ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESMENT STUDY (ESIA)

Governmental Complex in Ramtha Municipality

Irbid Governorate

Municipal Services and Social Resilience Project

(MSSRP)

Date: May 2019

TABLE OFCONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES,, AND ABBREVIATIONS

No.

Chapter 1: Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction

6

1.2 Project Objectives

6

1.3 ESIA Methodology

6

1.4 Legal and Institutional Framework

7

1.5 Baseline Data and Project Existing Environment

7

1.6 Environmental and Social Impacts

8

1.7 Analysis of Sub-Project Alternatives

9

1.8 Environmental and Social Management Plan –ESMP

9

1.9 Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

10

1.10 Environmental and Social Monitoring Plan

27

1.11 Public Consultations

27

Chapter 2: Sub-project Description

2.1 Sub-project objectives

32

2.2 Location

32

2.3 Project Size & Land Requirements

33

2.4 Land Ownership & Current Land Use

33

2.5 Project Activities &Expected Equipment

35

2.6 Environmental & Social Assessment and Review Process

37

Chapter 3: Existing Environment and Baseline Data Geology & Soils

3.1 Water Resources & Hydrogeology

39

3.2 Air Quality & Noise level

39

3.3 Flora & Fauna

39

3.4 Wetlands & Protected Areas

40

3.5 Population

40

3.6 Services & Facilities

40

3.7 History, Heritage, and Touristic Sites

40

3.8 Climate & Topography

41

Chapter 4: Legal and Institutional Framework

4.1 Jordanian Environmental Regulations

43

4.2 Jordanian Environmental Impact Assessment Policy

43

4.3World Bank Environmental and Social Safeguards Policies43

4.4 Gap analysis between Jordanian Legislations and the WB Policies

44

Chapter 5: Environmental and Social Impacts

5.1Scope of Impact Assessment and Methodology

47

5.2 Potential Impacts during Construction Stage

49

5.2.1 Removal of Existing Debris and Standing Trees

49

5.2.2 Impact of Site Leveling and Excavation Works

49

5.2.3 Impact of Constructing the Building Floors & Main Components

50

5.2.4 Potential Impact during Finishing & Indoor Works

50

5.2.5 Potential Impact on Social &Economic Conditions

51

5.2.6 Potential Social Impacts

51

5.3 Potential Impacts during Operation

52

5.3.1 Impact of Waste’s Generation& Poor Disposal Plan

52

5.3.2 Safety of Workers & Employees

52

5.3.3. Impact on Health Condition of Employees

53

5.3.4 Impact on Landscape &General View of Site

53

5.3.5Impact on Soil & Green Spaces

53

5.3.6 Potential Impact of Materials Handling& Storage

53

5.3.7 Impact on Socio-economic Condition

53

Chapter6: General Analysis of Project Alternatives

6.1 Sub-Project Location Alternatives

55

6.2 ‘No Project’ Alternative

55

Chapter 7: Environmental & Social Management Plan ESMP, and Mitigation Measures

7.1 General58

7.2 Responsibilities & Procedures

58

7.3.1 Mitigation Measures During Preparation & Construction

80

7.3.2 Mitigation Measures During Operation Stage

89

Chapter 8: Environmental and Social Monitoring Plan

8.1 Monitoring Arrangement

107

8.2 Reporting

107

Chapter 9: Social Study

9.1 Social Consultation Program

114

9.2 Findings of Social Study & General Recommendations

115

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

No.

Figure (1): the location of the proposed land using the Department of Land And Survey website

10

Figure (2): Front view of the expected sub-project

41

Figure (3): The locationof the proposed landusing the Department of Land And Survey website

42

Figure (4): View of sub-project construction area

44

Figure (5): Electrical convertor in the land of the sub-project

44

Figure (6): Bushes and existing species in the site

50

Figure (7): ESIA Community Consultations

136

Figure (8): Letter of Designation from Department of Land and Survey to Ramtha Municipality

154

Figure (9): Community Consultations for the Design of the sub-project

158

LIST OF TABLES

Table

No.

Table (1): ESMP Detailed Tables.

14

Table (2): Sub-Project’s Land Basic Information

43

Table (3):Sub-Project’sActivities and Equipment

46

Table (4): Environmental and Social Assessment and Review Process

47

Table (5): Safeguards Policies of the Bank

54

Table (6):E&S Impact Assessment Matrix for Constructing a New Governmental Complex in Ramtha Municipality

59

Table (7): ESMP Detailed Tables

72

Table (8): Mitigation Measures Detailed Plan

107

Table (9): Detailed Monitoring Plan

129

Abbreviations

MSSRP

Municipal Services and Social Resilience Project

MOMA

Ministry of Municipal Affairs

CVDB

Cities and Village Development Bank

WB

World Bank

PMU

Project Management Unit

ESMF

Environmental and Social Management Framework

ESIA

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment

GRM

Grievance Redress Mechanism

OP

Operational Policy

PAPs

Project Affected Persons

PMU

Project Management Unit

RAP

Resettlement Action Plan

RPF

Resettlement Policy Framework

ARRAP

Abbreviated Remedial Resettlement Action Plan

MoEnv

Ministry of Environment

Chapter 1

Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction

This Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESIA is conducted for Ramtha municipality sub-project, the construction of a governmental complex, under the Municipal and Social Resilience Project funded by a number of donors and administered by the World Bank. More than five years of violent conflict in Syria has resulted in massive movements of people within Syria, as well as into neighboring countries. The displacement crisis has put enormous pressure on basic service delivery and social resilience in Jordan. The latest Jordan census records of 2016 indicate that Jordan is currently hosting nearly 1.3 million Syrian refugees, 80 percent of whom live in host communities. This number represents about 13 percent of Jordan’s population. During the first two years of the Syrian refugee crisis, the international community’s response focused almost exclusively on providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees, including to those who fled to Jordan. As the numbers of Syrian refugees living in host communities in Jordan gradually increased, the country’s systems and structures have been strained, adding pressure on basic service delivery in water, sanitation, electricity, solid waste management, and overstretching health and education systems. Relevant to this, through the large influx into cities and its effects on service delivery, social tensions are increasingly common in many communities.

The Government’s response has shifted from an emergency framework to longer-term resilience and economic stability. In response to the growing pressures, the GOJ committed the Jordan Compact in February 2016 which put forward a more holistic framework for addressing the crisis, that:

(i) addresses the wellbeing of the Syrian refugees while responding to the immediate needs of the host communities;

(ii)supports Jordan’s growth agenda and longer-term resilience and economic stability. To help translate the commitments under the Jordan Compact, the GOJ has requested the World Bank to extend and scale up its support and prepare the Jordan: Municipal Services and Social Resilience Project (MSSRP). The project is a continuation and scale-up of an earlier emergency program, and has the project development objective (PDO) to support Jordanian municipalities affected by the influx of Syrian refugees in delivering services and employment opportunities for Jordanians and Syrians. The project is aligned with the Government’s commitment under the Jordan Compact, and aims to

(iii)strengthen resilience of local governance systems and communities to crisis with a particular focus on social cohesion, and to create short-term employment opportunities in host communities.

Based on the construction plan of the proposed governmental complex - the sub-project - this building consists of seven floors; the ground floor is proposed to be used as a multi-purpose hall to be utilized by the municipality for public meetings, and to be also let for the community to organize events, social occasions, etc… Such a facility does not exist in the city. The other six floors are proposed to be used:(i) to host the Municipality offices, as the municipality is currently renting some offices in one mall,(ii) and to host other governmental agencies that will be renting the space inside the governmental complex. Renting this space to government offices will combine the objective of bringing critical government services in one place for the benefit of the community, and also providing a source of revenue for the municipality (from rental fees).

1.2 Sub-project Objectives

The sub-project main objective is to construct a governmental complex in Ramtha municipality in order to minimize the time and effort on citizens in achieving their paper work when these government offices are grouped in one place. In addition to that, the Municipality would move its offices to one of the floors, hereby creating savings that replace the rental fees being paid now from rental of the Municipality offices. .Moreover, this sub-project will provide an extra source of revenue to the municipality from renting the complex spaces to the government offices. This sub-project was ranked as the top priority among the various groups representing Ramtha community in the community consultations held earlier in the municipality as part of the requirements under MSSRP.

