly affected? Will construction truck traffic be restricted to normal daytimeoperating hours (i.e., 7 am to 6 pm) to limit disturbance to residents?]

(B) Operating Period

During the operating period of the proposed project, except for the noise from powergenerators in the station (the impact area is limited within the site of the station), there is noother noise emitted, and no corresponding negative environmental impact will be generated.

5.7 Analysis for Impact on Ambient Air

5.7.1 Impact of Emissions during Construction

Emissions and dust will be generated from the process of construction, such as earth and rockexcavation and backfilling of main works foundation, processing and screening of aggregateand loading and unloading in storage. Construction machines and transportation vehicles willalso produce dust and exhausts during its working. In addition to the waste gas fromexcavating, demolishing and coal burning in residential districts, all of these emissions willimpact the ambient air. The emissions cover TSP, SO2, NO,, CO, hydrocarbons and lead.

The amount of pollutants emitted from coal burned for domestic use and fuel used forconstruction machinery equipment during the construction can be found in details in theengineering analysis.

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The concentration of TSP is estimated to be 150 mg/m', which will be emitted from thetarget spots within the construction site, including earth-rock excavation, demolishing,aggregate processing and transportation of earth and rock. In partial construction site, theconcentration of TSP in air will exceed the requirement of the Standard Class II in GB3095-96 "Standard for Ambient Air Quality". Because these target spots located are spread outover the construction area, such as the excavation of main works foundation, demolishing,backfilling of earth and rock, processing and screening of aggregate, loading and unloading ofcement, mixing of concrete, the emissions are major area pollution. The major impactedtargets are construction workers on within the construction zone. Some negative impact willalso be generated on the scattered residents around the construction site, but few people willbe involved. The exhaust and dust emitted from the construction machines and transportingvehicles inside and outside of the construction site will mainly bring a certain impact on thearea surrounding the spots and along the transportation routes.

These activities during construction period only produce impact in short term. After thefinish of construction, the above-mentioned impact will be eliminated, and the ambient airquality will be recovered. The completion of the proposed project will make the numerousconstruction workers and production equipment removed from the construction site, and thenthis land will be renewed. [if dust will be generated regularly as trucks pass back andforth along the road through Baifusi Town, what mitigation measures are beingproposed to control the dust so that it does not become a nuisance and health problemfor the residents living and working along the road? Will the Contractor be responsiblefor regularly spraying water on the roads in the area of residences and businesses duringthe dry season to keep dust under control?]

5.7.2 Impact of Greenhouse Gas during Operating Period

The proposed project will use hydro resources to generate power, so there will be no airemissions from the project during the operating period, and no negative impact on the ambientair as well. As for the greenhouse gas generated from the reservoir once it is filled with waterand for the period following this when submerged vegetation decomposes, the followingforecasting and assessment on the possibility and intensity of the impacts have been made.

Greenhouse gas generated within the reservoir area mainly comes from the following 3aspects:

* Co2 released from vegetation via respiratory action at night;

* CH4 and CO2 generated from fertilizing of crops in paddy field;

* CH4 generated from the organic substance in the loam submerged under water, and

* CH4 generated from grasses, shrubs and other vegetation that is inundated when thereservoir is filled, and which decomposes over time.

The completion of the project will reduce the volume of greenhouse gas listed in the first twoitems, because of the submerging, which will restrain the release of greenhouse gas in thereservoir area. The submerging will cover forests and vegetable for 24.63hM2, reduced by0. 12%, compared with the current area of 203 73hm2 . It will also submerge cultivated land for46.1 7hm2, decreased by 0.68%, compared with the current 6831 hm2.

The organic substance in loam submerged under water will be decomposed into anaerobicCH4 under the anaerobic condition. In nature, the generation process of CH4 is quite

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complex, including the acidation and decomposition of organic substances and the gasgeneration in further inverting process. The following conditions are necessary in thegeneration of C114:

* Enough organic substance to act as nutrient for breeding of anaerobic bacteria andbacterial methane;

* Fitting anaerobic, acidity, temperature and humidity conditions; and

* Stable living surrounding for bacteria, etc.

From the on-site investigation and analysis on concerned data, it can be forecasted that thegeneration of CH4 in Lajitan Reservoir area will decrease. The reasons include:

* The local land resource is in shortage. Except for the submerged cultivated land, forestand garden, the other area submerged by the reservoir are mainly composed by rocks insteep cliffs or covered by yellow and red loam with little organic substance;

* The upstream of the reservoir contains shallow water, mainly in the previous river course,which makes little contribution to newly generated CH4 . In the medium and downstreamof the reservoir, the water temperature is low at bottom, which will restrain the activity ofanaerobic bacteria.

* As for the submerged cultivated land, forests and gardens, the stop of fertilizing will shutdown the sources of organic, and destroy the condition for CH4 generation.

At present, there is no proper method to quantitatively assess the generation of CH4 in thesubmerging of reservoir. [but you can estimate the amount of green house gases based onavailable data on decomposition rates, methane production rates, etc.] According to astudy on emission of CH4 made by domestic experts5 , the emission rate of CH4 in paddy fieldis ranged in 0.028-1.352g/(m 2 d), which accounts for 31.02% of the total statistic emissionsources in 1994. (Figure 5.7.1)

4- 5 3.4% 0 1%

20 7% ~ i- ' .' .' ' .' . .' . ' .' .' .' ' .' .'31 4%20. 7 u* X .m. .....J.

31. 0°h ° ~~~3%

~rning of 01 andJ Paddy Livest Ainuira lJban Riral

0 M nin rs bi~ 06s iE Eel d °ock sfCject a E ckbage E npt

Figure 5.7.1 Contribution of CH4 Emission in China in 1994

" Status Quo of Cl-b Emission in China , Renjian ZHAN, etc., Research on Climate and Environment, Issue 2 of Volume 4,

June 1999.

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Among the statistic emission sources, there is no data from reservoirs, which shows its impactis little. [because you can't find empirical evidence does not mean that the impacts areminor] When consulting the data for paddy field, the maximum generation volume of CH4from Lajitan Reservoir is still far below 0.028g/(m2 d), with a total generation volume lessthan 0.086t/d, much less than the impact brought by the greenhouse gas from a thermalpower station with the same capacity. In addition, even though small quantities of CH4 willbe generated during the start of the reservoir operation, after a certain period, the condition forgeneration of CH4 will progressively decline as the submerged vegetation decomposes.Moreover, the clearance of reservoir before water filling will further destroy the condition forits generation. [while reservoir clearing will remove much of the organic material, therewill still be a considerable volume of vegetation in the form of grasses, herbs and shrubsremaining. You should estimate the volume of material that will remain per squaremeter of area that will be inundated, and convert this to available grams of carbon thatcan be bound up through the process of decomposition to form methane. Then youshould estimate how long (based on inundation in other reservoirs) how long it takes todecompose this material. From this, you should be able to come up with an estimate ofkilograms of methane that will be produced from the reservoir per year over theoperational life of the power project, and add this to the estimated volume of carbondioxide that will be generated from aquatic vegetation in the reservoir. This numbershould then be compared with the volume of greenhouse gases that will be producedwithout the project, and with an alternative project (i.e, a thermal plant of equivalentgeneration capacity. You already have rates of methane production for rice paddy as astarting point.] Therefore, it can be concluded that the environmental impact of greenhousegas produced by Lajitan Reservoir can be ignored. [possibly, but you have not adequatelysupported this statement with your analysis]

5.8 Impact on Social Environment

5.8.1 Impact on Human Health

(A)Construction Period

Currently the level of medical services available in the vicinity of the construction site is onlow side, having only simple medical treatment equipment. During the peak time ofconstruction, a total of 800 people will live in the construction area, with 1.8 kg of refusedischarged per capita per day, and the total discharge of refuse will amount to 1.44 tons perday. [these figures need to be included in the section that discusses domestic wastedisposal impacts]

The high intensity labor works, in addition to the noise and air pollution in the constructionsite have the potential to do harm to the health of construction workers. If the domesticsewage and construction process wastewater cannot be treated effectively, it will be easy formosquito and butterfly to live and breed, furthermore some infections and dermatosis viathese insects may occur and become epidemic. So it becomes quite important that theconstruction workers should receive sanitation quarantine and health examinationperiodically, enhance the management of water sources and control outsiders. [whilemosquitos can carry malaria, I am not aware that there are any insect borne diseasesspread by butterflies. Check to see whether this is a translation error.]

(B)Operating Period

* If the reservoir inundation zone cannot be completely cleared up before the reservoir

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filling, the water quality of the reservoir in the initial stage of operation may be polluted,and result in outbreaks of intestinal tract infections in the surrounding area ofreservoir.[is there any chance that the reservoir could be filled before the area iseffectively sanitized. My understanding is that provincial authorities will not issuethe required approval for reservoir filling until reservoir clearing and sanitation hasbeen examined by the appropriate agencies and approved.]

* In the reservoir area, especially the resettlement sites where the population and ratdensity will rapidly increase, there exist greater possibility for human beings to beafflicted with the natural focal disease via rats (like hemorrhagic fever, ancylostomiasis,malaria and Japanese B encephalitis), which have died out in this region. [Malaria andencephalitis are spread by mosquitoes, not rats. Why will the rat populationexpand? What mitigation measures are proposed to control these vectors ofdisease?]

* The completion of the reservoir will increase the water area, and slow the water velocity.The partial [?????] climate and aquatic environment will change in the reservoir area,which is much suitable for the growth and breeding of mosquito and butterfly, and theincreased mosquito and butterfly will increase the possibility transmitting water bornediseases that depend on mosquitoes as disease vectors. lAgain, check the translationhere. I know of no diseases spread by butterflies. I think that this is a translationerror]

In the construction of Lajitan Reservoir, the experiences and lessons gained from theestablished reservoir should be learnt for reference, nip in the bud. ithis does not make muchsense. I suggest that you delete this sentence]

5.8.2 Impact on the Regional Economic Development

3 Power Generation

In the "Ninth Five-year Plan" and Long-term Targets for 2010 prepared by Laifeng County. itis estimated that in 2000, the total industrial and agricultural output value will amount to 1.85billion yuan, with an annual increase of 16.4%, including the total industrial output value for1.4 billion yuan, and the financial revenue for 0.19 billion yuan. In 2010. the total industrialand agricultural output value is projected to reach 3.93 billion yuan. including 3.3 billionyuan of total industrial output value and 0.49 billion yuan of financial revenue. The fastdevelopment of industries has to depend on the development of power generation. Theproposed Lajitan HPP will generate power for 151.02 million kWh annually, and guarantee anoutput of 16.7MW, which improves and guarantees the power supply of Enshi City andLaifeng County. The project will play a strategic role in the economic development of Enshiand Laifeng County.

* Flood Control

The proposed project will raise the flood control capacity downstream of the dam. The darn isdesigned to resist a flood that occurs once in 50 years and verified by a flood that occurs oncein 500 years. The design for flood prevention of the reservoir mainly considers the safety ofthe dam, but the holding back of flood waters by the reservoir will also reduce the threat offlooding in areas downstream.

* Shipping

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Currently the proposed project area is only linked with the outside world by road Once thereservoir is filled, a water course 22 km [isn't it 33.1 km long] in length will be created fromthe site of dam to Tangkou. This water course will provide improved transportation linkswithin the area, thereby improving local movement of goods and trading and benefiting thelocal people of the reservoir area. Therefore the exploration [exploitation??] of localresources and the development of local economy will be promoted.

