F. No. J-11011/414/2008-IA-II (I)

             Government of India

Ministry of Environment and Forests

(I.A. Division)

Paryavaran Bhawan

CGO Complex, Lodhi Road

New Delhi ? 110 003

E-mail: ms.industry-mef@nic.in

           Tele/fax: 011 ? 2436 3973

                                                             Dated: 28th June, 2011      

To,

            M/s Rashmi Ispat Limited

Ashoka House, 3A Hare Street,

4th Floor, Kolkata - 700 001

West Bengal

 

Fax: 033- 22480250

E-mail: aloke_rispat@yahoo.co.in

 

Sub: Expansion of Sponge Iron Plant (6 x 100 TPD- 1,80,000 TPA of Sponge Iron) and installation of Ferro Alloy Plant (2 x 9MVA-36,960 TPA of Ferro manganese) and Captive Power Plant (2 x 4 MW of WHRB and 2 x 6 MW of AFBC Boiler - 20 MW of captive power generation) at Village Gajasimul, P.O. Jhargram, District West Midnapore in West Bengal by M/s Rashmi Ispat Limited - regarding Environmental Clearance

Sir,

This has reference to your letter no. nil dated  31st December, 2010 along with a copy of EIA/EMP and public hearing report seeking environment clearance under the provisions of EIA Notification, 2006.

 

2.         The Ministry of Environment and Forests has examined the application for the above project. It is noted that M/s Rashmi Ispat Private Limited have proposed for expansion of Sponge Iron Plant (6 x 100 TPD- 1,80,000 TPA of Sponge Iron) and installation of Ferro Alloy Plant (2 x 9MVA-36,960 TPA of Ferro manganese) and Captive Power Plant (2 x 4 MW of WHRB and 2 x 6 MW of AFBC Boiler - 20 MW of captive power generation) at Village Gajasimul, P.O. Jhargram, District West Midnapore in West Bengal. The proposed expansion of Sponge Iron Plant, Installation of Ferro Alloy Plant and Captive Power Plant will be taken up within the existing plant premises measuring 16.75 Acres of area. Green belt will be developed in 5.5 acres of plant area. No national Park/wild life sanctuary/reserve forest is located within 10 km radius of the project site. The existing plant was set up before the applicability of EIA Notification, 2006. The State Pollution Control Board renewed NOC on 5th October, 2010 for the existing plant. Total cost of the proposed expansion is Rs. 138.41 Crores. Rs 11.20 Crores and Rs 1.08 Crores are earmarked towards capital cost and recurring cost/annum for environment pollution control measures.

 

3.         Following are the details of existing and proposed facilities along with production capacity:

 

Plant Name

Unit Name

EXISTING CAPACITY

Proposed Expansion

Capacity After Expansion

No. & capacity

Total Production

No. & Capacity

Total Production

Total No. of Unit

Total Production

Sponge Iron

DRI Kiln

3X 100 TPD

90,000 TPA

3X100 TPD

90,000 TPA

6X100 TPD

1,80,000 TPA

Power Plant

WHRB  Boiler 

   4 MW

10 MW

4 MW

10 MW

2X4 MW

20 MW

AFBC boiler

  6 MW

6 MW

2X6 MW

Ferro Alloy Plant

Submerged

Arc Furnace 

-

-

2X9 MVA

36,960 TPA

(Ferro Manganese)

2X9 MVA

36,960 TPA

 

4.         It is noted that Iron Ore (5,76,000 TPA), Coal (5,76,000 TPA), Dolomite (11,520 TPA), coke breeze (2,4763 TPA), electrode paste (11,088 TPA), electrode casing(5,544 TPA), manganese ore (92,400 TPA), dolo char (2.43 TPH)  and coal for the captive power plant (3.63 TPH) will be used as raw materials. Coal will be obtained from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. and Eastern Coalfields Ltd. for which coal linkage is available. The captive power plant will be based on char. Sponge Iron will be produced through DRI using rotary kiln.  Waste Flue gases from the kilns will be passed through WHRB to generate power. Char generated from Sponge Iron blended with Coal will be used as fuel for power generation.