1.3 ESIA Methodology

The sub-project location and area physical systems are studied in detail within this document. Collection of data included gathering available information from the technical reports and drawings draft of the building. In addition, information like climate and geography were collected from different sources like the official relevant websites. Moreover, the ESIA included conducting field visits and making visual observation for the site and data on existing debris, economical activities, and project area facilities were gathered and included in this document.

As stated before, the sub-project was selected through conducting several community consultation sessions and was ranked number one priority for the citizens of Ramtha municipality. Screening forms for the sub-project were filled, and they indicated that the sub-project would have some environmental and social impacts during construction.

On September 13th, 2018, a field visit was conducted by the PMU Safeguards specialist and the Feasibility Study specialist, to observe the site and its surroundings. According to baseline studies and field visit, two major problems were identified in the site of the project:

1. An existing kiosk owned by a number of Project Affected Persons (PAPs), for which an Abbreviated Remedial Resettlement Action Plan ARRAP was prepared and approved.

2.An electrical convertor nearly on the edge of the land, for which the design of the building was slightly modified to avoid any contact with the convertor.

On October 2nd, 2018, another field visit was conducted to the municipality, by the PMU Safeguards specialist and the supervision engineer, to make sure that the design was modified in order to deal with the problem of existing electrical convertor. The engineering design also took into consideration accessibility of people with special needs and appropriate waiting spaces.

Preliminary scoping of the site, based on the field visits, indicated the potential occurrence of some impacts that are considered site-specific and could be mitigated through applying an Impact Assessment Matrix, which is part of the ESIA document. Potential impacts include:

- Impacts on natural Environment: such as air quality, soil compaction, agricultural lands, noise and vibration.

- Socio-Economic Impacts: such as resettlement, job creation, health and safety.

Those impacts are detailed in the Assessment Matrix, according to the sub-project activities, and determine whether the impact is negatively low, medium, high, or is positive.

An environmental and social management plan (ESMP) was prepared to present all possible impacts of the sub-project construction and the appropriate mitigation measures for those impacts. Consultation sessions were also held for the community to have their feedback on the sub-project selection and implementation, as well as on the proposed design of the complex with the latter having the objective of ensuring the community, more specifically females, youth, and other marginalized groups, such as disabled persons, are able to optimally benefit from the proposed complex spaces and services. .

1.4 Legal and Institutional Framework

The legal and institutional framework of this assessment depends on investigating and including national regulations and the World Bank policies that relate to environment and social safeguards. Jordanian Law of Environmental Protection, No. 52 of 2006 that went into effect on Oct. 16, 2006and the Bank operational policies are the legal foundation of this work and formed the general framework of this study. Actually, this sub-project –is under category B for World Bank, which is equivalent to category 2 in the Jordanian Environmental Law.

The World Bank Operational Policy OP 4.01 on “Environmental Assessment” is triggered for this project. The “Involuntary Resettlement Policy OP/4.12”is another policy that is triggered for his project taking into account the project’s potential unconformity with existing regulations and possible impact causing any resettlement due to sub-project implementation for which an ARRAP document was prepared.

In addition, the ESIA refers to some clauses in the FIDIC for Works, that are considered relevant to regulations and articles arranging construction activities and identifying required documents and construction work permission and safeguards issues. Chapter II, General Conditions, Section 4, Contractor Responsibilities, and Chapter III, Particular Conditions, as well as the Supplementary Particular Conditions, contains specific clauses that are directly related to applying safety measures in the site.

1.5 Baseline Data and Sub-Project Existing Environment

The sub-project land is almost located in the middle of Ramtha city with 80 m along the main street of Alsakhrat Almusharifa. The availability of public transportation raises the strategic importance of the proposed land, which was assessed as the most suitable land for constructing such a complex. The municipality owns other lands but those are far away from the center of the city and hence are not appropriate for the proposed scheme. This specific site had been designated since 2011 for this purpose, and citizens would only need one transportation to get there minimizing the cost and effort. The existing Governmental agencies are spread out in different locations around the city in which travel time for citizens, travel costs, as well as traffic jam could be a serious problem. The location of the proposed land is also near very important public buildings that include two schools, a healthcare center, and a Public Park. The coordinate of the land is (32.55905815, 36.00076154).The selected Governmental Complex lies on a land in Abu AlBasal AlSharqi area, and is surrounded by the following governmental buildings:

1.Comprehensive health center.

2.Musab bin Omair Secondary School for Boys.

3.Ramtha Health Directorate.

4.IbnHazm Elementary School.

5.Public Park.

Figure (1): the location of the proposed land using the Department of Land And Survey website

In the sub-project site, there are no protected areas or unique species to be included in this report. Whereas, pollution sources that may deteriorate air quality or disturb noise normal levels are not found. The only activity that might be mentioned here is the traffic movement at AlSakhra al Mosharafa Street the nearest road to the sub-project area. Actually, there are no measures for emissions level caused by traffic, but air and noise levels are estimated to be within acceptable limits. Moreover, current economic activities are simple and they are not expected to cause significant impact on air and noise levels. Groceries, commercial shops, and a number of public entities including two schools, Directorate of Education, Directorate of Public Health, a comprehensive health center and an amusement park, are the main activities in the surroundings of the sub-project area. In addition, there are no touristic, cultural heritage assets in the sub-project area that might be affected by the sub-project's activities.

As an urban area, services and facilities like water and sanitation networks, telecommunications, health services, and electricity connectivity are available in this location.

The new building will be owned and operated by Ramtha municipality.

1.6 Environmental and Social Impacts

All potential impacts of sub-project preparation, construction, and operation stages are deeply investigated in this assessment. Both positive and negative environmental and social impacts are addressed as well.

The analysis under this ESIA indicates that this sub-project will cause temporary and localized environmental impact especially during construction stage. Those were already explained to the communities in the community consultations mentioned earlier. Moreover, social and economic long-term benefits of the sub-project are high compared to the current situation for the municipality, while concerns like creation of conflicts, land acquisition, resources competition, and project failure arenot evident in this project.Small scale socio-economic impacts to operators of a small kiosk on the subject site were evaluated and compensated through an Abbreviated Remedial Resettlement Action Plan that is publicly disclosed.

Generally, the ESIA investigation indicates several potential impacts of this sub-project as the following:

During Construction Stage

1. Temporary deterioration of Air quality caused by increasing dust concentration and small emission produced from work place involved trucks;

2. Temporary increase in noise levels due to construction activities and noise of involved equipment;

3. Temporary accumulation & scatter of waste during construction activities;

4. Temporary obstruction of traffic & mobility pattern; and

5. Temporary exposure to work place hazards and accidents.

6. Temporary community exposure to hazards and accidents

During Operation Period

1. Mismanagement of waste &poor disposal techniques;

2. Negative visual impact;

3. Normal wear and tear and deterioration of facilities, including wall paint, doors, toiled facilities, etc...

4. Lack of following up and implementing workplace safety measures; and

5. Poor storage of materials and equipment.

1.7 Analysis of Sub-Project Alternatives

Sub-project alternatives’ investigation shows that the selected location, construction activities, construction materials, involved equipment, and social & economic aspects comport with the ESIA study considerations to construct this sub-project in this exact location.

As it was stated before, Ramtha municipality offices are rented within a commercial mall, and this sub-project shall give the municipality a chance to have its own offices while using the rent paid in some other useful infrastructure sub-projects for better services of the citizens. Extra revenue will also be available for the municipality budget from renting other governmental entities in the complex, as well as using the multi-purpose hall which is intended to be built in the ground floor for different occasions. The social and economic benefits of the sub-project implementation are expected to be high.

Alternatives were considered to use another piece of land owned by the municipality, but was rejected by the municipality, as the land of the sub-project was already designated for the construction of this governmental complex and is highly favored by Ramtha citizens due to its strategic location in the center of the city, which was clearly shown in the Community Consultations conducted earlier when prioritization of sub-projects was done.