* Irrigation

Lajitan Reservoir is located in a mountainous area, with cultivated land in upper location andwater sources in lower. In addition to the scattered cultivated land, it is hard to irrigate thefields in this area, and the yield of crops is always less that would be possible if there wasbetter irrigation. After the construction of Lajitan HPP, lift irrigation can be initiated in thereservoir area and surrounding area, so as to overcome the barriers of scattered irrigation andlimited availability of water for human consumption and livestock. As estimated, the fillingof the reservoir will increase the irrigation area upstream of the dam and improve theirrigation condition in 330hm2 of cultivated land. The villages along Youshui River willbenefit from the project to varying extent. The regulation of storage by the reservoir duringthe dry season will make the released flow rate higher than the natural flow rate, which willalso bring positive effects on the cultivated land in downstream areas.

* Aquatic Cultivation

After the reservoir is filled, a water area in 3.07km2 will be created. Combined with theresettlement of project affected people, various aquatic cultivation can be developed in thewater area. Analyzed from the data of similar reservoirs in the area, if the proposed reservoirwill produce an output of natural fishes for 375kg/hm2, the aquatic products in the proposedreservoir will increased by 115 tons per year, with an increased economic income near to 1million yuan/year.

* Adjustment in Industrial Structure of Reservoir Area

The construction of the proposed reservoir will reduce the relative amount of cultivated areain favour of an increase in forested area. [this is only the case if the project financesreforestation projects. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that any reforestation will takeplace as a result of the project. On its own, the project will not have any direct effect inincreasing the amount of forested area, while it will definitely reduce the amount of landavailable for cultivation due to inundation] The large water area formed from the reservoirwill be favorable to the development of aquatic cultivation, so the proportion of fish will alsorise. [the proportion of fish will only rise if there are programs to train local residents inaquaculture techniques and funds are available for these persons to purchase thenecessary fish stock and materials to develop fish cage culturing. Otherwise, thereservoir will not on its own start to produce large quantities of fish simply becausethere is a new body of water.] In the meantime, the proposed reservoir can promote thedevelopment of town and village enterprises and the third industry, such as tourism, food andservice, which will improve the economy of the reservoir area. Therefore the construction ofLajitan HPP will bring active and positive impacts to the optimization of economic benefitsof the reservoir area.

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5.9 Analysis for Environmental Impact of Reservoir Submerging andResettlement

5.9.1 Plans for Compensating Losses from Submerging Land and Resettlement

(A) Loss from Submerging Land

According to the information provided by the preparation team for Lajitan HPP, for theproposed project, when it reaches its normal pool level of 370m, the backwater will extendfor 33.1km, with a corresponding reservoir area for 3.07km2 . The submerged area will cover39 villager groups in 6 villages of Manshui Town, 11 villager groups in 3 villages of BaifusiTown in Laifeng County, Hubei Province, and 14 village groups in 6 villages of LongshanCounty, Hunan Province. A total of 692.5 mu of cultivated land and 369.4mu of forests(what is the breakdown between plantation forest, natural secondary forest, and originalold forest?] will be submerged. A total of 16126.1 m2 of houses will be removed, involving397 persons in 84 families. In addition, 11 km of Class 4 road, 8 km of communicationcable, 4 bridges, and 13 pole km of various transportation and transformation will besubmerged.

(B) Resettlement of Project Affected People

According to the plans for resettlement proposed by the investigation and planning team forresettlement from Lajitan HPP in September 29, 1999 and by Lajitan Hydropower StationDevelopment Co., Ltd of Laifeng County in April 4, 2000, resettlement will involve bothcomprehensive relocation and scattered relocation. That is to say, as for those villagers whosecultivated land and residential houses are both submerged, they will be relocated as a whole,and for those villagers whose residential houses will be submerged but land will not, they willbe moved backward from the original location. The detailed plan is to select two sites forrelocation. The first is the two sides of roads administrated by Guanyinping of Baifusi town,and the second is the bank of Youshui River behind Baifusi Town. The relocatees willbasically live in the villages and towns in which they originally lived. As for the resettlementfrom Houyan Town of Longshan County, Hunan Province, the project affected persons willbe m monetarily compensated for submerging and relocation cost by Laifeng County, whichis implemented by Longshan County Government. The governments of these two countieswill sign an agreement, based on the principle of ensuring the living conditions and standardof living of the relocated people is unchanged. The resettlement sites are been listed inTable 5.9.1.

Table 5.9.1 Plan for Emigration Relocation of Lajitan HPP

Number of Number ofTown Village Impacted Impacted Target Location

Families People(Family) (Person)

Sujiaping 8 35 Manshui New Town

Xingongqiao 2 13 Manshui New Town

Manshui Sheliba 7 pwle in I fimiy move bD Masi New bwn,2 11 and 4 pwl in I rimy move lid fiun the

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Tongzi 6 37 Moved backward from the originallocation

Relocated in the two sides along the road

Meiziao 30 119 of Laizhi Line, Guihuashu of MeiziaoVillage, lOOOm away from the original

Baifusi location

Nanhe 5 24 9 people in 4 families move to Xiaoba. and-4 people in I family to Baifusi Town

Huoyan, CKuda, Relocated in the calm hillside alongLaoxing, and Zhangjiacao, 31 166 roads, 100 to 400 m away from theGuitang Dongkan and original location

Guitang ~ IZhangjiawanI

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

5.9.2 Analysis for Population-Environmental Capacity

The population-environmental capacity of a region refers to the population sustained by theland in this region, with certain requirements for production level, standard of living andenvironmental quality. Once the population exceeds the limits, the eco-environment of theregion will be deteriorated, it becomes hard in the regional economic development, andconsequently the standard of living for the affected people will decline. The factor in closestrelationship with the population-environmental capacity is the sustaining capacity of land, i.e.the impact on standard of living of the sustained population in the region brought by thevolume and quality of cultivated land and output of agricultural products in this region. Thestandard of living for the population in villages can be measured by the occupying volume ofgrains per capita within the sustained population. So this report will estimate the populationsustained by the cultivated land in the reservoir area and its variation, on the basis of thevariation in the cultivated acreage, population, output of grains and occupying volume ofgrains per capita before and after the construction of the proposed reservoir. Furthermore, ananalysis will be made for the population-environmental capacity in the reservoir.

(A) Status Quo of Population Sustained by the Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Area and thePopulation-Environmental Capacity before the Construction of the Proposed Reservoir

Calculated from the data provided by the preparation team for Lajitan HPP, the populationsustained by the cultivated land in the reservoir area has been shown in Table 5.9.2 and thecurrent population-environmental capacity of the area in Table 5.9.3.

Table 5.9.2 Status Quo of Population Sustained by Cultivated Land in the ReservoirArea (in Year of 2000)

Acreage of Occupied Land OccupiedTow Village Population Cultivated Per Capita Total Output of Grains Per

n 2Land M2 Grains (t) Capita(kg/persL d(hm (hm /person) on)

Mans Xingongqiao 1637 94.33 0.058 707.5 432.2hui

Sujiaping 1423 73.93 0.052 554.5 389.7

Sheliba 1432 59.60 0.042 447.0 312.2

Fengmu 1458 79.07 0.054 593.0 406.7

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Acreage of Occupied Land OccupiedTow Village Population Cultivated Per Capita Total Output of Grains Per

n Land(hrn) 2 Grains (t) Capita(kg/pers(hm /person) on)

Zhaojiapo 1264 81.83 0.065 614.5 486.1

Tongzi 1494 112.07 0.075 840.5 562.6

Subtotal 8708 500.93 0.059 3757 441.7

Nanhe 980 95.0 0.097 490.0 500

Baifus Meiziao 970 97.0 0.10 388.00 400

Heguang 1120 149.3 0.13 448.0 400

Subtotal 3070 341.3 0.11 1326 431.9

Longs Huoyan, Laoxing and 474 29.33 0.062 220.0 464.1

han uitang

Total 113116 934.3 0.071 5773.5 440.2

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

Table 5.9.3 Analysis for Population-Environmental Capacity in the ReservoirAreabefore the Construction of the Reservoir (2005)

Population-environmental Capacity

Populati GrainsTown Villae on Outpt 300 400500 600Town Village on Output 300400o)ifferen Differen Differen Differen

(Person) (t) kg/perso ce kg/Perso ce kg/Perso ce kg/perso ce

n n n n

Xingongqi 1637 707.5 2358 +721 1768 +131 1415 -222 1179 458ao

Sujiaping 1423 554.5 1848 +425 1386 -37 1109 -314 924 499

Sheliba 1432 447.0 1490 +58 1117 -315 894 -538 745 -687Mansh

ui Fengmu 1458 592 1976 +518 1482 +24 1186 -272 988 470

Zhaojiapo 1264 614.5 2048 +784 1536 +272 1229 -35 1024 240

Tongzi 1494 840.5 2801 + 1307 2101 +607 1681 +187 1400 94

Subtotal 8708 3757 12523 +3815 9392 +684 7514 -1194 6261 2447

Nanhe 980 490.0 1633 +653 1225 -245 980 0 816 164

Baifus Meiziao 970 388.0 1293 +323 970 0 776 -194 646 324

Heguang 1120 448.0 1493 +373 1120 0 896 -224 746 374

Subtotal 3070 1326.0 4420 +1350 3315 +245 2652 -418 2210 860

Huoyan of 474 220.0 733 +259 550 +76 440 -34 366 108Longshan County

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Population-environmental Capacity

Populati GrainsTown Village on Output 300 400 500 600

(Person) D~ifferen Differen Differen Differen(Perston) (t) kg/perso ce kg/Perso ce kgJPerso ce kg/perso ce

n n n n

Total 12252 5303 17677 +5425 13257 +1005 10606 1646 8381 3414

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

From the results of Table 5.9.2 and Table 5.9.3, it can be seen that the current standard of

living of project affected people in the proposed Lajitan Reservoir area is on low side.

Measured by the standard of "simply having adequate food and clothing"(300kg/person),"just being lifted out from poverty and backwardness" (400kg/person), "well-off'(500kg/person) and "relative comfortable life" (600kg/person), the people in the reservoirarea fall into the category of just being lifted out from poverty and backwardness in general.The villagers in Tongzi Village of Manshui Town and Nanhe Village of Baifusi Town arerelatively well-off, but the villagers in Sujiaping and Sheliba of Manshui Town have simply

had adequate food and clothing. Analyzed on the population-environmental capacity in thereservoir area based on the above standards, an additional 1000 persons can live in the area ifthey are just lifted out from poverty and backwardness. If the standard of living tends to thewell-off level, 1600 persons have to be removed from this area.

(B) Population Sustained by the Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Area and the Population-Environmental Capacity after the Construction of the Proposed Reservoir

Based on the schedule for construction and the current progress made in the proposed project,

it is anticipated to start the proposed Lajitan HPP before 2001 and finish it before 2005. Thedata from the preparation team for this project indicates that the natural growth of population

in this area is 10%o, the descending rate of land is 1% and the increase rate of unit output ofgrains is 2%. As calculated, the population sustained by the residual cultivated land andpopulation-environmental capacity of the reservoir after the construction are listed in Table

5.9.4 and Table 5.9.5.