 

5.         To control the particulate emissions, ESPs will be provided to kilns and Power plant. Flue gases from kilns will be passed through WHRB and ESP before dispersing into the atmosphere through stacks of adequate height. Flue gases from AFBC boilers will be controlled by installation of ESP to achieve particulate matter emission below 50 mg/Nm3. Bag house will be installed to control the particulate emissions from coal crusher, stock house, product house, cooler discharge, iron ore crusher and ash handling system.  Dust extraction system with bag filters will be provided at material handling areas and transfer points.

 

6.         Water requirement of 2,508 KLD will be sourced from the existing bore wells. There will be no process effluent generation. Closed circuit cooling water system will be adopted in the proposed expansion. Cooling tower blow down and miscellaneous intermittent water such as floor washing, laboratory effluent will be reused for green belt development and fugitive dust suppression after treatment. Zero discharge of effluent will be adopted. Domestic wastewater will be treated in septic tank followed by soak pit. It is proposed to develop rain water harvesting structure to harvest the rain water from the roof tops. Low noise generating equipments will be installed. Noise enclosures will be provided to Turbines. Ear plugs will be provided to workers working in the noise prone areas. Power required is 20 MVA & will be sourced from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) & from proposed 20 MW Captive Power Plant. Existing D.G. Sets will be used for power back up purposes    (1 X 500 kVA & 2 X 725 kVA). 

 

7.         Coal fines/Dolochar will be used in the AFBC boiler as fuel for power generation. Ferro alloys slag is proposed to be stored in an identified area in the factory premises and sent to Silico Manganese manufacturers. Fly Ash from the boiler will be sold to cement and brick manufacturing units.

 

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8.         The Steel plants are listed at S.No. 3(a) under category A of the Schedule of EIA Notification, 2006 and appraised at the Central level.

 

9.         The proposal was considered by the Expert Appraisal Committee-1 (industry) in its 24th meeting held during 19th & 20th May, 2011. The Committee recommended the proposal for environmental clearance subject to stipulation of specific conditions along with other environmental conditions. Public hearing for the project was held on 6th April, 2010.

 

10.       Based on the information submitted by you, presentation made by you and consultant, M/s J. M. EnviroNet Pvt. Ltd. Gurgaon,  the Ministry of Environment and Forests hereby accords environmental clearance to the above project under the provisions of EIA Notification dated 14th September 2006 subject to strict compliance of the following Specific and General conditions:

 

A.        Specific Conditions:

 

i.          On-line ambient air quality monitoring and continuous stack monitoring facilities for all the stacks should be provided and sufficient air pollution control devices viz. Electrostatic precipitator (ESP), and bag filters etc. shall be provided to keep the emission levels below 50 mg/Nm3 by installing energy efficient technology.

           

ii.         The National Ambient Air Quality Standards issued by the Ministry vide G.S.R. No. 826(E) dated 16th November, 2009 should be followed.

 

iii.        Gaseous emissions including secondary fugitive emissions from all the sources should be controlled within the latest permissible limits issued by the Ministry vide G.S.R. 414(E) dated 30th May, 2008 and regularly monitored. Guidelines / Code of Practice issued by the CPCB should be followed.

 

iv.       As per the commitment submitted, no charcoal shall be used as fuel. Pet coke shall be used as fuel instead of charcoal from unknown sources. 

 

v.        Dust suppression system and bag filters shall be installed to control the fugitive dust emissions at conveyor and transfer points, product handling, loading and unloading points.

 

vi.       Hot gases from the DRI kiln shall be passed through Dust Settling Chamber (DSC) to remove coarse solids and After Burning Chamber (ABC) to burn CO completely and used in waste heat recovery boiler (WHRB).  The gas then shall be cleaned in ESP before dispersion out into the atmosphere through ID fan and stack. ESP shall be installed to control the particulate emissions from the WHRB.

 

vii.      Total water requirement shall not exceed 2,508 m3/ day. Necessary permission from the competent authority to draw the water shall be obtained. The water consumption shall not exceed as per the standard prescribed for the sponge iron plants.

 

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viii.     Efforts shall further be made to use maximum water from the rain water harvesting sources.  If needed, capacity of the reservoir should be enhanced to meet the maximum water requirement. Only balance water requirement should be met from other sources. Use of air cooled condensers shall be explored and closed circuit cooling system shall be provided to reduce water consumption and water requirement shall be modified accordingly.