Hence, this document presents the current alternative as this site reflects high Socio-economic benefits and its temporary and localized environmental impact can be controlled through the implementation of mitigation measures included in this document. Other reasons for choosing the sub-project land include:

- The municipality staff are currently renting a building on the main street that connects Amman with Damascus, for a total amount of 39,000 JDs (almost US$56,000) per year. The intended governmental complex project shall have offices owned by the municipality, so as to save the amount of rent when they move there.

- The sub-project is supposed to generate revenue for the municipality and provide one location for the citizens in Ramtha, hence minimizing the time and effort needed to accomplish any governmental paper work for the citizens in Ramtha. Parking space is also planned to provide more convenience to citizens and to employees working in this complex.

- Providing employment opportunities and providing better municipal services are core objectives of MSSRP, which is the key purpose of building this governmental complex in Ramtha municipality.

The “No Project Alternative” means that all the above mentioned advantages would not be achieved. Thus, the land alternative provided by the municipality is considered most suitable for the sub-project construction.

1.8 Environmental and Social Management Plan –ESMP

The ESMP is an effective means to manage and monitor the implementation of the mitigation measures for the potential negative impacts of the project. Generally, ESMP consists of five components;

· Potential impact of the project

· Mitigation measures

· Monitoring activities

· Institutional arrangements & responsibility

· Implementation cost & required budget.

All those contents are detailed in the ESMP Table (1) below. These tables are prepared to cover construction and operation stage of the project and, therefore, to guide the contractor and responsible agency how to apply mentioned measures & treatment methods.

The cost of implementing the construction ESMP will be borne by the contractor and will be incorporated into the construction budget. The cost of supervision of the contractor’s performance will be borne by the Municipality. The cost of implementing the measures during operations phase will be part of Ramtha municipality responsibilities to include it within its maintenance and monitoring plans over operations phase. During this period, short training for employees is recommended to follow measures and procedures included in this document.

Overall, implementation of the ESMP is the responsibility of the contractor and the subcontractors who implement the work activities in accordance with their contractual obligations, along with the municipal engineer who provides oversight against the contractual requirements. The contractor and municipal engineer must have appropriate environmental and health & safety qualifications and will be supported by the Safeguards specialist in the PMU. . Work’s methodology and monitoring procedures are explained in detail within ESMP’s tables and will be defined in the contractor’s site-specific ESMP to be prepared by the contractor and approved by the Municipal Engineer and PMU Safeguard Specialist.

Regular Construction Progress Reports prepared by the Contractor and submitted to the Municipal Engineer for review, shall contain a section on Environmental, Social and Health and Safety. . An ESHS section of the Progress Report, as well as site monitoring reports will be prepared periodically by the PMU in every site visit conducted and will be revised by the safeguards specialist in the PMU, and submitted to the World Bank (WB) team who will follow up progress of the sub-project.

1.9 Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures (ESMM) for the potential impacts of the proposed sub-project consist of short-term procedures and long-term precautions.

For instance, preparation stage may require reviewing and making slight correction on the design in order to incorporate safety requirements for office buildings and public constructions. Actually, such additions may reflect on quantity tables, work contract, and maybe on the total cost of the project. This is just a case if such considerations have not been addressed on project designs.

Concerning preparation and construction stage, it is the most expected phase to make adverse impact on surrounding environment despite its short implementation time in comparison with sub-project designed age. Therefore, ESIA focuses more on this critical period and suggests particular mitigation measures to minimize and control potential impacts. Potential impacts and mitigation measures are listed, but are not limited to those in the table below. The contractor is required to prepare a site-specific ESMP (includes health and safety) as well as Traffic Management Plan and these plans will be approved by the Municipal Engineer and the PMU Safeguard Specialist:

40

42

Table (1): ESMP Detailed Tables

IMPACT

MITIGATION MEASURES

MONITORING ACTIVITY

FREQUENCY

RESPONSIBILITY

ESTIMATED COST

Preparation, Excavation, and General Waste of Work Site

1. The contractor must follow & implement waste management measures included within ESMP documents whenever needed.

2. Re-use of construction waste within the work site, if possible.

3. Collection of undesired construction waste and debris in specific collection points in the site within special receptacles. Selection of waste collection site must be pre agreed with the site supervisor engineer.

4. Construction work may be avoided during rainy periods in order to avoid transmitting of waste and debris. Whereas all work materials must be covered with proper sheets.

5. Scatter of waste should be avoided. While workers temporary room in the site should be supplied with waste garbage and disposal of such waste must be done based on waste type and quantity, and in cooperation with municipal engineer.

6. Disposal of all waste must be done in the landfill and follow instruction of construction permission and landfill management requirements.

7. Liquid waste like water needed during construction should be collected on a separate tank and water should not accumulate on site. Besides, drainage of water to outside area is forbidden.

· There must be a previous list of expected waste during construction stage based on used materials and involved equipment. Decision must be made about the most critical waste to be monitored

· Waste collection points should be clearly identified before launching the construction work

· Determine which waste can be left and re-used on site and which must be taken

· Monitoring form to include date, contractor abidance by Health and Safety measures, any excavations found in the site and any emerging matters to be filled regularly by the site engineer and spot checks by the environmental Safeguards specialist in CVDB.

· Monitor and inspect the contractor compliance with ESIA report

· Recording all work sites, activity location, date, time, work expected period in each site

· Transportation line and times of waste disposal must be mentioned in the report, in collaboration with the Traffic Management if necessary

· Review all documents relating to waste management and disposal including construction permission

· All hazardous waste and disposal methods should be mentioned. Whereas, time to occur and sites should be explained

· Consider climate influence and waste scattering

· Identifying used equipment, construction materials, trucks, volume of water requirement, and manual work tools

· Decide about PPEs required within each activity of waste disposal and handling.

· Record any spill, accidents, waste poor management during supervision visits

· Counting of workers & trucks number and identify their different waste. Cost of disposal must be mentioned

· Make photographic documentation

The Municipal Engineer will monitor works on a regular basis and prepare weekly progress reports

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ the Municipal engineer

- Cost of carrying out Mitigation Measures by the Contractor would be already included in the Bill of Quantities according to the different items of construction, and shall be monitored by the municipal engineer and the Safeguards specialist in CVDB.

Soil Compaction & Contamination

1. Surface soil can be kept aside to be used later within green spaces

2. Trucks and involved vehicles should follow specific & identified truck ways

3. Spill accidents must be prohibited. If any spill accidents occurs, it should be cleaned immediately and collected in separate disposal container.

· Make sure that soil top surface has been removed aside to be used later on for green spaces purpose

· Identify the most sites subject to soil compaction or contamination. And follow mitigation measures to maintain such impact

· Record soil collection containers and available garbage in work site

· Monitoring identified working paths and workers compliance to avoid soil compaction

· Refer to ESIA and make photos documentation of soil condition, as soil tests must be done by the contractor in the design phase.

The Municipal Engineer may follow up within 1-2 weeks

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Air Quality & Noise Levels

1. Spraying water on foundations before excavation work takes place. Water must be used when there is raise up of dust like sand lifting and handling

2. Spraying of water may take place every day to prevent dust concentration. This action might be required in many places in work site

3. Dust and fine particles should be always within low level during all construction activities

4. Transportation trucks are preferably selected based on motor performance and low emission or filtered exhaust presence. Old vehicles & trucks with high emissions shouldnot allowed to be used

5. Truck engine must be switched off when on site.

6. Noise barrier should be constructed around work area and should be high to prevent noise transmission and taking neighboring facilities attention, in particular nearby school students.

7. Noise within work site can be minimized by providing workers with special equipment like ears protective equipment and masks. Workers in stone quarry location must be provided with PPEs as well.

8. Transportation of materials and waste might be scheduled during the afternoon period in order to avoid disturbing neighboring facilities’ users, as working hours are restricted between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., and noise levels are NOT to exceed 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.

