vinh tan 4_summary environmental impact assesment_appendix 3

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT

SUMMARY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSEMENT

VINH TAN 4 THERMAL POWER PLANT PROJECT

EVN – Vinh Tan TPMB Vinh Tan 4 Thermal Power Plant Project PECC2 Summary on Environmental Impact Assessment

TABLE OF CONTENT I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 1

II. PROJECT SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 64

III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT .......................................................... 97

A. Physical Environment ............................................................................................ 97

B. Biological Environment ....................................................................................... 119

C. Socio-economic Environment ............................................................................ 1210

IV. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT .......................................................................... 1311

D. Land acquisition ................................................................................................ 1311

E. Infrastructural systems ....................................................................................... 1311

F. Air quality and noise .......................................................................................... 1412

G. Wastewater ........................................................................................................ 1513

H. Solid waste ........................................................................................................ 1714

I. Ecosystem.......................................................................................................... 1715

J. Erosion and sedimentation ................................................................................. 1816

K. Landscape: ......................................................................................................... 1916

L. Socio-economics ................................................................................................ 1916

M. Reliability of the assessment........................................................................... 2017

V. ALTENATIVE ANALYSIS ................................................................................... 2017

A. Without Project Option ...................................................................................... 2017

B. Alternative Site location..................................................................................... 2018

C. Alternative Fuel ................................................................................................. 2118

D. Alternative Technologies.................................................................................... 2119

VI. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN .................................................. 2220

VII. CONSULTATION WITH RELEVANT PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT 3027

VIII. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 3128


I. INTRODUCTION

1. In an attempt to support economic growth as well as ensure national energy

security for Vietnam, the Master Plan of Vinh Tan Power Complex at Binh

Thuan province was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in

Decision No.1532/QĐ-BCT dated 4/5/2007 in which the Vinh Tan Power

Complex with the capacity of 4,400 MW was to establish. By Decision No.

1020/QĐ-BCT dated 06/3/2012, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved

the second revised version of Master Plan of Vinh Tan Power Complex

ratifying the establishment of Vinh Tan 4 Thermal Power Plant with a

capacity of 1,200 MW.

2. The Vinh Tan 4 TPP is a two-600MW-unit coal-fired power plant using the

conventional steam turbine technology with supercritical parameters (SC). The

total area of the Vinh Tan 4 TPP is about 70.2 ha, consisting of main power

houses, auxiliary areas, cooling water, coal storage area, and corridor of

separating greenery.

3. The EIA report for Vinh Tan 4 TPP project with the capacity of 1200 MW has

been prepared in persuant with (i) Law on Environmental Protection passed by

the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Session XI,

Plenum 8 on 29.11.2005, promulgated on 12.12.2005 under the President’s

Ordinance 29/2005/L/CTN (ii) Decree 29/2011/ND-CP dated 18/04/2011 by

the Government on “providing strategic environmental assessment,

environmental impact assessment and environmental protection commitment”,

and (iii) Circular 26/2011/TT-BTNMT dated 18/07/2011 by the MONRE on

guiding in detail numbers of articles of Decree No. 29/2011/ND-CP dated

18/04/2011 on strategic environmental assessment (SEA), environmental

impact assessment (EIA) and environment protection commitment.

4. This summary EIA report (SEIA) has been prepared by PECC2 for use by the


Export – Import Bank of Korea. This SEIA summarizes and consolidates the

major findings and recommendations presented in the EIA. The EIA is

available for public review at the office of Export – Import Bank of Korea upon

request. The SEIA will be posted on website of Export – Import Bank of Korea

before consideration of the requested loan by Export – Import Bank of Korea’s

Board of Directors.


Figure 1. The location of Vinh Tan 4 TPP in Vinh Tan commune,Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan Province

Location of Vinh Tân 4

TPP


II. PROJECT SUMMARY

5. Vinh Tan 4 TPP, which is one of the four plants belonging to the Vinh Tan Thermal Power Complex, is located in Vinh Tan Commune, Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan Province.

6. Vinh Tan 4 TPP is located near the No.7 hamlet’s residential area, which borders on the National Road No.1A towards the Northwest. Away from the project area towards the Northeast nearly 4km, it is a Linh Son Tu Pagoda. The Ho Dua Mountain is away from the project area approximately 4km towards the North. The north-south railway is 1km from the project toward Northwest . The CaNa Hotel is away from the project area about 7km towards the East. (Figure 2).

7. The Hon Cau Marine Protection Area with total area of 12500ha is established by People’s Committee of Binh Thuan Province according to the Decision No.2606/QD-UBND dated October 15, 2010. Hon Cau MPA was established after firstly Vinh Tan Power Complex (Master Plan of Vinh Tan Power Complex at Binh Thuan province was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Decision No.1532/QĐ-BCT dated 4/5/2007).

8. The Vinh Tan 4 TPP is also located in the development zone and a part of the ecological restoration area of Hon Cau Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Project is about 8 km away from boundary of buffer zone #1 of Hon Cau Island (strict conservation area) and 5.6km away from buffer zone #2 of Breda sandbar area ((strict conservation area) (Figure 2). .

