Second Emergency Municipal ServicesRehabilitation Project (EMSRP II)

Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

Background:

  1. Introduction:The World Bank has granted US$10 million to the Palestinian municipal sector through the Second Emergency Municipal Services Rehabilitation Project (EMSRP II). This Project would support the participating municipalities in the West Bank and Gaza through the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF) to restore and maintain the essential municipal services and create temporary employment opportunities. It will build on the achievements of the Emergency Municipal Services Rehabilitation Project and in particular that related to establishing a mechanism - Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF) - for channeling international and national support to the municipal system on a more rational, transparent and coordinated way, and to assist with overall development of the sector.
  1. Environmental Category:ThisProjectis rated a category “B” in accordance with World Bank Operational Policy 4.01 (January 1998).This due to thelikelihood tofinance investments which may have an impact on the environment but which can be easily mitigated. The investments are likely to include: rehabilitation and maintenance of internal and access municipal roads, water and sanitation services, storm water drainage networks, maintenance of public facilities such as schools, health services centers, parks as well the construction, through an intensive labor methods, of addendums to schools, health centers and community centers, as well as other municipal assets that would generate municipal revenue streams. Therefore, some negative impacts which are easily mitigated may occur due to the implementation of the rehabilitation and maintenance sub-projects.As a result, An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) was prepared for the project.The EMP would aim to provide areview, analysis and recommendations of the best mitigation measures that the project management team shall consider during implementation.
  1. Investment Components: This Project cost will be US$37.2 million of which US$10 million of Bank financing and US$6.3 million of Dutch financing with fund administration is yielded to the Bank in addition to other donor financing expected to be provided in parallel financing but through the same implementing agency, i.e. MDLF. The will have four components, the first of which will support investments in physical municipal service rehabilitation sub-projects through the MDLF(estimated cost US$20.4 million), while the second will support investments in job creation type sub-projects (estimated cost US$13.1 million), the third will support MDLF innovation window including piloting a prepaid electricity meters concept (estimated US$1.2 million) and the fourth will supportMDLF project management cost (estimated cost US$2.5 million).
  1. EMSRP II will like to finance sub-projects from the following positive list:

Sub-projects related to infrastructure rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading and goods and equipment for service delivery are likely to include:

Public Facilities: maintenance of municipal buildings and structures especially that associated with service delivery such as maintenance garage of municipal vehicles and equipment, rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading of public schools and community centers, rehabilitation and maintenance of beach watching towers, etc.

Roads Sector: maintenance of roads and road networks, installation of road medians, road marking and stripping and sidewalks within existing right-of-way, replacement of damaged traffic lights and signs, and rehabilitation and maintenance of retaining walls.

Water and Wastewater Sector: rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading of existing networks, reservoirs, wells, meters, connections and pumps; this also includes supply of spares and chlorine used for water purification.

Electricity Sector: rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading of electrical networks, supply and maintenance of transformers and generators; this includes supply of equipment, machinery, meters, cables and spares.

Solid Waste Sector: maintenance of existing waste collection vehicles and containers including repair or replacement of broken parts, supply of new vehicles and containers; and service contracts for solid waste collection wherever relevant, and supply of WHO approved pesticides for combating insects and rodents.

Budgetary Support (Recurrent Expenditures) is likely to include:Supply of goods and equipment to assist in restoring essential municipal services including: cost of fuel, cost of maintenance and repair of services vehicles provided by the private sector, municipal waste dumping fees at approved landfills, electricity bills for water and waste water pumps and street lighting, transport fees of municipal waste if contracted to private sector, cost of removal of waste resultant of demolished houses and streets.

Labor-intensive Employment Generation related activities:Rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading of side walks, retaining and boundary walls for public assets, Road islands, medians, plantation, painting and cleaning; beach cleaning; rehabilitation, maintenance and upgrading of play grounds and public parks; rehabilitation of destroyed or damaged municipal buildings due to conflict or deferred maintenance; rehabilitation and maintenance of public garages.

  1. Institutional Structure: The implementation responsibility of this Project will be with the MDLF with close cooperation and coordination with Ministry of Local Government and the participating/eligible municipalities. The MDLF’s core team recruited and trained throughthe Bank’s MIDP-II and EMSRP will provide the continuity of the understanding of the Bank’s environmental policies as well as the experience on the ground in monitoring and mitigating the anticipated environmental implications created by the implemented sub-projects. This Project would further develop such capacity by either financing additional training to specific MDLF’s operations staff which would be designated as “an environmental officer(s)” who would be responsible for reviewing, advising and reporting on environmental issues.

