University of Montenegro

Faculty for Electrical Engineering

Environmental Assessment Report with the

Enviromental Management Plan for the Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics (BIO-ICT)

Approved by Environmental Safeguards Specialist on the HERIC project:

Ilinka Beatovic Nikic

______

July 2014

Contents

1. SUMMARY

2. LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK

3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

4. DESCRIPTION OF THE CONSIDERED ALTERNATIVES

5. ANALYSIS OF THE ENVIRONMENT SEGMENTS

6. DESCRIPTION OF POSSIBLE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS

7. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

8. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT AND STRENGTHENING

9. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TEAM

10. LITERATURE, DOCUMENTATION USED ETC.

11. ANNEXES

1. SUMMARY

The Project of the Centre of Excellence in BIO-ICT is implemented within the project "Higher Education and Research for Innovation and Competitiveness" -HERIC, with the support of the World Bank loan.

Holder of the Project is the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FEE)in Podgorica (RSRI[1]), University of Montenegro, while the partners are:

  • Institutefor Marine Biology (IMB), University of Montenegro (RSRI),
  • Institute for Public Health (IPH), Montenegro (RSRI),
  • Biotechnical Faculty (BTF), University of Montenegro (RSRI),
  • Centre for TeleInFrastrukture, Aalborg University, Denmark (ISRI[2]),
  • St. Petersburg scientific research centre for ecological safety, Russian academy of sciences (SRCES-RAS) (ISRI),
  • DOO Green House Jovović (NCE[3]), and
  • COGI D.O.O. (NCE).

Section 2 includes all the pieces of legislation that have to be taken into account in the process of drafting the environment impact assessment of the BIO-ICT project. Section 3 offers a brief description of all the locations where the project activities will take place. The description of the analysed alternatives that refer to the implementation of the BIO-ICT Project is presented in the Section 4, while section 5 contains the analysis of the segments of the environment. Description of the possible significant environment impacts and environment management plan are given in the sections 6 and 7 respectively. Strengthening of the capacities and distribution of responsibilities are discussed in the section 8. Members of the environmental assessment team, and the brief information about their professional engagement have been presented in the section 9, while literature and documentation used for the development of this Report are contained in the section 10.

2. LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK

When it comes to impact of an intervention on the environment, Montenegrin legislation includes a set of regulations, the Law on Environment Impact Assessment being the most important among them. The text below lists all the pieces of legislation that have to be taken into account in the process of developing the environmental assessment of the BIO-ICT project.

  • Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Structures (Official Gazette of MNE 51/08)
  • Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (Official Gazette of RMNE 80/05)
  • Law on Environment (Official Gazette of MNE 48/08)
  • Law on Nature Conservation (Official Gazette of RMNE 51/08)
  • Law on Air Protection (Official Gazette of MNE 25/10)
  • Law on Waters (Official Gazette of 27/07)
  • Law on Waste Management (Official Gazette of MNE 64/11)
  • Law on the Protection from Noise in Environment (Official Gazette of MNE 28/11)
  • Law on the Protection of Cultural Monuments (Official Gazette of RMNE 47/91)
  • Rulebook on quality and sanitary-technical requirements for the discharge of waste water into the recipient and public sewage system, manner of and procedure for examining quality of waste water, minimum number of tests to be performed and contents of the report on the established quality of waste water (Official Gazette of MNE 45/08, 9/10 and 26/12)
  • Decree on classification and categorisation of surface waters (Official Gazette of MNE 2/07)
  • Decree on establishing type of pollutants, limit values and other standards of air quality (Official Gazette of MNE 45/08)
  • Rulebook on allowed quantities of hazardous and harmful substances in soil and methods for testing them (Official Gazette of RMNE 18/97).
  • Decree on limit values of the emissions of pollutants into the air from stationary sources (Official Gazette of MNE 10/11)

Potential impact of BIO-ICT Project will also be assessed against the following documents:

  • Wold Bank Policy on the Environmental Impact Assessment(OP/BP/GP 4.01)
  • World Bank Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook (PPAH).

To do minor civil works in the IMB in Kotor (renovation of the wet laboratory), the project will need to obtain a permit, since the Institute building has the status of a cultural monument. On 14 April 2014 the Authority for Protection of Cultural Properties - Regional Unit Kotor issued the Decision on Conservatory Conditions for Development of the Project Documentation No.UP/I-05-62/2014-3.