9. The Vinh Tan 4 TPP comprises 2 units with the capacity of 600MW each using the conventional steam turbine technology with the supercritical parameters. The establishment of the Vinh Tan 4 TPP includes construction and installation of main and auxiliary buildings and facilities (turbine houses, boiler houses, cooling water intake and discharge systems, water, electricity supply system, coal port, ash yard…) as well as other preparation activities at various phases of the project such as site clearance, compensation, resettlement, land leveling and so on.

10. The ultrasuper-critical, single reheated boiler using pulverised fuel was selected. Turbine generator uses supercritical parameter, one-time intermediate reheat, single shaft, 3 or 4-cylinders, 2 or 4-exhaust condensing steam turbine. Steam turbine generator is water to hydrogen, static excitation


rotating field, two poles, cylinder rotor, fully enclosed, synchronous. 11. A 100,000 DWT coal port will be constructed including items such as the

turning basin, fairways, conveyor… to support the receiving and transport of coal to storage place. Dredging will be carried out once at the port construction period and every year for maintenance. Dredged materials will be either reused as leveling material (in construction phase) or dumped at pre-designed area (operation phase).

12. ESP system, Seawater FGD system and De-NOx system, which are dust, SOx and NOx treatment systems respectively, will be constructed to reduce such air pollutants to an acceptable value according to Vietnamese National regulations. Wastewater treatment system will also be built to treat industrial and domestic wastewater to meet regulation before being discharged to the watersources.

13. The 22kV power route from Lien Huong to Ca Na with the length of 25km will be reformed and improved to ensure the power supply during the construction and operation phases of Vinh Tan 4 TPP.

14. A 2*100% freshwater treatment system (256m3/h) will be constructed to supply water for the activities of the power plant. Raw water will be taken from the source for the whole Vinh Tan Power Complex. An additional seawater treatment system with a designed capacity of 680m3/h (2*50%) will be constructed to ensure the water supply during dry season.

15. Cooling water is taken from the inside of the breakwater (the north of coal substation) and discharged to the outside of the breakwater towards the West of Vinh Tan Power Complex.


Figure 2. The location of Vinh Tan 4 TPP and surrounding works

Linh Son Tu Pagoda

North-South Railway

National Road

1A

Hamlet No.7

Hon Cau Island

Ca Na Hotel

Breda sandbar

Vinh Tan Power Complex

Ho Dua Mountain


III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

A. Physical Environment

§ Geology and hydrogeology 16. The topography of the project’s area is relatively complicated with high hills

and mountains are located in the north and strongly segmented. The regional topography is described as follows: (i) Lowland in the north includes low mountains and plains of Luy River basin. The elevation is up to 500m. (ii) Delta along Phan Ri coast includes marine or alluvial sediment.

17. Water level in the boreholes at boiler and turbine area is usually between 7 and 9 m in the second layer. The level of water at the area nearby seashore and streams is below 2m. Groundwater at coastal area usually has salinity and organic content polluted from domestic wastewater of local people. Hence, the groundwater sources cannot be used for domestic demand.

§ Meteorology 18. The project area has high air temperature all year-round with an average

value of 27.1oC and the temperature does not change much between months. Meanwhile, air humidity is low, about 76%; the lowest humidity was found from December to August owing to low rainfall. Rain mainly appears in rainy season from May to October and distributes unevenly between areas and times. During rainy season, the humidity slightly increases. Two distinctive wind seasons were observed in Binh Thuan province every year including Northeast wind monsoon (October to April, prevalent direction of wind is East - Northeast) and Southwest wind monsoon (May to September, prevalent direction of wind is West - Southwest).

19. Tidal regime of Vinh Tan area is intermediate between irregular diurnal and irregular semi-diurnal tides; two peaks and two feet were observed everyday having uneven height. Wave direction is strongly seasonally dependents; Southwest wave is prevalent from May to September while East wave dominates from November. Seawater temperature differs between months in which the lowest temperature was measured in December or January while the highest was found in April or May.

§ Ambient air quality and noise 20. Samples for air quality checking were taken at areas where significant


impacts are expected to happen due to the construction and operation of the project (at the project site, surrounding residential areas, along the transport routine, etc.). Accordingly, the air quality of such areas is relatively good in which all values of TSP, SO2, NO2, CO are lower than the prescribed standards. Only slight pollution was observed along the Highway 1A due to poor vehicle conditions and material transport supporting the construction of Vinh Tan 2 TPP.

21. At the positions of air quality samples taken, noise analysis shows that 6 out of 8 points has noise level lower than the prescribed value. The exceptions are along the Highway where noise level is mostly affected by traffic activities.

§ Water resources Surface water

22. In Binh Thuan province, there are seven main river basins including Song river, Luy river, Cai river, Ca Ty River, Phan river, Dinh and La Nga Rivers. The total catchment area is 9880 km2 with 663 km length of all rivers and streams. The water resource distributes unevenly in space and time.

23. Analysis of samples taken at 10 predefined positions in and around the project area (cooling water intake and discharge points, local streams, onshore and offshore positions) reveals that surface water in the regions is slightly polluted by organic matters and oil from domestic wastewater and wastewater from the shrimp farming ponds (COD value is about 3.4 time higher than the regulated value at some sampling point).

Groundwater

24. Samples were taken from 6 sampling points in and around the project area and ash yard to test the quality of groundwater currently. The analysis results reveal that the local groundwater is contaminated with microorganisms at some area (higher than the allowable value). It is proposed that the untreated domestic wastewater from residential area has penetrated and polluted the groundwater system with its high level of coliform. However, the quality of groundwater is relatively good in general.

