1
EIA and Environmental Management Plan for the
Upgrading of the LungiInternationalAirport Infrastructure
E1889 v.4
SUMMARY DOCUMENT
FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
And
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
For
THE UPGRADING OF THE LUNGI INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
LUNGI, SIERRA LEONE
FINAL REPORT
JANUARY 2005
Prepared by:
/ in association with /Mouchel Parkman Services Ltd.
Mouchel Parkman House
Lloyd Drive
Ellesmere Port
South Wirral CH65 9HQ
United Kingdom / CEMMATS GROUP LTD
2nd Floor Delco House
12 Lightfoot -Boston Street
Freetown
Sierra Leone
TABLE OF CONTENT
...... Pages
1.0INTRODUCTION
1.1Environmental Screening and Assessment
2.0LEGISLATION
2.1 Local Legislation
2.1.1The Environmental Protection Act-2000
2.1.2The Factories Act-1974
2.1.3Civil Aviation Act- 1966
2.1.4 Sierra Leone Airports Authority Act - 1988
2.2International Environmental Requirements
2.3World Bank Requirements
2.4 International Finance Corporation Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for Airports
3.0BASELINE STUDY
3.1 Location
3.2 Project Description
3.2.1 Surface Infrastructure
3.2.2 Transportation
3.2.3 Power, Communications and Civic Facilities
3.2.4Workshops, Administration and Other Buildings
3.2.5 Recreation and Other Facilities
3.2.6 Sewerage and Waste Water Disposal
3.2.7 Solid Waste Disposal
3.3Geology
3.4Climate
3.4.1Description of regional climate
3.4.2Wind Speed
3.4.3 Noise Levels
3.4.4Radioactivity
3.4.5Air quality
3.5 Engineering Aspects
3.5.1 Drainage system
3.5.2 Quarry sites for Aggregate
3.5.3Coarse Aggregate
3.5.4 Laterite
3.5.5 Sand
3.5.6 Airport Electrical System and Safety Plan
3.5.7 Electrical systems
3.5.8 General Pollution from Asphalt
3.6 Health and safety management
3.6.1 Occupational Health, Safety and Training
3.6.2Rescue and Fire Fighting Service
3.7Topography &Soils
3.8Land Use
3.9Fauna
3.10Water Sources and Quality
3.11Socio-economic Status And Living Conditions
4.0ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES
5.0 IMPACT ASSESSMENT
6.0ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
6.1 Construction Stage
6.1.1 Loss of Soil Resources, erosion and Sedimentation Topography
6.1.2 Contamination of Surface and Groundwater
6.1.3 Noise Pollution
6.1.4 Air Pollution
6.1.5 Safety Hazard Resulting From Fuel/Hazardous Material Handling and Storage
6.1.6 Coarse Aggregate Acquisition
6.2 Operational Stage
6.2.1 Contamination of Surface and Groundwater
6.2.2 Noise Pollution
6.2.3 Air Pollution
6.2.4 Safety Hazard Resulting From Fuel/Hazardous Material Handling and Storage
6.3Cost estimate for Environmental Management Plan
7.0CONCLUSION
1.0INTRODUCTION
This document relates details of an Environmental Impact Assessment study carried out for the upgrading of the LungiInternationalAirport in the Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom, Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The study has been carried out on behalf of Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA). The consultants, Mouchel Parkman and CEMMATS Group Ltd. (CEMMATS) were contracted to undertake this study which includes an Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Management Plan, Community Development Action Plan and a Public Consultation and Disclosure Process.
The airport is located north of the estuary of River Rokel, and accessible from Freetown the capital city by air, land and sea.
The project comprises the following elements:
airport pavement rehabilitation / strengthening;
upgrading and widening of the turning loops;
upgrading of the water and power supplies for the LungiInternationalAirport;
upgrading financial management through computerization;
environmental assessment of the Airport Infrastructure Upgrading.
The environmental effects of various aspects of the upgrading of the airport have been assessed. The study also extends beyond the airport as the effects of the airport operation and any upgrading will also have some effect on the socio-economic life of the surrounding communities.