No other project activities, including the supply of equipment and material will require a permit.

3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Key applications that will be developed within the BIO-ICT Project fall within the area of sustainable agriculture, monitoring of the eco-systems of sea water, crops and forests, development of the techniques for control and reduction of air pollution, analysis and standardisation of food products, control of the soil quality, improvement in the public health sector. Project objectives include the state-of-the-art research results, products and services in all these areas.

BIO-ICT Project has been organized in 8 Work Packages: WP1–Management, WP2–Dissemination, WP3–Improvement of Infrastructure, WP4–Hiring of Staff and Mobility, WP5–ICT and Agriculture, WP6–ICT Environmental Monitoring, WP7–Commercialization and WP8–Sustainability of the Project.

Description of the Project activities is presented by individual sites in Kotor, Danilovgrad and Podgorica and by Work Packages that include the activities that might have an impact on the environment (WP5 and WP6).List of Equipment and Material to be supplied within the WP3 – Improvement of Infrastructure, has been attached to the project application.

3.1. Description of Project activities in the Institute for Marine Biology in Kotor, which will be the site for the system of the glass aquarium for placing ICT bio-sensors on shells, Work Package 6 (WP6) with the supporting documentation.

Renovation of the Wet Laboratory

Renovation will be done in the IMB Wet Laboratory, which is in the immediate vicinity of the sea. It is not within the main complex of Institute building and it was built as an annex after the earthquake in 1979 for the needs of the experimental aquarium. That is why it does not have any roof structure but a flat roof, i.e. roof terrace. The premises are in poor condition due to the leaking from the roof terrace caused by the damages in the hydroinsulation. Entrance to the laboratory, appearance of the roof terrace and the contact zone with the rest of the aquarium (as is) is presented in the images below 1-3.

Image 1.Entrance to the laboratoryIMB

Image 2.Roof terraceIMB

Image 3.Contact zone with the rest of the aquarium

The laboratory room is 40.3 m2(9.59 x 4.20 m). The interior is composed of the concrete elements (sinks) on the left side and the empty space (images 4 and 5) covered in ceramic tiles up to the height of 1.70 m. There are water and electricity installations in the laboratory, but it should be checked and the worn out parts should be replaced.

In order to prevent the leaking from the roof, the roof terrace and the contact zone with the rest of the aquarium should first be insulated by the hydroinsulation material.

Interior Works

The interior works include removing of the existing plaster, putting a new lawyer of plaster and laying ceramic tiles on the floor and the walls up to 1.70 m of height, as well as on the existing concrete sinks. The worn out water sinks and sewage pipes have to be replaced and new taps installed. Electricity installation that is on the wall surfaces should be checked and worn out parts should be replaced. The system of switches and ceiling lighting should be replaced. Plastic pipes should be installed and used for theinstallation of the hose for bringing seawater to the laboratory.

Image 4.Interior of the laboratory

Image 5.Concrete sink and water supply and sewage installations

On the exterior walls the window elements are in very poor condition, just like the windows facing the interior of the big aquarium, on the opposite side of the exterior wall. Two-wing doors are used as entrance to the room. The worn out and rotten doors and windows have to be replaced. Since the room is in the contact zone with the main Institute building, the Institute for Protection of the Monuments of Culture will insist on covering the 5 fields beneath the exterior windows in stone, so that the facade is in line with the rest of the stone building. Image 6 shows the exterior part of the laboratory.

Image 6.Exterior facing Kotor

The wet laboratory will use the water from the municipal water supply grid that the Institute building is already connected to.

This particular site is connected to the faecal sewage grid and water from the wet laboratory is taken to that connection. Table 1 shows the maximum concentrations of hazardous and harmful matters in the wastewaters permitted to be discharged to the public sewage grid.