25. Bottom sediments at the project site contain mostly rough sand with particle size ranges from 0.063 - 2 mm. The further it gets from the shore, the higher content of fine particle it has. Both heavy metal and Dioxin in the sediments


are negligible compare to standard of Vietnamese Government. 26.

§ Soil 27. Soil of the region is employed mainly for agricultural purposes. The soil

samples which were taken at 6 areas in and around the project site and ash yards indicate low level of heavy metals such as Zn, Pb, Cu, As and oil.

B. Biological Environment

§ Terrestrial Ecosystem Flora

28. There are 56 floral species found at the project site belonging to 26 families and 3 orders. The regional flora relates closely to the South Truong Son mountain ecosystem, being influenced by 3 main factors: Malaysia – Indonesia flora system with Dipterocarpaceae, India – Myanmar flora system with Lythraceae, Combretaceae, etc. and South Vietnam – North China system with Fabaceae, Euphorbiacea and so on.

29. Along the shore at the project site, there are both artificial and natural flora systems with Anacardium occidentale, Dipterocarpus alatus, Shorea siamensis, Sindora siamensi and a shrub layer where Grewia covers 80% the area.

Fauna

30. The faunal ecosystem contains mostly drought, heat resistant species which breed and develop mainly in dry season. There are 53 species of wild animal were found in which animal has 5 species from 4 families (Lepus nigricollis, Tamiops rodophei), bird has 35 species from 28 families (Egretta garzetta, Passer montanus, Himantopus himantopus, Artamus fuscus), reptile has 20 and amphibian has 3 species (Calotes vesicolor, Leiolepis reeversi).

§ Aquatic Ecosystem 31. PECC2 in collaboration with the Institute NhaTrang Oceanography to survey,

evaluate characteristics of coral, sea grass in the Vinh Tan Power Complex on April 2010.

Seagrass

32. There were three patches of sea grass beds mainly found at the depth of 6 - 9m. A total of 4 species of sea grass were found in the waters surrounding the


Vinh Tan Complex Site, including Halophila ovalis, Halophila decipiens, Halodule pinifolia and Thalassia hemprichii. However, current sea grass degraded by coral mining activities of the people and the construction activities in the region.

Coral

33. Coral reefs are mainly distributed in the shallow waters along the coastal in Vinh Tan Complex Site, from the depth of 1m down to 5 - 6m. These reefs were dominated by dead corals in inner reef and by filiose and braching corals. Some common species found at most of the study sites included Acropora nobilis, Montipora digitata, Porites and Pocillopora damicornis. Dead corals were dominated at all study sites with cover ranging between 5.8 – 85.5%. The low cover of hard corals found at all study sites may be explained by degradation of coral reefs caused by dynamite and poisoning fishing, harmful algal bloom occurred in 2002, collection of living corals for souvenir.

34. Coral reef fishes: There are 21 families recorded in the waters of the Vinh Tan Complex Site. Among 21 families, there are Labridae, Pomacentridae Chaetodontidae and Lutjanidae, etc.

35. Fishes at size class of 1 – 10cm were dominant at all of the study sites (average: 184.7 individuals/250m2, occupied with 98.1% of total density). Fishes of size classes 11-20cm was very low. Larger fishes at size classes of > 20cm were absent at all study sites. This indicates that resources of coral reef fishes in this area have been overexploited.

Zoobenthos

36. Mollusks: zoobenthos is mainly Mollusk species with dominated of Modiolus philippinarum in Vinh Tan water area. However, there are low individual density from 1 - 17 individuals/site,

37. Echinodermata: This species is low number of species with 372 individuals with two common species of Echinodermate. These species formed small patches with abudance ranging between 2 – 40 individuals/site.

C. Socio-economic Environment

§ Social condition 38. Population: Vinh Tan Commune has a population of 6096 people in 2011, the

natural population growth was 11.35 ‰. The population growth is due to


natural birth rate and emigrant. Male ratio accounts for 48.5 to 52% while women ratio accounts for 47.5 to 51.5% total population of Vinh Tan commune. Kinh is dominant ethic occupying 99.3% the population of Vinh Tan commune. The rest are minorities such as Khmer, Tay, Cham. Predominant religions in the project area are Catholic, followed by Buddhism, Christianity and Protestantism;

39. Education and health care: overall education levels in Vinh Tan commune are quite low. Only 23.01% of children from the age of 5 come to school; most people just finish secondary school level. Up to 65.8% of the population dropped out from schools. Regarding health care status, Vinh Tan commune has 02 clinics that implement health care and preventive health programs. Regularly performing better sanitation – hygiene, food safety and propagandizing for people on food safety.

§ Economic condition 40. Generally, residents of Vinh Tan commune live on agricultural and

aquaculture jobs such as animal, shrimp farming (550 households), and fishing. Business and service are additional area and gradually developed lately.

IV. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

D. Land acquisition

41. The project will withdraw about 38.01 ha in which terrestrial area accounts for 9.73 ha while aquatic area accounts for 28.28 ha. There are about 13 households having land to be withdrawn in which 9 of them will lose houses and all 13 households will lose also their production land. These households will be compensated properly with land and money to recover their living and production. The project owner will also prepare training section and recruiting local workforce to work on the construction and operation of the power plant in an attempt to improve the income and living condition of local people.