1.1Environmental Screening and Assessment
Sierra Leone Government Legislation and World Bank/IDA Safeguard Policies demand that projects be screened to determine the nature and extent of the environmental work required.
The project does not entail the construction of a new airport which would require a whole range of environmental issues to be considered. It does however have specific environmental impacts which have been listed. The analysis required is a lot more limited than a full EIA would require. The areas which are thought to cause the most impact will be subjected to greater scrutiny and analysis in this study.
This is therefore a category B project according to World Bank environmental and social categorisation of impact.
2.0LEGISLATION
2.1 Local Legislation
The following Acts pertinent to the project were studied in order to complete the environmental and social studies. These include:
The Environmental Protection Act – 2000
Civil Aviation Act 1966
Sierra LeoneAirport Authority Act 1988
The Factories Act – 1974
2.1.1The Environmental Protection Act-2000
Following the promulgation of this Act, a National Environmental Protection Board was established within the Environmental Department. This board is responsible for the approval or disapproval of an EIA licence.
Projects requiring an EIA are those, as given in the first schedule of the Act, whose activities involve or include the following with respect to mining:
- Exploitation of hydraulic resources (e.g. dams, drainage and irrigation projects, water basin development and water supply).
- Infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges, airports, harbours, transmission lines, pipelines and railways).
- Industrial Activities (e.g. metallurgical plants, wood processing plants, chemical plants, power plants, petrol-chemical plants and refinery).
- Extractive industries (e.g. mining, quarrying, extraction of sand, gravel, salt, peat, oil and gas).
- Waste management and disposal (e.g. sewage systems and treatment plants, landfills, treatment of plants for household and hazardous waste).
- Housing construction and development schemes.
2.1.2The Factories Act-1974
This act deals with health and safety measures. The act stipulates that for the overall safety of the employees, the factory must not be overcrowded, must be effectively ventilated and provide suitable lighting systems. The factory holder is responsible for securing the health, safety and welfare of all employees.
2.1.3Civil Aviation Act- 1966
This act in general empowers the minister to regulate air navigation in accordance with convention on International Civil Aviation concluded in Chicago in 1944.
2.1.4 Sierra Leone Airports Authority Act - 1988
- This act established the Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA) as an autonomous and independent body under the supervision of a Board of Directors.
- The act made provision for the establishment of an Airport Security Force.
- The Act also empowered the Authority to take over responsibility for all airport facilities and all other purposes connected with the operation of the airport.
2.2International Environmental Requirements
Sierra Leone is a signatory to many international conventions. The most pertinent one for this project is the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.This Convention was adopted on the 22nd May 2001 in Stockholm and Sierra Leone became a signatory on the 27th August 2001.
2.3World Bank Requirements
Appropriate IFC/World Bank policies and guidelines include:
- Occupational health and safety guidelines.
- Environmental assessment (OP 4.01) – policy and procedures for environmental assessments whereby potential impacts are taken into account in selecting, sitting, planning and designing projects. This is designed to ensure that IFC projects are environmentally and socially sound and sustainable.
2.4 International Finance Corporation Environmental, Health and SafetyGuidelines for Airports
These guidelines are for the design, construction and use of airports and associated facilities. The guidelines incorporate the general provisions of the World Bank policies.
3.0BASELINE STUDY
3.1 Location
Sierra Leone is divided into four administrative regions, each of which is subdivided into a number of districts, and each district is comprised of a number of chiefdoms. The area of interest for this project is situated within the Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom in the Port Loko District, Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The settlements within the airport area that are likely to be affected by the project include: Tintafor, Swaktar, Makasa, Masoyila, Kambia, Gbanelol, Tulun, Kamasundo, Mahera, Kasongha, Rotifunk and an outline of the Agricultural Area.
3.2 Project Description
3.2.1 Surface Infrastructure
The current status of community infrastructure and services in the project area is as follows:
3.2.2 Transportation
The project area is accessible from Freetown the capital city by air, land and sea. Air transportation is by helicopter from west of the city, and domestic flights from Hastings airfield. Sea transportation is by ferry from Government wharf and Kissy terminals west and east of the city respectively. Transportation by road covers a distance of about 120 miles from Freetown via Port Loko. The Tagrin-Airport road is the only tarred road in Lungi, the feeder roads around the airport and within the townships are lateritic sand and of poor quality road.
