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Executive Summary
June 2008
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A) INTRODUCTION
The BP CBM Block is located in Birbhum District of the State of West Bengal.
The Birbhum District is bounded by Murshidabad and Burdwan Districts to
the east and Burdwan District to the south and Dumka district of Jharkhand
State to the west and north. The CBM Block is located about 35 km from
north-east of Siuri (the administrative headquarters of Birbhum) and about
250 km from Kolkata (the capital of the State of West Bengal). It covers parts of
the three administrative blocks of Mohammad Bazar, Rampurhaat 1 and
Mayureshwar 1.
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Figure 0.1 CBM Block setting map
As per the EIA Notification, September 2006, a Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Project
is classified as a ‘Category A’ type project requiring prior “environmental
clearance” (EC) from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The
final Terms of Reference (ToR) for the EIA was agreed in April 2008 with the
MoEF and covers Phase I and II activities only.
While the primary object was to follow the MoEF guidelines on conducting
EIAs, a phased approach was adopted in the environmental impact
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assessment of the Project. The approach allowed the environmental impact
assessment related studies to benefit from critical inputs from initial
preparatory studies while giving inputs to the Project planning and design.
A key output from the constraints mapping process (Stage 2) was the
identification of ten Initial Drilling Areas (IDAs), within which wellsites will
be located for the purposes of developing core holes and in some cases, test
wells. These IDAs helped focus the environmental and social baseline surveys,
and, along with a network of preliminary access roads, formed the basis of the
EIA.
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Figure 0.2 IDA locations in the CBM Block
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Figure 0.3 One of the Initial Drilling Areas (IDA) and existing features
The well-site locations within the IDAs will be selected based on the
identification and understanding of numerous issues associated with both
minimizing environmental and social impacts associated with the wellsites as
well as access routes to the wellsite locations. Issues considered include: flood
potential; ecologically sensitive sites such as forest, community disturbance,
areas of cultural / religious significance, land holdings and physical
constraints such as power lines.
Figure 0.4 A typical satellite imagery of IDA and its digitized equivalent
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E) PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project will involve the drilling and testing of wells for methane
production. Eight IDAs will have a corehole and some will also have a
testwell. IDAs have been identified through detailed geological studies.
During Phases I and II, 8 exploration coreholes are planned. The average time
to complete each corehole is approximately 22 – 30 days. Coreholes will be
drilled with a combination of rotary/percussion and high speed diamond
coring technologies. The drilling rigs will be truck mounted.
Five testwells are planned during Phase I and up to 15 test wells in Phase II.
The average time to complete each well is approximately 16-30 days. Testwells
will be drilled with a combination of percussion and rotary drilling
technologies. In addition to the drilling rig, a service rig will also be deployed
to conduct the well testing program for evaluating the CBM flow potential. A
number of tests will be conducted by injecting water and nitrogen into the
testwells followed by production testing of these wells, with the aim of
assessing the gas producibility of the coal bed.
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E-1.1) Facilities and Resources Required
Access to the wellsites within the IDAs will require the use of existing network
of roads and where no road exists, new temporary access roads will be
constructed.
Water will be required both during construction of the wellsites (about 400
m3/well) and access roads and during drilling operations (about 45 m3 and
570 m3 for core hole and test well, respectively). Water will be sourced either
from existing surface water, or new tube wells.
Chemicals and other substances (such as fuel oil etc) required for drilling and
testing of wells will be safely stored at wellsites.
Water from the coal horizons will be extracted to liberate the coal bed
methane. It is estimated that the extracted water known as “Produced Water”
may be approximately 30 - 80 m3/day/well.
Liquid and solid wastes will be generated during the drilling and testing of
wells. An inventory of all wastes will be developed and treatment and
disposal options will be followed that meet the regulatory requirements.
Phase I of the Project is expected to be completed in two years from the Project
commencement date and Phase II is expected to be completed in two and a
half years from the completion date of Phase I.
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F) PRIOR PERMITS REQUIRED FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT
The CBM Block area is largely drained by Dwarka and Brahmini Rivers. The
Dwarka flows close to the southern boundary of the CBM Block and briefly
enters in to the CBM Block at the south east corner. The CBM Block area has a
network of irrigation canals in form of main and branch canals. These canals
are linked to the Dwarka and Brahmini Barrages.
Soil within the CBM Block is mostly sandy clay loam and loamy sand.
Samples have been analysed across the CBM Block.
Surface water quality of the major rivers and water bodies has been observed
to be moderate to good (at the sampling point). COD and BOD were well
within the desirable limits (IS Limits).
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Figure 0.6 A typical rice field
G-1.2) Ecology
The forest within the CBM Block and surrounding region are mainly
identified as Dry Deciduous Forest (Sal dominated) type. The CBM Block has
both the Reserved Forests (RF) and Protected Forests (PF). Masra, Jatla,
Bhatina, Ghaga are the reserve forests and Ganpur, Damra, Chandpur,
Ranipur, Kasthagora, Chanda, Chandpur, Radipur, Kalaipahari, Maubelia are
the protected forests. In the entire study area there were no records of rare and
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endangered plant species. Most of the observed plants were widely
distributed.
