EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DRAFT REPORT

Environmental Impact Assessment

for
Proposed 2 X 500 MW Thermal
Power Plant
t
Neulapoi, District Dhenkanal, Orissa

Laboratory Recognised by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India

An ISO 9001:2000 & 14001:2004 Company
Bengal Ambuja Commercial Complex
UN-F13, 1050/1, Survey Park, Kolkata - 700 075, W.B
 - (033) 2418 8127/8128/8601, Fax : (033) 2418 8128
e-mail : eeplkol@gmail.com, eeplkol@vsnl.net

April 2009
 CESC Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for 2x500 MW coal
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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

CESC Limited, an RPG Group company, is 110 years old private
sector public utility Company engaged in generation and distribution
of power in its licensed area covering 567 sq. km. in the metropolis of
Kolkata. It proposes to set up a 2x500 MW coal based thermal power
station near the coal fields of Orissa. The site is situated at Neulapoi
village in Dhenkanal district of Orissa. CESC proposes to install the
station in the above space taking advantages of the improved
infrastructure available near Dhenkanal town.

1.2 DEMAND ANALYSIS AND JUSTIFICATION

2x500 MW Thermal Power Plant of CESC Ltd. is being taken up as a
base load coal based thermal power plant. The project is being
implemented for meeting the power demand of Orissa and other
willing States of Eastern Region. The National Electricity Policy has
set up the goal of adding new generation capacity to not only
eliminate energy and peaking shortages but also to have a spinning
reserve of 5% in the system. Considering the above, CESC Thermal
Power Plant (2x500 MW) (Planned to be commissioned in the early
12th Plan) is, therefore, justified from demand supply consideration.

1.3 LAND REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY

For 2x500 MW thermal power plant, around 443 Ha. will be required
for Plant, Raw Water Storage, Green Belt, Ash Disposal etc. The break
up of the land requirement is as follows:

Land Requirement Area (in Hectares)

Main Plant (including power plant, water
treatment plant & reservoir, adm. building etc.) 145 Ha.
Green Belt 148 Ha.
Ash Disposal Area 120 Ha.
Others (rail, road, intake pipe corridors) 30 Ha.
Total 443 Ha.

1.4 FUEL REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY

For 2x500 MW TPP, raw coal is proposed to be used as a base fuel.
Coal from Talcher coalfield has been considered for this project.

The daily coal requirement shall be about 14760 tonnes based on

gross calorific value of 4000 Kcal/Kg, @ MCR and 2460 Kcal/KWh
unit heat rate. The annual coal requirement would be about
4.58 MTPA considering 90% plant load factor.

Executive Summary Envirotech East (P) Limited

 CESC Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for 2x500 MW coal
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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

1.5 WATER REQUIREMENT & AVAILABILITY

The source of water for the project shall be River Brahmani which
flows in the north direction at a distance of about 6 km w.r.t. the
project site. An intake well, located near village Kotapala, at about 10
km distance from the project site has been considered. The raw water
will be conveyed to the reservoir at the project site through a pipeline.
The reservoir will have the total reserve capacity of around 10 days’
requirement of water. Make up water requirement for this project
would be about 4534 m3/hr. (around 45 Cusec).

1.6 ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT STUDY

In order to identify the environmental impacts due to the construction
and operation of the project and its associated facilities, and draw a
suitable environmental management plan to mitigate adverse
impacts, if any, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study has
been undertaken. M/s CESC have retained M/s Envirotech East
(Pvt.) Ltd., Kolkata to carry out Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) Study. The study covers the disciplines of Land Use,
Demography & Socio-economics, Soils, Water Quality, Meteorology,
Air Quality, Terrestrial Ecology, Aquatic Ecology and Noise. The study
covers the baseline data generation, predictions and evaluation of
impact on various environmental components and formulation of
Environmental Monitoring Plan and Disaster Management Plan.

The baseline environmental scenario has been established through

primary data generated in the study area and secondary data
available at site/published in literature. The field monitoring was
undertaken during the period (1st December 2008 - 28th February
2009).

1.7 BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCENARIO

The proposed unit (2x500 MW Captive Power Plant) of CESC Ltd. is
situated at Neulapoi village in Dhenkanal district of Orissa. The
graphical coordinates of the plant site are 20°447N and 85°4023E.
The site already has proper road linkage for transport of materials
and equipments. The plant will be located about 12 km from NH-42
connecting the Cuttack-Sambalpur road. Joranda town and
Dhenkanal are at distances of 11 kms. and 12 kms. respectively from
the site. Nearest railway station is Joranda on Talcher-Cuttack
section of SE railway. The nearest port is Paradeep (220 km). The
nearest airport is Bhubaneswar Airport, which is about 57 km away
from the project site. The Brahmani River flows from west to north
east direction w.r.t. the proposed site.

