The sponsor has presented plans to address these impacts to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific measures listed in the attached Environmental and Social Action Plans, comply with applicable host country laws and regulations and World Bank/IFC requirements. The information about how these potential impacts will be addressed by the sponsor/project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.
- Dialog’s Environmental Management System.
Dialog has developed basic environmental, health and safety (EHS) policies and procedures and plans to designate and train an EHS Manager in the coming months. Subsequently, this manager will further develop the details of an Environmental Management System so as to ensure that the company’s operations are managed to meet applicable IFC environmental and social policies and guidelines and Sri Lankan requirements. The program will include the development and implementation of:
- Modifications to the objectives for EHS performance to include meeting World Bank/IFC policies and guidelines, and specifically IFC’s Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for Telecommunications;
- Further definition of EHS staff organizational roles and responsibilities; and
- Methodologies for monitoring performance and reporting results.
- Site selection, land acquisition procedures and construction impacts of network (towers, switching center and base stations).
Dialog has 281 cell sites presently operational. Expansion plans for 2003-2004 focus on installing extra transceiver channels in existing sites, and up to 100 micro base stations and indoor base stations in order to improve network capacity. Where required (usually the rural areas), engine alternator sets are installed to cover power disruptions. All sites have an 8-hour battery reserve. The engine alternators are soundproofed to meet local noise requirements.
Base station and tower sites have generators ranging in size from 10 KW to 12.5 KW and batteries to protect strategic equipment from power loss. All of the generators are small in capacity and are considered under World Bank Group guidelines to have minimal impact on air emissions. Dialog follows World Bank Group ambient noise guidelines. For example, ambient noise outside the generator room must be below 45 decibels in residential areas during the night. The company will follow a routine preventative maintenance schedule that ensures the generators operate according to manufacturers'' specifications and, thus, minimizes the air emissions and ambient noise.
In all cases for the location of sites, Dialog has met the conditions of both federal government and local city environmental agencies. The agencies involved are the Ministry of Defense, Department of Civil Aviation, Urban Development Authority, Central Environmental Authority, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, and local territorial authorities (council, etc.). The company almost always has been leasing space for its antennae and base stations from land owners through a willing lessor/willing lessee relationship. It has typically placed its equipment on roof tops or within on-ground structures, and most sites are located within towns or cities. Equipment has been installed either in existing rooms or in small concrete structures built specifically for the equipment. The concrete structures are sufficiently small that changes in on-the-ground land use are minimal.
- Development of previously undisturbed land and impacts on environmentally or culturally sensitive areas (national parks, forests and other cultural heritage features).
Dialog intends to co-locate cell sites as much as possible, thus reusing towers and access roads, and where the Company is expanding into new coverage areas, some tower and access road construction may be required. The Company will attempt to minimize the impact of such construction by ensuring that:
- new installations will minimize impacts on sensitive areas, such as national parks, forests, wetlands, or cultural sites; and
- existing installations will be used where feasible.
In identifying new sites, the company assesses potential impacts on the local neighborhood and minimizes them. The neighborhood is informed about the project through local meetings, and the company seeks the approval of these neighbors.
- Fuels/hazardous materials use.
Dialog does not use any liquid or solid chemicals or hazardous gases in its operations. No CFC, PCB or halon-based equipment is presently in use nor will any be installed. All batteries used by Dialog are sealed types with less than a 12 year lifespan, after which they are recyclable, and the company has never experienced any leakage from them. All fuel storage has secondary containment.
- Waste management.
Domestic waste is disposed of through public mains. All solid and liquid waste management is carried out under maintenance and operations procedures that specify:
- containers for handling, transportation, and disposal, and
- monitoring of actual practice to improve performance.
Contractors must follow these procedures as well. Solid and liquid waste generated as part of the network installation and operations is limited and will be disposed of in accordance with local regulations.
- Training and emergency response.
Live firefighting demonstrations are conducted on a monthly basis for all new staff. Fire evacuation drills are conducted every three months with the help of local fire brigades. All the mobile switching stations are provided with FM 200 fire suppression systems along with portable fire extinguishers and hose reels. Any emergency can be alarmed to others through break glass call points or automatically through smoke/heat detectors connected to the fire alarm systems.
