GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 5413

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 project proponent intends to install submarine fiber optic system that connects the Kenya to Pakistan, Djibouti and Europe via the fibre optic cable whose entry point is at Nyali Beach in Mombasa. The project will consist of marine component and terrestrial component. The marine component entails installation of a submarine cable for distance totaling to 498.973km and the total cable length is 511.721km, the cable is expected to traverse along the marine reserve which is within the jurisdiction of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The cable be laid a further 1.66km from the BMH up to the cable landing station near Nyali Primary School. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Impact Mitigation Measures Shipping interference • All affected stakeholders will be notified in advance before commencement of the survey works follow maritime best practice. • Observation international and national rules and regulation of the sea and navigational protocol. Noise Pollution • Appropriate scheduling of cable-laying activities to avoid feeding, spawning areas will reduce potential noise-related impacts on these species. • Employ services of a professional marine observer. • Applying a digital low-pass filtering algorithm on the Sea SPY Magnetometer System. • The equipment should be used when the dolphins are not visiting the coastal waters of Mombasa. Waste generation • The waste generated on board will be segregated, collected and disposed of as per EMCA on waste regulation of 2006 guidelines. • Follow waste management plan and ESMP. • The vessels to be used for submarine cable laying is required to comply with MARPOL requirements, which prohibits the disposal to sea any non-hazardous waste in coastal waters and in designated “special areas”. • Appropriate waste holding facilities to be provided onboard the vessel. 30th July, 2020 THE KENYA GAZETTE Impact Mitigation Measures Loss of feeding habitat • Clearing will be limited to the minimum needed for safe implementation of the project BMH. • Habitat restoration of affected areas upon the completion of the marine cable installation phase. • The equipment must be used when the affected marine animals are within the radius of influence. Acoustic harassment • All equipment’s are operating below the acoustic harassment levels. Disturbance • The length of fibre optic meandering in the coral reefs should be shielded to reduce MR emitted to the surrounding environment. • The electric and magnetic field associated with the fiber-optic are below the threshold that harm an organism and the cable will be buried. The full report of the proposed project is available for inspection during working hours at: (a) Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NHIF Building, Community, P.O. Box 30126–00100, Nairobi. (b) Director-General, NEMA, Popo Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839–00200, Nairobi. (c) County Director of Environment, Mombasa 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/0783695 National Environment Management Authority.