The MDLF would also benefit from the services ofa number of local consulting firms in both the West Bank and in Gaza who have been involved over the past 5 yearsin Bank financed municipal projects and have developed a good understanding of Bank’s environmental policies. These firms will be asked to carryout annual audit of the environment indicators and report on the compliance (or lack of it) with the EMP. Such experiences would be tapped to help the MDLF in supervising sub-projects on the ground and providing advice and guidance on environmental issues and mitigation measures.

  1. Environmental Audit of Sample Sub-Projects:A rapid environmental audit was carried out during the preparation of Municipal Management and Service Delivery Project (MMSDP), a project that was planned for Board presentation in May 2006. MMSDP was build on EMSRP’s institutional achievements and with greater focus on the local government development agenda. As the condition in West Bank and Gaza continued to deteriorate a demand for a second generation EMSRP was eminent. With the limited time on hand to prepare an EA for EMSRP II, it was agreed with the client that the EA prepared for MMSDP would be relevant since a number of subprojects that were audited may be financed by EMSRP II’s first component related to maintenance of local road networks as well as the second component related to labor intensive municipal service delivery and community services.
  1. The audit was carried out by an independent consultant contracted by the client (Municipal Development and Lending Fund) of 20 randomly selected locally prioritized sub-projects (17 in West Bank and 3 in Gaza) representing the type of sub-projects which EMSRP II would finance.The sample included sub-projects in the roadssub-sector (16rehabilitation and maintenance of roads), education sector (3 maintenance and upgrading of schools/classrooms, a service that this within the municipal mandate especially in the West Bank), and other labor intensive types projects with minimum 50% of labor content.
  • Dust and gases emissions
  • Water (wastewater, surface water discharge, storm water)
  • Construction waste
  • Accidental risks
  • Loss of vegetation
  • Aesthetics
  1. The 20 sub-projects include 14 road sub-projects (13 roads and 1 road and sewage pipes), 3 educational (schools) sub-projects, 1 street lighting sub-project, and 1 street signing, marking and furnishing sub-project. The potential impacts would be those associated with:

(i)Rehabilitation,maintenance and upgrading of roads and road networks (construction safety, noise, dust, waste material, and vehicular traffic);

(ii)Provision of sanitary and electricity services; and

(iii)Rehabilitation,maintenance and upgrading of schools.