1.7.1 LAND USE

The land use pattern of the study area has been established based
on Census Data of 2001 and interpretation of Satellite Imageries. The
analysis of satellite data indicates that the area is predominantly

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 CESC Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for 2x500 MW coal
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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

occupied by agricultural land (39.75%). The forest comprise of about

6.15% of the land area while culturable waste covers about 2.96% of
the land area. 9.36% of the land is not available for cultivation.
Remaining land is occupied by rivers, water bodies, hills, valleys etc.
and not included in the village directory of Census Data. Analysis of
the Satellite Imagery indicates that 30.52% of the study area is
agricultural land while 16.46% of the area is covered under
settlements. Forests, plantations and scrubs cover 14.33% of the
study area and river and water bodies cover 3.55% of the study area.

1.7.2 GEOLOGY & SOIL

The study area forms a part of North-East upland of Orissa, which is
rolling and multiplying the ground slopes from a height of 776 ft. to a
height of 460 ft. The thick blanket of alluvial soil all over the district
has been made somewhat sticky by the yellow earth developing in the
undulating topography of the district.

The physico-chemical characteristics and nutrient levels in soil were

measured at three locations in the study area during the study
period. Soil in the study area was sandy loam with pH ranging
between 7.5-7.7. Bulk density was found in the range of (1.44-1.63)
gm/cm3. Nitrogen was found to be in the range of (9.7-11.2) mg/100
gm. Organic matter varied between (0.65-0.82)%.

1.7.2 AIR QUALITY

To establish the background data on air quality, ambient air quality
monitoring was conducted at 10 (ten) appropriate locations within the
study area at a frequency of twice a week during, adopting a
continuous 24-hour schedule during the study period (December’08
– February’09).

The overall mean of 24-hourly average values of SPM, RPM, SO2 and
NOx in the area (mean of all the 10 locations) were 157.6, 55.2, 6.4
and 23.4 µg/m3 respectively.

The values of all the pollutants at the respective locations were below
the permissible limits as stipulated in the National Ambient Air
Quality standards, applicable for industrial areas.

1.7.3 METEOROLOGY
The climate of the area is tropical humid and generally variable,
characterised by four distinct seasons namely summer (March to
May), monsoon (June to September), post-monsoon (October to
November) and winter (December to February). May is the hottest and
January is the coldest month.

An on-site meteorological observatory was set up near the project site,

which was operated continuously for three months’ period
(1st December 2008 - 28th February 2009). The parameters

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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

monitored on a daily/hourly basis at this observatory included

temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed
and wind direction. During the said monitoring period, the monthly
mean wind speed measured on-site varied between 3.6 Km/hr and
4.02 Km/hr. The overall mean wind speed during the period was 3.84
km/hr. The most predominant wind direction was ‘W’.

1.7.4 WATER QUALITY

The main surface water body in the study area is Bramhani River.
The Bramhani River flows from west to north east direction w.r.t. the
project site.
The water quality of Bramhani River was assessed near the proposed
raw water intake point. Besides, the water quality of three (3) ponds
in the study area were identified for the assessment of surface water
quality. Ground water quality was monitored at four (4) locations
during the study period (December 2008 to February 2009) and
were analysed for relevant physical and chemical parameters
including heavy metals and toxic constituents.

Water of Bramhani River was in a pretty healthy and clean state at

the monitored section. The ground water in the study area is free of
any kind of pollution and has been found to be generally fit for
human consumption.

1.7.5 NOISE
It is observed from the ambient noise monitoring carried out at 10
locations around the project site that the day and night time noise
levels beyond the plant boundary, in general, satisfied the acceptable
quality. For Industrial type, the day time equivalent noise level varied
between (71.5-72.8) dB (A), while at night time, it ranged between
(57.6-64.2) dB (A). For commercial type, the day time equivalent noise
level was ranged between (56.8-62.5) dB (A), while at night time, it
ranged between (42.1-44.5) dB (A). For Residential type, the day time
equivalent noise level varied between (52.4-59.7) dB (A) while at night
time, it ranged between (40.1-43.4) dB (A). For Silence zone, the day
time equivalent noise level varied between (57.4-59.7) dB (A) while at
night time, it ranged between (40.8-47.1) dB (A).

1.7.6 ECOLOGY
The area under study is characterized by normal tropical dry
deciduous plantation. Topographically, the area is surrounded by two
hills, namely Rupabalia Mountain range & Kapilash Hills. Due to
presence of hills, there is no such dense vegetation, but presence of
some barren lands is observed. Most of the plantations are natural.

1.7.7 DEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIO-ECONOMICS

The proposed project will be located in Dhenkanal district of Orissa.
71 villages in Dhenkanal district fall under the area of 10 km radius

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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

around the proposed project.

Total population of the study area is 64,463 (as per 2001 Census).
The sex ratio is about 931 females per 1000 males. The literacy rate
was 61.2 % of the total population in 2001. The male literacy rate was
69.7% (of total male population), whereas corresponding figures for
the female literacy rate was 52.2% (of total female population) in
2001. Out of the total population (i.e. 416601) in the study area, 77%
constitute main workers.