Table 5.9.4 Population Sustained by Residual Cultivated Land in the Reservoir Areaafter the Construction of the Reservoir (2005)

Acreage of Occupied Grains Occupied variation comparedCultivated Land per Grains Grains per with the volume in

Town Village Population Land capita output capita 2000

(hm 2 ) (hm 2/person) (t) (kg/person) (kg/person)

Manshu Xingongq 1720 83.36 0.048 690.2 401.3 -30.9i iao

Sujiaping 1495 68.41 0.046 566.4 378.9 -10.8

Sheliba 1505 56.37 0.037 466.7 310.1 -2.1

Fengmu 1532 75.01 0.049 621.1 405.4 -1.3

Zhaojiap 1328 78.38 0.057 624.1 470.0 -16.1

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Acreage of Occupied Grains Occupied Variation comparedCultivated Land per Output Grains per with the volume in

Town Village Population Land capita P capita 2000

(hm2 ) (hm2/person) (t) (kg/person) (kg/person)

Tongzi 1570 103.41 0.066 856.2 454.4 -17.2

Subtotal 9150 461.94 0.052 3825 . 428.3 -13.4

Nanhe 1030 87.81 0.085 500.5 485.9 -14.1

Meiziao 1019 89.08 0.087 393.7 386.4 -13.6Baifusi

Heguang 1177 136.28 0.116 451.1 383.2 -16.8

Subtotal 3226 313.17 0.097 1345.3 417.0 -14.9

Longshan 498 22.82 0.046 188.9 379.4 -84.7

Total 12874 797.93 0.062 5358.9 423.9 -16.3

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province, prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

Table 5.9.5 Analysis for Population-Environmental Capacity in the ReservoirAreaafter the Construction of the Reservoir (2005)

Population-Environmental Capacity

.w V g Populat Grains 300 400 500 600Town Village ion Output Differe differen Differe Differen

(t) kg/perso nce kg/perso ce kg/perso nce kg/perso cen n n n

Xingongqiao| 1720 690.2 2300 +580 1725 +5 1380 -340 1150 -570

Sujiaping 1495 566.4 1888 +393 1416 -79 1132 -363 944 -551

Sheliba 1505 466.7 1555 +50 1166 -339 933 -572 777 -728

Manshuj Fengmu 1532 621.1 2070 +538 1552 +20 1242 -290 1035 -497

Zhaojiapo 1328 624.1 2080 +752 1560 +232 1248 -80 1040 -288

Tongzi 1570 856.2 2854 +1284 2140 +570 1712 +142 1427 -143

Youfangao 908 483.5 1611 +703 1208 +300 967 +59 805 -103

Subtotal 9150 3824.7 12749 +3599 9562 +412 7649 -1501 6375 -2775

Nanhe 1030 500.5 1668 +638 1251 +221 1001 -29 834 -196

Baifus Meiziao 1019 393.7 1312 +293 984 -35 787 -232 656 -363

Heguang 1177 451.7 1505 +328 1129 -48 903 -274 752 425

Subtotal 3226 1345.3 4484 +1258 3363 +137 2690 -536 2242 -984

Longshan County 498 188.9 629 +131 472 -26 377 -121 314 -184

Total 12874 5358.9 17863 +4989 13398 +524 10717 -2157 8932 -3942

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in

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May 2000.

Table 5.9.4 shows that the occupied grains per capita in each village will decline to varyingextent after the construction of the reservoir, but in general the villagers will still keep theoriginal standard of living, i.e. just being shifted out from poverty and backwardness. Thelife in most villages have changed little in the reservoir area.

Table 5.9.5 indicates that the population-environmental capacity of the reservoir area willdecrease after the construction of the reservoir. If the villagers want to have a well-off life,over 2000 people have to be removed out of the area.

(C) Comprehensive Analysis for Population-environmental Capacity in the Reservoir Area

The construction of Lajitan HPP will submerge little cultivated land, and not many peoplewill be involved. The total submerged cultivated land amounts to 692.5 mu, accounting for3.62% of the total cultivated land in the reservoir area. There will be 397 project affectedpeople to be relocated, accounting for 2.52% of the existing population in the reservoir area.From analysis and forecasting, the occupied grains per capita in the area will be reduced for alittle after the construction of the reservoir, but the population-environmental capacity will .notchange too much. Except for few specific villages, the people living in this area willmaintain their standard of living at the existing level in general.

After the construction of the reservoir, the relocatees will get some compensation andrelocation cost from the government for the loss of their land, which will lay a specificeconomic foundation for the relocatees to cultivate wasteland, improve the existing cultivatedland, develop the waste hillsides to gardens or forests and be devoted into the second andtertiary industry (e.g., tourism). The loss from submerged cultivated land can also berecovered via these approaches. Therefore the standard of living in the reservoir area can bemaintained or improved.

During resettlement, the relocatees should be properly distributed according to the realstatus of the relocated area (such as the existing population, volume of cultivated land,reclaimable land and reclaiming conditions), so as to ensure providing the relocatees withreliable production tools and essential conditions for life. Particularly those villager groupsthat currently have a lower standard of living and suffermore loss in cultivated land shouldreceive more attention. Rational distribution of relocatees will balance the economy ofvarious villages in the reservoir area, allowing them to develop at the same pace.

Based on investigations of the preparation team for Lajitan HPP, some wasteland (5852.85mu) in the reservoir area can be reclaimed to farming land. But it should be noted that sincethe reservoir is located in mountainous area, in order to avoid any destruction on eco-environment caused by water and soil loss, the waste hillside should be reclaimed properlyand rationally, in the meantime, the related national policies have to be conformed to.

5.9.3 Environmental Impact of Inundation and Resettlement

(A) Impact on Land Resources

The construction of Lajitan HPP will submerge 692.5 mu of cultivated land, whichcomprises 3.62% of the total cultivated land in the reservoir area. Based on the higherstandard of 1.005 mu of cultivated land per capita, the land submerged by Lajitan Reservoirmeans more than 500 farmers will lose their land, on which their livelihood totally depends.It will doubtlessly put the farmers into a difficult situation, and affect the economy of the

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region where there is a lack of cultivated land.

However, the compensation to farmers for the submerged land will increase the input to theresidual cultivated land in terms of capital, labor and scientific technology. The formation ofthe reservoir will also create a better irrigation condition to the remaining cultivated land.The improved conditions for cultivation makes it impossible [possible?] to modify theoriginal dry farmed land to paddy field, and guarantees the improvement of the land quality.In the meantime, it also provides labor, financial input and materials to the reclaiming ofwasteland, so as to lay the foundation for the increase of cultivated land in the reservoir area.Therefore, as long as the land resources of the reservoir area can be managed and developedscientifically, the loss of cultivated land due to inundation can be compensated to someextent, and the negative impact on land resources caused by the engineering construction canbe minimized.

(B) Impact on Forests and Vegetation

When at the normal pool level of 370m, not much forest (108mu) will be submerged by thereservoir, only accounting for 0.55% of the original forests in this area. [is this 0.55% ofremaining lowland forest; remaining forest including lowland and upland forest; orhistorical forest area?] So inundation will have little impact on forests and vegetation. Itshould be noted that during the resettlement of project affected people, the building of newhouses will use a large quantity of woods, which may impact the forests and vegetation

In this proposed project, a total of 397 persons in 84 families will be involved in relocation,and 16126.1 m2 of houses will be removed. When the acreage of rebuilt house is equal to theoriginal one, and on the basis of 0.05m3 of wood to be used for each square meter of house,totally 612m3 of wood will be in need in the relocation. If the rebuilt house is larger thanoriginal one, much more wood will be used, and greater impact will be generated on theforests and vegetable. Therefore, during the resettlement process, measures should beapplied to purchase wood from outside of the project area, so as to protect the remainingforest resources in the reservoir area.

The submerging of forest will also make it difficult for local villagers to get domestic-usefirewood. So necessary steps have to be made to provide villagers with firewood, andprevent them from falling trees at will.

The negative impact brought by inundating remaining forest within the project area andresettlement requirements for wood can be offset by planting commercial trees. Specific localpolicies should be formulated to encourage the relocatees to plant commercial forests, fruittrees, tea trees and other kinds of commercial crops. The great efforts in developing forestcan not only increase the income of the relocatees, but also play an actively role in recoveryof forests and vegetations and protection of eco-environment.

(C) Impact on Water and Soil Conservation

The proposed Lajitan HPP may bring both negative and positive impact on the water and soilconservation in the reservoir area. The negative impact is produced from the reclaiming ofwasteland by relocatees, such as paying less attention to the methods of contouring terracedfields. The waste hillside should be by terracing the slopes. Otherwise it will be quite easyfor the new reclaimed land to lose water and soil, and then aggravate the water and soil loss inthis area. With regard to the positive impacts on the water and soil conservation, due to theinput of compensation funds and improved irrigation conditions, the relocatees will be

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provided with sufficient means to modify the original cultivated land to terrace field, and dryfarmed field to paddy field. This raises the quality of the cultivated land and output of crops,as well as controls water and soil loss considerably.

There is another issue that has to be considered during the construction and resettlement ofproject affected people. When building roads, houses and other infrastructures, the exposedbare earth will result in one-off water and soil loss in short term, if the bare earth is notgreened in time. Though this impact is limited, the construction unit should still attachimportance to it. Greening measures should be taken into effect in time, so as to avoid theloss of water and soil, and ensure that the local eco-environment is rehabilitated as early aspossible.

Hence, during the resettlement of project affected people and development process of land,great efforts should be made to strengthen awareness education on water and soil conservationand protection of eco-environment. Effective measures should be taken during theconstruction to control the existing water and soil loss and prevent the reservoir area fromcontamination by newly generated water and soil loss. Impact on Regional Social Economy

The construction of the proposed project will submerge 692.5mu of cultivated land for, with2404 person to be impacted including 397 relocatees. Due to the reservoir inundation,hundreds of villagers will lose their cultivated land and houses, and in turn have no reliableincome. Though the governnent will provide them with proper relocation and reasonablecompensation, they will still encounter hardships in their life and production during theremoval to relocation (it normally takes 3 to 4 years). In the meantime, their income, housing,health care and cultural education will be affected to varying extent. The improperarrangement of resettlement will even make them much poorer. All of these changes mayaffect the stability of the society to function effectively.

Hence the local government has to attach importance to the resettlement program whilemaking efforts in the construction. To comply with related national policies and real localstatus, the relocation of project affected people has to be undertaken effectively. As for theirdifficulties, the government should do their utmost to help relocatees, so as to eliminate thepotential negative impacts of resettlement.

Lajitan Reservoir is located in a mountainous area, which is isolated. The villagers here areprimarily involved in farming as their sole means of economic livelihood. The naturalterrain conditions and economic structure in this area greatly restrains the economicdevelopment and restricts improvement in the standard of living in the reservoir area.

The construction of the proposed project will improve the traffic, power supply and irrigationstatus in the reservoir area. The reservoir will also benefit the development of aquaticcultivation. The reclaiming of waste hillside will be favorable for the development of theforest industry. [if the purpose of reclaiming the hillsides by reforestation is to preventfurther loss of soils through water borne erosion, then developing these areas forcommercial forestry is contradictory to the aims of soil stabilization. It would appearthat further analysis is required] Meanwhile, the building of hydropower station will play amore important role in promoting the development of town and village enterprises, the servicesector and tourism in this area, so as to optimize its economic structure, and createopportunities for the economic development of the reservoir area. So it is obvious that theconstruction of Lajitan HPP will certainly push the economic development forward in thisarea.

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng Countv of Hubei Province

5.10 Environmental Risks Analysis

Power generated from the proposed Lajitan HPP is cleaner energy than that produced bythermal power plants that are more polluting However, hydropower generation projects cantrigger natural disasters like floods and earthquake during its operation, so there still existrisks in hydropower station. Thus, it is required to make analysis for environmental risks ofthe proposed Lajitan HPP caused by flood and earthquake, and furthermore to put forwardcountermeasures to prevent the environmental risks, so as to facilitate the project to be wellprepared in its design to keep away from the risks, and protect the regional eco-environmentand safety of people in the proposed reservoir area.

