GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 7098

PURSUANT to regulation 21 of the Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Impact Assessment and Audit) Regulations, 2003, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has received an Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report for the above proposed project. The proponent, Chief Officer, Department of Irrigation, Mandera County Government, is proposing to construct an Irrigation Scheme Project on a parcel of land located at Koromey Village, Mandera East Sub-County, Mandera County. The proposed project will entail construction of 225 cubic metres masonry tank, drip irrigation installation, intake works at river Daua, access road and flood protection works in Mandera County. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Impact Proposed Mitigation Measures Air Pollution • Prohibit idling of vehicles at site during excavation. • Spraying water on dusty materials/workplace. • Regular maintenance of construction plant and equipment. Impact Proposed Mitigation Measures • Enclosing the site where possible • Wetting all active construction areas as and when necessary to lay dust. • Appropriately cover all trucks hauling soil, sand and other loose materials or require all trucks to maintain at least two feet of freeboard. • Pave, apply water when necessary, or apply (non-toxic) soil stabilizers on all unpaved access roads, parking areas and staging areas at construction sites; and • Sweep when necessary (with physical sweepers) all paved access roads, parking areas and staging areas at construction sites. • The engine size of the construction equipment shall be the minimum practical size. • The number of construction equipment operating simultaneously shall be minimized through efficient management practices. • Construction equipment shall be maintained in tune per the manufacturers specifications; • Vehicle idling time shall be minimized; and • Equipment shall be properly tuned and maintained. Oil and chemical • Proper storage, handling and disposal of oil spills and wastes from machinery. • Discourage servicing of machinery and vehicles on site except on containment area. Soil Erosion and • Remediate contaminated soil. contamination • Landscaping. • Ensure management of excavation activities. • Control activities especially during rainy conditions. • Provide soil erosion control and conservation structures where necessary. • Proper disposal of excavated loose soil. • If contaminated land is identified further investigate and develop a remediation plan. • Develop appropriate management and disposal methods for contaminated soils and other materials. • Dispose of contaminated soils to authorized facilities on-site or off-site in accordance with disposal permits. • Design fuel, oil and chemical storage areas in accordance with Kenyan Standards. • If dispersive soils are necessary to be incorporated as construction material, undertake appropriate treatment of the soil first. • Undertake appropriate measures required to stabilize the soil moisture content of shrink and swell soils. • Manage works during the wet season and erosive rainfall events bearing in mind that mud slips can occur and can be hazardous. • Appropriately manage works and avoid increasing the risk of erosion. • Manage soils that are at risk of becoming waterlogged. 18th September, 2020 THE KENYA GAZETTE 3669 Impact Impact Fire Risks Proposed Mitigation Measures • Manage acidic and alkaline soils. • Rehabilitate disturbed areas once construction is completed. • Develop and implement erosion and sediment control management plan. • To enhance health and safety preparedness among workers. • Ensure equipment is in good working condition. • Put up emergency response contracts. • Put up Emergency Response Procedures notification instructions. Proposed Mitigation Measures • Where possible encourage the use of environmentally friendly fuels such as lead- free fuels. • Provide adequate parking facilities within the premises. • Prohibit parking of construction vehicles along access road. • Firm to deploy adequate security personnel to guide traffic, parking and movement within the compound. • Install heavy truck turning signs at safe distance along pipeline road (during the construction period for transporting construction materials). Noise and vibrations Interference with Terrestrial and aquatic ecology • • • • Waste generation • • Put up simple instructions on how to handle fires, products spills LPG incidents, armed robbery and product contaminations. • A fire evacuation plan must be posted in various points of the project site including procedures to take when a fire is reported. All workers must be trained on fire management and fire drills undertaken regularly. • A fire assembly point must be identified and labeled accordingly. Visual intrusion • Use of commercial bill boards to keep construction activities out of sight from the immediate neighborhood. • Expedition of construction as far as is technically viable so as to minimize adverse visual impact. • Landscaping and gardening to restore biodiversity and aesthetic property of the project. • Ensure proper waste collection and disposal. • Provide first AID kit at site. • Sensitize . residents/workers on environmental management. • Eliminate breeding of mosquitoes. • Workers should be trained on occupational health and safety and first Aid administration. • Train staff on petroleum product handling. • Sensitize workers on HIV and AIDS. • Encourage residents to maintain high standards of personal cleanliness; Keep the premises and its environment (surroundings) clean always. • Investigate cause of an accident at the workplace and keep record of accidents that occur at the workplace. • Review cause of an accident and develop response, such as variation of OHS plans and strategy or risk awareness to all employees. • Implement controls as stated in the OHS strategy. • Construction activities should be done only during the day. • Place sign posts at strategic point to notify public of the