1.8 ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS &

MITIGATION MEASURES
1.8.1 LAND USE
The proposed thermal power plant (2x500 MW) shall be installed in
around 443 hectares of land at Neulapoi village in Dhenkanal district
of Orissa. The land is fully vacant land, free from habitation.

The construction activities attract a sizeable population and influx of

population is likely to be associated with construction of temporary
hutment for construction work force. However, this will be only a
temporary change and shall be restricted to construction period. As
soon as the construction phase is over, the land use pattern modified
to meet the requirement of construction phase shall be reversed.
In view of the above, no change in land use pattern is envisaged due
to construction and operation of the project

1.8.2 AIR QUALITY

The predictions for air quality during operation phase were carried
out for increase in ground level concentration (GLC) of suspended
particulate matter (SPM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of
Nitrogen (NOx) using “Industrial Source Complex Model” developed
by the US Environmental protection Agency (USEPA) and
meteorological data recorded at site. The maximum predicted
incremental GLCs for SO2, NOx & SPM are 36.69, 17.94 and 1.19
µg/m3 respectively and these were observed in the ‘East’ direction at
distance of 2 km.

1.8.3 WATER QUALITY

While developing the water system for the project, utmost care has
been taken to maximize the recycle/ reuse of effluents and minimize
effluent quantity. As there will be no discharge of any effluent outside
the plant boundary, there will be no impact on the surface water
quality of the area.

1.8.4 NOISE
The operation of the proposed TPP is expected to generate relatively
high and continuous noise levels especially near Compressor House

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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

of TPP. However, all the machineries will be within the permissible

noise limit as per Environment Protection Act.

Operational activities are not expected to cause any undue

disturbances to the people living in the proximate areas outside the
plant boundary. Impacts of noise on workers could be minimised
through the adoption of adequate protective measures in the form of
(a) use of personal protective equipment (ear plugs, ear muffs etc.), (b)
education and public awareness, and (c) exposure control through
the rotation of work assignments in the intense noise areas.

1.8.5 ECOLOGY
The surrounding area of the proposed TPP has some vegetation in the
form of village orchards, roadside trees and agriculture. If the gaseous
emission is controlled properly, there will not be significant impact.
There will be sufficient plantation of trees at the plant site. All these
measures, if implemented properly will ensure insignificant impact on
the local vegetation from the proposed project and may improve the
vegetation scenario of the area.

The runoff from construction area may lead to a short-term increase

in suspended solids and decrease in dissolved oxygen near the
discharge point in receiving water body. This may lead to a temporary
decrease in the photosynthetic activity of phyto-planktons, rise in
anaerobic conditions and food chain modification. However, for major
part of the year during construction phase, no detectable impact is
expected because water quality will not change significantly.

1.8.6 DEMOGRAPHY & SOCIO ECONOMICS

As the area is close to Dhenkanal Town, the skilled people from the
town will be available to work here. So, there will be no major change
of local occupational scenario, though the establishment of the
proposed project will increase the direct and indirect jobs and other
economic opportunities. There will be some development of secondary
service market, which will be beneficial to the local economy.

1.9 GREEN BELT DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Out of the total plant area of 443 acres, 148 acres shall be covered
under green belt, which constitutes around 33% of the total project
area.

1.10 ASH UTILIZATION & ASH DISPOSAL

At this thermal power plant, various avenues for utilization of ash in
application areas shall be explored.

With all possible efforts it is expected that fly ash generated at the
thermal power stations shall be utilized in the areas of cement, road
construction, mine filling etc. Based on recommendations of the

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LIMITED based Thermal Power Plant at Neulapoi, Dist. Dhenkanal, Orissa

study, detailed Road Map for 100% Ash Utilization in line with MOEF
gazette notification shall be prepared.

1.11 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAMME

An environmental monitoring programme has been developed for the
proposed TPP with the objective of assessing the changes in
environmental conditions, if any, during operation of the project;
monitoring the effective implementation of mitigatory measures
envisaged and warning of any significant deterioration in
environmental quality so that additional mitigatory measures may be
planned in advance.

1.12 DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN

The EIA Report includes a Disaster Management Plan covering
elements of emergency planning like organization, communication,
coordination, procedure, accident reporting, safety review checklist,
on-site emergency plan and off-site emergency plan. During the
commissioning of the project, a detailed Disaster Management Plan
(DMP) shall be prepared and implemented at site, specifying
responsibilities at various levels to be discharged in case of an
emergency.

1.13 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

An Environment Management Plan for construction and operation
phases of the project has been prepared. For environmental
management of proposed TPP, an Environmental Management Group
shall be created at site, which shall act as coordinator for
environmental matters.

Executive Summary Envirotech East (P) Limited