Scope of Work for IEE Study of 220 kV single circuit Transmission Line of Upper Trishuli-1 HEP (216 MW)
- Background
According to schedule-1 pertaining rule-3 of Environment Protection Rules, 2054 (EPR, 2054 with subsequent amendments in BS 2065/11/26), transmission line projects with transmission capacity 33 kV and above require an Initial Environmental Examination ((IEE) study. As per the transmission line survey license received from Department of Electricity Development (DOED), UT-1 HEP having 220 kV single circuit transmission line, require to submit IEE study report before 15th Feb, 2019 to the Ministry of Energy through DOED for its approval. NWEDC needs to conduct an IEE study based on the TOR and format and guideline provisioned by EPA, 1996 and EPR, 1997. The main objectives of IEE study is to identify and document the major environmental conditions on physical, biological and socio-economic prospects, to analyze the potential adverse impacts of transmission line over these environmental settings and to provide the best mitigation and monitoring strategies along with the tentative budget for implementation through environmental management plan.
- Salient Features of Transmission Line:
The proposed project is a 689m long single circuit transmission line, within 15m wide right of way from its switchyard to nearest tower of Chilime-Trishuli 3A HEP of Nepal Electricity Authority for evacuation of power generated by UT-1 HEP (216MW). The transmission line will require construction of 3 new towers (AP-0, AP-01, & AP-00). The Chilime-Trishuli 3B transmission line is 220kV double circuit in nature. The salient features of TL project of UT-1 HEP are as follows:
S.N. / Project Features / Description / Remarks1 / Project Title / Interconnecting line between UT-1 Switchyard and NEA’s Trishuli Chilime 220 kV Transmission Line
2 / Project District / Rasuwa of Central Development Region
3 / Right of Way / 15m on either side from the TL alignment
4 / Normal System Voltage / 220 kV
5 / Highest System Voltage / 245kV
6 / Type of Tower / Steel Lattice
7 / Height of Tower / 35 m
8 / Tower Pad Size / 13 m * 13 m (after detail design)
9 / Ground Clearance / 11 m
10 / Starting Location of TL / Take off Yard of UT-1 HEP
11 / Ending Location of TL / Angle Tower No 27 of Chilime Trishuli 220kV Transmission Line Project
12 / Length of TL / 689m (as per detailed survey report)
13 / Major Crossings (utilities) / River-1, Road-1 Landslides-2, Rock Area-2, Foot Trail-2, Bouders-2
14 / No of Circuit / Single
15 / Total No. of Towers / Three (3) / Angle Type
16 / Conductor Type / Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR)
17 / Conductor Code Name / Binary Interchange Standard and Object Notation / Twin
18 / Cross Section Area of Conductor / 2*431 sq.mm.
19 / Construction Period / 4 months
(Source: Desk Study Report, 2017)
- Methodology
Desk Study and Literature Review
The data of physical, biological and socio-economic and cultural environment will be collected through census data published by CBS, District and VDC Profile, report published by Department of forest, published and unpublished report etc.
Field investigation
The field investigation shall be carried out by a multidisciplinary team. One week long field visit will be conducted in the project area to collect baseline & impact analysis for the IEE study of proposed TL project. The study team will carried out field visit in project affected Rural Municipality. The detail of baseline information on physical, biological, and socio-economical & cultural conditions of direct & indirect impact areas of the project area shall be collected during field visit.
Household survey
Household survey shall be conducted in project affected families by using the structured questionnaire to obtain baseline information on demographic and educational status, ownership patterns and farm practices, energy sources, income and expenditures, livestock, socio-economic and cultural data and information. Likewise, observation shall be made on the basic health conditions, housing and project-related issues etc.
Key informants interview
Key informants interview shall be conducted with stakeholders in order to collect the information of physical, biological and socio-economic and cultural environment of the project impact area. The information would include demographic features, migration pattern, economic status, employment, education etc.
Focused group discussion
Focused group discussion shall be conducted by gathering stakeholders such as community forest user groups to collect the information biological and socio-economic and cultural environment. Checklists will be used to collect the information of socio-economic and cultural environment of project area.
Impacts Identification, Prediction and evaluation methods etc.
The following methods shall be used to identify impacts, predict and evaluate the project activities on the environment:
Expert judgment
Expert system incorporates the knowledge and experience of experts from the relevant disciplines into the structure decision making analytical tools. The judgment and prediction likely outcomes are the integral part of an expert judgment.
Impact Matrix
An impact matrix shall be developed and used to identify project impacts on physical, biological and socio-economic environment and cultural environment during construction and operation phase of the project.
Impact prediction methods
Impacts should be predicted by using statistical tools, geographical information system (GIS), and field and experts judgment. The judgment refers to the use of technical or local expertise.
Impact evaluation methods
Impacts should be evaluated taking into consideration of national policies, laws, standards and international commitments. Once the impacts have been identified and predicted, they are evaluated in terms they are significant and insignificant.
The environmental impacts should be evaluated on the basics of magnitude, extent & duration of the impact. If the impact lasts up to 3 year, it is termed as Short term (ST). If impact continues for 3 to 20 years, it is termed as Medium term (MT) and if it lasts beyond 20 years, it is considered as Long term (LT) (National EIA guidelines 1993).
For the impact evaluation, the matrix method with numerical ranking will be used for the quantitative ranking of the predicted impacts.
Table 1: Numerical scales in the National EIA Guidelines
Magnitude / Score / Extent / Score / Duration / ScoreHigh/Major / 60 / Regional / 60 / Long Term / 20
Moderate/Medium / 20 / Local / 20 / Medium Term / 10
Minor/Low / 10 / Site specific / 10 / Short Term / 05
(Source: National EIA Guidelines, 1993)
The maximum scores will be 140 and a minimum value will be 25 which will help to know about the significance of impacts.
The cumulative scores on these analyses will be used to decide on the significance of the impacts.
Table 2: Cumulative scores of level of significance
Total scores / Significance of Impacts<45 / Insignificant
45 to 75 / Significant
>75 / Very significant
The impact which occurs inside the project is termed as site specific and which goes up to ward level is termed as local and the impact which goes up to VDC/Municipality level is termed as regional. The different terms are categorized in given way.
Magnitude: This can be Low-L (minor), Medium-M (moderate), and High-H (major), depending on the scale or severity of change.
Geographical extent: If the action is confined to the project area, it is referred as site-specific (Ss), if it occurs outside area but close to project area, the extent of impact is local (Lc), if it occurs far away from the project, it is referred as regional (R).
Duration: It can be Short Term (ST-i.e. less than 3 years), Medium Term (MT-i.e. 3-20 years), and Long Term (LT-i.e. more than 20 years).
Public consultation
Public consultation will be conducted in project area with Community forest users groups and other stakeholders in order to collect their opinions, suggestion and about the implementation of project.
Public Notice
After receiving the approval of ToR from the Ministry of Energy, a 15 days public notice will be published in a national daily newspaper for obtaining written opinion from the concerned people and institutions on the implementation of the project. A copy of the public notice will also be pasted at the offices of DDC, Rural Municipality, School, health post etc., and a public deed of enquiry (Muchulka) will be collected as an evidence of the pasting of the notice. Any comments or suggestions from the concerned stakeholders and affected peoples will also be collected during field visit. Recommendation letter will be also collected from concerned rural municipality and affected community forest.
- Working schedule
The overall IEE study needs to be completed within 3 months after the approval of Terms of Reference (TOR) for IEE.
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