 

ix.       All the effluent shall be treated and used for ash handling, dust suppression and green belt development.  No effluent shall be discharged and ?zero? discharge shall be adopted. Sanitary sewage shall be treated in septic tank followed by soak pit.

 

x.        Regular monitoring of influent and effluent surface, sub-surface and ground water shall be ensured and treated wastewater shall meet the norms prescribed by the State Pollution Control Board or described under the E(P) Act whichever are more stringent. Leachate study for the effluent generated and analysis should also be regularly carried out and report submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bhubaneswar, SPCB and CPCB.

        

xi.       All the char from DRI plant shall be utilized in AFBC boiler of power plant and no char shall be disposed off anywhere else. AFBC boiler shall be installed simultaneously along with the DRI plant to ensure full utilization of char from the beginning.  

 

xii.      Slag produced in Ferro Manganese (Fe-Mn) production shall be used in/sold for manufacture of Silico Manganese (Si-Mn).

 

xiii.     No Ferro Chrome shall be manufactured without prior approval from the Ministry of Environment & Forests.

 

xiv.     Proper utilization of fly ash shall be ensured as per Fly Ash Notification, 1999 and subsequent amendment in 2003 and 2009. All the fly ash should be provided to cement and brick manufacturers for further utilization and Memorandum of Understanding should be submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bhubaneswar.

 

xv.      Risk and Disaster Management Plan along with the mitigation measures should be prepared and a copy submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bhubaneswar, SPCB and CPCB within 3 months of issue of environment clearance letter.

 

xvi.     As proposed, green belt shall be developed in 33 % of plant area. Selection of plant species shall be as per the CPCB guidelines in consultation with the DFO.

 

xvii.    All the recommendations made in the Charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection (CREP) for the Sponge Iron Plants should be implemented.

 

 

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xviii.   All the commitments made to the public during the Public Hearing / Public Consultation meeting held on 6th April, 2010 shall be satisfactorily implemented and a separate budget for implementing the same shall be allocated and information submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bhubaneswar.

        

xix.     At least 5 % of the total cost of the project should be earmarked towards the Enterprise Social Commitment (ESC) based on Public Hearing issues and item-wise details along with time bound action plan should be prepared and submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bhubaneswar. Implementation of such program should be ensured accordingly in a time bound manner.

 

xx.      The company shall provide housing for construction labour within the site with all necessary infrastructure and facilities such as fuel for cooking, mobile toilets, safe drinking water, medical health care, crèche etc. The housing may be in the form of temporary structures to be removed after the completion of the project.

 

xxi.     The Company shall submit within 3 months their policy towards Corporate Environment Responsibility which should inter-alia address (i) Standard operating process/ procedure to being into focus any infringement/deviation/violation of environmental or forest norms/conditions, (ii) Hierarchical system or Administrative order of the Company to deal with environmental issues and ensuring compliance EC conditions and (iii) System of reporting of non compliance/violation environmental norms to the Board of Directors of the company and/or stakeholders or shareholders.

 

B.        GENERAL CONDITIONS:

 

i.              The project authorities must strictly adhere to the stipulations made by the West Bengal State Pollution Control Board  and the State Government.

 

ii.            No further expansion or modifications in the plant shall be carried out without prior approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

 

iii.           The gaseous emissions from various process units shall conform to the load/mass based standards notified by this Ministry on 19th May, 1993 and standards prescribed from time to time. The State Board may specify more stringent standards for the relevant parameters keeping in view the nature of the industry and its size and location. 

 

iv.           At least four ambient air quality monitoring stations should be established in the downward direction as well as where maximum ground level concentration of PM10, SO2 and NOX are anticipated in consultation with the SPCB. Data on ambient air quality and stack emission shall be regularly submitted to this Ministry including its Regional Office at Bhubaneswar and the SPCB/CPCB once in six months.

 

v.            Industrial wastewater shall be properly collected, treated so as to conform to the standards prescribed under GSR 422 (E) dated 19th May, 1993 and

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31st December, 1993 or as amended form time to time. The treated wastewater shall be utilized for plantation purpose.