· Define air pollution sources, type, locations, remaining time, weather main drivers

· Ensure water is used to maintain dust concentration and scattering of fine articles

· Ensure all equipment and trucks are in a good condition and emission does not exist

· Identify noise disturbance sources, duration, time, most affected group, number of affected workers, mitigation requirement (supply workers with earplugs when necessary)

· Make sure that noise prevention measures are applied. For instance, noise barrier and noise protective equipment, and to abide by allowed time to work in during the day.

The Municipal Engineer will monitor works ion a regular basis

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Included above

Transportation of Materials & Storage

1. Materials transferred to the site must be tight well to the truck and covered by an appropriate sheet.

2. Sand is liable to scatter during truck movement. So, water must be sprayed on it and it should be covered by appropriately.

3. Truck back door must be closed during transportation.

4. Materials and equipment storage location must be agreed previously with site engineer. It must not be far from work site location.

5. Separation of materials based on their nature and type.

6. Flammable or oil components materials and machinery equipment should not be aggregated with construction or organic materials.

Materials on storage location must be covered with suitable plastic wrap and surrounded by short stones wall to prevent weathering and rainfall effects

· Identify materials temporary storage locations and make sure such locations are not disturbing construction activities. Also, they must be away of truck & vehicles ways

· All transported materials & waste should be covered with proper sheet. And scattering of waste must be avoided

· Drivers should follow safety procedures when making this task. While all materials should be tight well to the truck

· Water might be used to prevent scattering of sand during transportation

· Identify truck routes, truck condition, materials type, applied safety procedures.

· Temporary storage location must address protection against rain & weather conditions. Materials should be covered and surrounded by short traditional wall and drainage channels

· Materials should be stored in compatible group. Flammable materials should be separate from other construction materials

Smoking is not allowed in storage locations

The Municipal Engineerwill monitor activities on a regular basis and as needed.

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Included above

Health and Safety Impacts

. Contractor Prepares a site-specific ESMP (includes H&S) to fulfill contractual obligations to protect workers and the public and to comply with Jordanian Laws

2. The contractor is required to have a code of conduct covering worker interactions with the community, including children. The Code of Conduct is applicable to all of its workers as well as subcontractors.

3. All workers including subcontractors, are required to acknowledge that training in the code of conduct has been received.

1.

2. The location of electrical power line and cables must be determined before digging and excavation work takes place (in our case, the Electric Convertor in the site should by isolated by a wall to avoid any accidents)

3. Work sites must be clean and orderly. While all site surface must be kept dry. Otherwise, proper means might be taken to assure the surface is slip-resistant.

4. Items and materials that are not required during work hours must be removed from the work site

5. PPEs are necessary during all times of work. Hardhats, proper safety shoes, inspiration masks, and ear protective tools should be worn by workers. Moreover, safety devices during indoor work like electrical connection, painting, and plastering work are all required.

6. Storing debris and waste safely and removing them immediately from the construction site.

7. All construction safety requirements must be addressed in this project. Workplace injury must be avoided and the contractor is responsible to follow up safety procedures, as well as providing basic medical services and supplies to workers

8. Workers must be careful when working near floor and ground openings. While, openings should be marked and easily identified by all workers and drivers.

9. Bending & forming of construction steel must be done with care and high safety measures application. Suitable manual tools and safety protective agents must be applied during this work

10. All aisles and passageways must be identified and marked.

11. Lifting and moving of heavy objects should be done by mechanical devices.

12. Ladders & scaffolds must be checked out each time before climbing. Damaged ladders & scaffolds should never be used.

13. If metal ladders & scaffolds are to be used, they must be checked up on corrosion and they must be isolated from communication with any electrical connections

14. There must be rain clear paths and proper drainage system to avoid accumulation of rain water on site.

15. All electrical power supplies and connections must be grounded while dangerous voltage and current must be isolated by covers & enclosures.

16. All painting and chemical containers must be labeled and workers must be aware how to handle those materials. Leaking containers should not be accepted while workers should not pour paint remaining onto ground. There must be sealed containers to collect and dispose such substances.

17. There must be a washing tank on site to wash manual and work tools at the end of each working day.

18. Firefighting equipment and fire extinguishers should be available while workers must be trained to handle fire prevention cylinders.

19. Smoking is not allowed at site. Disposal of cigarettes may lead to break out of fire.

20. All drivers and workers must be trained about environment and safety measures

· Monitor implementation of the contractor’s plan that defines& anticipates work potential hazards, health hazards, and work place safety measures.

· Make sure all required PPEs are available and workers are assigned based on physical condition capacity

· Work site must provide protection against any risk and work hazards. Any indicator of potential injury exposure must be recorded

· Check out scaffolds, ladders, floors, openings, and machinery used in this construction

· Inspect any potential threat of involved equipment on project’s components. In addition , equipment must be checked up to make sure they are in a good condition and they are safe to be used

· Inspect the existence of firefighting agents and workers ability to handle fire extinguishers. Make sure First Aid Box is on site

· Ensure the availability of PPEs for handling chemical & painting substances. While such materials should be labeled with explanation about its contents and use requirements

· All electrical connections and involved devices must be evaluated and protective measures of applying those devices must be attached to product boxes

The Municipal Engineer will follow up on a daily basis

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Included above

Safety of Transportation

1. All drivers should drive safely

2. Transportation’s instruction and signs must be posted on site, and the contractor shall ensure that roads remain open to traffic during construction activities.

3. Drivers must follow a limit speed. 30-45 km/ h might be a good acceptable limit.

4. Drivers must avoid driving and transporting materials & waste during rush time.

5. Vehicles must follow specific routes and avoid obstructing traffic

6. During transportation all transported materials and equipment must be tight well to the truck and waste scattering is not accepted

7. Trucks & vehicle must be switched off when on site

8. Drivers should avoid passing near to flammable source and smoking is not recommended when driving

9. All materials should be covered and sand may require spraying water before covering with a sheet.

· Make sure drivers are driving safely and following traffic safety measures

· Ensuring their compliance towards preventing waste scattering

· Check out trucks and vehicles applied speed based on mitigation measures recommendation and record any violation on this regard

· Ensure all requirements mentioned on mitigation measures table are followed accordingly.

The Municipal engineer will monitor works on a regular basis.

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Contractor shall submit a Traffic Management Plan to be approved by the municipal engineer and the Safeguards specialist in CVDB,

Management of Workers temporary room in the site

1. Management of workers room and all potential waste must be maintained through direct supervision of site engineer and the Environmental specialist in CVDB.

2. Room must be established on free space area and should be near project’s location

3. It must be supplied with solid waste storage tank that must be connected to the local network or to separate sink. Design of this system and disposal process should be discussed & agreed with municipal supervisor engineer.

4. If kitchen to be included in this container, there must be gray tank to collect water of kitchen activities considering use of water for existing trees and nearby green spaces. While organic waste should be collected and disposed of outside the site in designated garbage containers.

5. There should be a temporary tank within the room area to be used for washing purpose.

6. All safety procedures of temporary establishment must be taken into account when constructing this room, such as adequate signage, lighting devices, barriers and safe drinking water.

· Ensure the room is equipped with suitable wastewater system and connected to local network or waste is disposed regularly through a special tank

· Identify waste produced from the room and number of residents

· Ensure hygienic condition of the room and the supply of adequate water sources for cooking and washing purposes

· Make sure workers are not using facilities of surrounding employees and guards

· Identify waste disposal methods

· Identify garbage and containers used to collect waste.

The Municipal Engineerwill follow up on a regular basis.

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Included above

Public Health of Workers

1. Work assignment is preferably given based on physical condition and worker’s capability

2. The contractor must cover health insurance of workers during work

3. Temporary room in the site must be comfortable and hygienic conditions should be monitored by site engineer

4. Workers are prohibited to directly communicate with chemical substance like painting materials. Therefore, workers with allergy should not handle cement and concrete materials.

5. Smoking must be avoided when on work

6. First Aid Box should be available during all construction phases.

· Make sure worker is assigned based on physical condition and qualification

· First aid box availability

· Medical checkup is recommended

· Workers with allergy to any of materials of construction should not be working and if there is simple allergy to concrete or cement materials then worker must not communicate with such substances

· Make sure all workers are health ensured by the contractor.

