A Government Initiated Water Infrastructural Project - Report Example

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Traveston crossing dam is a Government initiated water infrastructural project of Southeast Queensland (SEQ). This project takes many short and long term measures not only to secure reliable water supply but also aims at different socio economic developmental aspects. By virtue of its enormity, this project is in fact multi faceted. It has obvious impacts on almost every regional issue in general. Be it social, legal, economic, environmental or demographic. In order to highlight and study all possible impacts and their associated concerns, an Environmental Impact statement (EIS) has been put forward. This assignment endeavors to take a critical stand over EIS. It will cross verify the accuracy and reliability of impact identification. Moreover it will also verify the accuracy and reliability in the prediction of magnitude and importance of the impacts. Further it will validate the effectiveness of safeguard measures to reduce environmental impacts. In process to achieve this objective, this assignment will dealt with two topics on bio-physical impact and two on socio-cultural impact. Then as per the objective, this critical review of EIS will check out for each of the 4 topics selected: 1. Identification of significant impacts; 2. Prediction of impact magnitude; 3. Assessment of impact significance; 4. Adequacy of information available on predictions and assessment; 5. Clear communication to decision-makers and the public; and 6. Suitable monitoring and environmental management program developed/proposed. 2. BIO-PHYSICAL COMPONENT 2.1. AIR QUALITY 2.1.1. IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT The dam has some direct or indirect effect on the quality of air. EIS has highlighted impacts associated with construction of the dam. It clearly indicates that particulate concentration in air will rise because of dust blown by increased traffic of the heavy construction vehicles. Moreover the concrete crushing plant will also be responsible for the same. It is also evident from the facts presented in the EIS that operation of the dam has negligible effect on the air quality. Moreover the sludge removal and water treatment plant will also not generate significant odour impact. But apart from it EIS has not considered some of the indirect impacts on the air quality. The construction of dam will definitely result in heavy loss of existing flora in the area which is around 424 hectare. This in turn will have its impact in terms of deteriorating air quality. In a research it has been found that the trees have multiple impacts on the climatic conditions (Nowak, 1998, p. 399-407). The study clearly depicts that there are mainly four ways in which trees affect air quality. These are namely, air temperature reduction, microclimatic effects, removal of air pollutants or volatile organic emissions and lastly the energy effects on buildings. EIS also fails to generalize the post construction impact on the air quality in terms of the increased economic activities in the area. The dam along with it is also likely to bring enhanced economic activities. This in turn will also indirectly impact the air quality. 2.1.2. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND MANAGEMENT EIS has taken resort to dispersion modeling to evaluate the impact of increased particulate concentration. Though there has not been any figurative representation in this regard. Also it has emphasized on air quality monitoring, visual inspection and community complaints as key triggers in initiating investigation and modification to site work practices as far as air quality is concerned. But considering the fact that some indirect impacts have not been assed, the above measures would not be adequate. 2.1.3. MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM There should be a detailed study on the indirect impacts. Accordingly there should be regulatory provisions to keep minimum forest area in the vicinity. Also post construction, there should be stringent emission norms and building regulations for the region. The regulatory authority should be an independent agency and should work in discrete tandem with local community, Dam authorities and local administration. 2.2. GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSION 2.2.1. IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT According to EIS, both construction and operation of dam has potential impacts on release of greenhouse gases. Though, as per EIS, this release will amount to a very meager fraction of total green house gas released in SEQ. EIS has highlighted four primary reasons of release of greenhouse gases. Firstly the energy consumption during the construction will lead to release of 0.044 Mt of gases over three years. Then the loss of 424 hectare of vegetation will release another 96,545 Mt of gases. Going further the change in nature of the land use from primarily animal production and grazing to inundation will be responsible for nearly 451,010 Mt of gas release. Changes in land use occur when forests are converted from wild agricultural plantations to rangelands. Going further from rangelands to farmed agricultural land, and then finally to urban areas. And other patterns of land degradation - such as deforestation, overgrazing, over cultivation, desertification and Stalinization - reduce the net uptake of carbon dioxide, increasing global warming. Lastly the operation of the dam will result in release of around 0.001 Mt on annual basis. As far as greenhouse gas emission is concerned, EIS has considered all possible direct as well as indirect impact associated. Moreover they have quantified for better assessment and impact prediction. 2.2.2. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND MANAGEMENT EIS had not been specific in proposing the safeguards against greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover it has also not put forward any future greenhouse gas management initiative. What all it endeavors during construction program, is to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from the works through energy efficient construction methodology. This in fact is very vague in nature. In latest studies conducted by united nations, it has been found that the Earth’s average surface temperature rose by around 0.6°C during the 20th century and most scientific advisors to the world’s governments conclude that evidence is growing that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to green house gas emissions, such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The resulting increased energy in the weather system is already resulting in increased storms and rainfall in some areas, while others suffer drought. This is expected to increase in future and while how fast and where this will happen is still controversial, there is consensus in the scientific community that the consequences may be serious. 2.2.3. MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM There should be an automated green house gas monitoring system in place. This will help establishing carbon foot print of the dam project. Further to mitigate the effect of loss of 424 hectare of vegetation, plantation program can be relocated in the vicinity of the project. Though controversial, another emission management program can also be taken resort of. Since the Parties to international agreements to limit GHG emissions are national governments, international emissions trading will, at least formally, involve trade among governments (Bhom, 1998). Thus at project level it will not be feasible. Thus emission management will have to concentrate more on domestic emission norms and controls. 3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC COMPONENT 3.1. NOISE AND VIBRATION 3.1.1. IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT ESI has highlighted that noise level in the vicinity of the construction area will increase because of dam construction works, blasting and rock excavation, vegetation removal within the inundation area, road/bridge construction and increased traffic on existing roads and realigned roads. The last reason will prevail even after the construction work will be over. Though there has not been figurative representation of the decibel level. It can also be inferred from the EIS that operational noise impacts are expected to be minor. As far as vibration impacts are concerned, they are expected to be minor. Moreover the impacts of both noise and vibration levels during construction will be short term. Operational figures have been predicted by noise modeling of the range of 60-64 decibels. Post construction, the area will see enhanced commercial and industrial activity and this in turn will also be responsible for increased levels of noise and vibration. This has not been given due consideration in EIS. 3.1.2. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND MANAGEMENT EIS talks about some project acoustics goals which will be part and parcel of environment management program. It emphasizes mainly on offsetting a separation distance in order to reduce the impact during the construction phase while it emphasizes on realignment of traffic during operational phase. Noise and vibration impact is a critical component of the project which will require ongoing consideration and community engagement throughout the duration of the Project. 3.1.3. MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Continuous monitoring and noise modeling will make it easier to implement noise management procedures along with practical and reasonable controls. Some of them can be as discussed below. Using mufflers on construction equipment and maintaining intake and exhaust systems; Muffling enclosures on continuously running equipment, such as air compressors and welding generators; Replacing specific construction operations and techniques with less noisy and less vibratory ones where feasible (e.g., mixing concrete off-site instead of on-site); Scheduling equipment operations to keep average noise and vibration levels low, to synchronize noisiest and most vibratory operations with times of highest ambient noise levels, and to maintain relatively uniform noise levels; Locating noisy and vibratory equipment as far as possible from sensitive areas. 3.2. INFRASRUCTURE 3.2.1. IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT The ongoing project will cast its effect on almost all public infrastructures. It is evident from EIS that except rail and gas all others like telecommunication, power supply, water supply and sewerage will be impacted. Impact mostly has been because of relocation and up gradation. Issue pertaining to the residential infrastructure has not at all been highlighted in EIS. As this relation of people and their compensation in fact will be one of the sensitive issues to the decision makers. Moreover the post construction development of private infrastructure is also an important impact issue missing in the EIS. 3.2.2. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND MANAGEMENT As such ESI does not emphasize on any infrastructure impact management. It simply and figuratively represents the allied infrastructure either to be upgraded or relocated, though it takes into consideration, the inconvenience faced by people. 3.2.3. MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM The infrastructure impact management program should at first recognize the critical issue related with people as the primary concern of the project is convenience of the people only. A master plan should be in place to consider the relocation of residential infrastructure along with the compensation strategy. Once that is taken care of, then project should move on to public infrastructure development like water supply, sewerage etc. The infrastructure management plan should be divided in phases and would be appraised from time to time. There should also be in place a contingency plan for natural disasters as far as infrastructure is concerned. A disaster management plan and damage recovery schedule should also be taken into consideration as this world has seen lot of such fateful incidences in the past (West, 1995, p.23). 4. CONCLUSION Though this assignment has discussed only four aspects of impact assessment by EIS, yet it can conclude on its overall presentation. From the fact presented in the EIS, it can be inferred that mostly the direct impacts have been highlighted. This can be inferred from the very fact that in two out of four topics discussed in this assignment, there has no discussion on post construction indirect impacts. This is evident from discussion on ‘Air Quality’ and ‘Infrastructure’. In case of air quality no consideration is given in EIS regarding operational phase of dam and allied development. In that case it will not be restricted to only particulate pollution level. Rather the very nature of the air quality itself can change. EIS has not even made any effort to predict any such possible outcomes. Going further on part of infrastructure, the same can be observed. EIS has discussed only those aspects which are directly impacted by the project. Operational phase and allied infrastructure development is totally neglected. There can be increasing burden on the existing infrastructure. No attempt of any such assessment is evident from EIS. Thus this assignment warrentedly concludes on the basis of facts presented above that the post construction development phase has not been given due importance for impact assessment. Now there is another issue which is also somewhat evidently lacking in EIS. There has been lack of figurative representation in some cases as far as the impact assessment is concern. Like in case of air quality, the figurative representation is not dealt with. Also in case of green house gases, the calculation regarding Carbon Dioxide is only given. There are very many other green house gases which need to be considered. The most prominent among the left out gases is Methane. Though in case of noise and vibration the data presented seems adequate. But again in case of infrastructure it seems incomplete. It is because the prediction of increase in burden on infrastructure has not been made and hence it can be called incomplete. Here again this assignment safely concludes on the basis of facts presented above that EIS lacks figurative representation. A third issue that is quite evident that EIS has no clear outlook for and further studies to be carried out. Because of the above two lacking propositions, the offerings of EIS can prove to be vague without further study. This assignment also takes contrary view over EIS. It can also be concluded that overall EIS is an excellent roadmap to lay down the strategies for impact management and develop safeguards. EIS is an excellent documentation of possible topics to be studied for impact assessment. The various areas highlighted in EIS need to be studied in depth further and accordingly action plans can be developed. Thus EIS cannot be a conclusive study in itself rather can be an interim one. The decision makers should not consider direct facts presented in EIS. Rather different specialized teams should be given responsibility of further intensive study and research to be carried out. The report of those studies should be reliable and critical source for decision makers to resort to. 5. REFERENCES 1. Nowak, D.J., McHale P.J., Ibarra, M., Crane, D., Stevens, J., and Luley, C. 1998. Modeling the effects of urban vegetation on air pollution, In: Air Pollution Modeling and Its Application XII, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 399-407. 2. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat (see: http://unfccc.int), surfed on 5th May 2009, 1300 hrs GMT. 3. Bohm, P., Determinants of the benefits of international carbon emissions trading: theory and experimental evidence, in: Emissions Trading – Proceedings of the Conference on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading (Sydney May 21-22, 1998), ABARE, Canberra 2601, 1998a. 4. WorkSafe Western Australia SafetyLine - www.safetyline.wa.gov.au, surfed on 5th May 2009, 1300 hrs GMT. 5. Gonner H.W., "Noise and Vibration Reduction on Construction Equipment", Ergonomics In Developing Countries: An International Symposium, 1985, ILO Occupational Safety & Health Series No. 5802, p. 24, 1987, 6. Construction Industry Advisory Committee, 'Noise in construction: guidance on noise control and hearing conservation measures", HSE, HMSO, p. 21, 1986. 7. West, Terry R. (1995) “Geology Applied to Engineering,” Prentice Hall, New Jersey, p 23. Read More