E. Infrastructural systems

42. A new road system is designed and will be constructed to support the transport of materials for the construction and operation of all power plants in the Vinh Tan power complex. The current 22kV Lien Huong – Ca Na


power line (line 477.5) will be renovated and upgraded about 19 MWA to ensure power supply for the power plants. Water will be taken from Da Bac Lake, which was invested by EVN with the designed flow of 550 – 600 m3/h to provide water for the construction of power plants in Vinh Tan Power Complex. Hence, local water sources are not affected. Basically, the establishment of the project mostly has positive impact on the infrastructural system of the area.

F. Air quality and noise

43. Air pollution generated during site clearance period, leveling period and main construction phase includes dust, SO2, NOx, CO from activities of the construction equipment onsite as well as material transport on the roads and at the 100,000 DWT coal port. These impacts are considered as short-term (during construction phase) and controllable by applying appropriate mitigation measures. Main mitigation measures include: (i) Cover the trucks carefully to prevent the release of dust and construction materials during the transportation. (ii) Water the transport routes regularly and irregularly during dry hot weather. (iii) Inspect the conditions of transport vehicles, allow only vehicles with proper certification on condition and air emission. (iv) Wash the wheels and under part of trucks before letting them moving out of the project site.

44. In the operation of the power plant, a decline in air quality because of gaseous plant emissions will be the major long-term adverse impact of the plant, but this will be mitigated by: (i) the use of high efficiency electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), which are more than 98% efficient for the removal of dust; (ii) the use of coal with a low sulfur content and Seawater Flue Gas Desulphurization (SeaFGD) system with 87% efficient for the removal of SO2 (iii) a Low NOx for NOx restriction and (iv) 210m high stack heights to promote higher mixing and to limit ground level concentrations;

45. The particulate matter (PM) levels in flue gas emissions will be less than 150 mg/Nm³, below the Vietnamese Technical Regulation (QCVN 22:2009/BTNMT) limit of 170mg/Nm³. Flue gas concentrations of SO2 will be about 350 mg/Nm³, well below the maximum allowable concentration of 425 mg/Nm³. The NOx emission levels of the plant will be 455 mg/Nm³, well within the technical regulation of 552.5 mg/Nm³.

46. Air quality modeling using AERMOD modeling system for atmospheric


dispersion of stack emissions was undertaken to assess the decline in air quality from the Vinh Tan 4 power plant and Vinh Tan power complex. Results from simulated models reveal that the levels of pollutant at all area meet regulated standards in Vietnamese National Regulations for ambient air quality.

47. Dust can also be generated from coal loading/unloading at port as well as transportation to storage place. To cope with such threat, coal is designed to be unloaded by grab dischargers and transported by conveyor system along the port.

48. Air pollutants emitted from activities of barges and vessels at port during the phases are not significant owing to low frequency and intensity of vehicle traffic.

49. The quality of ambient air under impact of the plant’s construction and operation activities will regularly monitored as described in the management plan to trace the alteration of air quality and prepare proper responses.

50. Noise and vibration are mainly generated from activities of heavy equipment, machinery and transport vehicles during all phases. However, owing to long distance from the project site to residential area, the impact of noise from project’s activities on local people is not considerable and the noise level still meets Vietnamese regulations. Yet, noise and vibration are still threats to the health of workers living and working onsite. Hence, mitigation measures are assigned to reduce such impacts; the measures include: (i) Provide protected gears for worker (ear protected gears, earmuffs). (ii) Limit working time of vehicles in daytime not to disturb local people. (iii) Inform local resident exact schedule of exceptionally noisy activities.

G. Wastewater

51. During all phases, domestic wastewater is generated from workers’ activities at various flow rate depending on the number of worker at each stage. In pre-construction and construction phases, industrial wastewater is mainly from construction activities. In operation phase, wastewater includes cooling water, chemical-, coal- and oil- contaminated wastewater from various processes of the plant.

§ Domestic wastewater 52. Domestic wastewater is produced about 68 m3/day in pre-construction phase;

203 m3/day and 120 m3/day in construction phase and operation phase


respectively. Such wastewater contains mostly organic matters and microorganism from daily activities of workers.

53. Septic toilets will be prepared to prohibit the impact of domestic wastewater during construction process on site. During operation time, this wastewater will be treated properly by a functionalized water treatment system to meet Vietnamese regulation on water quality before being discharged to the receivers.

§ Washing wastewater 54. The amount of water used for washing trucks and transport vehicles is

estimated at 5-10 m3/day. This wastewater has high value of suspended solid and potentially contains heavy metals. Therefore, it will impact the surface water quality and the aquatic ecosystem at Vinh Tan coastal area. Yet, this impact is insignificant because of low wastewater volume.

§ Industrial wastewater 55. Chemical- contaminated wastewater with the flow of about 30 m³/h and a

diverse chemical composition will affect significantly to environment. Oil- contaminated wastewater generated from production activities with a flow of about 10 m3/h may spread quickly and form a thin layer hindering the interaction between oxygen and water. This reduces the dissolution of oxygen in water causing decrease of self-cleaning capability of the water source as well as significant influences on regional aquatic life. These wastewaters will be treated properly at the wastewater treatment system of the plant.