The Municipal Engineerwill follow up on a regular basis.

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Included above

Socio-Economic Development

1. Nearby residents and work site near houses must be given priority when selecting local labors, within the labor intensive arrangements to be implemented under MSSRP project. This activity shall be monitored by the ILO specialist in the MSSRP project regularly.

2. Workers should not disturb employees of nearby agencies.

3. The contractor must follow engineering design of the project and use entrances pointed by the site engineer.

4. Materials required for work activities can be purchased from near shops and markets unless such materials are not available in this area or their prices are not reasonable.

· Ensure the involvement of local labors in this project and nearby residents and workers should be given priority when handling this work

· Workers must not disturb nearby residents and employees

· Purchasing materials required during construction from nearby markets and shops.

The Municipal Site Engineer will follow up on a regular basis

The environmental specialist in CVDB/ Municipal supervisor engineer

Included above

Workplace

Hazards &

Health

1. All electrical and electronic cables, and equipment must be designed to provide personal protection while cables must be covered and prove high resistance to electricity fluctuation and voltage variations

2. Parking area should be identified with marked lines and blocks

3. Municipality should make regular inspection of firefighting extinguishers. This action might be conducted twice a year to ensure validation of fire extinguishers

4. Handling and storing of chemical substances & cleaning materials should follow official safety & health precautions

5. It is always recommended to equip constructions and office building with First Aid Box

Corridors and aisles must not be used for storage purposes

· There must be always an inspection of the following;

· Storage room and storage materials condition

· Fire extinguishers and validation of hydrants

· All electrical cable and uncovered connections

· Stability of involved supplies and materials

· First aid box availability

· Following other procedures mentioned in ESIA.

Over project designed age

Municipality

No Cost. Measures should be applied only

Implementation of mitigation measures during the construction phase is the responsibility of the contractor and cost of these interventions should be part of the Bill of Quantities tables and highlighted clearly in the special conditions of the contract prior to announcing project tender. Whereas, Ramtha municipality is fully responsible to carry out mitigation measures during the operation phase. In fact, these actions will not require a significant budget and such expenditures might be incorporated within the annual budget of the municipality.

1.10 Environmental and Social Monitoring Plan

Ensuring and monitoring the application of mitigation measures during preparation, construction, and operation phase is the responsibility of Ramtha municipality. Direct supervision of construction activities will be carried out by the municipal engineer, under the direct supervision of the safeguards specialist in the PMU who will be in charge to monitor and record work activities by following monitoring activities included in ESMP.

The safeguards specialist will monitor the application of environmental and social mitigation measures and result of monitoring activities should be reflected in quarterly reports according to contract conditions and site works performance. In case monitoring report indicates neglect or careless behavior from the contractor side, direct suggestions and correction actions should be delivered to the contractor and labors as well. Such recommendations should follow ESIA and ESMP suggested measures included already in these documents.

Entity

Responsibility

Frequency

MoMA

PMU overall supervision on sub-project implementation

Monthly

CVDB / Safeguards specialist and supervision engineers

monitoring of environmental, social and health and safety performance of contractor and municipal engineer including implementation of site-specific ESMP application in the site

Weekly

Ramtha Municipality / Engineers

Oversight of contractor Environmental, Social Health and Safety Performance in accordance with contractual obligations and site-specific ESMPand preparation of progress reports

Daily

Contractor

Implementation of sub-project in accordance with contractual obligations and site specific ESMP (includes HS) Plan

Daily

1.11 Public Consultations

Public consultations for the proposed sub-project could be categorized in three parts: (i) community consultations with the purpose of achieving/confirming the top prioritized sub-projects for proposal to receive funding for implementation under MSSRP Municipal Grants allocation; (ii) community consultations to discuss potential social and environmental impacts during the construction phase and proposed mitigation measures; and (iii) a consultation meeting to discuss with the community, especially marginalized groups including females, youth, disabled, Syrians, and others, the proposed design scheme of the government complex. The latter was organized to ensure such community groups have the opportunity to influence the final design of the proposed sub-project in a manner that provides them with a more effective use and accessibility, and to take into consideration their specific concerns, if any.

· Community prioritization consultations:

Sub-project selection included conducting consultations with several groups and potential direct beneficiaries and end users of the sub-project. During the sub-projects prioritization process, seven community consultation sessions were conducted in Ramtha municipality, which included youth, both Jordanian and Syrian, women, people with disabilities, local council female members, and of course men, with a total number of 333 participants in all the sessions. Afinal comprehensive public consultation session was conducted in May, 2018 in which most of the participants voted for the Governmental Complex project as their top ranked priority. Those detailed Community Consultation sessions can be found in the ARRAP document which was prepared for the purpose of economic displacement of five identified PAPs, and in Annex 1, as well.

· Consultations to discuss Impacts and Mitigation Measures:

On January13th, 2019 a specific environmental and social consultation session was conducted in Ramtha municipality in which attendants from the private sector, government sector, NGOs, women and charity associations were given a rapid and short explanation about general activities of this sub-project, its social and economic benefits, the environmental and social impacts it may have and the suggested mitigation measures to minimize those impacts.

Attendants expressed their enthusiasm and full support for the construction of the Governmental Complex. No concerns were raised except for the quality of the engineering work to be done, which shall be closely monitored by the supervising engineers whether from the PMU or municipality to get the best performance and abidance to laws and regulations by the contractor. Attendants of the January 13, 2019 consultation meeting included:

1. Ramtha mayor and municipal staff

2. Deputy Director of MSSRP

3. Safeguards specialist in PMU

4. Community Outreach specialist in PMU

5. Procurement and supervisor engineer in PMU

Summary Report and Attendance sheet is found in Annex 3.

The ESIA also included carrying out a visual observation for existing natural resources and economical elements within the area of the proposed sub-project. Moreover, consultation contained documenting positive feedback from the attendants and including their suggestions, comments, and concerns about this sub-project. One of the main concerns indicated by the consultation participants was related to the temporary potential environmental impacts during construction stage with some comments regarding the traffic congestion that the sub-project may cause. The attendants suggested increasing the number of parking spaces in the intended sub-project or making an agreement with the Ministry of Transport to provide more buses for Ramtha municipality to minimize the usage of cars. Both of these recommendations are under consideration by the Municipality. Mitigation measures to minimize potential environmental impacts were explained in this consultation meeting, as well as a follow up dedicated meeting which was organized on April 15, 2019, to discuss with the community members the design aspects of the proposed governmental complex.

· Community Consultation to Discuss the Design aspects of the proposed sub-project

As mentioned earlier, a dedicated consultation meeting which was organized on April 15, 2019, to discuss with the community members the proposed design aspects of the governmental complex. The meeting focused on representatives of women organizations, youth representatives, and representatives of disabled Societies and other community representatives, including elders. During this meeting, the governmental complex design engineer provided an overview of the layout and objective of each of the planned complex floors. The Project Management Unit also reiterated the potential social and environmental impacts described in the ESIA and proposed mitigation measures, to confirm awareness of the community. Attendees renewed their overwhelming support to see this sub-project being implemented. They also provided a set of recommendations under discussion by the Municipality and the design engineer. Some of these recommendations included: (i) creating space for day-care services which would benefit female staff in the building who are parents of children in the pre-school stage; (ii) providing a separate entrance to the section hosting the public court (one of the government agencies that will move into this complex), to protect the privacy of court users; (iii) provision of multiple staircases and multiple elevators in different sections of the building, a recommendation which has already been considered in the design; (iv) ensuring proper lighting exposure in the building, leaving no dark, or badly-lit areas; (v) provision of facilitates for public use during waiting hours, including prayer rooms for males and females, restaurant and food catering services. In addition, the meeting recommended reaching an agreement with the construction contractor to include, as much as practically possible, unemployed engineers/graduates from Ramtha to provide site supervision support. The meeting attendees and summary as well as the answers and recommendations from both the municipal staff and the engineering design office are provided in Annex 4.Those recommendations shall be taken into account, alongside technical and financial considerations, through conducting documented meetings with the design office to modify any potential changes in the final detailed design phase before tendering, and revising the tendering documents thoroughly by a technical committee that has members of the Safeguards Specialist, Procurement Specialist and ILO representative, to guarantee that all safeguards aspects mentioned in the ESMP are taken into consideration, including the costing of all mitigation measures that need to be clear for the contractor. This will be reflected in the Progress Reports provided to the Bank and donors, and upon any request at any time.