Most of the fauna species are common. Some of the mammalian fauna species
are included in endangered and rare categories but none of them belonged to
endemic categories. Of these three species belong to endangered category, and
eight species to threatened category.
The average annual rainfall observed is 1388 mm. About 92% of the rainfall is
received during the south-west monsoon from May to October.
Ambient air quality monitoring within the CBM Block was carried out at
eleven locations during December – March 2008. The results showed that most
parameters were within the National Ambient Air Quality Standards except
Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Respirable Particulate Matter (RPM),
and NOx. SPM was high at all sampling locations, while NOx was observed to
be high in areas close to stone crushing units.
Day and night noise level measurements were taken at locations within the
CBM Block. Ambient noise levels in the CBM Block are within the prescribed
limits, which is 55 dB (A) for day time and 45 dB (A) for night time.
G-1.4) Traffic
The main NH-60 crossing the CBM Block carries heavy traffic mainly
comprised of heavy motor vehicles (HMV). HMVs comprised over 60% of all
vehicles on the Rampurhaat – Dumka road and a similar trend was observed
on the road connecting Pachami stone crusher area. Trucks primarily carrying
crushed stone material use this road. Non-motorised vehicles also ply in
significant numbers.
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G-2) Socio-economic Baseline
The District of Birbhum accounts for about 5 percent of the total area and
about 15 percent of the total population of the state of West Bengal. There are
19 Community Development blocks in the district covering 2478 villages, five
statutory towns and one census town. As per the “Backward District
Initiative” in the 10th five year plan prepared by the Planning Commission of
India, the District of Birbhum has been classified as a “Backward Area”.
Most (more than 95 percent) of the population in the CBM Block is rural and
lives in settlements located close to water bodies and agricultural fields. The
Project area has an average household size of five and an average population
density of around 530 individuals per square kilometer. This population
density however is mostly concentrated in nucleated and densely populated
pockets in villages/ areas close to administrative block headquarters/
markets. There are approximately 70 revenue1 villages within the CBM Block.
The Project area has a diverse religion profile, though Hindus are in a
majority. The three administrative blocks have a high percentage of Scheduled
Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs) population. These groups comprise at
least 35-45 percent of the total population in the area.
G-2.1) Land
Land holding patterns in the Project area are fairly similar across the
mouza/villages. Large landowners are very few, and most households own
less than one hectare of land and fall in the marginal land holding category.
Typically the villages in the Project area are spread over an area ranging from
80 to 700 hectares. Most of this area is dominated by privately owned
agricultural practices. The actual habitation area is small, constituting about
five to ten per cent of the total village area and is usually located in the centre
close to the paddy fields or water bodies.
The Project area has a complex pattern of land ownership and use. The system
of sharecropping referred to as “bargadari”2 exists in the area. There are both
registered as well as unregistered bargadars.
1 The census uses the term village in regard to 'revenue village'. According to the census definition a village represents a
parcel of land, the boundaries of which are defined and settled by revenue survey or by cadastral survey. A revenue village
may consist of one compact habitation (distinct cluster of houses with a local name where people live in compact and contiguous
manner) or a number of habitations. One of the habitations may bear the name of the village itself. These habitations may be
separated from each other by a long distance (sometimes over a number of kilometres).
(1) 2 A Bargdar is a person who cultivates the land of other person (generally an absentee landlord) and in lieu gives a
certain proportion of yield to the land owner (move this note to next page)
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G-1.3) Occupation and Livelihoods
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of the Project area, the three
administrative blocks as well as the district. The farm sector employs
approximately 80 percent of the active and productive work force. The overall
Work Participation Rate1 (WPR) is around 50 percent. The WPR was found to
be higher among males as compared to the females.
Rearing livestock plays a very important role in the rural economy and is
another subsidiary source of household income in the Project area. A typical
household in the Project villages has livestock including cow, ox, goat, pigs,
buffalo and poultry which are used both for generating subsidiary income and
to a lesser extent for household consumption. Forest based livelihood exits,
though it is largely limited to collecting fuelwood and fodder.
G-1.4) Infrastructure
The health facilities in the villages in the Project area are thinly spread and
even the existing facilities suffer from poor equipment, accommodation, staff
and medicines. Malaria had the highest prevalence across all the villages
surveyed. Other diseases reported from the survey villages (in decreasing
order) include – tuberculosis, kala azar (black fever), respiratory diseases
(including Asthma), jaundice and occupation linked diseases like skin
(2) 1 Workers Participation Rate (WPR) depicts the engagement of main and marginal workers in different occupations at
household, commercial or agricultural level.
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ailments. Tuberculosis continues to be the major health problem in the area
despite attempts to limit its spread for over four decades.
Generally brick and mud paved/unpaved road connects the villages to the
main road. Many of these roads are not accessible by motor vehicle in the
monsoon season.
The study area and the surrounding villages have inadequate infrastructure
available for sanitation and no sewerage system is present. None of the
villages covered as a part of the field visit had a proper interconnecting
drainage/ sewer network.
