Part I

Draft Black Sea Regional Transmission Project ESIA
2.1.3.2 Transmission Lines
In forested areas, the right-of-way will require vegetation control measures to maintain
clearance for transmission lines and to maintain access to the towers. Vegetation control
will be conducted mechanically, with cutting
activities occurring every 6 to 8 years.
Herbicides will not be used for vegetation
control. An example of a cleared corridor in
forested terrain is shown in Figure 2-7.
Access to towers locations will be achieved by
driving to existing road crossings and entering
the right-of-way by driving over the ground or
by driving along dirt access roads (where they
exist along the existing sections of the line).
Neither permanent nor temporary
paved/gravel access roads will be established
and maintained in the right-of-way.
In some locations (including that portion of the
route traversing the Borjomi-Karagauli
National Park), construction and maintenance
access is will be by helicopter. Vegetation
Figure 2-7. Example of vegetation clearing
for corridor maintenance in forested terrain
control at the tower locations will be conducted manually by workers every six to eight years.
Because of the placement of the towers on high points, vegetation control in these areas of
the right-of-way may not always be required in order to maintain adequate clearance
between vegetation and lines.
2.2 Alternative 2 – Modified Route Near Ktsia-Tabatskuri Managed Reserve and
through Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Alternative 2 uses most of the original project route described in Alternative 1. However,
Alternative 2 involves a realignment of the route near Ktsia-Tabatskuri Managed Reserve in
order to reduce potential impacts to that protected area. It also involves crossing Borjomi-
Kharagauli National Park at its narrowest point and at areas quite distant from recreational
traffic. This alternative can also include some technological alternatives to minimize landclearing
in the National Park, which would further mitigate potential impacts. This alternative
is shown in Figure 2-8.
The modified route is 294 kilometers long, about 11 kilometers longer than Alternative 1, and
would involve constructing 350 or more new towers in addition to using 514 of the existing
towers. It also would involve abandoning 40 existing towers. The crossing of Borjomi-
Kharagauli would be 4.7 kilometers long, compared to 11.5 kilometers in Alternative 1. The
crossing of Ktsia-Tabatskuri would be 10 kilometers long, compared to 12.1 kilometers in
Alternative 1.
This alternative was developed based on consultations with the Agency for Protected Areas
in the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources In a series of meetings, the
Agency expressed concern over visual impacts to recreational bird-watching and impacts to
bird species near Tabatskuri Lake, an alpine lake. As a result, this alternative creates a new
alignment that roughly parallels the recently installed BTC pipeline and avoids the areas of
concern to the Agency for Protected Areas. In addition, the Agency expressed concern over
potential impacts in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, so the route was modified so it would
cross the park at its narrowest point.
20