Table 1.Maximum concentrations of hazardous and harmful matters in the wastewaters permitted to be discharged into the public sewage grid („Official Gazette of Montenegro “ No. 45/08, 09/10 and 26/12)

Parameter / Measurement Unit / Maximum permitted concentration(MDK)
pH / 6-9
Temperature / ºC / 40
Colour / mg/l Pt scale / 20
Smell / Noticeable
Sedimentable matters / ml/lh / 10
Total suspended matters / mg/l / 300
BPK5 / mgO2/l / 500
HPK (K2Cr2O7) / mgO2/l / 700
Aluminium / mg/l / 4.0
Arsenic / mg/l / 0.2
Copper / mg/l / 1.0
Barium / mg/l / 5.0
Boron / mg/l / 4.0
Zink / mg/l / 2.0
Cobalt / mg/l / 2.0
Solder / mg/l / 2.0
Cadmium / mg/l / 0.1
Potassium / mg/l / 0.01
Total chrome / mg/l / 2.0
Chrome 6+ / mg/l / 0.2
Manganese / mg/l / 4.0
Nickel / mg/l / 2.0
Lead / mg/l / 2.0
Selenium / mg/l / 0.1
Silver / mg/l / 0.5
Iron / mg/l / 5.0
Vanadium / mg/l / 0.1
Total phenols / mg/l / 0.5
Fluorides / mg/l / 5.0
Sulphite / mg/l / 10
Sulphide / mg/l / 1.0
Sulphates / mg/l / 400
Chlorides / mg/l / 500
Total phosphorus / mgP/l / 7
Active Chlorine / mg/l / 0.3
Ammonium ion (N) / mgN/l / 15.0
Nitrites (N) / mgN/l / 30.0
Nitrates (N) / mgN/l / 50.0
Mineral oils / mg/l / 10.0
Total oils and fats / mg/l / 50
Aldehydes / mg/l / 2.0
Alcohols / mg/l / 10
Total aromatic carbo-hydrogens / mg/l / 0.4
Total nitrated carbohydgrogens / mg/l / 0.1
Total halogen carbohydrogens / mg/l / 1.0
Total organophosphate pesticides / mg/l / 0.1
Total organochlorine pesticides / mg/l / 0.05
Total surface active substances / mg/l / 20.0
Total detergents / mg/l / 4.0
Radioactivity / Bq/l / 1.0

Wastewater that is discharged in the public sewage grid cannot contain:

  • inflammable and explosive matters;
  • harmful gasses (hydrogen sulphide, sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, cyanide hydrogen, chlorine etc.);
  • solid viscous matter and floating matters like: ashes, cane, hey, metal scraps, plastic and wood, glass, cloths, feathers, meat, animal bowels, sediments generated through water treatment, residues of disinfectants and other chemicals and colours, bulk garbage, etc.;
  • acid, alkali and aggressive matters;
  • waste water from health care, veterinary and other organizations where presence of pathogen micro-organisms can be expected, without prior disinfection;
  • radioactive matters;
  • atmospheric duct cannot contain more than 0.03 mg/l of diluted or gaseous carbon hydrogen;
  • other harmful matters.

Water is discharged through special systems, buildings and devices that according to their purpose are divided to:

  • interior sewage, that contains the connecting discharge duct installation (the connection), buildings and devices with facilities for collection, treatment and discharge of waste water to public sewage;
  • public sewage grid that contains installation, buildings and devices used for collecting, discharging and treating wastewater from public areas and interior sewage.

Interior sewage grid has to be constructed and maintained in such a way that:

  • in the conditions of normal operation there is no possibility of overflowing and penetrationof polluted water
  • it is protected from the impact of slow water action on the public sewage grid;
  • it is constructed of material that is water-proof and resistant to acids and other hazardous and harmful matters within the pH range 6.5-9.0;
  • the minimum diameter of the duct connection that is defined on the basis of hydraulic calculation cannot be less than 150 mm.

The existing system for discharging wastewater from the wet laboratory to the municipal sewage grid, which is within the existing building of the Institute for Marine Biology in Kotor, has been designed in such a way that it avoids any contamination of the surrounding land, surface and ground water.

In the renovation works on the room of the wet laboratory we will use the appropriate equipment and tools the use of which will not cause any significant emission of particulate matter into the air, due to the pace of works on the site and the time of certain operations. Solid construction waste that can be generated during the reconstruction of the room of the wet laboratory - the construction grid and other kinds of materials generated in the process of replacement of windows and doors will be removed from the site in line with the regulations and terms and conditions issued by the utility company to the investor. Local self-government shall define the site where the investor will be able to dispose the generated solid construction waste.

