GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 5879

PURSUANT to regulation 42 of Environmental (Impact Assessment and Audit) Regulations, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has received an environmental strategic assessment report for the proposed Tatu City. The Tatu development covers an area of 1,035 hectares owned by the proponent. The proposed city will constitute a Primary:- Primary Urban Node i.e. city centre comprising of mixed development (shops, offices, government buildings, community facilities and urban residential developments; Secondary Urban Node comprising of public spaces, leisure and entertainment, small offices and community facilities around public spaces; Business Corridor which is mainly high profile or corporate businesses; Technology Park for businesses involved in research, development and technological innovations; and Activity Spines to provide premises for small, local enterprenuers who won‘t necessarily be able to afford rental or property prices in any of the other more high profile business area. Tatu is located approximately 16km north east from the centre of Nairobi, directly west of and bordering on the outskirts of Ruiru town and about 6.5km to the east of Kiambu town. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Environmental/Social Issue Management and Mitigation and /or Enhancement Measures Employment Tatu City Management to ensure contractors give Ruiru community the first priority for available job opportunities, subject to qualifications and needs of the job. Contractors to develop a database of all the jobs that are anticipated, their qualifications and make it public. Environmental/Social Management and Mitigation and /or Issue Enhancement Measures Contractors to consider, within reason, opting for manual and labour intensive practices rather than automobile to encourage job creation and cut on green gases and dust emissions. Compliance with national laws on employment to protect employees and vulnerable groups. Tatu City Management to constitute clear procedures and guidelines for handling community complaints. Possible Immigration and Emigration leading to disruption of social cohesion, social relationships, social institutions, and expanded urbanization Kiambu County and the Ruiru Municipal Council to monitor the trend of migration during the project implementation and use the statistics to assist in planning county developments and social amenities. The government to encourage similar development in the larger Nairobi metropolitan to ease possible population influx. Tatu city to assist the government in providing adequate social services to meet the anticipated population demand. Potential growth of informal settlements Tatu Project Management to ensure that staff employed by the Contractor mainly casual and semi skilled personnel are from the local community (Ruiru area) where possible to avoid development of makeshift settlements around the project site. Tatu City Management/Contractors to put up decent construction camps to host technical employees attached to the project. Municipal Council Planning Department to enforce the Ruiru Municipal Council Development Plan in line with the Tatu Structure Plan Ruiru Municipal Council to develop capacity to enforce legal provisions against illegal squatting Improved local socio- economy Inform the local community of the available small business opportunities in the city. Plan and facilitate small and medium local business ventures within the city. Social Deviance, HIV/AIDS and STD‘s Promote good behaviour skills among the youth through youth groups to avoid social deviancy e.g. drug abuse, immorality, etc Education and sensitization of workers and the local communities on STIs. Provision of condoms to the project teams and the public in conjunction with local NGO‘s dealing with HIV/AIDS sensitization. Workers and community health and safety A detailed Health and Safety Management Plan (HASP), which will include a health and safety risk assessment for the planned construction and maintenance works be prepared by Contractors and certified by Tatu City Environmental Officer before any works begin. Environmental/Social Management and Mitigation and /or Issue Enhancement Measures Road safety and accidents Ensuring road safety during road design and construction phases. Monitor all operations during construction and ensure proper signage of the roads during operation. Road contractors to enforce traffic regulations during construction to minimize related impacts on trafic. Changes in land-use patterns Ruiru Municipal Council to ensure upcoming neighbouring developments are consistent with the established standards and Ruiru Municipal Council Zoning Plans. In principle adhere to the approved Tatu City Structure Plan. Upcoming developments to embrace planning to drive needed development in Kiambu County. Way leave acquisition & maintenance (e.g. loss of residential land, farms and businesses) The client to follow the Way Leave Rules governing the triggered sectors of development (Water, Power, Road etc) Loss of biodiversity; destruction of habitat and ecologically sensitive areas Conserve and enhance all the areas delineated and zoned to be of high conservation value. Comply to the approved Tatu City Structure Master Plan and observe the proposed green zones. Observe delineated buffer zones as presented in the ecological sensitivity map. The infrastructure design should as much as possible avoid areas that have been zoned as environmentally sensitive. Restrict vegetation removal and ecosystem disturbance to areas marked for construction. Areas zoned as microhabitat, breeding sites and bird nesting grounds be conserved. Any developments within the ecological sensitive areas should be subjected to an environmental screening process. After completion of each construction process, the sites should be rehabilitated and re-vegetated with locally occurring grasses, shrubs and trees or other fast growing trees and grass as recommended by the Tatu City Landscape Architect in consultation with the District Forest Office and the Kenya Forestry Service; Undertake awareness and education programmes for local residents, immediate neighbours and would be workers on the need to promote and practice environmental conservation. Building Material Tatu Environmental Officer to ensure that