3.2.3 Power, Communications and Civic Facilities
There is no mains power supply in the entire area. Power supply to the airport area is by five generators with a total capacity of 1,755 KVA with a combination of two running at a time. Telecommunication facilities are extremely poor.
3.2.4Workshops, Administration and Other Buildings
The following were noted within the airport: administrative offices are located within solid concrete buildings, senior and junior staff quarters, a terminal Building, runway strip, a communication tower, workshops, garages, warehouses and fire force facilities.
3.2.5 Recreation and Other Facilities
Apart from the Mahera beach, there is a paucity of recreational facilities.
3.2.6 Sewerage and Waste Water Disposal
Sewerage and waste water disposal facilities at the terminal are severely constrained.
3.2.7 Solid Waste Disposal
This would require an organised disposal system that will not harm the environment. The methods currently used include burning and carting for disposal at random places outside the airport.
3.3Geology
The geology of the Lungi area forms part of the Bullom Series that underlies the broad, low lying, and often swampy coastal strip of Sierra Leone, which, in places extends some 30 km inland.
The Lungi sediments consist of poorly consolidated flat-lying shallow feldsparthic sands interbedded with seams of finely laminated tough red, pink and chocolate brown clay, clay-sand, thin lignites, occasional gravels and calcareous grits. An intra-formational hard crust of laterite, 2m to 4m thick is often developed.
3.4Climate
3.4.1Description of regional climate
Generally, the climate of the project area is described as wet tropical monsoon with a single wet season each year. The average annual minimum and maximum rainfall is about 23.8 mm and 801.7 mm respectively for the period between 2000 and 2003 but it is generally a little higher in the east and the southeast. Normal temperature range is 22 0C to 33 0 C although it can drop to as low as 150C at night during the Harmattan season in January. Day temperatures average 310C in the dry season and 280 C in the wet season (Hall, 1966). Average short wave radiation of the season is 393 cal/cm2. The duration of growing period is 300-315 days.
3.4.2Wind Speed
The level of wind speeds recorded monthly by the Sierra Leone meteorological services for the period 2001, 2002 and 2004 in the Lungi area indicate figures in the normal range.
3.4.3 Noise Levels
Exposure to high noise levels is only transient for the majority of the villagers living under the flight path and only lasts for less than a minute, although the frequency of these events could be a couple of times a day, generally between 0930 hrs and 2330 hrs. Although the noise levels of some aircraft may be close to the threshold, the flights are much too few and infrequent to warrant any special rescheduling measures.
3.4.4Radioactivity
No radiation measurements were carried out during this phase of the project, but from available radioactive data of the Lungi area radioactivity levels are within International Standards.
3.4.5Air quality
The air quality has not been measured but it has been taken to be good and well within the internationally accepted limits for public health.
3.5 Engineering Aspects
3.5.1 Drainage system
The drains around the runway and aprons are generally unlined earth drains with vegetation growing on the sides. Investigations by the team indicated that the existing drainage systems around the airport and runway have sufficient storage capacity in them. However due to poor and in some areas the lack of maintenance, vegetation and siltation have reduced the capacity of the existing channels and culverts to an extent that they are now operating at less that 50% of their capacity. It was also noted that there is no provision for oil separation as part of the apron drainage.
3.5.2 Quarry sites for Aggregate
Aggregates required for the project shall include sand, coarse aggregate and laterite for fill material. Of these, only sand and laterite are found in and around the project area.
3.5.3Coarse Aggregate
Coarse aggregate of adequate quality is not found in the vicinity of the project site. The closest location of an adequate and good supply of coarse aggregate is at the quarry at Mamabeach at the southern part of the Freetown Peninsular. The operation of a quarry and crusher site so close to the road creates a significant hazard to the road users, the occupants of the village and the resort.
