7. FUTURE KEY ISSUES

Construction Programme for the Coming Months

7.1 The construction programme for the Project is provided in Appendix B.

7.2 The major construction works in May 2008 are:

- Permanent Nails installation at Portion A1

- Test Nails (5 nos.) for Pull Out Test at Portion B2

- Site Clearance for soil nails setting out to Portion A2 (i.e. from Row Q to Row AE)

- Permanent Nails installation at Portion B2

Key Issues for Coming Month

7.3 Key issues to be considered in the coming month included:

- Properly store and label oils and chemicals on site;

- Collection of construction waste should be carried out regularly;

- Site runoff should be properly collected and treated prior to discharge;

- Construction activities should avoid causing damage to the trees and to plants species of conservation interest;

- Quieter powered mechanical equipment should be used.

7.4 The following mitigation measures are required:

Air Quality Impact

- Regular watering should be used during soil nailing;

- Dusty material stockpiled should be completely covered;

- Dusty activities should be re-scheduled if high-wind conditions encountered;

- Open burning should be strictly prohibited;

- All dusty vehicle loads transporting to, from and between site locations should be covered with tarpaulin;

- Vehicle wheel and body washing facilities should be used at all exit points of the site;

- Wind shield, dust extraction units or water spraying should be used at the loading points.

Construction Noise Impact

- Quieter powered mechanical equipment should be used;

- Insulating fabric should be used for drill rigs during drilling process;

- Noise generating construction works should be carried out during daytime only;

- Noise barriers or other measures should be used to minimize disturbance to the bat roost;

- Plant on site should be properly maintained and serviced regularly;

- Mobile plants should be sited as far from NSRs as possible;

- Machines and plant in intermittent use should be throttled down;

- Strong noise emitting plants, wherever possible, should be oriented so that noise is directed away from the nearby NSRs;

- Material stockpiles, wherever possible, should be effectively utilized to screen noise from construction activities;

- Movable noise barrier with surface mass in excess of 7kg/m² should be used for PME wherever possible;

- Noise insulating fabric should be adopted for drill rig operating in Works Area E.

Water Quality Impact

- Prevent runoff water from entering the nearby water-bodies;

- Silt traps and oil / grease separators should be regularly cleaned and maintained;

- Outlet pipe extending above the slope surface should be installed;

- Air should be used as the flushing medium of the drilling equipment;

- Earth bunds or sand bag barriers should be provided on-site to direct storm water to silt removal facilities;

- Exposed slope / soil surface and opened stockpile of more than 50m³ should be covered with tarpaulin;

- Oils and fuels should be used and stored in designated area.

Chemical and Waste Management

- Debris and rubbish on-site should be collected, handled and disposed of properly;

- Waste skips should be provided to collect general refuse and construction wastes;

- Soil contamination with fuel leaked from construction plants should be removed off-site;

- Sufficient waste disposal points with regular collection should be provided;

- Appropriate measures should be provided to minimize windblown litter and dust during transportation of waste;

- Different containers should be used to segregate and store different types of waste;

- Encourage collection of aluminum cans, PET bottles and paper by providing separate bins;

- Unused chemicals should be recycles wherever possible;

- Proper storage and site practices should be adopted to minimize the potential for damage and contamination of construction materials;

- Oils and fuels should be stored in designated area;

- Plan and stock construction materials carefully to minimize waste generation.

Ecological Impact

- Soil nail installation should avoid / minimize damage of root system to the existing plants;

- Fences should be erected along the boundary of the works area

- Disturbance to the natural woodland and shrubland habitats should be minimized by preventing tipping, vehicle movements and encroachment of personnel onto the adjacent area;

- Permanent casing should be provided to the drillhole of soil nail;

- Placement of equipment or stockpile should be located in designated areas to minimize disturbance to natural or moderate-high ecological value habitats;

- Construction activities should be restricted to works areas;

- Disturbance to existing vegetation should be minimized wherever possible.

Landscape and Visual Impact

- Designation of “no-intrusion zones” and record any trespass and damage to existing vegetation;

- Soil nails on site should avoid tree trunks and tree roots;

- Dust and erosion control should be provided for exposed soil;

- For tree planting operations, method statement should be checked against specification requirements;

- All retained trees within the working boundary should be checked regularly;

- Control over appearance of hoarding, construction plants / machines;

- Security floodlights should be carefully selected to avoid light pollution.

Monitoring Schedule for the Coming Months

7.5 The tentative schedule for environmental monitoring in May 2008 is provided in Appendix L.