development. • Put speed caution labels to avoid accidents. • Construction activities to be restricted to daytime. • Workers in the vicinity involved in high level noise to wear respective safety and protective gear i.e. earplugs. • Low noise selection of machinery. • Enclose the site. • Use low noise equipment. Install portable barriers to shield compressors and other small stationary equipment where necessary. Use of quiet equipment (i.e. equipment designed with noise control elements). Limit pick-up trucks and other small equipment to a minimum idling time and observe a common sense approach to vehicle use, and encourage workers to shut off vehicle engines whenever possible. Provision of appropriate personnel protective equipment. Ensure detailed design and specifications are undertaken so as to minimize the generation of waste during construction and the durability of materials is considered. • Locate material and stockpiling areas within the construction corridor until its ultimate destination is determined. Appropriately manage stockpile areas and storage areas. • Dispose non-recyclable construction materials at a licensed waste facility and avoid fly-tipping. Ensure used furniture and equipment from decommissioning is sold off/reused or donated to charity where possible. Otherwise dispose of at an appropriately licensed landfill. Recycle steel off cuts or scrap or send it to scrap metal recycler. • Recycle any ballast that cannot be reused as ballast and remove excess ballast and clean fill off site for reuse, as possible. • Erect temporary fencing around the construction zones in accordance with an approved site management plan. • Right-of-way boundaries and sensitive areas shall be clearly marked with flagging tape prior to clearing. • Right-of-way clearing will be limited to the area required for construction, operation and maintenance of temporary diversion routes and permanent alignment. Occupational Health & Safety risks Impact Land disputes and grievance management Proposed Mitigation Measures • Formulating a detailed Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) process. • Identify and list all the Project Affected People (PAP) by type of losses and extent of project stages in an Entitlement Matrix. • Consult Affected Persons (AP's) on, and offer choices among technically and economically feasible resettlement alternatives. • Compensate those affected according to the official market rates. • Provide allowances and other assistance to make a smooth transition after displacement. • Implement an institutional structure or a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the compensation/resettlement process. • Involving the Resident Engineer and Project manager in the grievance redress mechanism processes. • Building capacity of GRM committees to receive and handle grievances. • Facilitate the GRM committees to handle a wide range of grievances in their respective areas. • Expose GRM committees to paralegal training to improve capacity to arbitrate grievances. • Strengthen the capacity of GRM committees to handle such tools as stakeholder register, feedback form, grievance form, commitment register and grievance log form. Cultural heritage • To recognize, respect and protect cultural and natural heritage and social bonding during Design Phase, Construction Phase and Operation Phase of the Project. • Ensure community participation in decisions regarding heritage conservation, and realize that the cultural and spiritual importance of heritage sites and properties may be very location-specific. • Educate workers on the cultural sensitivities in the host communities. • Culture clash -Identify with the host communities during festivals. Child protection • Workers sensitization on child protection issues. • Workers signing code of conduct. • Constructing entertainment facilities at the camps to reduce interaction with children outside the camps. • Verification of age through national identification cards/passports for workers. • Build capacity of village volunteer child monitors to enhance awareness on child protection in their respective catchment areas. • Setting up of hotline for reporting incidences of child abuse and the number posted at strategic places within the project area. • Encourage village volunteer child monitors to work closely with the office of chief and department of children on issues of child protection. Impact Proposed Mitigation Measures • Involve grievance redress mechanism committees, NGO's and department of children to support child protection processes. Climate change • Sprinkling water along the dusty prone areas to avoid dust from covering the existing vegetation. • Growing trees and flowers in the campsite. Also plans are underway of planting trees at the areas affected by the project at the end of the project. • Bush clearing is only restricted to the road reserve and the borrow pit areas. Some trees are spared at the borrow pit. • Use of firewood and charcoal is highly discouraged. • Burning of dry solid waste is not allowed. • Waste is properly managed at all project sites. • Portable clean and safe water is provided at the offices and water taps are installed at the strategic areas at the campsite and the crusher site. The workers will be provided with the washing bays at their residential areas. • There is a water resource management plan to ensure sustainable management of the scarce resource. The full report of the proposed project is available for inspection during working hours at: (g) Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NHIF Building, Community, P.O. Box 30126-00100, Nairobi. (h) Director-General, NEMA, Popo Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839-00200, Nairobi. (i) County Director of Environment, Mandera County. A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.nema.go.ke 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 regarding this plan. Comments can also be emailed to dgnema@nema.go.ke MAMO B. MAMO, Ag. Director-General, MR/1324503 National Environment Management Authority.