56. With flow of 50 m3/h, coal- contaminated wastewater contains high content of suspended sediment. However, this wastewater type is assessed as having negligible impacts on environment because it can be handled in coal contaminated wastewater treatment system before being reused in the plant (moisturize ash, cleaning the coal yard).

§ Cooling wastewater 57. According to the Vietnamese regulation on industrial effluent (QCVN

40:2011/BTNMT), the effluent temperature must be below 40oC. With the flow rate of 50m3/s, cooling water of Vinh Tan 4 TPP will increase the water temperature in area of discharging point of Vinh Tan 4 TPP up to 32-33oC (increase 2oC compared to the average temperature).


58. Runoff water once passing by the construction area, plant area or ash yard will bring construction materials, wastes as well as other liquid pollutants including suspended solid, heavy metals, chemicals, etc. to the sea. This contaminated runoff water can also penetrate into the soil to pollute groundwater. Runoff water will be collected separately by preparing berms to lead the flow away from contaminated areas. Furthermore, since the number of rainy days in Binh Thuan is not high and the material storage area will be covered, the impact of rainwater is considered minor.

H. Solid waste

§ Domestic waste: 59. Approximately 200 – 250 kg/day in pre-construction phase, 600-750kg/day

in construction phase and about 400 kg/day in operation phase. Domestic waste will cause inconvenient smell affecting to local residents, plant’s workers and staffs and pollute the environment. The project owner will sign contract with functionalized organizations to collect and disposed the wastes properly.

§ Industrial and hazardous waste: 60. The industrial waste in pre-construction and construction phases contains

mainly concrete, brick and other construction materials at a volume of about 100 – 200 kg/day and 300 – 400 kg/day respectively. These wastes will be collected properly by specialized organizations.

61. Waste from the dredging of 100,000 DWT port which is about 352,720m3 in construction process and 23076.8 m3 during annual maintenance will be reused for land leveling.

62. During operation phase, ash will be released at the rate of 137,248 tons/year; ash will be moved to the Ho Dua ash yard. The project owner will also find potential consumers who use ash for cement production to reduce the pressure on the ash yard.

63. The hazardous wastes are rags used for machinery cleaning, wasted oil, grease and so on. These wastes which are produced in all phases during the lifetime of the project will be collected and treated properly by specialized organizations.

I. Ecosystem

§ Terrestrial ecosystem


64. The project construction will completely replace the fauna system of the area. Yet the area has poor biodiversity value with no rare species specified in Vietnam Red Book. The impact is estimated as unrecoverable but small.

§ Aquatic ecosystem of Hon Cau MPA: 65. In construction phase, the major impacts on the ecosystem of Hon Cau MPA

are going to happen mainly during the leveling period in which the development of aquatic species at site will be affected by increasing turbidity. However, an embankment will be constructed and leveling activities will only be implemented as soon as the embankment construction is completed. Also, despite slight enhance of TSS content at the area during leveling period, TSS level still meets prescribed standard. Overall, the impacts of leveling activities are short-term and insignificant since dredging work will only be carried out within the abovementioned embankment.

66. Oil from transport barges and ships is also a threat to the local aquatic ecosystem. Corresponding mitigation measures include: (i) check on operating condition of ships and barges before using them for the project’s activities, (ii) prohibit releasing oil and grease to the sea during loading and unloading period (iii) ships’ owners are required to sign contract with functionalized organization to wash, collect, treat washed water responsibly.

67. As a featuring species of Vinh Tan coastal area, the response of coral reefs against impact from activities of the project is especially concerned. The leveling and berth dredging processes will permanently destroy coral at the region; this impact is unrecoverable. However, the coral reefs at the project site are not in good condition with mostly dead coral, low coverage. Therefore, the impacts of construction activities on coral reefs are estimated unrecoverable yet medium and localized.

68. In operation phase, discharged cooling water will increase the seawater temperature which is expected to significantly affect the livelihood of aquatic organisms, the ecosystem structure as well as ecological balance. The survey reports that small temperature difference of 1oC will not significantly affect aquatic species, coral, benthos or planktons at the area. However, this impact will be monitored regularly to promptly response to irregular phenomena.

J. Erosion and sedimentation

69. The impacts of dredging, leveling processes on erosion and sedimentation patterns of the area are not significant. They happen mostly near the working


site and adjacent area. In operation phase, cooling water with the flow of 50 m3/s will be released to the sea at a velocity of 1.3 m/s so that erosion risk is not practically possible.

K. Landscape:

70. Transportation to Linh Son Tu pagoda will be harder. Other cultural and religional areas are not affected.

L. Socio-economics

71. Population structure: population structure of the region will be disturbed due to strong migration of workforce from other places. The number of worker is about 1500 people during the construction phase and about 500 people during the operation phase. Conflict between local and migrated people and risks of social evils are indispensable. In order to control such impacts, the project owner will put priority on recruiting local workers for simple works; educate and encourage workers in building good relationship with local residents; liaise closely to the authority to manage the performance of workers.

72. Safety and health: risks of health threats, traffic accidents are at high potential. However, they are assessed controllable by proper management measures. Among them, adequate training on health and labor safety will be especially focused.

73. Potential health impacts during various stages of the Project include transmission of communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS and other STDs, as a result of the influx of a large labor force. Measures to mitigate potential adverse impacts include development of an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign before civil works begin

74. Transportation: traffic density at the area will increase considerably during construction phase but it is estimated short-term until the construction is accomplished. In operation phase, the increase is at low level. Waterway transport is considered to take on more responsibility to reduce the pressure on road traffic, not to interrupt local people’s activities.