There are no designated archaeological and heritage sites within the CBM
Block. However as is typical of rural Indian settlements, each village in the
CBM Block has a number of cultural sites or sites of religious significance, like
temples, mosques, cremation ground, graveyard, revered trees etc. that are
scattered across the CBM Block.
H) STAKEHOLDER MAPPING
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Figure 0.9 Consultation with the stakeholder groups
Potential emission sources include fugitive dust from earth works associated
with site preparation and wellsite construction activities as well as from
construction traffic using local roads for site access; other sources include air
emissions from power generators, flaring of gases and other activities during
drilling and well testing; air emissions from vehicles; and heat radiation due to
test flaring. All the anticipated air emissions other than fugitive dust would be
from the combustion of hydrocarbons. The parameters of concern are NOx,
SO2, CO, particulates and non-methane hydrocarbons.
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With the implementation of the above mitigations the impact of the Project on
ambient air quality is predicted to be minor in the vicinity of the wellsites. For
minimizing impact along the access roads, vehicle speeds will be restricted
and dust suppression measures will be followed.
Activities that impact land and soil include site preparation and wellsite
construction, off site road movement of project vehicles, drilling activities and
decommissioning of the Project site.
Potential impacts related to the above activities include soil compaction, soil
erosion and run-off, and the local alteration of flood plain hydrodynamics;
overflow and runoff of drilling mud from the containment pits over the
wellsite to adjacent land.
The significance of impacts on soil compaction and soil erosion have been
assessed to be minor, mainly due to the short term and localised nature of the
disturbances, as well as the fact that if any adverse effects do materialise, they
can be reversed. The impact of site preparation activities on flood plain
hydrodynamics is predicted to be insignificant due to the small size of the
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construction footprint and the preferred timing of the construction activities
(during the dry season). Equally, the nature and quantities of waste generated
are such viable options for safe disposal are available and hence the residual
impacts of waste disposal are predicted to be insignificant.
I-4) Groundwater
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I-6) Ecology
The proposed project activities are planned to be kept outside the identified
reserve and protected forests, therefore, loss of forest by virtue of conversion
of forest land for non forest purposes is not envisaged.
Potential impacts on land may arise out of a temporary change in land use,
loss of land for landowners and reduction of land value in the long term.
Some of these could potentially have impacts on livelihoods. The scale of these
impacts is however limited as the duration of project activities will be short
and area of land required is small.
Compensation to land owners and users will take into account loss of income
due to CBM operations.
J-2) Livelihoods
Potential impacts on livelihood due to loss of land and crops (even though
temporary) during the drilling period, may arise. In the case of testwells
becoming viable for future phases of the Project the potential impacts on the
land owners could be long term. Compensation to land owners and existing
users will then be made on the basis of replacement value.
J-3) Community
The rural communities living in and around the construction and wellsites
may face the impacts of an influx of outsiders looking for employment and
better wages. This can have socio-cultural impacts as well as community
health impacts. However the scale of the Phase I and II operation is relatively
small and is unlikely to result in significant immigration. Additionally, the
Project will encourage contractors to deploy local staff where practicable.
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K) RISK ASSESSMENT
The risk assessment associated with initial planning of CBM Project identified
well blow out during drilling/coring operations to be a potential major
hazard. However, the well blow out frequency was determined to be low and
the event out come is confined to within the wellsite (as established by
modelling) and would not therefore impact the community (outside the
fenceline). Other hazards are associated with lifting equipment and vehicle
and driving safety. The risks from these events will be mitigated by strict
adherence to safety rules and procedures.
The impacts and associated mitigation measures identified through the EIA
process will be implemented and managed through two distinct phases:
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• produced water,
• traffic,
• cultural heritage and chance finds,
• construction and decommissioning,
• ecology,
• land,
• employment and procurement,
• community feedback,
• stakeholder engagement
The overall responsibilities for the proposed CBM project will be with BP (the
Project proponent). BP will ensure that all project personnel and contractors’
representatives understand BP’s policies, programmes and contractual terms,
management and monitoring requirements and ERP (emergency response
plan) and DMP (disaster management plan).
The Project will implement a monitoring plan to ensure that all sites will
comply with the commitments in accordance with the MPs. Monitoring of the
environmental and social effects of the Project will enable the effectiveness of
the mitigation measures to be determined by identifying the gap and taking
preventative and corrective action.
Project reporting will be undertaken to agencies like WBPCB and MoEF as per
the regulatory requirements.
BP will ensure that the CBM Project is operated in a manner that conforms to
the legal, regulatory and policy objectives. All the necessary permits and
licenses will be taken prior to Project operations.
CONCLUSION
The draft EIA study has concluded that the main issues are related to ground
and surface water quality, air quality and vehicular movement. These issues
have been appropriately addressed in the various management plans. In
addition, input from the public consultation exercise will be taken into
account in the preparation of the final EIA report. Upon finalization of EIA
report, Project will seek environmental clearance from MoEF.
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