GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 984

PURSUANT to regulation 21 of the Environmental Management and Coordination (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 (Bangal Trading Company Limited) is proposing to construct a Housing Scheme located off Tegla Lorupe road on L.R. No. 209/19715 at Imara Daima in Nairobi County. The proposed project will entail the construction in phases of 4 blocks containing 167 one Bedroom units, 6 Blocks containing 160 Two Bedroom units, Kindergarten and Commercial Centre with shops, and a restaurant with parking spaces for residents and visitors on the ground floors. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Impact Proposed Mitigation Measures Vegetation Clearing  Minimal clearing of vegetation.  Removal of vegetation to take place only within demarcated construction site.  Non-essential removal of vegetation to be avoided.  No development on slopes with a gradient > 16% Re-vegetation should incorporate natural vegetation. Solid wastes  Efficient use of materials to minimise on solid waste.  Housekeeping to ensure no littering from packaging materials.  Separation of plastic and paper waste before appropriate disposal.  Paper and glass to be sent for reuse/ recycling. Disposal of solid waste in accordance with NEMA solid waste disposal regulations. Liquid Wastes  Concrete batching and mixing should occur at one particular point and the site should be paved and drains provided to ensure polluted water is drained at a particular point.  Prudent use of water to reduce liquid waste volumes. Noise pollution and visual intrusion  Schedule noisy activities during the normal working hours of between 8am to 5pm. No work should be undertaken at night or very early in the morning.  Put off machines and equipments when not in use.  Ensure machinery is well maintained to reduce noise emitted.  The contractor should adhere to the provision in the Environmental Management and Coordination (Noise and Excessive Vibration pollution) (control) regulations, 2009  Provide worker with appropriate PPEs when working under noisy environment e.g. ear plugs  Ensure site is maintained in a cleanly fashion;  Construction completed on time;  Site vegetation correctly according to rehabilitation guidelines stated in the EMP; and  Construction waste is not to enter the biophysical or socio-economic environment. Contractors to produce waste management plans to mitigate potential impacts. Air/Dust Pollution  Practice dust management techniques, including watering spraying to suppress dust; 20th February, 2015 THE KENYA GAZETTE  Move earth and sand in covered vehicles/ transport to avoid it being blown by wind increasing suspend particulate in the atmosphere;  All plant to be of good condition with acceptable smoke emissions;  Practice selective clearing of vegetation;  Set up dust barriers/ screens at strategic locations;  Provide and enforce the appropriate use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) against dust such as dust masks. Soil Erosion and Sedimentation  Practice selective vegetation clearing where necessary;  Install adequate storm water management measures;  Replant cleared vegetation as soon as possible;  Avoid vegetation clearing during the rainy season;  Schedule earth moving activities during the dry season. Increased water demand due to construction works  The contractor should sensitize construction workers on the importance of proper water management through clerks of works by having talks with them when doing their rounds around the site;  Replace or repair leaking pipes supplying water to the construction sites to minimized wastage.  The Contractor should ensure provision of adequate water storage facilities on the construction site to meet project needs during periods of high demand externally and refill of storage tanks during periods of low demand. Occupational Health & Safety  Contractor should ensure registration of all construction works by the Director, Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety Services (DOHSS) in compliance with the Buildings and Works of Construction Engineering Rules, 1984;  Contractor should contract a qualified Health and Safety advisor to conduct training and monitoring of construction works;  The contractor should construct a temporary clinic on site to be run by a qualified nurse who will treat opportunistic ailments and injuries such as cold, malaria etc  Contractor should provide a standard First Aid Kit on site;  The Contractor should train several workers in First Aid depending on the number of workers on site as stipulated in the First Aid Rules 1977 through DOSHS certified First Training institution e.g. Red Cross, St. John Ambulance  Dangerous works should be protected, fenced, demarcated or cordoned off;  Workers should be inducted with training on health and safety by DOSHS certified health and safety advisor so as to enable ensure machinery safety, construction safety, fire safety and electrical safety as well as workplace inspection technique;  Provide and enforce the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to workers as appropriate such as overalls, safety boots, hand gloves;  The contractor should provide and install firefighting equipment such as fire extinguishers to fight different classes of fire (Class A, B, and C, D).  