 

vi.           The overall noise levels in and around the plant area shall be kept well within the standards (85 dBA) by providing noise control measures including acoustic hoods, silencers, enclosures etc. on all sources of noise generation.  The ambient noise levels should conform to the standards prescribed under EPA Rules, 1989 viz. 75 dBA (daytime) and 70 dBA (nighttime).

 

vii.          Occupational health surveillance of the workers shall be done on a regular basis and records maintained as per the Factories Act.

 

viii.        The company shall develop surface water harvesting structures to harvest the rain water for utilization in the lean season besides recharging the ground water table.

 

ix.           The project proponent shall also comply with all the environmental protection measures and safeguards recommended in the EIA/EMP and public hearing reports. Further, the company must undertake socio-economic development activities in the surrounding villages like community development programmes, educational programmes, drinking water supply and health care etc.

 

x.            Requisite amount shall be earmarked towards capital cost and recurring cost/annum for environment pollution control measures to implement the conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as the State Government. An implementation schedule for implementing all the conditions stipulated herein shall be submitted to the Regional Office of the Ministry at Bhubaneswar. The funds so provided shall not be diverted for any other purpose.

 

xi.           A copy of clearance letter shall be sent by the proponent to concerned Panchayat, Zila Parishad/Municipal Corporation, Urban Local Body and the local NGO, if any, from whom suggestions/representations, if any, were received while processing the proposal. The clearance letter shall also be put on the web site of the company by the proponent.

 

xii.          The project proponent shall upload the status of compliance of the stipulated environment clearance conditions, including results of monitored data on their website and shall update the same periodically.  It shall simultaneously be sent to the Regional Office of the MOEF at Bhubaneswar. The respective Zonal Office of CPCB and the SPCB.  The criteria pollutant levels namely; PM10, SO2, NOx (ambient levels as well as stack emissions) or critical sectoral parameters, indicated for the projects shall be monitored and displayed at a convenient location near the main gate of the company in the public domain. 

 

xiii.        The project proponent shall also submit six monthly reports on the status of the compliance of the stipulated environmental conditions including

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results of monitored data (both in hard copies as well as by e-mail) to the Regional Office of MOEF, the respective Zonal Office of CPCB and the SPCB. The Regional Office of this Ministry at Bhubaneswar/ CPCB / SPCB shall monitor the stipulated conditions.

 

xiv.        The environmental statement for each financial year ending 31st March in Form-V as is mandated to be submitted by the project proponent to the concerned State Pollution Control Board as prescribed under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, as amended subsequently, shall also be put on the website of the company alongwith the status of compliance of environmental conditions and shall also be sent to the respective Regional Office of the MOEF at Bhubaneswar by e-mail.

 

xv.          The Project Proponent shall inform the public that the project has been accorded environmental clearance by the Ministry and copies of the clearance letter are available with the SPCB and may also be seen at Website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests at http:/envfor.nic.in. This shall be advertised within seven days from the date of issue of the clearance letter, at least in two local newspapers that are widely circulated in the region of which one shall be in the vernacular language of the locality concerned and a copy of the same should be forwarded to the Regional office at Bhubaneswar.

 

xvi.        Project authorities shall inform the Regional Office as well as the Ministry, the date of financial closure and final approval of the project by the concerned authorities and the date of commencing the land development work.

 

11.       The Ministry may revoke or suspend the clearance, if implementation of any of the above conditions is not satisfactory.

 

12.       The Ministry reserves the right to stipulate additional conditions if found necessary. The Company in a time bound manner shall implement these conditions.

           

13.       The above conditions shall be enforced, inter-alia under the provisions of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 and the Public (Insurance) Liability Act, 1991 along with their amendments and rules.

 

 

 (Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)

                                                                                                                   Scientist -F

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Copy to:

 

1.    The Secretary, Department of Environment, Govt. of West Bengal, Kolkata, West Bengal.

2.    The Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, Parivesh Bhavan, CBD-cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi-110032.

3.    The Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Parivesh Bhawan, 10A Block-LA, Sector-III, Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700091, West Bengal.

4.    The Chief Conservator of Forests, Regional Office (EZ), Ministry of  Environment and Forests  A-3, Chandrashekharpur, Bhubaneswar - 751 023, Orissa

5.    Guard File / Monitoring File / Record File.

 

           

(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)

                                                                                                                               Scientist -F