75. Tourist: local tourist is not quite developed so that this impact is not considerable.

76. Aquaculture: shrimp farming may be significantly affected by temperature increase due to cooling water discharge. However, the shrimp ponds focus mainly at about 1.5km away from the high temperature area so that the


impact is negligible. Also, shrimp farming is planned by Binh Thuan People’s Committee to be moved to Ganh Hao – Chi Cong area. Furthermore, the project owner will financially support the movement of nearby mobile rafts out of affected area.

M. Reliability of the assessment

77. The assessment used various methods for the prediction of environmental impacts including field investigation, statistics and comparison, modeling, impacts quantitative system and so on. All the methods are widely used and performed by experienced and skillful experts. Therefore, the results of assessment have high reliability.

V. ALTENATIVE ANALYSIS

A. Without Project Option

78. Without the Project, power shortages are expected to continue and worsen throughout the country, particularly in the Central South of Vietnam. From 2011 to 2020, when hydropower sources account for about 32% of total generating capacity, meeting load demand will be difficult, particularly during the dry season. The imbalance between hydropower and thermal power generation must be rectified to stabilize the power supply. The Project, which will start in late 2015, will help alleviate this problem and provide the necessary power supply to meet national socio-economic development goals.

79. Besides, the building of Vinh Tan PC in general and Vinh Tan 4 TPP in particular will reduce power output transmitting from the North to the South. This reduces transmission losses and increases safety power supply system.

80. Cancelling the Project is undesirable since an even greater power shortage would further constrain economic growth and reduce opportunities for employment.

B. Alternative Site location

81. There are other possible sites where coal fired plants could be located. An initial two possible sites, namely Vinh Tan, Ke Ga. In terms of location, the Vinh Tan site was selected for the following reasons: (i) it is advantages on supplying cooling water with the least capital-intensive method of direct cooling of the condenser being by once-through cooling water; (ii) building coal unloading port with capacity of 50000DWT - 10000DWT and (iii)


Utilising valley near project to be ash yard. 82. Master plan of Vinh Tan Power Complex was firstly approved by Industry

Ministry (presently Ministry of Industry and Trade) in Decision no.1532/QD-BCN dated 4/5/2007.

83. Vinh Tan 4 TPP was approved by Ministry of Industry and Trade and the via Decision 1020/QD-BCT on dated 03/03/2012 on adjusted master plan of Vinh Tan Power Complex (adding to Vinh Tan 4 TPP).

84. The construction of Vinh Tan 4 power plant is very convenient because it will take advantage of available infrastructure systems in Vinh Tan Power Complex such as seaport systems, transportation systems, water supply systems and slag yard.

C. Alternative Fuel

85. As planned, Vinh Tan 4 TPP is located in Vinh Tan PC. Therefore, to ensure conformity with the general plan of Vinh Tan PC as well as the convenience of operation and plant maintenance, the main fuel as coal is selected for Vinh Tan 4 TPP.

86. Based on basis balance of ability to produce coal of VietNam National Coal – Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin),Vinacomin has confirmed that domestic coal source is no longer ability to supply for Vinh Tan 4 TPP and committed to provide imported coal for this project (according to Document No.6718/VINACOMIN-XNK dated 21/12/2012 on supplement coal fuel for Vinh Tan 4 TPP in Vinh Tan PC). Imported coal fuel from Indonesia and/or Australia will be chosen for Vinh Tan 4 TPP.

87. Imported coal is sub-bituminous; it has high quality such as low ash content and high calorific value. Therefore, it is suitable for power plant operating at high efficiency and the power plant will consume less fuel and provide better emission and reduce ash quantity. The lower coal consumption of imported coal can make up for the high transporting cost.

D. Alternative Technologies

88. At present, there are three boiler technologies which applying for large-scale, pulverized coal-fired power plant, they are subcritical, supercritical and ultra-supercritical. As usual, subcritical power plants operate at steam pressure of less than 22.1 megapascals and drum-type boilers are used. Supercritical power plants operate at steam pressure of more than 22.1 megapascals and once-through boilers are used. Ultra-supercritical power plants have 2% to


3% higher efficiency than supercritical power plants. 89. Supercritical technology is becoming standard practice in the power industry

in developed economies for large coal-fired power plants due to a higher efficiency than subcritical technology. The lifecycle costs of supercritical plants are lower than those of subcritical plants. A supercritical plant costs about 2% more than a subcritical plant to install, while fuel costs are considerably lower due to the increased efficiency and operating costs. Supercritical plants have lower emissions than subcritical plants per unit of electricity generated. A 1% increase in efficiency reduces the specific emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, particulates, and carbon dioxide by 2.5%–3.0%. More than 400 supercritical plants are operating in the United States, Europe, Russia, and Japan.

90. Up to now, the Ultra-supercritical technology is not used in Vietnam due to the lack of installation, operation and maintenance experiences. In addition, this technology is also constrained by high capital cost.

91. The use of supercritical technology is selected for the Project and would provide the higher coal combustion efficiency, lower emission rate of flue gas and CO2 emission and reduced investment cost for flue gas treatment.