5.10.1 Analysis for Risks of Flood

(A) Characteristics of Flood

The dam site of the proposed project is located in the central area of rainstorm in YoushuiRiver Basin, which results from the conflict between Pacific warm-humid air mass by southand polar cold air mass by north. The rainstorms primarily appear as frontal rain storms,followed by heat thunderstorms. The data for rainstorm recorded by Maodong HydrologicalStation shows that the maximum precipitation in one day and in three days are 187.7mm and272.4mm respectively at Maodong Station. Rainfall is chiefly concentrated during the floodseason from April to September in this area. The runoff originates from precipitation, withsame allocation as that of precipitation in a year, and the volume of runoff in flood seasonaccounts for 77.9% of the total in a year. The core flood period starts from June and Julyevery year, with frequent rainstorms and huge rainfalls, and the flood occurs frequently.Since the river basin is distributed with high mountains, steeps hillsides and deep valley, floodis always manifested by sudden rising and sudden falling of flood waters and quickly joinstogether. Each flood will last for 3 or 4 days. About 12 hours later than the flood peakarriving at the site of dam, the peak flow reaches its maximum, and the kurtosis is nornallysinglet. Based on the statistics on the peak flow at Maodong Hydrological Station in 32 yearsfrom 1958 to 1989, the maximum peak flow (Qm) of 2000-4000m3/s occurred in 65.4% ofthe total statistic years, that of 1000-2000m3 /s in 21.88%, Qm>4000m3 /s in 9.36% andQm<.lOOOm3/s in only 3.12%. In 1927, the maximum peak flow rate was 4600m3 /s. Themaximum flood in this river section in the history since 1927 occurred in 1940, and the peakflow at Maodong Hydrological Station reached to 7060m3 /s. It is obvious that the dam site ofLajitan HPP encountered few disastrous floods in the past, and the characteristics withdisastrous flood in this river section is not remarkable.

(B) Design Flood

According to the characteristics of flood and frequency of flood in Youshui River Basin wherethe proposed project is located, Hubei Hydro Prospecting and Designing Academy has madedetailed technical analysis and assessment of the design flood at the dam site. A conclusionhas been reached that "the flood series at Maodong have good representativeness, with highcorrelative precision in peak volume, and its results in design flood can be applied inperiodical use". The design flood results of Maodong Hydrological Station is directly used asthe design flood of dam site of Lajitan HPP (see the following Table 5.10.1).

Table 5.10.1 Results of Design Flood by Maodong Hydrological Station

Probability P(%)Item

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0.2 1 2 10 20

Peak Flow Rate (m3/)s 9400 7520 6670 6670 3800

Flood Volume in I Day (0.1 billion mi3 ) 5.977 4.804 4.301 3.072 2.495

Flood Volume in 3 Days (0.1 billion m3) 10.88 8.7 7.722 5.441 4.399

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

Based on GB50201-94 "Flood Control Standard", the proposed Lajitan HPP is a mediumproject, so the flood prevention capacity of the dam and power-houses is designed incompliance with the standard to resist the flood that occurs once in 50 years, and verified bythe flood that occurs once in 500 years. Flood control of the reservoir aims at ensuring thesafety of the dam. Results from flood regulation of Lajitan HPP are shown in Table 5.10.2.

Table 5.10.2 Results from Flood Regulation of Lajitan HPP

Probability P(%)Item

0.2 0.5' 2

Peak Flow(m3/s) 9400 8330 7520 6610

Maximum Releasing Volume (0.1 billion m3) 9276 8269 7453 6610

Maximum Water Level in front of Dam (0. I billion m3) 372.48 371.18 370.13 370

Maximum Storage (10 thousand m3 ) 4428 3318 2983 2942

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County. Hubei Province". prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

The proposed Lajitan HPP is designed in open spillway, and the spill curve is described inTable 5.10.3.

Table 5.10.3 Spill Curve of Lajitan HPP

Water level(m) 356 357 360 365 368 369 370 371 372

Released Volume (M3/s) 0 113 1037 3896 6029 6742 7349 8152 8910

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province". prepared by HRASE inMay 2000.

The reservoir initiates its regulation from the normal pool level of 370m for purpose of floodcontrol, the corresponding peak flow rate is 661 0m3 /s(P=20%), the maximum releasedvolume is 6610m3/s and the maximum storage of the reservoir is 2942x104m3 . Furthermore,the dam of the proposed project is designed as a concrete gravity dam, which can be betteradapted to the spill control facility. So the design flood of the proposed project indicates thatit is able to control the flood risks.

Diversion for the construction in this proposed project is prepared on the basis of the terraceand geographical condition and water and soil features in the site of dam. The diversion planwill be implemented in two phases, and the diversion standard is identified according to theengineering class and the grade of buildings. In initial diversion standard, the peak flow of347.46m3 /s in the flood that occurs once in 3 years is used, and in the late phase, the standard

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Reportfor Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hvdropower Project in Laifeng County8 of Hubei Province

for the flood that occurs once in 10 years is applied, with a peak flow of 1090m3/s. Thediversion buildings are built in rigid cofferdam (concrete core-wall), and enveloped withconcrete-rubble. The cofferdam will be built during the dry season from October to April ofthe second year following project initiation. The right side of cofferdam (Monolith 1 to 3)will be firstly constructed , and then the left side of the cofferdam (Monolith 4 to7). Duringthe dry period, flood will go through the other side of cofferdam. During the late phase, thetwo gaps will be filled, and at this time the comb diversion will be applied. When pouring thefirst gap, flood will go through the other gap. And when pouring the second gap, the floodwill go through the dam via the overflow channel and bottom scouring outlets. During theflood period without construction, the flood will pass via cofferdam. So the diversion planfor the construction period can meet the requirement of flood release.

(C) Genetic Analysis for Flood Risks

The investigation and data indicates that to date tens of thousands of hydropower stationshave been constructed in the whole world with hundreds of them having accidents. Theaccident of dam caused by flood can be categorized into two types, one is dam overtoppedand the other is dam break. The probability of dam failure is about 0.01%. Based onstatistics, 35% of dam failure in China is caused by the dam being overtopped. In addition,the poor construction quality of dam and improper design of project are also responsible forsome dam failure when encountering a flood. Thus, during the flood period, especially thepeak flood period, the dam will always face danger when the peak flows pass through thedam, and at this time effort should be made in the prevention of the risk to the dam.

Indicated from the investigation and data collected:

(1) There are two types of accidents in dam caused by flood, one is dam overtopped and theother is dam break after the dam is overtopped. The risks of the latter is far greater thanthat of the former;

(2) The type of dam has close relation with the dangers caused by flood. Earth dams presentthe highest risk, which is quite possible to be overtopped by the excessive flood.Concrete face rock fill dam has a lower risk of failure than earth dams whenencountering flood, but may still be overtopped by flood and then collapse. Concretegravity dam has the least risk in this, and normally it happens to meet the risk of damovertopped because of the excessive flood.

(3) The impacted area of the dam overtopped or dam break involves the site of dam and thedownstream area. Whatever the type of dam is, the loss from the accident is decided bythe flood flow rate when the flood overtops the darn, and it will also be linked with thesocial economy and environmental status of the site of dam and its downstream area.

(4) The hydropower stations may also meet the risk of dam break when it serves over itsservice life.

(D) Analysis for Flood Risk

Hubei Hydro Prospecting and Designing Academy has made detailed technical analysis andargument based on the historical flood records and actual monitoring data for this riversection. From the analysis, it is concluded that the recurrence interval is 63 years, and theacademy decided to adopt the design flood results of Maodong Hydrological Station for theperiodical use. According to the provisions in SDJ12-78 "Grade Separation of HydropowerStation and the Design Standard" and GB50201-94 "Flood Control Standard", final decision

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hube, Prownce

has been made in the scale of the proposed project, the grade of the proposed project, the classof major buildings and the standard the proposed project uses for its dam, i.e. the dam isdesigned to resist flood that occurs once in 50 years and verified by the flood that occurs oncein 500 years. The corresponding design flood water level is 370m and 372.48m. The dam is373m in height, and the peak flow rate reaches to 6610m3/s and 9400m3/s respectively. Floodcontrol measures used in the proposed project aim to ensure the safety of the dam.Considering that the peak flood period is from June to July, an additional storage of 14.86million m3 will be left for flood control in advance, and -the reservoir is required to becontrolled at the water level limit of 370 for flood control, with a release flow rate of6610-7349m3 /s. The delay of flood by the reservoir will reduce the threat of flood to thedownstream area. The dam is constructed in concrete gravity dam, so the proposed projectwill face little flood risk.

As for the regulation of flood by the reservoir, the proposed project will employ an openspillway design as its flood release works, with 6 overflow channels. From the overflowcurve of Lajitan HPP, when the water level is fixed in 370m, the release flow rate via opengate will be 7349m3/s, which is much higher than the maximum flood flow rate of 6610m3 /s(P=2%). The proposed project will initiate its flood regulation from the normal pool level of370m, and during the core flood period, 14.86 million m3 of reservoir storage has to be left forretaining the flood. When the inflow peak flow rate QW1f 0,>7349m 3/s, the gate will becompletely open, and let the flood go through the gate freely, which will elevate the waterlevel of reservoir. When QinflfOw<7349m 3/s, the gate will open partially, the flood will outflowas much as inflow, and the water level will be kept at the normal pool level. When the floodfalls, the water level of reservoir will decrease down to the nornal pool level, and the outflowrate controlled by the gate is equal to the inflow rateO ,flo0 . The flood will be regulated basedon the above-mentioned principle during the operation of the reservoir, which can guaranteethe damn overtopped or dam break will not happen when the dam encounters a flood thatoccurs once in 50 years, while the reservoir finishes the power generation targets.

Once a flood occurs, which exceeds the design flood that occurs once in 50 years, the floodpeak can be guaranteed to pass the dam smoothly. Because on the basis of the flood peak inthis river section always rising suddenly but falling suddenly as well, the dam is designed asgravity dam with the elevation of dam crest for 373.0m, which is 0.52 m higher than the waterlevel of 372.48m when the dam meets a flood that occurs once in 500 years, and 3.Om higherthat the water level of 370m when the dam faces a flood that occurs once in 50 years. Inaddition there are three cascade hydropower stations in the river section to regulate the flood.Therefore there is little possibility for the proposed dam to be overtopped by flood. The floodwill hardly bring impact to the downstream area of the dam. When the dam encounters asuper flood (exceeding the design flood), the reservoir will be over filled. If encountering theverified flood that occurs once in 500 years, the water level behind (i.e., upstream of) the damwill exceed the normal pool level for 2.48m where it is still 0.52m away from the dam crest,but the risk of dam overtopped can not be eliminated. Under this circumstance, the cost ofpreventing dam break will be paid by the loss of upstream land along the reservoir due toinundation, so as to protect the social economy and environmental safety of the dam site andthe downstream area. When a super flood is encountered, if the wild flood can be controlledand regulated by humans, the possibility of dam break will be minimized, but the riskintensity of reservoir over filling will increase. So it cannot be ignored that the flood mayovertop the dam if it is released improperly, even there exists risk in dam break. In order toprevent the risk in the dam being overtopped or dam break, an early-warning and forecastingsystem for flood should be established. Once the dam faces a danger, the commander anddecision-maker for flood control should undertake a comprehensive assessment on the

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Reportfor EnvWronmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hvdropover Project in Laifeng Coun!y of Hube, Prownce

overall picture, and adopt corresponding technical measures to control the risk intensity ofover filling or flood inundation, so as to prevent the dam from being overtopped caused byover filling and improper flood release.

Summarized from the above analysis, the hydrological data used in the dam design of theproposed project, provided by Maodong Hydrological Station, has specific representativenessand reliability, so the appropriately designed and verified flood standard in the proposedproject can satisfy the requirements in the Standard GB50201-94. Based on the grade of theproposed project, the type of the proposed dam and the mode of flood control and regulation,it can be concluded, with precondition of the construction quality in compliance with thestandard and the proposed project in normalized management and operation, that the proposeddam has little probability in the risk of dam failure even encountering a flood that occurs oncein 500 years, while the power generation targets have been achieved as well.

