Background

IFC is currently assessing two pulp mill projects in Uruguay, Orion and CMB, for financing. In order to fulfill the requirements of its Environmental and Social Review Procedures, IFC commissioned a CIS of the construction and operations of the two pulp mills and their respective raw material sourcing. This cumulative impact study drew upon the original environmental and social impact assessment documentation of the two projects as well as stakeholder comments on that documentation, and provided additional assessment of impacts that was deemed necessary for a full understanding of the combined effects of the two projects. IFC released the CIS for 60 day public comment period on December 19, 2005 and followed this release with a series of stakeholder consultations in Uruguay and Argentina in January and February 2006.

On April 11, 2006, IFC publicly released the report of independent experts [pdf] who were commissioned to review all comments provided by stakeholders on the draft Cumulative Impact Study of the two proposed pulp mills on the Rio Uruguay. Based on this review, the independent experts identified a need for additional information and analysis to accurately determine and substantiate the environmental impacts of the CMB and Orion projects. In addition, the experts recommended a number of technical improvements for consideration that could enhance the environmental performance of both mills.

Therefore, the services of an independent and specialized consultancy were solicited for the purpose of gathering additional data, performing additional analysis, and recalculating cumulative impacts in a manner consistent with the recommendations of the independent experts. This additional information and analysis will be incorporated into a final, updated CIS. Specifically, the consultancy will be required to revise the December 2005 draft CIS, including annexes, to include additional information to address all points raised by the expert panel in its April 2006 report and correct any inaccuracies, based on the latest available information.

The Canadian consulting firm EcoMetrix has been selected to undertake this work. The selection was based on the evaluation of competitive bids from three independent consulting firms having no previous relationship with the project proponents, ENCE and Botnia. These three firms were shortlisted from a larger pool of consultancies with demonstrated expertise and experience in the environmental and social impact assessment for pulp and paper projects [and whose previous clients included not only industry but also government regulators and/or other entities charged with protecting the public interest].

Ecometrix Background/Qualifications

EcoMetrix is an environmental consulting firm based in Canada. The founding members and employees of EcoMetrix were the core of Principals and Associates of Beak International Incorporated Canadian operations before it was acquired in 2002 by a large engineering firm. EcoMetrix offers specialized knowledge-based professional services to several business sectors, primarily pulp and paper and mining, as well as Government and other professional services companies. EcoMetrix specializes in aquatic and terrestrial ecology, hydrologic and water quality modeling, hydrogeology and groundwater contamination assessment, mine waste assessment, geochemical evaluation and water quality management, as well as nuclear facility and waste assessment. In addition to undertaking numerous environmental assessments and audits of kraft pulp mills in North America, Latin America and Asia, EcoMetrix staff participated on behalf of the government and industry in the development of the Canadian Environmental Effects Monitoring program, which includes the assessment of potential mill-related effects on water and sediments, fish and fish habitat.

To complete the update of the CIS, EcoMetrix has teamed up with two other Canadian consultancies: “SENES Consultants Limited” and “Processys Incorporated.”

SENES, Specialists in Energy, Nuclear and Environmental Sciences, is a Canadian and employee owned environmental consulting company with offices in Canada, United States, Chile and India. SENES provides environmental services including environmental impact assessment, environmental monitoring, health safety and risk assessment, solid and hazardous waste management, emergency response management and socio-economic impact assessment. SENES complements the core of the EcoMetrix team with a broad range of skills and experience related to the atmospheric environment including the assessment of industrial projects on air quality, management and analysis of air quality databases, and application of computer models that simulate contaminant behaviour in the environment. The SENES team will also be responsible for updating the CIS socio-economic analysis.

Processys specializes in process engineering and assessment of environmental performance for the pulp and paper industry as well as for government regulators. Processys specialists have been involved in the assessment of chemical pulping technologies, bleach filtrate recycling, effluent discharge minimization and life cycle analysis for kraft pulp mills in North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Processys will primarily be responsible for assessing the ability of the two projects to comply with environmental standards promoted in the European Commission's Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (IPPC BREF) for the Pulp and Paper Industry.