3.5.4 Laterite
Laterite material is available in the Lungi area though in selected areas and in not very large quantities. The Materials Engineer located a borrow area about 5 km from the project site that contains material of the right quality and quantity. The located quarry is an old one that was used in the construction of the Lungi- Tagrin road and more recently by the company.
3.5.5 Sand
Sand for construction purposes is generally mined from the beaches. The material engineers are still working on locating a suitable extraction site. The main location for the extraction of sand presently is MaheraBeach. The area for the extraction is about 100 m up the coast line from the new Mahera Beach Hotel, and is close to the present landing site for the hovercraft.
3.5.6 Airport Electrical System and Safety Plan
From observation and discussions held with workers in the different power stations it was obvious that none were using any electrical power safety equipment.
3.5.7 Electrical systems
The system as at present utilizes 5 generators located in two places to run all facilities in the airport. The generators are relatively new (1995- 2003) but are showing signs of poor maintenance, with oil leaking from the engines. There is no system or process in place for the handling and disposal of waste oils, and the oil appears to be disposed of by allowing it to seep into the ground. The distribution system is virtually in a state of total disrepair.
3.5.8 General Pollution from Asphalt
Asphalt is probably one of the most important materials in the construction of road and airport runway pavements. Its flexibility and impermeability to the ingress of water makes it the most suitable material for these purposes. Prior to the initiation of the works the appropriate personnel should be issued adequate protective equipment.
3.6 Health and safety management
In our discussions with the Chief Mechanical and Safety Engineer the authority has yet to put in place a policy on safety. It is also noted that the Authority has a Community Relations Committee that liaises with the community on issues affecting the community/Authority relations. While the Public Relations Officer is a member of the committee the Safety officer is not.
3.6.1Occupational Health, Safety and Training
Until very recently, there was neither an Occupational Health nor Safety Manager for the airport nor a Health and Safety Policy. However, it was reported that with the recruitment of a Health and Safety Manager, adraft Safety Manual in which includes a draft health and safety policy including HIV/AIDS has been developed and is being studied by the management for review and subsequent adoption.
3.6.2Rescue and Fire Fighting Service
Fire Cover as required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation for Aircrafts is in place. There is available a modern rescue and fire fighting equipment that meets Category 7 of the international standard. There is a modern save/rescue boat with two engines each of 150 HP, built with aluminum alloy, fitted with 2 life rafters with a capacity for 65 persons. The rescue boat, however, requires a toll vehicle and a boathouse on the beach. The fire fighting personnel reported that they lack protective clothing, breathing apparatus, adequate water hoses, portable fire extinguishers, special protective shoes and modern protective hats.
3.7Topography &Soils
The topography of the area is generally undulating with negligible relief. The uplands are dissected by the Inland Valley Swamps (IVS). The soils are generally sandy in nature with clay content increasing with depth. The nutrient status is generally low and varies according to the depth.
3.8Land Use
The uplands of the survey area are very sparsely cultivated. Only small backyard gardens are evident, comprising of maize, sweet potatoes, cassava and some vegetables. During the rainy season, cultivation is mainly concentrated in the Inland Valley Swamps, with rice as the main crop. All uncultivated areas of the swamp are under fallow of aquatic grass species.
Livestock farming is not abundant, but in all of the settlements one form of livestock or the other is reared and these comprise poultry, sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. Fishing is one of the main activities of this coastal area and sea fishing is the most common. Stream fishing is done on a very limited extent. Hunting is limited to the use of traps for catching animals mainly for domestic consumption. Generally, forest reserves, protected forests and agro-forestation are absent, though a few exotic trees have a basically scattered occurrence or could have a linear occurrence along roads.
Fuelwood is also obtained mostly by buying from wood vehicles from Lokomasama and PortLokoTown. Mangrove wood is also obtained from the mangrove swamp especially from TambobanaVillage. Arts and crafts include basket and mat weaving, cloth weaving, cloth dying (gara), batik making, wood carving and carpentry. Vocational institutions are also evident with arts and crafts options. Tourism attractions are lacking in the area except for the MaheraBeach.
3.9Fauna