5.10.2 Analysis for Earthquake Risk

(A) Earthquake Risk

Earthquake can put a dam in front of danger directly and indirectly. One is the tectonicearthquake directly leads to a dam facing a danger, and the other is the reservoir places apremium on earthquake and then results in the dam in danger. Data shows the probability ofthe former is twice of that of the latter. Dam failure directly caused by earthquake onlyaccounts for 6% of the total dam failure, and the rate of dam failure caused by -earthquake is 6per million, which is far lower than that caused by flood. The consequences of the damfailure caused by earthquake mainly contain dam crack and destruction of facilities, and thestation is not able to run normally. But the probability of dam break caused by earthquake islow.

Induced earthquake by reservoir is mostly microseism, and inducing factors may be reservoirload, seepage pressure, variation of reservoir bottom and the interaction between water androcks. In general, the induced earthquake by reservoir is located in a region that is just in itsactive stage of neotectonic movement. After the reservoir filling, the variation in reservoirload will act on the regional geologic structure and consequently induce microseismfrequently. Once the reservoir area encounters destructive earthquake, the dam will bethreatened with dam failure. The above indicates that there is quite low probability in damfailure caused by earthquake, but there still exists possibility in the risk of dam failure, whichrequires corresponding measures to be taken to prevent or reduce the environmental riskbrought by earthquake to the dam.

(B) Analysis for Earthquake Risk

Lajitan HPP is located in the south edge of fold of Enshi Mountain (IV), in the ruche ofBamian Mountain Platform (III) of Shangyangzi Platforms (II), Yangzi Metaplatform (I). Asfor its geological structure, the region belongs to a part of umbones of Cathaysiantectogenesis. Various epeirogenic movements make the depressed block, forned from foldingand breaking of depressed zone and geological disaster, to be structured as Cainozoic erabasin, where earthquakes happen in sudden frequently with shallow focus. From thehistorical records, a destructive earthquake took place in Laifeng County twice (one happenedin magnitude of VI in Daluba of Xianfeng in June 10, 1856, and the other in magnitude of Vin the area from Xianfeng to Lichuan in July 1, 1931.) Within the region, the high intensityearthquakes are always distributed in area of Changde, Hunan Province. There is no recordon the earthquake with over magnitude of IV occurred in the area surrounding the reservoir.

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessmentfor Lajitan Hydropower Project in Laifeng County of Hubel Province

Since the Yanshan Movement, the region is continuously rising, with in low rate in recentperiod, which belongs to a interval period now. According to "Zoning Map for EarthquakeIntensity of China" (1990), the basic earthquake intensity of this area is identified to be lowerthan VI degree.

Shown from the on-site reconnaissance on the proposed reservoir area and related geologicaldata on the reservoir area, within the reservoir area in length of 22km 133.1 km?], the end ofreservoir is composed by arenarceous shale of Silurian System, and the first accumulationterrace is distributed along the river, so there is no leakage in this area. As for the head of theproposed reservoir, it consists of calcareous rocks, the karst is developed in the wall ofreservoir, with hard quality and complete rock mass, whose breaking resistance f=0.9 andc[l E0.65Mpa. At the site of dam, the river bed is wide for 70m, with average annual waterdepth of 2.5m. The rock mass of river bed is mainly nearhorizontal rock forrnation. Thusanalyzed from the geological conditions of the reservoir area, including geological structure,lithologic character of stratum and landform of valley, though the possibility does exist in theinduced microseism after the reservoir filling, the impacting intensity of earthquake wavepassing to the site of dam is smaller than the basic earthquake intensity of this area.

Summed up from the above analysis, as for the proposed project, little possibility exists in thedam failure caused by earthquake. However the reservoir filling will accelerate leakage, sothere still exists possibility for the dam to encounter an induced microseism. Certainly therisks can not be excluded faced by the darn that after the reservoir filling, a destructiveearthquake may take place in the surrounding area of the reservoir and touch upon the dam,consequently place a premium on the destruction of dam, power generators and the auxiliaryfacilities.

In order to keep the dam from earthquake risks and consequently dam failure, in the designingof the proposed Lajitan HPP, the dam, power-houses and auxiliary engineering have beenindividually designed for resisting earthquake on the basis of the risks it may receive, inwhich the requirement for earthquake-resisting in GBJ 11-89 "Designing Criteria forEarthquake Resisting of Buildings" has been applied. The earthquake resisting design hasprovided the safety and reliability for the dam to resist an earthquake. During theconstruction, the owner system and inspect and control system for engineering construction ofChina have to be strictly executed to inspect and control the examination of the engineeringquality and materials used, so as to ensure the dam to be constructed according to the designstandard for earthquake resisting. Necessary monitoring tools should be used for earthquakein the darn area, aiming at monitoring and control the microseism induced by the reservoirfilling. In case the microseism induced by reservoir results in damage of the dam, powerhouses and auxiliary facilities, effective technical measures should be put into effect as soonas possible to reinforce the defenses of the proposed project, and keep the dam from dambreak and greater loss. The proposed project should be designed to withstand seismic forcesand strengthened in its management, to avoid the formation of various risks and dam failure.

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CHAPTER 6Analysis for Alternatives

6.1 No-action Alternative of the Proposed Project

One of the alternatives for this proposed project is that the project not proceed. If theproposed project does not proceed, there will not be any eco-environmental impacts duringthe construction period and operating period Nor will there be any resettlement of projectaffected people. But the nonperformance of the proposed project will:

* Interrupt the progress of the tertiary cascade hydropower station in the multi-stagehydropower development plan for Youshui River Basin, which will influence powergeneration, flood control, shipping, aquatic cultivation and tourism in this basin, andfurthermore constrain the local healthy social and economic development;

* The project is proposed to be built in minority region and the local people have beenexpecting construction of the proposed project for a long time. It has been considered asa good opportunity for the local people to be elevated from their current levels of povertyand become better off. If the proposed project is not implemented, social and nationalconflicts might be aroused.

* If the project can not be performed, the natural ecosystem that already lacks protection byhumans would continue in degradation and the destruction of vegetation, water and soilloss and natural disasters could not beeffectively controlled.

* The nonperformance of the proposed project will restrain the rise in the standard ofliving of local people. And these people are doomed to continue their living mode in out-of-order utilization of natural resources to keep their life.

As the proposed project is a project without any pollution, which depends on potential energyof river water to generate power, it has sound social, economic and environmental benefits. Inthe meantime, via approaches such as reasonable design and proper implementation ofenvironmental protection measures, the project can improve the protection of eco-environment to be exploited and the life mode and standard of living for project affectedpersons. Therefore, it is not recommended to choose the no project alternative.

6.2 Comparison with Other Types of Power Station

Thermal power generation can ease the conflict between the supply and demand of electricalpower, but it is difficult for thermal power generation stations to regulate the power utilizationload of the local power network. The most important is the area in which the proposedproject is located lacks coal or other fuel resources, which makes it impossible to build athermal power station here. [this is not necessarily true. A thermal power station can bebuilt in the area, but fuel would have to be transported to the site, which would be verycostly. Alternatively, a thermal station could be constructed outside of the project areaand the electricity transmitted to the region by electrical transmission lines. Theseissues should be discussed in the analysis of alternatives.] Additionally, since LaifengCounty is located in a mountainous area, it is not easy for the air emissions from thermalpower generation to diffuse, which may accelerate the air pollution. A coal fired thermalplant would also result in production of solid wastes and thermal contamination of coolingwater.

Taking the thermnal power station with a capacity of 49MW built in Wuxue City, Hubei

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Province in 1997 as a example, a comparison between the proposed project and thisalternative is described as follows:

* The total investment of Wuxue Thermal Power Station is 6.826 million yuan/MW, andthat of Lajitan HPP is 9.1667 million yuan/MW. The latter is higher than former for34.3%, but its operating cost is quite low;

* The standard coal consumed by Wuxue Thermal Power Station is 368g/kwh, and LajitanHPP uses water resource to generate power;

* Wuxue Thermal Power Station emits 2448.96t/a of SO2 , 382.45t/a of particulates (dust)and 77,742.6t/a of slag, and after being converted into the scale of Tongping ThermalPower Station, the emissions are 1799.24t/a of SO2, 280.98t/a of particulates (dust) and57,117.0t/a of slag. Though it has not been fully convinced whether the proposed LajitanHPP will produce enough greenhouse gas of CH4 to impact the ambient air quality, theimpact is very little compared with the thermal power station in same scale. [you havenot yet made a satisfactory comparison of the difference in potential greenhouse gasproduction from decomposing organic matter from the Lajitan Reservoir, a thermalplant of equivalent generating capacity, or the no action alternative, in whichnatural decomposition in the reservoir area produces greenhouse gases. Thiscomparison needs to be made.]

Meanwhile, thermal power station plays no role in providing secondary benefits of floodcontrol, transportation and aquatic cultivation (aquaculture), and it can not promote the localtourism, development. The advantage of thermal power station is its lower one-offinvestment, but its operating cost is quite high.

From the above, it is obvious that though the one-off investment of hydropower generationstation is relatively high, its operating cost is lower by comparison than thermal powergeneration. [you have not provided any cost figures that support this argument] In themeantime, the hydropower station can take full advantage of the local resources to solve theconflict between power supply and demand, as well as protect the environment and promotethe local economy to develop in full scale. On the other hand, when a thermal power stationreleases the conflict between power supply and demand, it has a lot of shortages as well.[what does this mean. It seems to be an invalid argument] Thus it is fit for the localspecific features to construct the power generation station as a hydropower station.

6.3 Comparison in Alternatives of Site Selection

6.3.1 Alternatives for Site Selection

There is only one option for site selection, i.e. the hydrological station located upstream ofBaifusi Town.

6.3.2 Comparison in Alternatives of Site Selection

After a comprehensive comparison made in landform, geological status, arrangement andconstruction of the proposed project and traffic, the hydrological station located upstream ofBaifusi Town is the best site for the dam, which is far superior to other sections. The majoradvantages include:

(1) The site has better landforrn, favorable for the arrangement of buildings of the proposedproject, which will save the investment to engineering. The river section where the dam

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site is located has a relatively wide and straight river bed. So it is suitable for thepowerhouse to be arranged and largely decreases the earth and rock excavation.

(2) The dam site is near to the mouth of the canyon on the right bank of the river, where it isconvenient to separate the dam from power houses, and properly arrange the transformersubstation as well. This will also reduce the load of civil engineering.

(3) The available head can be fully utilized at this site to produce power. The river coursethat the proposed project is located in is steep in longitude, with many rapids and drops.In addition, the site is located near to mountain mouth, so the hydro energy can be utilizedin maximum. And the reservoir capacity is easy to increase. Depending on the waterflow, the regulating capacity of the reservoir will be enhanced.

(4) The site of dam and reservoir is close to mouth of the canyon, so only a short length ofaccess road to the dam and temporary construction roads are required. Meanwhile, theconstruction site is wide enough, with convenient access to the outside world.

(5) Fresh bedrock is exposed in the hillsides of the two banks of the dam site, with completerock mass and stable slopes. The geological condition is better at this site than at otherpotential sites.

6.4 Comparison in Dam Line

6.4.1 Alternatives for Dam Line

Three damsites were evaluated including an upper damsite, a medium damsite and a lowerdamsite. The upper damsite is located 240m upstream of the original hydrological station.The medium site is located 60m downstream of the upper one, and the lower damsite is 70mdownstream from the medium one.

