PART A (MAIN PERMIT)
A部 (許 可 證 主 要 部 分 )

Pursuant to Section 10 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, the Director of Environmental Protection (the Director) grants this environmental permit to the KOWLOON - CANTON RAILWAY CORPORATION (the "Permit Holder") to construct and operate the designated project described in Part B subject to the conditions described in or attached to Part C. The issue of this environmental permit is based on the documents, approvals or permissions described below:

根 據 環 境 影 響 評 估 條 例 第 10條 的 規 定 ﹐ 環 境 保 護 署 署 長 (署 長 ) 將 本 環 境 許 可 證 批 予 九 廣 鐵 路 公 司 (「 許 可 證 持 有 人 」 )以 建 造 及 營 辦 B部 所 說 明 的 指 定 工 程 項 目 ﹐ 但 須 遵 守 C部 所 說 明 或 附 載 的 條 件 。 本 環 境 許 可 證 的 發 出 ﹐ 乃 以 下 表 所 列 的 文 件 、 批 准 或 許 可 作 為 根 據 ﹕ -

PART B (DESCRIPTIONS OF DESIGNATED PROJECT)
B部 (指 定 工 程 項 目 的 說 明 )

Hereunder is the description of the designated project mentioned in Part A of this environmental permit:

下 列 為 本 環 境 許 可 證 A部 所 提 及 的 指 定 工 程 項 目 的 說 明 :

PART C (PERMIT CONDITIONS)

1. General Conditions

1.1 The Permit Holder shall ensure full compliance with all conditions of this environmental permit (the permit). Any non-compliance may constitute a contravention of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap.499) and shall be definite ground for enforcement action or permit cancellation where applicable.

1.2 This permit shall not remove the responsibility of the Permit Holder to comply with any legislation currently in force such as the Noise Control Ordinance (Cap.400), Air Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap.311), Water Pollution control Ordinance (Cap.358), Dumping at Sea Ordinance (Cap.466), the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap.354), and others.

1.3 The Permit Holder shall make copies of this permit available at all times for inspection by the Director at all sites covered by this permit.

1.4 The Permit Holder shall give a copy of this permit to the person(s) in charge of the site(s).

1.5 The Permit Holder shall display a copy of this permit on the construction site(s) at all vehicular site entrances/exits or at a convenient location for public information at all times. The Permit Holder shall ensure that the most updated information about the environmental permit, including any amended permit, is displayed at such locations. If the Permit Holder surrenders a part or the whole of the permit, the notice he sends to the Director of Environmental Protection shall also be displayed at the same locations as the original permit.

1.6 A copy of the EIA report shall be kept in the site offices of the Permit Holder and his site representative.

1.7 The Permit Holder shall construct and operate the Project in accordance with the Project Descriptions in Part B of this permit.

1.8 The Permit Holder shall ensure that the Project is designed, constructed and operated in accordance with the information and recommendations contained in the EIA report (Register No. EIA-012 /1999).

1.9 All deposited submissions as required under this permit, shall be rectified in accordance with the comments, if any, made by the Director, within one month of the receipt of the Director's comments or otherwise specified by the Director.

1.10 The Permit Holder shall release all finalized submissions, as required under this permit, to the public, if requested by the Director, by depositing copies in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office or any other places or by any other means as specified by the Director for public inspection. For this purpose, the Permit Holder shall provide sufficient copies of the submissions.

1.11 The Permit Holder shall notify the Director 4 weeks prior to the commencement and completion of the Project works.

2. Submissions or Measures before Commencement of Construction

2.1 At least 2 weeks before the commencement of construction works, the Permit Holder shall submit for the Director's approval, the contract specific EM&A Manual(s) for the EPIW at Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai.

2.2 An Environmental Team (ET) shall be established before the commencement of construction of the Project. The ET shall be headed by an Environmental Manager (EM) who has at least 7 years experience in environmental monitoring and auditing (EM&A) or environmental management. The EM shall be responsible for the implementation of the EM&A programme in accordance with the EM&A requirements as contained in the EM&A Manual(s) to be submitted under condition 2.1 of this permit.

2.3 An Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) shall be employed before the commencement of construction of the Project. The IEC shall have at least 7 years experience in EM&A or environmental management. The IEC shall audit the overall EM&A programme including the implementation of all environmental mitigation measures, submissions relating to EM&A, and any other submission required under this permit.

2.4 Before submitting the EM&A Manual(s) required under condition 2.1 to the Director, the Manual(s) shall be certified by the EM and verified by the IEC as conforming to the information and recommendations contained in the EIA report. All measures recommended in the approved EM&A Manual(s) shall be fully implemented in accordance with the requirements and time schedule(s) set out in the EM&A Manual(s).

2.5 3 sets of 1 to 1000 scale layout drawings and an Explanatory Statement shall be deposited with the Director before commencement of construction of the Project to show the works boundaries, ancillary road alignments and other facilities assessed in the EIA report, the locations of environmental mitigation measures recommended in the EIA report. The layout drawings, the locations of environmental mitigation measures and the explanatory statement so provided shall be verified by the IEC, as conforming to the information and recommendations contained in the EIA report, before the commencement of construction of the relevant sections of the Project. The Project shall be constructed in accordance with the information and recommendations contained in the EIA report.