Conclusion:

The construction of the Governmental Complex in Ramtha municipality will definitely lead to temporary (but not adverse) impact on local environment especially during construction stage. Whereas, construction of this project is not expected to contribute in creating adverse impact on social side. In fact, Social and Economic returns of this project are high and beneficial compared to current situation. Such benefits can be summarized as below:

1. Providing Ramtha municipality with an appropriate place to practice daily work without paying any rent that can be used in providing other services for the benefit of the people.

2. Providing a space for the community through the construction of the multipurpose hall to host its social (and others) events

3. Facilitating dealings and transactions between Ramtha municipality and other nearby authorities;

4. Gathering & increasing number of employees in one place which is expected to improve the sale rate of surrounding markets and shops.

5. Decrease the time and effort on people in doing their routines and governmental paper work.

On the other hand, potential environmental impact of the project is localized, temporary, and can be mitigated through implementing mitigation measures and procedures included in ESMP.

Therefore, this sub-project can be implemented BUT with application of mitigation measures mentioned in this document, and application of ARRAP document that includes compensation packages for the 5 Project Affected People (PAPs) identified, as a result of the economic displacement that occurred during the preparation phase of the sub-project. The ESIA/ESMP will be included as an integral part of the tender documents. Also, the contractor shall be requested, through the Contract Particular Conditions, to submit a site specific Environmental and Social Health and Safety Plan. This Plan will be reviewed and approved by the Municipal Site Engineer and PMU Safeguards specialist after having also received the World Bank approval, and as an indicative measure for the sub-project.

Chapter 2

Sub-project Description

Figure (2): Front view of the expected sub-project

The sub-project is a construction of a governmental complex in Ramtha municipality that will have a multi-purpose hall, offices for the municipality and offices of other governmental entities that will pay rent for the municipality. This building

The project is located in Abu Basal Sharqi area, within Ramtha municipality which is located in the Northern part of Jordan in Irbid governorate, and in direct contact with the Syrian border.

The project is a governmental complex that shall consist of 7 (seven) floors in its final stage: a Basement that shall be used as a multi-purpose hall for the municipality in conducting its meetings and official use, with an area of 1250 m2. A Ground floor that contains the offices of the municipality, with an area of 1250 m2, as well. The other 5 (five) floors shall be offices rented by the governmental entities, according to certain legal contracts with the municipality, with an average wage of 30 (thirty) JDs per m2 a year.

The design of the building, checked by the Safeguards specialist includes also several entrances, along with passages and bathroomsfor people with special needs, as well as some green areas in different parts of the building.

In general, launching construction stage of this sub-project depends upon delivering project technical documents including Environmental & Social Impact Assessment study (ESIA) that must address project potential impacts on environment and local residents. In addition, this study should include required measures and recommend practical methods to avoid and minimize that impact. Also, an ARAP document was prepared as a result of an economic displacement action that was caused by the sub-project preparation phase.

General components of the sub-project can be summarized as the following;

1. Construction of the main building of the Complex

2. Gates and fences construction and people with special needs entrances,

3. Construction of free and parking areas,

4. Green spaces,

5. Water and sanitation network,

6. Facilities and services connections,

7. Safety and traffic signboards installation,

8. Indoors and finishing works,

9. Generator and power supply room to be connected with the electrical generator which is already present in the land,

10. Security room,

11. Sidewalk and onsite pavement works, and

12. Others

2.1 Sub-project objectives

The main objective of constructing this governmental complex is to have the municipality offices and other governmental entities’ offices gathered in one building, so as to minimize time and effort needed by citizens in achieving their paper work. Extra income for the municipality will be available due to rent amounts paid by the different governmental entities for the municipality. A multi-purpose hall is another benefit that the sub-project is intended to have as well.

2.2Location

The subproject land is almost located in the middle of Ramtha city with 80 m along the main street of Alsakhrat Almusharifa as shown in Figure 1. The availability of public transportation raises the strategic importance of the proposed land, which is the most appropriate land for constructing such a complex. The municipality owns other lands but is far away from the center of the city. This specific site was chosen years ago, since 2011, and People would only need one transportation to get there minimizing the cost and effort. The existing Governmental agencies are spread in different locations around the city in which traffic jam could be a serious problem. In addition, most of the city population works in public sector agencies. Gathering such population in one place could achieve the social feasibility of the proposed subproject. The location of the proposed land is also near very important governmental buildings such as schools, healthcare center and Public Park. The coordinate of the land (32.55905815, 36.00076154) could be used to observe clearer information about neighboring land properties. Such importance makes the subproject socially feasible.

Figure (3): the locationof the proposed landusing the Department of Land And Survey website

Table (2): Sub-Project Land Basic Information

Parameter

Value

Governorate

Irbid governorate

City

Al Ramtha

Land number

161

Neighborhood

29

Total Area(m2)

6,186.00

Near the Location

1. Comprehensive health center.

2. Musab bin Omair Secondary School for Boys.

3. Ramtha Health Directorate.

4. IbnHazm Elementary School.

5. Public Park.

On Main Street

Yes, AlSakhrat Almusharifa St.

2.3 Project Size & Land Requirements

The size area of this project is around 6,000 m2. This size contains land required to construct the main building of Ramtha Governmental Complex. It is expectedthat,this sub-project will be constructed over 12 months since signing the contract.

2.4 Land Ownership & Current Land Use

Land Ownership: The land is owned by Jordanian Treasury/MoMA, and re-assigned for the purpose of building a governmental complex in Ramtha municipality and under the Public Building Regulation of Ministry of Municipal Affairs, with a total area of 6134 m2. A formal letter was issued by MoMA to the Land and Survey Department to speed the designation process. The approval is provided in the letter from the Land and Survey Department.

As for the land use of project site, this location is currently free from any activities. A kiosk was evicted from the land of the sub-project which resulted in triggering WB Resettlement Policy 4.12 and an ARAP was conducted for this case of economic displacement.

Figure (4): View of sub-project construction area

Figure (5): Electrical convertor in the land of the sub-project

2.5 Project Activities &Expected Equipment

Establishment of this sub-project will require conducting many activities during the different stages of implementation. Interventions during each proposed phase is detailed in the following tables;

No

Phase

Details

Equipment& Expected Materials

01

Site preparation

This phase will include (but not limited to) making the following;

· Making studies and site investigations

· Drawing site’s maps, designs, and related documents

· Reviewing and correction of designs to include safety measures

· Identification of site possible materials to be kept in site during construction

· Making list of materials & involved equipment

· Preparation of time framework & work plan

· Site delivery

· Identify waste collection points, construction work route, and site exits.

· Removal of exist waste, trees, and undesired debris

· Site leveling works

· Papers & administrative work requirements

· PC & office programs application

· Survey, field visit, and making rapid inventory work

· Plastic collection bags, boxes, wood cutting machines, and PPEs.

· Manual construction tools, heavy truck for site leveling, and digging work equipment.

02

Construction phase

This stage includes the following activities;

· Excavation & fill up activities

· Concrete works

· Construction & buildings works

· Plastering works

· Flooring & slab works

· Rain water drainage works

· Carpentry work

· Painting

· Water & sanitation works

· Electricity works

· Decoration

· Furniture & building supplies installation

Out& Indoor activities;

· Fences & gates work

· Free spaces work

· Garden & site pavement work

· Water supply & sanitation activities

· Electricity & external lamps work

· Instruction boards & traffic signs

· Construction of gray water tank

· Solar energy installation

· Ventilators designs

· Line phone & internal communication network

· All electrical works

· Safety applications work

· Installation of firefighting systems & equipment

This intensive phase will involve using different kind of materials and equipment like the following;

· Establishment of temporary noise barrier and fences around work area

· Applying heavy trucks &machines such as bulldozer, excavation axe tools forklift, concrete mixer machine, cranes, and Transportation means

· Construction materials &manual construction tools.