6.4.2 Comparison of Damsites

Analyzed from the landform and geological condition, all of the 3 damsites are qualified toestablish the dam. The differences are: as for landform, the upper damsite is located in acalm [???????J and wide slope, and then the medium one [???????I, the lower damsite islocated in the narrowest riverbed with steeper hillsides along its banks . As for geologicalcondition, the lithologic character of these 3 damsites are nearly same. but the lower damsitehas more shallow weathered layer; and as for geological structure. though there are severalsmall dissected faults in the lower damsite, the scale is small and easy to treat. From theoverall view, the lower damsite has better geological conditions. The engineering load ofdam excavation of the lower damsite is greater than that of other two alternative sites, but itsdiversion tunnel for power generation is much shorter than the others, which results in lessinput in engineering. So the comprehensive analysis shows the lower damsite is the bestchoice in the proposed project.

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CHAPTER 7 Environmental Management Plan andEnvironmental Monitoring Plan

7.1 Environmental Management Plan

7.1.1 Environmental Management Institution and Its Duties

The set-up of environmental management institution can guarantee the realization ofenvironmental management targets and implementation of various environmentalprotection tasks. The owner of the proposed project should set up environmentalmanagement and environmental monitoring institutions within its administrativebody. It is recommended that there be 1 or 2 full-time staff working forenvironmental management and 2 or 3 for environmental monitoring and eco-environmental monitoring and control.

The major duties of the environmental management institution cover:

(1) Ensure that the project complies with the national laws, regulations andstandards for environmental protection and corresponding managerial regulationsformulated by local environmental protection administrations, based on whichthe rules and regulations for environmental protection of the proposed projectshould be prepared and perfected, and the environmental protection responsibilitysystem and the corresponding methods for encouragement and punishmentshould be clarified;

(2) Organize and coordinate each task proposed by this EIA report and approvalcomments, and finalize the funds for eco-environmental compensation andpollution prevention and control;

(3) Make great efforts in environmental management of the construction of theproposed project, including conducting environrental management andmonitoring during the construction, compiling environmental quality reports forthe construction area periodically and submitting it to the local environmentalprotection administration; making efforts in prevention of destruction of eco-environment and pollution accidents during the construction, and in caseenvironmental accident happens, it should be properly dealt with in time andreported to the local environmental protection administration; properlyorganizing eco-environmental protection and recovery in the construction sitewith duly greening of the site and recovery of vegetation; combining theclearance of reservoir bottom, making efforts in environmental sanitation andmanagement of reservoir area, ensuring proper handling the spoils and theenvironmental protection of resettlement areas.

(4) Make efforts in environmental management of the proposed project during theoperating period, including conserving water quality of headwater and reservoirto prevent eutrophication of water mass; conducting the monitoring on biologicbiological organizms, water quality, hydrology and sediment during the operatingperiod, and preparing corresponding environmental quality reports; makingefforts in environmental management of tourism and aquatic cultivation;[generally, this activity is done during operation and is a longer term issuehandled by the project owner outside of the construction issues] being

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responsible for dealing with the accidents like water pollution and destruction ofeco-environment;

(5) Formulate and implement plans for eco-environmental monitoring;

(6) Establish complete environmental protection data files for the proposed project

(7) Organize professional training for environmental management and monitoringstaff in the proposed project, reinforce the connection with local environmentalprotection bureau (EPB) and ask for guidance and assistance from the local EPB;

(8) Carry out education on environmental protection to raise the environmentalprotection awareness of the construction workers and the public surrounding thereservoir area.

7.1.2 Environmental Monitoring Institution and Its Duties

Decided by the nature of the proposed project, it is recommended to set up alaboratory under Lajitan Hydropower Development Co., Ltd, of Laifeng County.There is no need to set up a special environmental monitoring institution, and whennecessary, the Environmental Monitoring Station of Laifeng County can be consignedto do some tasks concerning monitoring. The duties of the laboratory involve:

(1) Conduct regular environmental monitoring on time, and compile monitoringreport and sheets;

(2) Monitor the quality and discharge amount of wastewater from local majorpolluting units on a routine basis;

(3) Repair, maintain and verify the monitoring instruments.

7.2 Environmental Monitoring Plan

7.2.1 Plan for Environmental Monitoring during Construction Period

(A) Monitoring on Aquatic Environmental Quality

(1) Monitoring on River Water Quality

* Allocation of Monitoring Section: in order to understand the quality status ofwater inflowing and out flowing the construction site, a monitoring section willbe allocated in the upstream and downstream of the river section in constructionrespectively; the section in upstream is arranged 100 m upward from theboundary of construction site and that in downstream is I 00m downward awayfrom the boundary. [the same water quality monitoring stations should besampled during construction as were sampled to obtain the pre-constructionstatus quo water quality data.]

* Monitoring Items: water temperature, pH, SS, hypermanganate index, DO,BOD5, total P, total N, petroleum and total coliform bacteria.

* Monitoring Method: each item will be monitored according to the methodprovided in GHZBI-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water".

* Monitoring Frequency: once respectively in flood period, dry period and normal

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period in a year, totally 3 times in a year;

(2) Monitoring on Water Quality at Wastewater Outlets

* Monitoring Point: 1 monitoring point will be arranged at the wastewater outletsof sand and rock material process systems on right and left banks, wastewateroutlet of foundation pit, wastewater outlet of concrete mixing station anddomestic wastewater outlet.

* Monitoring Items:

Production wastewater outlets: ph value and SS;

Domestic wastewater outlets: DO, BOD5 , COD, total P, total N, petroleum andtotal coliform bacteria;

* Monitoring Frequency: once respectively in flood period, dry period and normalperiod in a hydrological year, totally 3 times in a year, and in the peak period ofconstruction, proper times of monitoring should be added.

(B) Monitoring on Noise

= Allocation of Monitoring Point: in order to learn the impact of construction noiseon the ambient acoustic environment, I monitoring point is arranged in theconstruction site, and 1 in residential area for local people and 1 in residentialarea for construction workers, totally 3 to 4 monitoring points will be arranged.

3 Time and Item of Monitoring: once respectively at night and in daytime, dB(A)

3 Monitoring Frequency: once in a quarter.

(C) Monitoring on Water and Soil Loss

* Allocation of monitoring point: in construction site, sand and rock materialsprocessing yards, spoils yards and resettlement sites;

* Item and Time of Monitoring: soil erosion modulus, erosion thickness andacreage of water and soil loss; the monitoring will be conducted before and aftera precipitation and the peak time of construction.

* Monitoring Frequency: once bi-annually

(D) Monitoring on Eco-environment

In addition to the above-mentioned monitoring items, the focus of the eco-environmental monitoring should be put on the species, distribution and volume ofaquatic plants, benthic organism and fishes. The monitoring should be conductedonce in the midterm of construction, and during operation on an annual basis for fiveyears following inundation.

7.2.2 Plan for Environmental Monitoring during Operating Period

(A) Monitoring on Water Quality and Hydrology

* Monitoring Section: monitoring on water quality and hydrology should be

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conducted in same pace with a monitoring section 200 m down from the dam ofTangkou Hydropower Station in Youshui River and sections in reservoir area(Nanhekou Section, site of dam, Baifusi Bridge Section in downstream of thedam);

* Monitoring Frequency: once respectively in flood period, dry period and normalperiod in a hydrological year, totally 3 times in a year.

* Monitoring Items: the special items for lake and reservoir provided inGHZB 101999 mainly including total P, total N, chlorophyll (a) and transparency(m), and water temperature, pH, total coliform bacteria. The hydrologicalmonitoring covers the items of water level, flow rate, flow velocity and sediment.

* Monitoring and Analysis Method: the water quality monitoring and the analysisare based on Table 4 "Analysis Method for Basic Items in Quality Standard forLand Aquatic Environment" and Table 5 "Analysis Method for Special Items inQuality Standard for Surface Water". The monitoring of water level, flow rate,flow velocity, content of sediment will be conformed to "Criteria forHydrological Monitoring and Analysis".

* Laboratory and Monitoring Instruments: in order to ensure the conduct of waterquality and hydrological monitoring, the proposed station should set upcorresponding laboratory with necessary monitoring instruments, including flowmeter, sampler, thermometer, refrigerator, oven, multi-connected electric stove,usual glassware, analytical balance, spectrophotometer and acidometer.

After the finish of each monitoring, the data from the monitoring should becomprehensively analyzed, and a written report to summarize the results from theanalysis should be prepared, filed and submitted to the local environmental protectionadministrations. Whenever necessary, the Environmental Monitoring Station andHydrological Station of Laifeng County can be consigned to assist the laboratory tofinish the monitoring or analysis.

(B) Other Involved Eco-environmental Items

Other involved eco-environmental items and the monitoring content have been listedin Table 7.2.1.

Table 7.2.1 Content of Monitoring and Control and Arrangement

Item Major Content Monitoring and ControlUnits

Local Climate Major weather factors. such as precipitation and temperature Local weather administration

Biological Species diversity and abundance of microflora. aquatic plants. benthic Local administrations forDiversity organism, fishes and rare plants and animals, and forest cover Aquatic products. hydropower

and forests

Conservation o Soil erosion modulus and erosion thickness Local water resourceWater and Soil administration

Environmental Land slide, stability of reservoir bank, leakage of reservoir andGeology earthquake

Human Health Examination on the health of residents surrounding the reservoir and the Local health and epidemic

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target relocation districts for emigration, and epidemic situation prevention station

Emigration and Infrastructures, employment, standard of life Local governmentResidents MovedBackward

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County, Hubei Province", prepared byHRASE in May 2000.

Ithis section is incomplete. A breakdown of costs is required for theenvironnmental management and monitoring program, including costs formanpower and equipment. There is no discussion or diagram to show theorganization and reporting structure for the project EnvironmentalManagement Office. To be useful as a stand-alone document, theEnvironmental Management Plan needs to include a summary of the mainactivities that will be carried out as part of project construction, operation anddecommissioning; the key impacts that will accrue; recommended mitigationmeasures; group or agency responsible for ensuring that mitigation isimplemented; and the authority responsible for monitoring. This informationcould be developed in a table.]

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CHAPTER 8 Public Consultation

In the preparation of the proposed project, the local residents have to be providedwith information so that they may fully understand the importance of the proposedproject, positive impacts and potential negative impacts brought by the proposedproject and the prevention measures aiming at the negative impacts and its effects, soas to be completely involved in and supervise the local environmental protection,furthermore to support and cooperate with the construction of the project, and finallyeliminate or reduce the negative impacts to the ambient environment. According tothe national environmental protection laws and regulations and managerial rules ofChina and the requirements for EIA on the projects to be funded by the World Bank,the public should be involved in the proposed project. The comments andrecommendations on the proposed projects proposed by experts, managementagencies and the units and residents in the impacted area of the project should belearnt and integrated into the EIA.

8.1 Forms of Public Consultation

There are various forms to make the public involved in the proposed project, such ascolloquia with experts and environmental management agencies, on-site visits to thereservoir area, release of public involvement questionnaire to the concerned people.Via these approaches, involved people with various occupations in the reservoir,submerged area and the county will be surveyed to obtain their opinions, concerns andrecommendations.

The involved people includes working staffs from the governmental bodies, socialcommunities, schools and institutions in Laifeng County and its subordinatedManshui Town and Baifusi Town; commission members of the submerged villages'commission, villagers, teachers and private businessmen, etc.. The survey coveredvarious governmental departments, like the planning commission, financial agency,power administration, land resource administration and civil administration, and otherunits, such as police stations, courts, environmental monitoring stations, agriculturaltechnology dissemination stations, forest administration stations, poverty reductionoffice, family planning commission and schools. A large number of concerned peoplewere consulted, covering a large scope. Therefore the involved people in the publicinvolvement has wide representativeness.

The content of public involvement can be found in the Public InvolvementQuestionnaire included as Appendix ???.

