GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 930

PURSUANT to regulation 21 of Environmental (Impact Assessment and Audit) regulations, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has received an Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report for the implementation of the proposed longonot geothermal power project. The project will involve construction of associated steam field and infrastructure. comprising approximately of 26 production wells, eight injection wells and seventeen well pads. 3rd February, 2012 THE KENYA GAZETTE The proposed Longonot geothermal prospect is located in the Kenya Rift Valley approximately 60 km northwest of Nairobi and 10 km east of the Olkaria geothermal development. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Environmental Issues Mitigation Measure Vegetation and habitat disturbance • Protect migration routes. • Minimise periods of well testing to minimize disturbance to animals. • Timing of well testing to avoid effects on hunter prey dynamics. • Protect any local populations of protected, important or endangered species. Avian behavior • Incorporate spikes on top of the well head separators (towers next to wells) to prevent use by birds of prey. • Use of dual circuit transmission lines – these have 2 x 3 power lines in a vertical alignment with sufficient space between them to prevent collision with large birds. • Use of insulation around connections on pylons to prevent electrocution of birds. • Avoiding habitat removal during the breeding bird season. • Use of horizontal separators which reduce the volume of steam emissions. Minimizing habitat loss • Using temporary fencing to prevent inadvertent damage to habitats adjacent to the construction area. • Ensure the way leave area width is at its minimum for least Removal of vegetatio. • Re-planting of vegetation where appropriate with locally occurring vegetation to prevent the incursion of opportunistic invasive species. • Undertake selective clearance by removing tall woody species leaving saplings, for quick regeneration of vegetation along the way-leave. • Avoid pilling of clear-felled vegetation on standing live vegetation which would hinder movement of wildlife. Disrupting key Wildlife corridors • Throughout the design stage ensure that the plant layout does not site near key corridors. • Protect migration routes. • Raise pipelines in key locations. Pollutant emissions from well testing • Minimise periods of well testing. Vehicle emissions during construction • Turn off idling vehicles. • Design well pad to ensure haul roads are as far away as possible from sensitive habitats. Fugitive dust emissions from the construction of road infrastructure • Construction equipment will be designed and used in a manner which minimizes dust generation. • Water spray dampening of soils and spoil will be undertaken to prevent dust blow during hot, dry weather conditions. • Careful location, grading and management of stockpiles of soil and similar materials to prevent wind blow • Sealing and / or revegetation of completed earthworks will be undertaken as soon as reasonably practicable. • Preparation of surfaced site roads early in the construction programme – on unsurfaced areas of the site, vehicle speeds will be limited to less than 20 mph. • Sheeting of lorries during transportation of friable construction materials and spoil. • Minimising drop heights for material transfer activities, such as unloading of friable materials. • Cleaning of surfaced roads and maintenance of unsurfaced roads to reduce offsite transport of soils and to avoid dust generation Wheel washing facilities for vehicles entering the public road system. Emitting harmful gases • Technological options that include total or partial reinjection of gases with geothermal fluids. • Timing venting to when the ambient conditions are suitable. • Use of abatement systems to remove H2S and Hg emissions from NCGs. Noise emissions from well testing and from HDVs • Well maintained plant and vehicles. • Localized screening where appropriate. • Selecting equipment with lower sound power levels or further reducing source noise levels by increasing the performance of attenuators. • The location of noise emitting plant as far as practicable from any sensitive receptors and directivity could be used, particularly with regard to fans and cooling systems. Presence of Workers Camp • Produce Social Management Plan. • Produce a Construction Camp Management Plan. Soil erosion during well pad formation and construction of facility • Appropriate design of foundation installations taking into account the management of soils and water and the possibility of encountering shallow groundwater. Spillages • Best site management practices will be adopted to reduce the potential for leaks/spillages of potentially polluting substances. Creating slurry from the damping down of dust. • Mitigation includes ensuring excess water is not used in damping down operations. Discharges of wastewater • Waters from the process should be reinjected. Reduction of lake water levels and degradation of ground water resource • The use of brine and/or steam condensate from the first wells will be investigated. This would significantly reduce the temporary raw water supply requirements. • Undertake water supply options assessment. Increased storm water runoff from roads and well pads • Storm water from the production and injection pads will be collected separately on each pad site. Storm water generated within any high risk area of any well pad will drain to the drilling sumps and soak into ground. Other storm water generated from within the well pads will collect at the pad boundaries where it will be allowed to soak into ground. Drainage will likely consist of V-shaped miter drains on either side of the access roads with soak away sumps at 200m intervals to prohibit excessive runoff and sediment erosion. THE KENYA GAZETTE 3rd February, 2012 292 292 Drill cuttings and fluids • Reuse of drilling fluid, where feasible • Disposal of water based drilling fluids into the bore hole following toxicity assessment. Water based cuttings are typically reused if they are non-toxic (e.g. as construction fill) or disposed of in a suitable facility. Construction waste can cause pollution, contamination and a burden to the local waste infrastructure • Minimise construction waste through use of construction waste management plan. • Grade and sort benign waste such as wood off-cuts on site into different categories and make this available at no cost to the local community to take away and reuse. • All waste metals generated on site during the construction Phase should be collected separately and stored in a suitable, secure location prior to disposal. Contaminated waste metals will require recovery by a suitable waste contractor for decontamination, if available. “Clean” waste metals can be recycled within the community. • Wherever possible, uncontaminated building rubble will be utilized within the site for hardcore or other land reclamation purposes. Contaminated building rubble will be sent off site to a suitable disposal facility capable of treating or disposing of the material without the loss of contamination at the disposal site, either by leaching or other mechanism. Health and Safety • Produce a Health and Safety system based on the requirements of ISO18001. • Health and Safety Plan to include a process hazard analysis and HAZOP. • Blowout and Pipeline Failure Plan. • Fire Safety and Emergency response Plans. • Fire and emergency alarms/ precautions etc to be implemented in the design. Interaction between the development/ workforce and the local community • Produce a HIV/AIDS framework in line with IFC guidelines. • Produce a Community Development Plan to guide community interactions. • Consultation Programme. The full report of the proposed project is available for inspection during working hours at: (a) Director-General, NEMA, Popo Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839-00200, Nairobi. (b) Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, NHIF Building, Community, P.O. Box 30521, Nairobi. (c) Provincial Director of Environment, Rift Valley Province. (d) District Environment Officer, Naivasha District. The National Environment Management Authority invites members of the public to submit oral or written comments within thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice to the Director General, NEMA, to assist the Authority in the decision making process of the plan. SALOME MACHUA, for Director-General, MR8585887 National Environment Management Authority.