The Contractor should erect safety and informative signage for hazardous is taking place such deep excavations, electrical hazard, signage for personal protective equipment such as helmets, hand gloves and boots and prohibited activities such as smoking;  The contractor should ensure that all plants to be used during construction such as pressure vessels, lifting machines and cylinders for compressed gas to be examined and inspected by an approved inspector before starting using them to ensure safe usage;  The contractor should develop site Health and Safety guidelines which are to adhered to by construction workers and visitors to the construction site;  Only allow trained and certified workers to handle delicate equipment.  Maintain an incident/accident register,in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007, and report incidences to DOHSS. Fire Risks/ Management  Place portable fire extinguishers at suitable locations;  Train and induct workers on the use of fire extinguishers and other fire fighting equipments;  Train all staff on fire safety and procedures;  Allocate a fire assembly point;  Ensure safety warnings are prominently displayed at appropriate locations where fires are likely to occur;  Provide and enforce the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE);  Develop a Fire Safety Plan through a qualified specialist and implement the provision of the plan at the workplace. Ground and surface water quality  No water abstraction for construction from streams or river;  No mixing of concrete to occur on bare ground. Concrete mixing should be done bunded surface to avoid soil pollution and contaminating the ground and surface water;  Appropriate containment structures to be provided to store contaminated water from the construction site. The contractor should ensure these waters are properly disposed and not allowed to be drained on site;  No construction activities to occur in any wetlands; THE KENYA GAZETTE 20th February, 2015 382 382  No concrete batching to occur directly on the ground. Concrete batching area should be bunded to prevent contamination of soils and surface water features;  All fuel storage to be appropriately bunded and provided with a canopy ;  Plant to have drip trays to contain any potential leakages of fuels and oils; and  Ablutions for construction workers to enable proper disposal of fecal matter and avoid contamination of surface water features which could be a cause of waterborne diseases. Loss of Biodiversity  vegetation within the drainage lines is not to be cleared;  modifications to the design of the development to ensure spaces are left to allow for regeneration of loss biodiversity;  Post project restoration of loss habitat through vegetation of affected areas.  Compensation by the relocation of important grassland habitats from the development site to another area identified as suitable (using techniques such as s oil or turf transfer), or the creation of new habitats. Material management  To minimize impact of material and waste disposal during the delivery on site the following mitigation measure has been proposed:  Avoid overloading trucks and cover trucks to minimize dust and loss of load from trucks during transportation;  For aggregate and sand, use water sprays or covered chutes to reduce dust emission during loading and unloading of materials from barges;  Maintain mixing plants in good working condition so as to reduce emission from the plant;  As far as possible, plan truck trips to material source and to the sites during low traffic hours; and  Implement safety procedures to reduce the potential for road accidents in village or urban areas. Solid Wastes Management  Prudent use of materials to reduce solid waste volumes;  Waste separation to encourage reuse and recycling e.g. plastic and glass bottle;  Sewage from the different houses on site could provide substrate for biogas production which can be utilised by the dwellers for cooking therefore reducing the cost of energy, quantity of waste to be disposed and methane which as a green house gas.  Provision of waste collecting bins to households which will then be collected for proper disposal by a NEMA licensed waste handler. Fire Risk /Management  Place portable fire extinguishers at suitable locations;  Induct all the occupants on the fire safety procedures and the use of fire fighting equipments such as fire extinguishers;  Allocate a fire assembly point.  Ensure safety warnings are prominently displayed at appropriate locations; Increased pressure on existing utilities  Recycling of waste water from the different houses and the recycled water used for irrigation of lawn and flushing of toilets.  Installation of solar panels on each structure to provide alternative source of power for household use; Noise and vibration  Scheduling all the decommissioning works within the normal working hours of between 8am and 5pm.  Adherence to the Environmental Management and Coordination (Noise and Excessive Vibration Pollution) (Control) Regulations, 2009. Air pollution  Water spraying to suppress dust especially where dust activities are taking place;  Cordoning the site using meshed cloth to capture particulates during demolition of the structures.  Providing workers involved with appropriate protective personal equipments such as dust masks or respirators. (a) Director-General, NEMA, Popo Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839–00200, Nairobi. (b) Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, NHIF Building, Community, P.O. Box 30521, Nairobi. (c) County Director of Environment, NairobiCounty. 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 of the plan. Z. O. OUMA, for Director-General, MR/6901271 National Environment Management Authority.