Ithe questionaire should be moved into an appendix rather than included here asa tablel

Table 8.1.1 Questionnaire for Public Involvement and Comments inLajitan HPP

Name Sex Age

Nationality Degree of OccupationCulture

Employer Title

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Address Social Occupation|

Please write "4" in the o in right of your choice; List the species you know on

1. What is your attitude to the proposed Lajitan Hydropower Project?

Agreeo Not Agreeo Basically agreeo

2. How do you think the site selection in the proposed project?

Feasible o Unfeasible o Re-selecto

3. How do you rank the current local economy?

Developed a Undeveloped o Semi-developed o

4. How do you feel the local economic status quo I

Excellent o Bad o Averageo

5. Do you think the construction of the proposed project will promote the localeconomic development?

Yes o Yes but little o No o

6. How do you rank the environmental impact to the local area brought by theproposed project?

Great o None o A little o

7. How do you think the environmental impact during the construction of theproposed project?

Great c None a A little c

8. How do you think the life standard of local people impacted by the proposedproject?

Raised o Remain o Raised but little o

9. If the construction of the proposed project needs your removal, are you willing to?

Yes a No o Yes but a little difficult in removal c

10. What is your suggestion on relocation of emigrations?

Relocated nearbyo Relocated in other placec Agree to the arrangement ofgoverrmento

11. What are the local rare species as you know?

(1) Rare Animals

(2)Rare Medical Materials

(3)Rare Plants

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(4)Rare Aquatics

12. What is the positive impact and negative impact brought by the proposed projectin your opinion?

(Such as the capacity to resist natural disaster and flood, economic development,standard of life, water and soil loss, forest and vegetation, geological structure ofdam body and dam foundation, etc..

13. What is your most concern?

14. Do you have any requirement or recommendation for the proposed project? Pleasespecify it.

Note: The above data comes from "EIA Report for Lajitan HPP of Laifeng County,Hubei Province", prepared by HRASE in May 2000

8.2 Analysis for the Comments Proposed by the Public

After being summarized and analyzed, the comments from involved public have beenshown as follows:

(A) The experts and environmental management agencies think that the constructionof the proposed project will greatly promote the development of local socialeconomy, improve the standard of life of the local people, and keep the life andbelongs of local people from loss. But in the meantime, they also stress thatduring the construction and operation of the proposed project, great efforts haveto be made to minimize the impacts brought to the eco-environment.

(B) The results from the statistics of the questionnaire on the public involvement havebeen summarized as follows:

(1) Nobody disagrees the construction of the proposed project. 96.8% of thepublic agree to the construction, and only 3.2% basically agree to it;

(2) As for the site selection, 99.2% think it feasible, and only 0.8% recommendto re-select the site of the project;

(3) The public who think the local eco-environment is good and average accountsfor 46.4% and 41.6% respectively, and there are 12% think it worse.

(4) There are 96.8% of the public thinking the construction of proposed projectwill greatly promote the local economic development, and 3.2% think the roleis little. No one think there is no promotion role.

(5) The public who believe the construction of proposed project will raise the lifestandard of local people accounts for 96%, and the rest 4% think that the lifestandard will be unchanged or even decline;

(6) Concerning the removal and relocation of emigrations from the submergedarea in the proposed project, 93.6% of the public are willing to remove, 0.8%are not, and the rest 5.7% think they will encounter difficulties in theremoval. 85.6% of the public agree to the arrangement by government duringthe relocation, 12.8% think it better to relocate nearby, and 1.6% agree to

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relocate in other places;

(7) There are 78.4% of the involved public thinking no environmental impactwill be produced during the operation of the proposed project, and the peoplewho think there exist impact and great impacts occupies 10.4% and 11.2%respectively.

(8) During the construction period, the public who think there is no impactgenerated account for 56%, and 35.2% and 8.8% think there will be someimpact or great impact brought by the project respectively.

(9) Shown from the questionnaire, the following species the local people knowand think they are rare species in local area including some wild animals likeManis, Lepus capensis auriqineus, eagle, coral snake, colubridae, goldenpheasant, trionyx sinensis and chinemys reevesii, and famous old trees, suchas ginkgo biloba, phoebe, cunnighamia lanceolata, metasequoiaglyptostroboides, and needle leaved trees

The above comments indicate that the public has at least some knowledge of theproposed project. During the survey, most of the public think the proposed projectwill urge the development of local economy, improve the aquatic and landtransportation, push forward the development of the third industry and related sectors,and finally improve the standard of living of local people.

The public also think that the construction of the proposed project will bring somespecific impacts to the local eco-environment, especially the negative impacts onwater and soil conservation and forests. But they believe the technicians are able toproperly solve the problems concerning eco-environment, water and soil loss andforests and vegetation, through the design, construction and overall planning.Therefore, depending on these efforts, the negative impacts will be minimized, andthe environmental status will turn better.

(C) Most concerned issues by the public are:

(1) When the proposed project can be initiated after the assessment. They hope theproject can start as early as possible.

(2) The quality of the constructed project. They stressed in the feedback to thequestionnaire that great attention should be paid to preventing bribery anddefalcate [?????]of engineering funds and relocations funds for emigration, so asto ensure the progress and quality of the project;

(3) The social security during the construction. Some of the public recommend thelocal government establish a steering team for public security with specificperson in charge, so as to prevent the station materials and supplies from loss andensure the fluent construction of the proposed project;

(4) Development and utilization of the proposed project after its construction. Thepublic hope that the decision makers have far-sight and great ambition toimplement the proposed project indeed;

(5) Issues concerning resettlement, compensation to the submerged land in reservoirarea, returning farning land to be afforested along the bank of Youshui River and

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the life standard in the future. The public hope the government go down to theresettlement areas to understand the thoughts and requirements, and then settlethese problems properly without any consequence.

(6) The change of the project name. The public call for change the project name of"Lajitan" back to its original name "Najitan", which is a Tujia name. It isrecommended to change the project name into "Najitan Hydropower Project".

(7) Flood release and flood control capacity of the reservoir during its operation andthe issues related to water and soil loss. The public hope the government payattention to these issues and seriously review the technical measures andcountermeasures for these issues in its design and EIA.

[this section is still incomplete. There is still no discussion on when the publicconsultation took place; where it took place; how many people were consulted ateach meeting or venue; how many surveys were completed; when the draft EIAdocument was submitted to the local county offices for public review. A list ofofficials and stakeholder groups should be included in an appendix, as well as thenewspaper advertisements advertising the availability of the EIA document forreview. Any news articles on the proposed project that appeared in the dailypapers should also be included in an appendix. Comments provided by localstakeholders in response to the draft EIA document should also be discussed inthe text. You also need to indicate how comments from stakeholders have beenincorporated into the project design or other project activities.

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CHAPTER 9 Conclusion and Recommendation

9.1 Conclusion of the Environmental Impact Assessment

(1) Significance of the Proposed Project

The major task of Lajitan HPP is to generate power. Secondary benefits includeirrigation, transportation, tourism and aquatic cultivation (aquaculture). Thecompletion of the project will play a significant role in pushing forward the economicdevelopment of Laifeng County and reducing poverty within the project area. Theinstalled capacity of the proposed project will be 36MW, with an annual output ofpower of 150 million kwh. The completed project will improve the situation createdby a limited power supply and and high demand in Laifeng County and improve thequality of power supply of the electric power network in Laifeng County andEnshizhou City. The town where the proposed project is located is one of the majorbases for agricultural products in Laifeng County. The reservoir to be constructedwill irrigate part of cultivated land around the reservoir and in the downstream area.When the reservoir is controlled at its normal pool level of 370m, a manmade lakewith a total area of 3.07 km2 will be formed, and in addition to the beautiful naturalscene of Maodong, an attractive tourism sight will come into being, which willfacilitate the development of tourism in Laifeng County.

The proposed reservoir is wider than previous river course with increased water depthand slower water flow, which provides favorable natural conditions for aquaticcultivation. After the reservoir filling, the previous torrented river will turn to a calmriver course for 33.1km. It will not only provide convenient aquatic transportingaccess to the local people along the river, but also facilitate their economic productionand improve the quality of life. In addition the reservoir will also improve the trafficconnection between Laifeng County of Hubei Province and Longshan County ofHunan Province. Baifusi Town, in which the proposed station is located, is a jointpoint of Hubei, Hunan provinces and Chongqing City, and also an old town with longhistory. Therefore the construction of the proposed project will accelerate theinformation exchange and trading between these three regions, and benefit theexploitation of local resources.

(2) Production Process

Hydro energy is one of the cleaner and renewable energy. The process of hydropowergeneration belongs to cleaner production process. Compared with thermal powergeneration station in the same capacity with Lajitan HPP, the latter has soundenvironmental benefits.

(3) Status Quo of Environmental Quality in the Assessed Area

Natural eco-environmental status quo:

Nearly 45% of the assessed area is covered by forests and vegetation, with an averageaccumulated living wood for 9.6m3 /hM2, most of which are plantation forests ornatural secondary forests. Youshui River is clear with few types of plankton, and thefishes in the river are mainly composed by small-sized polyphagous or predatoryfishes that eat zoobenthos and phycophyta, which is not enough to be a commerciallyviable resource. The economic activities of human beings have resulted in obvious

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impacts on the eco-environment, with frequent floods and heavy water and soil loss.The large volume of felling of trees, reclaiming and uncontrolled catching of wildanimals on the low hills along Youshui River have made the rare wild animals andplants die out and disappear from the construction site and submerged area of theproposed project.

The results from monitoring on the current environmental quality show that:

The water in the river section of Youshui River that the proposed reservoir is locatedin and its branches are in good quality. Except for pH value, all of the other indexeshave met the water quality requirements for the water area in Class II, provided byGHZ81-1999 "Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water". There is nolarge-scaled air pollution sources in the reservoir area, and the ambient air quality ofBaifusi Town where the proposed project is to be located is also in good quality, incompliance with the Standard of Class II in GB3095-1996 "Ambient Air QualityStandard". Within the assessed scope, the current acoustic environmental quality isfine, and all of the monitored values are lower than the limits to the Noise Standard ofClass I in GB3096-93.

(4) Impacts on Eco-environment

During the construction period of the proposed project, the construction activities,such as land leveling, earth-rock excavation, building of construction roads and spoilsfrom the construction, will destroy the original vegetation, alter the natural landscapeand enlarge the acreage of bare surface of ground. If these can not be handledproperly, water and soil loss will be aggravated. Noise from the construction willdisturb the wild animals living around the construction site, but the disturbance willnot endanger these animals. [if noise will disturb the remaining wildlifepopulations, how can you state that this will not endanger these animals. If thisdisturbance causes them to move to less suitable habitat, or to stop breedingbecause of noise or other disturbance, then this has the potential to endangerthese populations.]

After completing the construction of the proposed reservoir, a new landscapecomprised of a lake in a valley will come into being to replace the original river eco-environment.

After the reservoir filling, the river section will turn to a lake-type warm water habitat,benefiting the growth of planktons and increase of saprophytic bacteria. The volumeof bait organisms and zoobenthos will also rise. As for commercial fishes, the warmhabitat provides them with favorable condition to be optimized. The amphibians andreptilian living in hill torrent will move upward to branches to live. [animalsdisplaced due to the reservoir will not survive if they cannot find suitable habitatin which to relocate (i.e., if no such habitat exists), or if available habitat isalready occupied in which case the carrying capacity may be exceeded and thespecies will become endangered.]

Affected by the stratified water temperature in the reservoir, the temperature ofreleased water is a little lower than that of water in natural rivers, which will producenegative impacts to those thermophilic fishes living in downstream reaches.