contractors get raw material from NEMA approved quarrying sites and comply with the regulation for the extraction of construction materials; Maximise the re-use of excavated materials in the works as fill. Environmental/Social Management and Mitigation and /or Issue Enhancement Measures Tatu Environmental Officer to undertake regular environmental monitoring and audit of the quarries during project implementation. Tatu Environmental Officer to ensure contractors procures and use environmentally friendly and sustainable materials. Environmental Noise and Vibration Tatu Environmental Officer to ensure compliance of the development with the Environmental Management and Coordination (Noise and Excessive Vibration Pollution) (Control) Regulations, 2009. Air Quality; Green gases and Excessive dust emissions due to construction activities The City Management to plan their activities in line with the draft National Air Quality Standards and where possible develop customised Tatu City air quality bylaws to control emissions and guard against pollution generating activities. The Resident Engineer or the Tatu Environmental Officer shall monitor earthworks operations and if necessary suspend operations wherever visible dust is unduely affecting neighbouring properties. The removal of vegetation shall be avoided until such time as clearance is required and exposed surfaces shall be re-vegetated or stabilised as soon as practically possible. Ensure wet construction to suppress dust during dry and windy periods as far as possible and programme permitting. Ensure supervision and enforcement by the contractor in the provision of vehicles delivering construction materials to site have tarpaulin covers to reduce spills and windblown dust. Any complaints received by the Contractor regarding dust should be recorded and communicated to the Project Environmentalist for action All construction machinery be maintained and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer‘s standards Maintain air quality within permissible limits and undertake frequent air quality monitoring around the light industrial zone. Water Quality, Supply and Flooding Abstract Water only from permitted sources Undertake wetland monitoring and quality assessments every quarter. Monitor water consumption and utilisation in co-ordination with the contractor through strict supervision of construction works involving water use. Sensitize construction workers on the importance of water conservation and management. Liaise with immediate stakeholders and develop a comprehensive water use and monitoring program for implementation during construction, this includes monitoring of local surface water and groundwater resources abstraction related to construction activities. Environmental/Social Management and Mitigation and /or 27th May, 2011 THE KENYA GAZETTE 1585 Issue Enhancement Measures All wetlands in the area be buffered as outlined in the structure plan and the ecological sensitivity map. Stockpiles must be located at a reasonably safe distance from wetlands. Return waters from membrane bio- reactors (MBR) must be analysed at the point of discharge into wetlands to ensure compliance with the Environmental Management and Co- ordination Act (Water Quality) Regulations, 2006. Plan, design and enforce suitable runoff control measures to guard againist flooding. Construction waste Ensure proper sitting and construction of temporary waste holding/storage places. Commission a NEMA accredited waste management and handling company to manage construction waste that has no further use on site. Undertake waste segregation at convenient locations on site. The contractors‘ tender documents and property lease documents should specify conditions for proper solid waste handling as will be provided in the waste management plan during site preparation, construction and operation. Solid waste (Commercial, industrial, processing, domestic etc.) All the waste generated (during construction and operation and decommissioning phases) should be segregated at their point of source/individual premises. Reuse and recycle where possible. Handling and transportation of waste should be done by a NEMA registered waste handler who will take it to a NEMA approved dumpsite. Commission waste studies to inform detailed designs that will recommend the most suitable option. This option should meet the National Waste Management Regulations. Liquid waste All liquid waste should be directed to the MBR. Hazardous liquid wastes should undergo specialized treatment/scrubbing before being released to the MBR treatment plant. Wetlands All identified and mapped wetlands should be conserved. The recommended and delineated buffer should be established; Any developments within the buffer zone or wetland areas should be subjected to environmental screening. Risk of invasive species Materials such as sand and stone should, wherever possible, be sourced from areas which are free of alien plants; The proposed open green areas and the buffer zones should be landscaped with indigenous flora as recommended by the District Forestry Office; Existing alien species, like the eucalyptus should be removed during construction and replaced with local indigenous trees. Increased traffic congestion on classified roads passing through the site during construction. Designated transport routes to be used regularly over the duration of the proposed construction works will be adopted and communicated to the contractors and other road users; Schedule construction vehicle movements to ensure there are no any interruptions resulting to traffic delays of public vehicles during peak hours. Model anticipated traffic and plan adequately. Find and recommend alternative routes, and provide for adequate diversion to accommodate traffic movements. Visual and Aesthetic Impacts Undertake careful infrastructure and landscape planning. Power electromagnetic interference Factor engineering solutions during design stage and implement them. 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, Nairobi Province. (d) District Environment Officer, Thika District. The National Environment Management Authority invites members of the public to submit oral or written comments within sixty (60) 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. B. M. LANGWEN, for Director-General, MR2067503 National Environment Management Authority.