GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 2906

PURSUANT to regulation 21 of Environmental (Impact Assessment and Audit) Regulations, the National Environment Management Authority, (NEMA) has received an environmental impact assessment study report for the implementation of the proposed Athi River 81 MW thermal power plant. The proposed project shall compromise of an MSD power plant principally consisting of the following components: Power house (containing ten ZGPT/Hyundai engines). Waste heat recovery system. Medium voltage switchgear. Step – up transformers 11/66KV. High voltage switch gear. Transportation and delivery to site. Civil and structural works. Installation activities. Commissioning and start-up and Testing. The proposed site is situated in the Athi River area of Mavoko in Machakos District on a 10.00 ha plot no. 6&7 located behind East African Portland Cement company. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Possible impacts Mitigation measures Extraction site impacts to ensure efficient use of raw materials in construction Source building materials from local suppliers who use environmentally friendly processes in their operations Ensure accurate budgeting and estimation of actual construction material requirements to ensure that the least amount of material necessary is ordered. Ensure that damage or loss of materials at the construction site is kept minimal through proper storage. Loss of vegetation cover Ensure proper demarcation and delineation of the project area to be affected by construction works. Introduction of vegetation(trees, shrubs and grass ) on open spaces and around the project site and their maintenance. Design and implement an appropriate landscaping programme to help in re- vegetation of part of the project area after construction Air pollution by dust and VOCs generated during construction process All personnel working on the project will be trained prior to starting construction on methods for minimizing air quality impacts during construction Construction of heavy earth moving vehicle drivers will be under strict instructions to minimise unnecessary trips, refill petrol fuel tanks in the afternoon and minimise idling of engines. Careful screening of construction site to contain and arrest construction- related dust. THE KENYA GAZETTE 25th March, 2011 Possible impacts Mitigation measures Exposed stockpiles of e.g. dust and sand, will be enclosed, covered and watered daily or treated with non- toxic soil binders. All workers will be required to wear protective gear while on site. Ensure construction machinery and equipments well maintained to reduce exhaust gas emission. Pollution from hazardous waste Handling of the materials using the material safety data provided by the manufacturers. Appoint a safety officer to ensure that proper disposal guidelines are observed. Ensuring that maintenance and/or piece of work carried out on any piece of equipment or construction work is undertaken by qualified personnel. In case of spillage emergency spillage control measures to be instituted. Containerization of any wastes and disposal through a licensed waste handler. Noise and vibration by construction activities Use of equipment designed with noise control elements will be adopted where necessary. Trucks used at construction site shall be routed away from noise sensitive areas where feasible. Idling time for pick-up, trucks, other small equipments will be minimized to limited time. All workers operating in noisy areas or operating noisy equipments will be provided with earpieces to protect against extreme noise. Comply with L.N 25: Noise Prevention and Control Rules, 2005. Installation of silencers on the generators. Do annual noise measurements. Do employee medical examinations. Traffic and transport Vehicle comply with axle load limits. Take advantage of off-peak hours. Well trained and experienced drivers. Generation of solid waste Wastes to be collected regularly to control air pollution and vermin/insects etc. Receptacles will be provided for waste storage prior to collection. Resource recovery will be encouraged once the project takes off so as to shrink waste stream and recover non- recyclables. Refuse collection vehicles will be covered to prevent scatter of wastes by wind. Wastes will be collected by a licensed operator to void final dumping at unauthorised sites. All persons involved in refuse collection shall be in full protective attire. Air pollution Drivers of heavy earth moving vehicles will be under strict instructions to minimise unnecessary trips, refill petrol fuel tanks in the afternoon and minimise idling of engines. Possible impacts Mitigation measures All workers on the site will be required to wear protective clothing while on duty. Suitable wet suppression techniques need to be utilised in all exposed areas. Use of low sulphur fuel to run the engines to be encouraged. The stack chimney of the generators will be constructed to a height of at least 30 meters and stack emissions regularly monitored using the inbuilt monitoring system. Set up an air quality monitoring station at about 10 KM west of site to collect SO2 and NOx data. The full report of the proposed project is available for inspection during working hours at: (a) Director-General, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kapiti Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839–00200, Nairobi. (b) Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, N.H.I.F. Community, P.O. Box 30521, Nairobi. (c) Provincial Director of Environment, Eastern Province. (d) District Environment Officer, Machakos 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 approval process of the project. B. M. LANGWEN, for Director-General, MR1663322 National Environment Management Authority.