  1. A desk top review by the MDLF was carried for those types of sub-projects that are likely to be financed by EMSRP II but was not covered by the audit. This is primarily related to sub-projects that were financed by EMSRP in municipal services especially that in the area of maintenance of water, wastewater, roads and electricity networks in addition to municipal waste collection and disposal. In addition to goods related to chlorine for water supply and insects and rodent control. The review relied on the various monitoring reports over the life of EMSRP.
  1. In general, the audit and the desk top review yielded positive conclusions. All of the sub-projects will benefit local communities through: (i) improved access to essential social and other services, (ii) improved quality of environment and sanitation, (iii) more temporary employment opportunities during construction and more sustainable ones during operations and maintenance especially in communities with high rate of unemployment, (iv) will contribute to the preservation of valuable cultural and historical assets through improvement of the surrounding environment, improved access to them and therefore which may lead into job creation from improved internal and external tourism.
  1. The audit and the desk top review haveyielded positive conclusions. Both identified that most of these sub-projects will contribute positively to the communities that are situated in whether in terms of improved access to essential social and other services, improved quality of environment and sanitation, will provide opportunities temporary employment opportunities during construction and more sustainable ones during operations and maintenance especially in communities with high rate of unemployment, will contribute to the preservation of valuable cultural and historical assets through improvement of the surrounding environment, improved access to them and therefore improved attention by the authorities to allocate the necessary resources for protection and preservation.
  1. The audit and the review have highlighted that environmental impacts are expected to be minimal. These impacts wouldbe easily mitigated by following the EMP prepared for the project. The potential impacts are related to a possible increase in gas emissions due to generated and/or increased traffic, increased level of noise, improper disposal of construction waste, potential for threat to cultural assets.
  1. The potential adverse impacts would be restricted in scope and severity, such as:
  • Dust, noise and odor due to demolition and new construction;
  • Increased air pollution due to traffic congestion;
  • Increased traffic accidents;
  • Risk for aesthetic and vegetation;
  • Inadequate handling of construction waste;
  • Risk for road accessibility and health;
  • Excessive use of chemical dosage in water supply and pest control; and
  • Risk for cultural heritage assets.
  1. Environmental Management Plan (EMP):The EMP has been prepared based on the existing environmental situation and the auditing requirements. These requirements were realized after analyzingeach of the 20 sub-projects and a sample of sub-projects financed under the first EMSRP. The sample represents in general the types of sub-projects and sectors that EMSRP II will finance and theiranticipated impacts and identified mitigation measures. Based on the audit and assessment of the projects, the EMP highlighted the following elements:
  • Site-specific environmental screening review and assessment of key environmental issues.
  • An environmental audit of similar projects and regular maintenance and rehabilitation of essential infrastructure.
  • Ensure adequate consultation during the assessment process.
  • Develop an Environmental Monitoring Plan.
  • Develop methodologies and procedures to be applied in context of the EMP.
  • Grouping the sub-projects into sectors Roads, Water and Wastewater, Electricity, Solid waste, Public Buildings and Facilities and Chemicals.
  1. The EMP is prepared in compliance with the Palestinian environmental laws and municipal bylaws. It provides tools for the evaluation and management of the impacted environmental parameters and they are:
  • Dust and gases emissions
  • Water (wastewater, surface water discharge, storm water)
  • Construction waste
  • Accidental risks
  • Loss of vegetation
  1. The EMP has included specific guidelines as mitigation measures for safe handling of the pestsand management for the insects and rodent control (please see Annex 1 entitled Pest Management Plan). These guidelines have been authorized by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The EMP has also included some mitigation measures that should be considered while using transformers that contain PCBs (please see Annex 2 entitled “Maintenance and Replacement of PCBs based electrical transformers, Safety instructions and mitigations measures for participating municipalities”).
  1. The EMP elaborated the requirements for the environmental management and monitoring of the Municipal Infrastructure and Services Audit (MISA) projects and provided tools for the environmental auditing. The overall assessment is provided by means of general judgment and statements using tables, which can be summarized that the MISA projects are positive and their impacts are manageable and can be controlled.
  2. Site specific Environmental Screening, Review and Assessment. The MDLF will have the responsibility of reviewing and assessing the environmental feasibility of the proposed sub-projects. This will be carried out by the MDLF team who has prior experience from EMSRP but will receive additional environment specific training during the life of the project. The MDLF team will also liaise with key stakeholders including EQA and the recipient municipalities.The team will also liaise with the appropriate officials from the Department of Antiquities at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities where needed.
  3. An environmental audit of a sample of implemented sub-projects will be carried on an annual basis by specialized consulting firms recruited by the MDLF and financed by the project. This consultant will also assess the MDLF team capacity and performance and recommend areas that need further strengthening.
  4. EnvironmentalCapacityBuilding and Training Program: The MDLF and through its Capacity Building Department and in cooperation with EQA will initiate specifically tailored environment related training to municipal project related officials. It will also liaise with the Palestinian Engineers Syndicate and the Contractors Association to carry out similar training tailored to contractors. Training will be conducted both in the West Bank and in Gaza.
  5. Mitigation Measures: The primary objective of environmental management plan is to define the necessary mitigation measures that would be considered / implementedat the various stages of project implementation (design, construction and post construction). The type and magnitude of the impacts vary one sub-project to another depending on the scale, local hosting environment and tools adopted for physical implementation.
  6. The environmental audit adopted a methodology of consultation and requesting feedback from potential beneficiaries through a well designed and structured questionnaire. The questionnaire covered public and environmental health, water and sanitation, solid waste, noise and psychological comfort, land use, air pollution and public safety.
  7. The results of the questionnaire are considered as indicators of the improvements in the different environmental subjects. Both positive and negative impacts on the environment and social life are presented in details as the findings of the environmental audit. Environmental auditing is recommended during the different phases of the project to ensure further assessment of the impacts and to control their effects.The following environmental matrix shows the expected impacts covered by the reviewed sub-projects and lists the mitigations to be implemented prior, during and post the construction phase of the sub-projects.
  8. EMP and MonitoringCost Estimate: The cost associated with implementing the EMP and monitoring of environmental safeguardsis accommodated by the project and estimated at US$104,250. The project will finance as part of the MDLF’s management fee the remuneration of an environmental specialist as a member of its core team. While, the cost of related designs, clean up and disposal of construction debris and waste will be included in the sub-project contract financed by the Grant. This is estimated to cost on average around 3-5% of the municipal grants.
  9. The cost of supervision and monitoring the EMPas well as the proposed training programs addressed to municipal staff and eligible contractors will be part of the Terms of Reference of the Local Technical Consulting firms (LTC) to be contracted by the MDLF for the entire life of the project. The Terms of Reference of these firms have been reviewed and approved by the Bank’s team. The LTC will report on semi-annual basis the compliance with the EMP and recommend actions for non-compliance cases.
  10. The costs associated with implementing post construction measures will be financed through the annual municipal budgets for operations and maintenance of assets and infrastructure. During the supervision missions, the Bank team will review at random a sample municipal budgets and confirm that such budget include specific line items for post project mitigation measures.

Table 1: Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan Matrix

No. / Sector / Phase / Impact / Mitigation Measure / Operation / Supervision
1 / Road Sub-Projects (14) / Construction / Dust generated by construction activities. / Monitor the excavations.
Applying (spraying) water where possible.
Avoid work during windy days. / Consultant and Contractor / Municipality and Supervision Engineer