VI. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

92. To properly assess the environmental impacts of the Vinh Tan 4 TPP as well as evaluate the effectiveness of the mitigation measures applied for the abatement of environmental pollution, a program of management and monitoring of the Project will be implemented by Project Owner. Environmental management plan and main environmental monitoring programme for Vinh Tan 4 TPP is summarized in Tables following.

93. The project management board (MB) will organize and establish a Safety and Environment section for the whole project.

94. This department will be in charge of carrying out the following functions as allocated by the MB:

- To ensure operation of the plant and to comply with standards and legal regulations of Vietnam on environmental protection;

- To cooperate and keep close relationship with local residents and related agencies (e.g. firefighting agency, environmental protection agency, etc)


in Vinh Tan commune for environment and safety issues.

- To regularly check and monitor environmental issues, safety and environmental incidents for whole plant area.

- To draw out plans on managing environment, safety and incidents for the plant.

- To conduct internal environmental monitoring and supervision.

- Storing results of environmental monitoring.


Table 1. Summary of Main Environmental Management plan

Project activities Environmental impacts Mitigation measures Implementation

Pre-construction phase and Construction Phase Clearance work An area of 9.73 ha will be

withdrawed for the project, that causes impacts on livelihood of households.

Compensation and resettlement program are implemented to support households who are affected by land acquisition for the project.

Project Owner

Construction of infrastructure and installation of equipment.

Increase in air pollution, water pollution, noise and wastes

Limit operating time from 6 am to 10 pm. During dry days, periodic watering of transportation roads and construction site will be necessary for dust control. Cover transportation vehicles and loose material storage piles at site to prevent windblown dust. Solid waste is classified into hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste before being reused or transported to landfill. Oil tanks and chemical tanks are placed in embanked area to prevent leakage. Wastewater is collected and treated before being discharged into environment. Drainage system is designed to settle suspended solid before discharged into sea. Vessels are equipped with oil separators. Solid waste is collected on board.

Contractor Project Owner

Construction of embankment and sea encroachment

Impact on Hon Cau MPA. Increase in turbidity. Impact on flow regime.

Build embankment around leveling area with special structure to prevent erosion. Leveling work must commerce after finishing construction of embankment. Fixed recovery vessels are installed on sea level to recovery oil and solid waste produced from barges and construction process




on the sea

Dredging port Impacts on aquatic biota in dredging zone

Methods of execution must be carried out strictly in accordance with processes and procedures. Dredging will only carry out in two breakwaters Disposal of domestic solid waste, oil sludge and oily cloth to water sources is forbidden. Dredged area must be positioned by buoys, signal lights as follow regulations of marine safety.


Construction labor Increase in water pollution, and wastes

Equipping mobile toilets or constructing septic tanks in camp. Domestic solid waste will be collected daily Sign contract with local environmental service company to collect and discharge sewage and wastes


Operation phase Operation of plant Air emission, noise and

vibration

Build stack with height of 210m for flue gas dispersion. Apply low NOx burner to minimize NOx concentration in air emission. Install ESP and seaFGD system to reduce concentration of dust, SOx in air emissions. Install CEMS to ongoing monitor concentration, flow rate and temperature of flue gases. Green belt planting Install windshield along coal conveyor. Spray water during coal unloading process.

Project Owner

Water pollution Industrial wastewater, Coal contaminated wastewater and oily wastewater will be treated to meet QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT,

Project Owner



category B, Kf=0.9, Kq=1 before being discharged. Domestic wastewater will be treated to meet QCVN 14:2008/BTNMT, then reuse for acceptable purposes.

Solid waste For industrial and domestic solid waste: Solid waste is collected and stored in containers for movement and treatment. For hazardous waste: Owner will prepare documents, registration of hazardous wastes with the DONRE of Binh Thuan province. Sign contract with agencies licensed in hazardous waste business to collect and process

Project Owner

Intake and discharge of cooling water

Apply technical measures such as screens or high flow self-cleaning aquatic sieve, and behavioral barriers to prevent fish death. Cooling water is released by two steel pipe systems 4x4 m, cooling water temperature decreases significantly due to evaporation process;

Project Owner

Noise Build noise baffle wall for turbine and place generator at separate place Install noise reduction equipment for high noise level sources

Project Owner

Water pollution due to wastewater of coal port.

All wastewater from coal port will be transported and treated at the coal contaminated wastewater treatment system in Vinh Tan 4 power plant. Collect and classify solid waste (domestic solid waste, hazardous solid waste) at sources.

Project Owner

Ash yard Ash management system Storage of ash in silos and transportation by truck Water spraying in ash yard to avoid fugitive dust generation from wind.

Project Owner



Ash utilization The plant will find specialized customer to consume the ash volume for making the concrete, cement or to produce bricks.

Project Owner

Incidents Air, water and soil pollution. Impacts on workers and local residents.

Provide training on emergency response for workers. Regularly dredge approach channel and turning basin to ensure breadth and depth for movement of ships. Prevention and response measures for spill and explosion of sea port of Vinh Tan 4 power plant will be carried out together with Vinh Tan 2’s.

Project Owner

Fire protection Air, soil and water pollution. Impact on local residents and workers.

Fire protection system is designed with functions such as fire detection, fire warning, alert, control and extinction.