· Materials and equipment like cement, stones, construction’s steel, water, sand, breaks, water plastic tubes, ladders, scaffolds, ropes, and wood are involved when making this part

· Local and intensive labor is required in collaboration with the ILO

· Establishing worker’s room and its supplies including waste disposal receptacles

· Supplying the site with washing water temporary tank & waste collection bags,

· Construction the site with water designs & irrigation equipment

· Sanitation connections &storage tank of solid waste

· Place room for the site engineer

· Plantation& garden work

· Painting materials and involved chemical substances

· Electricity & electronic work devices

· Installation of safety supplies

· Materials & equipment related to plastering works

· Cables and site gates installation

· Others

03

Operation phase

Activities of this stage can be summarized as below ;

· Authority Daily work

· Holding meetings & related workshops

· Documentation & archiving authority documents

· Preparation of studies

· Correspondence & coordination works

· Storage of authority supplies &equipment

· Printing, copying, and administrative office works

· Traffic & parking of the municipality’s vehicles

· Maintaining &preparation of out spaces

· Frequent operation of electricity generator

· Activities related to maintenance & operation

· kiosks for different services

· Communication & training

· Security & secretary works

· Toilette & water cycle uses

· Oil & lubricant frequent change

· Cleaning and building arrangement

During this period, materials & work requirements may include the following;

· Materials related to administrative work & offices activities

· Cleaning substances & furniture purification

Using equipment like;

· copy machines& scanners

· PC s & printers

· Internet & communication network

· Faxes, phones, and servers

· Equipment related to municipality main duties

Table (3): Sub-project’s Activities and Equipment

2.6 Environmental & Social Assessment and Review Process

In order to prepare and review the environmental and social investigations required for this sub-project, Ramtha municipality and the PMU follow and adopt the below activities and policies;

Phase

Activities

Condition

Responsibility

Screening & preparation of ESIA’s outlines

· Investigation of ESIA study scope

· Meeting related stakeholders and involved agencies

· Making an initial site visit &gathering available documents

· Identification of issues and applicable safeguard policies in regards to kiosk issue and preparation of ARAP document

· Investigating related studies and project’s documents

· Categorization

· Making study action plan

Done

PMU / Municipality

Conducting ESIA/ESMP

· Conducting field visit and project site investigation

· Conduct consultations with affected groups& beneficiaries

· Outline findings of meetings &site documentation

· Making ESIA/ ESMP draft

Done

PMU

Review of ESIA draft

· Review of ESIA draft

· Review of ESMP tables

· Discuss comments with municipality

Done

Municipality / Safeguards specialist in PMU

Comments incorporation and final pre review of final document

· Integration of municipality comments and discussion of all critical points related to ESIA’s study

· Improving ESIA draft and revising its contents

· Reviewing of ESIA & ESMP all chapters

Done

Safeguards specialist in PMU

Preparation of final study of ESIA/ ESMP

· Making the final ESIA and ESMP report

· Review of ESIA, ESMP final document

· Incorporation of PMU final comments and suggestions

Done

Safeguards specialist in PMU

Approval of ESIA & ESMP final report

· Consent of ESIA & ESMP study

· Submission of the final document of ESIA/EMP to the WB

· Formal acceptance of the study by the World Bank team

· Printing out the document and providing the client with required copies

Upcoming

/The WB team/ PMU

Disclosure of ESIA & ESMP

· Disclosure of ESIA on project Website

· Making information letter to related agencies& involved parties

Upcoming

PMU / Municipality

Procurement of work contract and incorporation of ESIA measures

· Incorporation of ESIA/ ESMP measures in the work contract documents

· Announcing project tender documents and bids qualifications

· Signing with the contractor

Upcoming

CVDB / Municipality

Implementation & Monitoring

· Construction of the project with mitigation measures included in ESIA/ESMP document

· Monitoring & reporting applications of work mitigation measures

· Reviewing field monitoring reports

· Submission of final reports to the WB

Upcoming

PMU / Municipality

Table (4): Environmental and Social Assessment and Review Process

Chapter 3

Existing Environment and Baseline Data

3.1 Geology & Soils

Irbid governorate, in which Ramtha municipality lies, is situated the Yarmouk River Basin that covers an area of about 1160 km2. The headwaters of the basin fall in the Ajloun highlands south of Irbid, but the Yarmouk River itself begins permanent flow at WadiShallaleh near the Syrian border. The geology is dominated by Upper Cretaceous limestone with sinkholes mixed with marl in the lower formation sand chert in the upper formations. Finally, early in the rifting and uplift process, volcanism led to basalt flow along much of the northern part of that area. However, project location has no indication of soil contamination or soil erosion to be mentioned in this study, while top soil might be removed aside to be used later within green spaces and may be for garden purposes, as it has significant agricultural values.

3.2 Water Resources & Hydrogeology

Generally, Jordan’s primary sources of water are aquifers and basins fed and recharged through annual rainfall. The groundwater resources are subdivided into groundwater basins on the bases of natural boundaries and administrative boundaries. The Yarmouk Basin in which Ramtha municipality lies, is considered the largest as it covers an area of about 1,500 km2. This area has a semiarid climate of the Mediterranean Sea region with a limited amount of rainfall and high temperatures. Meteorological records collected by the Jordan Meteorological Department at Irbid station in the North, gave the mean annual rainfall and temperatures as 410mm and 18degrees C. Depletion of this valuable and scarce resource may be inevitable due to the increase in population, especially after the Syrian crisis, and the misuse and mismanagement of water resources.

3.3 Air Quality & Noise level

In general, current activities in the sub-project area are not considered to make adverse impacts on air quality or contribute in disturbance of noise levels since existing investments are simple and involvement of industrial complicated processes and large equipment are not accounted.

However, this sub-project is expected to temporarily increase dust concentration and disturb noise level during construction stage, especially for the students in the nearby schools and the visitors of the health center near the site, IF mitigation measures that are explained in details and included in this document are not taken into consideration.

3.4 Flora & Fauna

Based on site investigation and field visit for sub-project area, the site is clear from perceptible diversity while unique and endangered species are not known to exist in the area and were not observed during the field visit, even no trees exist in the site except for a few bushes -of species which are common in the project’s area- that were removed when the kiosk was demolished, these bushes are common in the area and have no special biological significance.

Figure (6): Bushes and existing species in the site

3.5 Wetlands & Protected Areas

There are no wetlands or protected areas recorded in the sub-project area.

3.6 Population

With a population of approximately 165,000, Ramtha city is the second largest city in Irbid Governorate. However, the total population in the project area is estimated to be around 5,000 people as a maximum and most of them are not living permanently in this place. This number is of students and school staff in the nearby schools, employees of the comprehensive health center and health directorate near the site, as well as the local people and citizens who live in the adjacent area and may use the amusement park which is located near the site as well. In addition, small number of surrounding residents is included to figure out the total number of area population and to identify the most affected groups of project construction and operation activities.

3.7 Services & Facilities

Since this sub-project is located in an urban city, services such as public water networks, telecommunication, electricity, roads network, sanitation services, and education and health centers are all available in the sub-project’s area. In addition, facilities like transportation means and private business are available in this area.

3.8 History, Heritage, and Touristic Sites

Field visits and site investigation indicate the absence of historical and heritage culture elements in this site while touristic sites are not recorded. Therefore, the proposed sub-project has no impact on this domain.

3.9 Climate & Topography

There is no weather station to give accurate data about climate parameters on sub-project’s location. Generally, Ramtha climate is characterized by its moderate temperature and moderate rainfall patterns.

Topography of sub-project’s site is part of Ramtha city that is located in the far northwest of Jordan, with a population of approximately 165,000, making it the second largest city in Irbid Governorate. The city experiences a Mediterranean climate with relatively hot summers and cold winters. Sub-project location is a flat and urban open area with no adjacent hills and height features.