After the build-up of the reservoir, a few of aquatic plants growing in the bottomland

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of valley before the construction of reservoir will be submerged and die out, whichwill be replaced by hydrophilic and moisture resistant grass vegetation. The projectwill have no impacts on the vegetation living in the elevation over 370m. The wildanimals living in the original hillsides along the valley will move upward, but beimpacted a little. [see my point above regarding habitat concerns and carryingcapacity]

(5) Impact on Aquatic Environment

If the wastewater from production and domestic sewage directly discharge intoYoushui River without any treatment, the SS, pH value and organic substances willsignificantly increase. After being treated, the wastewater will hardly impact thecurrent beneficial use of the downstream river.

During a certain period after the completion of the proposed project, the total volumeof pollutants discharged into Youshui River will remain unchanged compared with thecurrent level, and the water quality of the reservoir can be kept in the current level aswell. After the start of the operation of the reservoir water will lack nutritivesubstances. If the water pollution caused by tourism can be controlled and the fishcultivation in net-chests (the water surface of aquatic cultivation should be no morethan 1% of the total reservoir surface, i.e. 3x 104 m2 ) can be limited, the reservoir willnot become eutrophic . During the flood period, the water quality in downstreamnearly has no difference from the current status, and in the non-flood period, the waterquality in downstream will be better than the that in original natural river course. Thecompletion of the proposed reservoir will make the water temperature in the reservoirshows characteristics of a mix type reservoir, and the water temperature will bringspecific impacts to the local climate. The average monthly water temperature will behigher than air temperature for 0.2-5.8 0, with an average difference of 3.1 1 in ayear.

During the operation of the reservoir, the annual runoff rate will meet balance ininflow and outflow. The average flow velocity is slower than that in natural status.The released flow rate in flood period is same as the natural status, and the flow ratewill increase in downstream during the dry period and normal period. After effectivemeasures being taken, the sediment will not influence the beneficial use of theproposed reservoir.

(6) Impacts on Acoustic Environment and Ambient Air

In the construction period of the proposed project, the construction machines willproduce continuous noise with high intensity. Within the scope of 400 m away fromthe noise source, the noise exceeds the standard, but it will not bring obvious impactto the residents of Baifusi Town. The blasting and noise from transportation motorvehicles will impact the local residents to some extent, but will be sudden and limited.The dust from the construction process and exhaust from construction machines andtransporting vehicles will mainly affect the construction workers on the spot, and thenthe residents surrounding the construction site, so the impacted scope is narrow. Theactivities in the construction all belong to short-term activities, and will be endedalong with end of the construction. At that time, the above-mentioned impacts will beeliminated, and then the acoustic environment and ambient air will be recovered. [asnoted in an earlier section, it is unacceptable to subject local residents toexcessive noise and dust during the construction period. Therefore, effective

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mitigation measures need to be developed to eliminate or considerably reducethese impacts.]

After the completion of the proposed project, there will be no negative impact on theacoustic environment and ambient air in the assessed area.

(7) Water and Soil Loss

The results from the investigation on the status quo indicate the region where theproposed project is located has suffered heavy loss of water and soil. The average soilerosion volume in the main reach of Youshui River amounts to 3750t1km2.a and thatin branches to 143 lt/km2 .a.

Calculated on the basis of general equation, the soil loss in unit acreage is54.75t/km2.a in the construction site of the proposed project. Analyzed bygeotechnics, the total volume of water and soil loss caused by the spoils from theconstruction will be approximately 867,000 tons. Based on hydrological analysis, ifthere is no sufficient measures, such as engineering measures, revegetation measuresand re-reclaiming, the total volume of water and soil loss in the construction site willbe 36 times of that when the measures are taken. Therefore, the measures for waterand soil conservation have to be brought into effect, to prevent the acceleration ofwater and soil loss.

(8) Submerging and Resettlement

The proposed project will submerge land for 33.86hm2, which will result inpermanent and irreversible negative impacts to these lands. Three hundred and ninetyseven persons will be affected by the inundation of land in the reservoir area and,therefore will need to be. They will consume a certain quantity of land resources andforest resources during the relocation, and some new water and soil loss will occur.Resettlement of project affected people will bring new pressures to the population-environmental capacity of the target relocation region. Certainly the proper allocationof relocatees will not impact the life of relocatees and social stabilization.

According to the plan for resettlement provided by the owner of the proposed project,it is estimated that the occupied grains per capita will be 423.9kg, still at the level ofjust out of poverty.

(9) Human Health

The human health in the assessed area is at normal level, without obvious localdisaster. A health network has been formed at three levels, including county level,town level and village level, but the medical treatment conditions and facilities arestill poor. During the construction, the epidemic situation may take place andaccelerated, so necessary prevention measures should be carried out.

Before the reservoir filling, if the reservoir inundation zone is not cleared up, thewater may be polluted in the initial stage of the operation of reservoir. And theinfections via water may increase. So there also needs necessary measure to enhancethe infection prevention, based on the detailed measures listed in Chapter 7.

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(10) Geological Environment

The proposed project is located in a comparatively stable region with fewearthquakes. In recent years, there is no record on an earthquake in over 4 degree inthe surrounding area. The basic intensity of earthquake is Degree IV. Littlepossibility exists in the earthquake induced by reservoir filling.

There are small-scaled slump blocks in the riverbank upstream of the reservoir,amounting to tens to hundreds of cubic meters. From an analogue investigation andanalysis for Tangkou Reservoir at the end of the proposed reservoir, it shows that afterthe reservoir filling, the elevated water level and warmed water flow will decrease thescouring effect of the river, so the mass wasting of the reservoir banks will beaccordingly reduced, and will not put barriers to the operation of the reservoir. [whatabout the effects of drawdown on the earthen banks of the river? Will there bebank failures due to changes in pore water pressure and wave action along theshoreline?] From Nanhe in the reservoir area down to Lajitan, the site of dam, thereare many solution caves (karst caves) along the banks. The elevation of stream inWachangba is lower than others (360m), where the surface and ground karsts havebeen developed. So the issues related to the karsts leakage should receive moreattention.

9.2 Recommendations

(1) Formulating a General Planning for Eco-environmental Protection andSocial Economic Development

In the general planning, various tasks, including power generation, tourism, aquaticcultivation, water transportation, water and soil conservation, comprehensiveplanning for utilization of national land, and plans for resettlement, should beorganically integrated with the corresponding eco-environmental protection measures.The government should fully play a leading role in the coordination of all of thesetasks and finalize them indeed. Iwhat level of government? What agencies ordepartments?l Therefore the reservoir area will become an eco-economic system invirtuous circles with high profits, and then realize the coordinative development ofboth environmental protection and economic construction.

(2) Strengthening the Water and Soil Conservation and Recover Vegetation inthe Reservoir Area

Lajitan HPP is located in a region with heavy loss of water and soil. 30 years ago, thebanks of the reservoir area were covered by flourishing forests, but now nearlynothing of these remains. To comply with "Water and Soil Conservation Law of thePeople's Republic of China" and "Forest Conservation Law of the People's Republicof China", the owner of the proposed project and the local governments at each levelwithin the reservoir area should fully take the advantages of the favorable localclimate and increased humidity resulted from the construction of the reservoir to planttrees, close the hillside to be afforested, recover the vegetation and finally enlarge theacreage of land covered by forests. As for the hillsides with a gradient over 25°, thealready cultivated land should be reforested, or planted with commercial tree crops,such as Citrus sinensis and Vemicia fordii, and the flood-resisting shrubs, such asriver calthrop should be planted on the buffer zone between the normal pool level andthe flood water level in the reservoir area. And on the slopes with a gradient less than

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Report for Environmental Impact Assessment for Lajitan Hydropower Projec in Laifeng County of Hubei Province

250, the cultivated land should be modified into terraced fields, to prevent water andsoil loss.

(3) Resettlement

Resettlement of project affected people is a most important task in the proposedproject, which is also one of the most concerned issues by the relocatees. In themeantime, it is also a key factor to decide the success of the construction of proposedproject. Hence it is recommended the local government and owner of the project canattach great importance to the resettlement of project affected people. At present, theproposed plans for resettlement should be supplemented and detailed further as earlyas possible. The comments proposed by the potential relocatees and the localresidents in the target relocation districts should be widely collected and submitted tothe concerned governmental bodies for approval.

(4) Enhancing Eco-environmental Protection during the Development ofTourism and Aquatic Cultivation

The completion of the proposed project will provide specific favorable foundations tothe development of tourism and aquatic cultivation, and promote the local socialeconomic development in the assessed area. However some environmental pollutionissues will also arise because of the project, especially the negative impact on theconservation of water quality in the reservoir. It is recommended for the owner toprepare detailed rules for environmental protection of tourism and aquatic cultivation,so as to conserve the water quality of the reservoir and the natural landscape as well.Meanwhile, the water acreage for net- cage fish cultivation should be also controlledin total quantity.

(5) During the initial designing, construction and operating period of theproposed project, the measures for environmental protection proposed in thisEIA report should be strictly put into use. The owner should accomplish theplans for environmental management and environmental monitoringformulated in this EIA report, and conduct the environmental protection ateach period.

(6) Properly Coordinating the Relationship between various Concerned Partiesin the River Basin

The proposed project is one of the cascade hydropower generation stations in YoushuiRiver. Youshui River crosses Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Chongqing City.When conserving, developing and utilizing the water resources of Youshui River,great attention should be paid to the achievement in the multi social and economicbenefits and environmental protection in these three provinces (city). The waterresources should be reasonably and fairly used, so as to jointly promote the economicdevelopment of these provinces (city), and effectively control pollution and conservewater and soil in the entire basin.

Summed up from the above analysis, the construction of Lajitan HPP of LaifengCounty is totally conformed to the sectoral policy of China. The construction andoperation of the proposed project will bring both positive and negative impacts on thelocal eco-environment, but analyzed from the overall and long-term view, the benefitswill exceed the negative impacts. In the meantime, except for the submerged loss to

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be a permanent and irreversible impact, the others among the negative impacts can beall prevented or eliminated by effective measures.

With purpose to prevent or eliminate the negative enviromnental impacts brought bythe construction and operation of the proposed project, the owner of the project shouldcomply with each law, regulation and standard listed in this EIA report, strictlyexecute the "Three Simultaneous" system and the requirements for the pollutantsdischarged from the project, and finalize every measure for eco-environmentalprotection.

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References:

(1) "Eco-environmental Impact of Dam Construction in Yangtze River", ZiyunFANG, Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation in YangtzeRiver;

(2) "Impacts on Vegetation by the Three Gorges Project of the Yangtze River and ItsConservation Measures", Jiaxiang ZUO, etc, Sciences Research Institute forWater Resources Conservation in Yangtze River

(3) "Impacts on Terrestrial Backboned Animals (Mammals and Aves) and RareAnimals by Dam Construction of the Three Gorges Project", Songgen LU, etc,Reservoir Institute for Animals, Chinese Sciences Academy;

(4) "Eco-environmental Issues of Dam Construction of the Three Gorges Project",Water Resources Conservation Bureau for Yangtze River;

(5) "Impacts on Wild Animals and Rare Animals in Reservoir Area by the ThreeGorges Project", Sciences Research Institute for Water Resources Conservation inYangtze River, and Reservoir Institute for Animals, Chinese Sciences Academy;

(6) "Comprehensive Assessment on Eco-environrental Impacts of the Three GorgesProject", Chaojun WANG, etc, Sciences Research Institute for Water ResourcesConservation in Yangtze Rive;

(7) "EIA Report for the Meddle Line Subproject in Diversion of Water in YangtzeRiver into the North of China", Sciences Research Institute for Water ResourcesConservation in Yangtze Rive, February 1996.

(8) "Taxology for Backboned Animals", Zuoxin ZHENG, Agricultural Press, 1982.

(9) "Animal Icon of China", Baoshan ZHENG, Sciences Press, 1987

(1O)"Status Quo of Methane Emission", Renjian ZHANG, etc, Research on Climateand Environment, Issue 2 of Volume 4, June 1999.

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