Description of other activities in the IMB

Institute for Marine Biology - Kotor, together with the partner Institute for Public Health, shall be responsible for the implementation of the activities within the WP6. One of the bio-sensor systems for determining the cardio activities of the shells (Mediterranean Mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis) will be installed in the Institute for Marine Biology. This system is based on monitoring of the heartbeats of the autochthonousinvertebrate and their response to the possible pollution accidents. Aquarium system with shells will be installed in the wet laboratory, while the seawater will be supplied to the aquariums through hoses and pumps from the site in front of the IMB. At the same time, this work package will include seasonal analyses of the physical-chemical characteristics of seawater, sediment and mussels, contents of the heavy metals in the sediment and in the mussels’ meat, qualitative and quantitative composition of the phytoplankton and bio-toxins contents in the mussels’ meat. It will also include microbiological and sanitary analysis of the seawater and mussels’ meat, as well as the movements and speed of sea currents in Boka-Kotor Bay.

Sampling for determining the physical-chemical, microbiological and sanitary characteristics, as well as analysis of Phytoplankton and bio toxins will be done once a month and in the periods of alarm - stress, while the contents of the heavy metals will be determined twice a year.

During the activities within the WP6 IMB and IPHlaboratories will conduct usual procedures usingthe best laboratory practice for ensuring safety in the laboratories, safe waste disposal and operational procedures.

3.2. Description of activities in the COGIMAR site (WP6)

The combined sea fish and shells farm will be located in the furthest northern part of the Boka-Kotor Bay on the left side of the trunk road Kotor - Risan in the aquatorium between the place Orahovac and Bajova kula, in the unpopulated area on the site Brbat which covers the surface of about 2 hectares.

Image 7 shows the map with the precise site of the Brbat farm. Depth of the sea in that area is 25 m in the western and about 30 m in the eastern side of the cage. The average depth is about 27 m. Seabed is stony in the beginning and then sludgy about 18m from the coast. In the seabed there are no reefs or underwater bumps, which is very important for the smooth and good exchange of water through the system of continuous seawater flux. A large number of streams and underwater springs (vruljas) bring large quantities of fresh, oxygen-enriched water, particularly in the autumn, winter and spring period.

Image 7. Map with the precise site of the farm - Brbat (in green)

In the period of lower inflow of fresh water, the general direction of sea currents in the Kotor Bay is towards exit and the speeds range from 12 to 17 cm/sec, while in the strait Verige it can reach as much as 34 cm/sec. In the middle layer of water at the depths of 5 - 20 m the currents also keep the exit direction but their speed goes down. In the rainy periods, these currents are more intensive and their speeds can reach up to 45-50 cm/sec.In the period of flux and reflux the dynamics of the currents also change. These exit currents are set off by entrance currents that move immediately above the seabed on the depths of more than 40 m.

Average annual sea temperature amounts to about 170C. The lowest temperatures have been recorded in February - about 00C, while the highest have been recorded in July and August, when the average sea temperature is about 240C.

The most frequent winds are bora (bura), sirocco (jugo) and mistral. The average number of days with strong winds ranges between 7 and 8 days per year, while storm winds are very rare.

The second bio-sensor system for monitoring the cardio-activities of the shells (Mediterranean Mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis) will be installed in the COGIMAR fish and shell farm and just like the one in the IMB, this system will be installed in the room with the aquariums, while the system of pumps and hoses will be used to supply water from the farm site. The system will record data on-line during the project, and it will ensure fast response in case of pollution and accidents. At the same time, once a month the farm will record the biological and ecological condition of fish and shells and their possible response to the stress caused by pollution. Activities in the farm COGIMAR will not have any effect on the environment since they will only include the monitoring of the heartbeats of shells and the biological and ecological condition of the farmed organisms, i.e. no chemical analyses will be done in this site. Image 8 shows the site of the fish and shell farm.

Image 8.COGIMAR site used for sea fish and shell farm

3.3. Description of the activities in the Biotechnical Faculty and the Experimental Field in Lješkopolje (WP5)

Biotechnical Faculty possesses an experimental field in Lješkopolje (Image 9) with 25 ha of vineyard, an orchard, greenhouses with field crops and vegetable and wine cellar of 300 hl capacity. Viticulture, Wine and Fruit Production Centre of the Biotechnical Faculty in Podgorica has one of the richest collections of the domestic, domesticized and introduced varieties of vine in the Balkans (408 genotypes).