Project Owner


Table 2. Main Environmental Monitoring Program

Items Monitoring positions Monitoring frequency Monitoring parameters Implement

1 3 4 5 8 The pre-construction phase and construction

Ambient environment monitoring

Air quality 5 points

Every 6 months Temperature, moisture, wind direction and speed, TSP, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO.

Project Owner

Noise The same positions as air monitoring points.

Every 6 months

LAeq: Average level LAmax: Maximum level LAN,T: percent level

Project Owner

Vibration The same positions as air monitoring points.

Every 6 months

Vibration velocity Vibration acceleration Vibration range.

Project Owner

Water quality 5 positions for surface water + 3 positions for groundwater

Every 6 months

pH, temp, DO, EC, turbidity, TDS, COD, BOD, NH4

+, NO3-, Cl-, total Coliform,

grease, Cd, As, Pb, Hg, Fe, Cr, Zn.

Project Owner

Biological monitoring

The same positions as surface water monitoring points

Every 12 months Phytoplankton (qualitative, quantitative) Zooplankton (qualitative, quantitative) Zoobenthos (qualitative, quantitative) Aquatic ecosystem

Project Owner

The operation phase

Waste monitoring Emissions in stack

Each stack Continuous PM10, SO2, NO2, CO. Project Owner


Items Monitoring positions Monitoring frequency Monitoring parameters Implement

1 3 4 5 8 Cooling water At discharging point Continuous Flow, temperature, and residual

Chlorine. Project Owner

Ambient environment monitoring

Air quality The same positions as air monitoring points in construction phase.

Every 6 months

Temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, TSP, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO.

Project Owner

Noise The same positions as air monitoring points.

Every 6 months

LAeq: Average level LAmax: Maximum level LAN,T: percent level

Project Owner

Vibration The same positions as air monitoring points.

Every 6 months Vibration velocity Vibration acceleration Vibration range

Project Owner

Water quality The same positions as water monitoring points in the construction phase.

Every 6 months pH, temperature, DO, EC, turbidity, TDS, COD, BOD, Cl-, total Coliform, grease, Cd, As, Pb, Hg, Fe, Cr, Zn.

Project Owner

Biological monitoring

The same positions as water monitoring points.

Every 12 months

Phytoplankton (qualitative, quantitative) Zooplankton (qualitative, quantitative) Zoobenthos (qualitative, quantitative) Aquatic ecosystem

Project Owner

Socio – economic

Every 12 months

Project Owner


VII. CONSULTATION WITH RELEVANT PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT

95. The project owner (Vinh Tan Thermal Power Project Management Board) has required opinions from local authority and related organizations including Vinh Tan commune People’s Committee, Fatherland Front’s Committee, Hon Cau MPA and Association of breeding shrimp of Binh Thuan province via Letters on May 16 of 2012. All the organizations basically agree with environmental assessment and mitigation measures of the project owner. Additional comments can be summarized as follows: (i) the project owner must implement all the proposed appropriate compensation policy, mitigation measures rigorously, take on responsibility for accidents and environmental degradation as occur; (ii) the project must supply enough information for the residents and authorities, positively contribute to the improvement of local infrastructure and people’s knowledge; (iii) The project owner must manage all waste release effectively not to affect the quality of ambient air, soil and water; (iv) all the organizations basically agree with environmental assessment and mitigation measures of the project owner.

96. Opinions of local people who may or may not be affected by the establishment of the project were also collected. Generally, the residents’ opinion can be summarized as follows: (i) the income will be decreased due to inhibition of onshore fishing by leveling activities; (ii) The operation of the plant throughout the years will affect the local human health; (iii) Precise information should be delivered to all the residents; (iv) The project owner should support the improvement of local infrastructure (road, electricity and water supply systems)

97. Based on the received opinions, the project owner has committed: (i) to comply strictly all regulations and laws of the Government and functionalized organizations; (ii) to treat all kinds of waste properly before discharging to the environment; (iii) to implement rigorously all proposed measures to mitigate negative impacts on natural and socio-economic conditions of the region due to the construction and operation of the power plant; (iv) to support and compensate reasonably for all affected stakeholders and support the improvement of local infrastructure and labor force.


VIII. CONCLUSION

98. Due to high demand for economic growth, Vietnam is coping with the matter of power supply, particularly in the dry season. Vinh Tan 4 TPP with capacity of 1200MW will play an important role in stability of power supply for industrial, agricultural, commercial and supporting the rapid economic growth of Viet Nam. In addition, the plant will use supercritical steam technology, which will provide greater efficiency than conventional subcritical coal-fired power plants and require lower coal consumption as well as minimize impacts on environment.

99. The anticipated project impacts were thoroughly assessed. Potential adverse effects to the physical, biological, and social aspects have been identified for the construction, and operation phases. In order to mitigate impacts of flue gas generated during fossil fuel combustion in the power plant on ambient atmosphere, air pollution control systems included low NOx burner, high efficiency ESPs, SeaFGD and 210m high stacks are applied. Furthermore, domestic and industrial wastewater treatment system will be designed to treat all types of wastewater generated from the plant to meet National technical regulations before discharging into receiver.

100. All project-affected people will be compensated for their losses and to be provided with rehabilitation measures, where necessary, to help them improve on or sustain their living standards and income-generating capacity.

101. An environmental management program which includes mitigation measures and a monitoring program for Vinh Tan 4 TPP have been developed to control environmental protection performance.

vinh tan 4_summary environmental impact assesment_appendix 3

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