EIS also fails to generalize the post construction impact on the air quality in terms of the increased economic activities in the area. The dam along with it is also likely to bring enhanced economic activities. This in turn will also indirectly impact the air quality. 2.1.2. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND MANAGEMENT EIS has taken resort to dispersion modeling to evaluate the impact of increased particulate concentration. Though there has not been any figurative representation in this regard. Also it has emphasized on air quality monitoring, visual inspection and community complaints as key triggers in initiating investigation and modification to site work practices as far as air quality is concerned.

But considering the fact that some indirect impacts have not been assed, the above measures would not be adequate. 2.1.3. MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM There should be a detailed study on the indirect impacts. Accordingly there should be regulatory provisions to keep minimum forest area in the vicinity. Also post construction, there should be stringent emission norms and building regulations for the region. The regulatory authority should be an independent agency and should work in discrete tandem with local community, Dam authorities and local administration. 2.2.

GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSION 2.2.1. IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT According to EIS, both construction and operation of dam has potential impacts on release of greenhouse gases. Though, as per EIS, this release will amount to a very meager fraction of total green house gas released in SEQ. EIS has highlighted four primary reasons of release of greenhouse gases. Firstly the energy consumption during the construction will lead to release of 0.044 Mt of gases over three years. Then the loss of 424 hectare of vegetation will release another 96,545 Mt of gases.

Going further the change in nature of the land use from primarily animal production and grazing to inundation will be responsible for nearly 451,010 Mt of gas release. Changes in land use occur when forests are converted from wild agricultural plantations to rangelands. Going further from rangelands to farmed agricultural land, and then finally to urban areas. And other patterns of land degradation - such as deforestation, overgrazing, over cultivation, desertification and Stalinization - reduce the net uptake of carbon dioxide, increasing global warming.

Lastly the operation of the dam will result in release of around 0.001 Mt on annual basis. As far as greenhouse gas emission is concerned, EIS has considered all possible direct as well as indirect impact associated. Moreover they have quantified for better assessment and impact prediction. 2.2.2. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND MANAGEMENT EIS had not been specific in proposing the safeguards against greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover it has also not put forward any future greenhouse gas management initiative.

What all it endeavors during construction program, is to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from the works through energy efficient construction methodology. This in fact is very vague in nature. In latest studies conducted by united nations, it has been found that the Earth’s average surface temperature rose by around 0.6°C during the 20th century and most scientific advisors to the world’s governments conclude that evidence is growing that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to green house gas emissions, such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

The resulting increased energy in the weather system is already resulting in increased storms and rainfall in some areas, while others suffer drought. This is expected to increase in future and while how fast and where this will happen is still controversial, there is consensus in the scientific community that the consequences may be serious. 2.2.3. MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM There should be an automated green house gas monitoring system in place. This will help establishing carbon foot print of the dam project.

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