Chapter 4

Legal and Institutional Framework

4.1 Jordanian Environmental Regulations

The Ministry of Environment (MoEnv) was established in 2003 as Jordan’s lead institution for environmental management, with one of its responsibilities to coordinate national efforts to protect the environment. Jordan has an extensive web of laws and regulations pertaining to environmental protection and management. The following regulations have been initially identified to discuss within the framework of the legal requirements for the project and accordingly the ESIA study.

Law of Environmental Protection, No. 52 of 2006, went into effect in the Official Local Newspaper on Oct. 16, 2006:

The provisions under this Law include the requirement to protect the environment and all of its elements; the requirement to set policies for the protection of the environment and the preparation of plans for such policies; the requirement to monitor elements of the environment; the requirement to set principles for the handling of harmful substances; approval for the establishment of natural reserves, national parks, and their management and supervision; the requirement to issue environmental emergency plans; and the monitoring and inspection of projects and facilities to ensure that they are in compliance with Jordanian standard specifications. As per the law, MoEnv is responsible for setting Jordan’s environmental protection policy, monitoring activities, coordinating national efforts for environmental protection, and preparing environmental contingency plans.

•Article 7 of the law assigns the MoEnv with the environmental monitoring and inspection responsibilities, and grants its employees the right to enter any facility for inspection needs;

•Article 13 sets the requirements for conducting Environmental Impact Assessment for projects;

•An Environmental Protection Fund was established under articles 16 and 17 and sets fees for violation of its provision, terms for delegation of authority, and the operation of environmental non-governmental organizations in Jordan. Finally, it lists the regulations that should be issued in accordance to the law.

Of the required 12 regulations set by law; the following regulations have already been issued: marine and coastal environment; environment protection from pollution in emergency cases; air protection; nature reserves and national parks; management, transport and handling of harmful and hazardous substances; management of solid wastes; environmental impact assessment; and soil protection.

Many other agencies retain their environmental responsibilities and structures. Environmental sections and departments are present in a number of institutions such as the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Water Authority of Jordan, and Ministry of Health, among others. Institutions that do not have dedicated environmental departments often resort to naming environmental focal points whose responsibilities often include liaising with institutions on issues that pertain to both their respective agencies’ mandate and the environment.

Furthermore, Article 23 mandates MoEnv to issue a number of bylaws which include natural reserves and national parks. To date, the following by-laws have been issued:

•EIA regulation No. 37 for the year 2005;

•Noise Level Control Regulation for the year 2003;

•Hazardous Waste Management and Handling Regulation for the year 2003;

•Regulation for the Control of the Use of Ozone Depleting Materials for the year 2003;

•Regulation for the Management, Transport and Handling of dangerous and Hazardous Materials number 24 for the year 2005;

•Public Heath Law (No. 54, 2002);

•Water Authority Law (No. 18, 1988) and related standards;

•Regulations for protection of birds and wildlife and roles covering their hunting (No. 113, 1973);

•The Antiquities Law (No. 21, 1988);

•Civil Defense Law (No. 18, 1999);

•Traffic Law No. 47, 2001;

•Labor Law;

•Penalty Law (No. 16, 1960);

•Ministry of Agriculture Law (No. 44, 2002);

•Natural Resources Authority Laws 2002;

•Jordanian Standards for Air Pollution (JS 1189/2006);

•Handling and discharge of used oil by-law of 2003;

•Natural Reserves and national parks by-law (No, 29, 2005); and

•Soil protection by-law (No.25, 2005)

4.2 Jordanian Environmental Impact Assessment Policy

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a key tool to ensure that decisions taken at the legislative and regulatory level are actually executed and built into the design and implementation of development projects.

All development projects (including this project), regardless of EIA classification, must adhere to the Jordanian Standards in regards to air, emission, water, wastewater reuse; industrial and municipal discharge, in case triggered by the project. Requirements in the General Conditions of the FIDIC are applied.

The Municipality as local executing agency must consult and refer to several Jordanian governmental institutions, regulatory authorities as well as other stakeholders from public & private sector several times during the clearance process to ensure environmental compliance; others must be approached prior to construction to take permissions.

4.3World Bank Environmental and Social Safeguards Policies

The World Bank (WB) has ten operational safeguard policies that apply to various development projects that the Bank is either implementing or funding. The purpose of these policies is to prevent and mitigate negative social and environmental impacts of development projects. At the same time, these policies aim to increase socio-eco returns of constructed project on people and local environment through investigating and ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of development project and implementing proper mitigation measures to leave no adverse impact of the project.

The table below liststheWorldBank10 safeguard policies which shall be considered when conducting ESIA study for development projects;

No.

Policy

Reference

Applicable to Ramtha sub-project

1

Environmental Assessment

OP / BP / 4.01

Yes

2

Involuntary Resettlement

OP / BP/ 4.12

Yes

3

Natural Habitats

OP / BP 4.04

No

4

Cultural Property

OP 4.11

No

5

Pest Management

OP 4.09

No

6

Indigenous Peoples

OP 4.10

No

7

Forestry

OP / BP 4.36

No

8

Safety of Dams

OP / BP 4.37

No

9

Projects in Disputed Areas

OP / BP / 7.60

No

10

Projects on International Waterways

OP / BP / 7.50

No

Table (5):Safeguards Policies of the Bank

MSSRP would include small-scale investments in eligible municipalities selected based on the positive list and pre-approved selection criteria. During the implementation process, some negative environmental impacts which are easily mitigated may occur due to construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of sub-projects. As a result, MSSRP is rated a category “B” in accordance with World Bank Operational Policy 4.01 (January 1998).

It is, anticipated that subprojects activities will have some negative environmental impacts which will need to be managed. The ESMF is therefore a precautionary measure and details steps to be undertaken for each specific category of investment through preparation of subproject specific environmental and social management plans.

In the case of Ramtha municipality sub-project; the Governmental Complex, it is a category B, which needs ESIA including site-specific ESMP as the appropriate tool to implement this project, so that any significant environmental or social impacts can be mitigated properly.

4.4Gap analysis between Jordanian Legislations and the World Bank Policies

In Jordan, the national regulations define a list of projects that must conduct a comprehensive Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). In addition, through the screening processes, unlisted projects could be required to conduct an ESIA if they prove to have significant negative environmental impacts. Further, the Jordanian regulations divide the projects into three categoriesthat correspond roughly to the three categories of the World Bank (i.e. A,B,C) .

It should be noted that an ESIA was not required for this sub-project under Jordanian national regulations. In accordance with the Project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework, the sub-project was screened and was considered Category B as the potential for impacts on the environment and human populations are considered less adverse than for a Category A project. The impacts are considered site-specific, and mitigation measures can be designed to address them. Accordingly, this ESIA was prepared, with emphasis on the ESMP.

Many features of the Jordanian EA system are compatible with the World Bank EA Policy (OP 4.01). These features are: (i) screening; (ii) scoping; (iii) ESIA report content; (iv) content of the Environment and Social Management Plan; (v) provisions for appeal; and (vi) requirements for monitoring and evaluation.

As for the World Bank Resettlement Policy 4.12, which implies that affected persons by any project implementation must be compensated based on a socio-economic study conducted by a third party or consultant. According to Jordanian Laws and regulations of land acquisition, the government has the right to use up to 25% of any citizen’s property, in case a project is intended to use this property and has an added value to the whole area, such as opening new roads that can add extra value to the land as the services shall be provided through this road to the area.

While the Bank’s policy for involuntary resettlement distinguishes between compensation for expropriated assets and rehabilitation measures to help improve, or at least restore, incomes or standards of living of PAPs and their communities, the Jordanian LAL pays little or no attention to the difference between simple compensation and resettlement for productive purpose. The LAL allows for cash compensation to be paid for the expropriated land but does not require development of alternative livelihood restoration strategies to address PAPs’ social and economic well-being and to build their productive capacity.

In the case of Ramtha municipality governmental complex project, the owner of the kiosk which was removed is considered an affected person and has to be compensated in the appropriate amount his livelihood was affected, which is not the case according to Jordanian laws.

As previously mentioned, an A-RRAP was conducted by the PMU, in which 5 PAPs were identified that were d