2.6 As recommended in the EIA report, waste management plan(s) shall be deposited with the Director before commencement of construction of relevant section(s) of the Project. The waste management plan(s) shall include measures on construction waste, chemical waste, general refuse as recommended in the EIA report. Before submission to the Director, the waste management plan(s) shall be certified by the EM and verified by the IEC. Measures covered by the Waste Disposal Ordinance shall not be included in the waste management plan(s). All measures recommended in the deposited waste management plan(s) shall be fully implemented in accordance with the requirements and time schedule(s) set out in the waste management plan(s).

2.7 The Permit Holder shall develop an Environmental Management System (EMS) before commencement of the Project in accordance with the requirement and recommendations in the EIA report. The EMS is to ensure the effective implementation of the recommended mitigation measures and the compliance with the conditions of the environmental permit and the requirements of all controlling legislations.

3. Submissions or Measures for Construction and Operation of the Project

3.1 Mitigation measures contained in Annex A and B of this permit shall be implemented to mitigate construction noise impacts of the Project.

3.2 The following mitigation measures are required to mitigate operation noise impacts of the Project:

Yuen Long

(a) The Permit Holder shall provide 3m high noise barrier (35m long) on Road L1 as shown on Figure 4 to protect the residence of Nam Ping Wai.

(b) The Permit Holder shall define the extent of indirect technical remedies (ITR) required at the Sun Yuen Long Centre.

(c) The extent of indirect technical remedies (ITR) required at the residential development in CDA 12 and CDA 15 at Yuen Long shall be defined.

(d) The Permit Holder shall install indirect technical remedies (ITR), in the form of suitable window glazing and air-conditioning to protect the affected noise sensitive receivers at the Sun Yuen Long Centre and the residential development in CDA 12 and CDA 15.

Tin Shui Wai

(e) The Permit Holder shall provide 5m high absorptive noise barrier (135m long) on the outside edge of drainage reserve and next to the eastbound carriageway of Ping Ha Road as shown on Figure 5.

(f) The Permit Holder shall provide 7m high barrier (70m Long) next to the eastbound carriageway of Ping Ha Road and integrated with the proposed footbridge as shown on Figure 5.

(g) The Permit Holder shall provide low noise road surfacing on the Ping Ha Road West (east and west bound carriageway, approximately 240m long at location shown on Figure 5), the eastbound carriageway of Tin Fuk Road (approximately 290m long, at location shown on Figure 6) and Tin Yiu Road (north and south bound carriageway, approximately 120m long, at location shown on Figure 6).

(h) The Permit Holder shall provide 4.5m high barrier integrated with the proposed footbridge at Tin Fuk Road (35m long), as shown on Figure 6 and

(i) The Permit Holder shall define the extent of indirect technical remedies (ITR) required to protect the QE School Old Student's Association Primary School and install the ITR, in the form of suitable window glazing and air-conditioning to protect the school.

3.3 The Permit Holder shall deposit, at least six months before the operation of the project, to the Director a monitoring plan for the purpose of assessing the accuracy of traffic noise predictions by comparing the project noise impact predictions with the actual impacts. The monitoring plan shall contain monitoring locations, monitoring schedules, methodology of noise monitoring including noise measurement procedures, traffic counts and speed checks, and methodology of comparison with the predicted levels. The recommended monitoring locations are detailed in the Implementation Schedule of the EIA report and additional monitoring locations may be required by the Director. At least three sets of measurements at each monitoring location shall be conducted and the monitoring shall be done within the first year of operation of the project.

3.4 Monitoring shall be conducted in accordance with the deposited monitoring plan unless with prior justification. Monitoring details and results including the comparison between the measured noise levels and the predicted levels shall be recorded in a report to be deposited with the Director within one month of the completion of the monitoring. Before depositing with the Director, the report shall be certified by the Permit Holder.

3.5 Mitigation measures contained in the EIA report shall be implemented to mitigate construction dust impacts.

3.6 Mitigation measures contained in Annex C and D shall be implemented to mitigate landscape and visual impacts of the Project.

3.7 Reprovision of the children's playground at Tai Wai Tsuen of Yuen Long at a location close to Tai Wai Tsuen.

3.8 The Permit Holder shall conduct vibration monitoring to the Tsui Shing Lau Pagoda in Tin Shui Wai for all works within 75m of the Pagoda and adhere to a vibration threshold limit of 2mm/s peak particle velocity.

3.9 To mitigate the cultural heritage and archaeological impacts during construction, the Permit Holder shall inform the Director immediately if any antiquities are discovered during the course of the construction works to further assess the cultural value of the items.

4. Environmental Monitoring and Audit

4.1 The EM&A programme shall be implemented as set out in the EM&A Manual(s) approved under condition 2.1. Any changes to the programme shall be justified by the IEC as conforming to the requirements set out in the EM&A Manual(s) before submission to the Director for approval.

4.2 Samples and measurements for noise, air quality and water quality monitoring shall be taken in accordance with the requirements of section 11 of the EIA report and the EM&A Manual(s) to be submitted under condition 2.1 of this permit by:

(a) conducting baseline noise, air quality and water quality monitoring at the specified locations and frequencies;

(b) conducting impact monitoring on noise, air quality and water quality at the specified locations and frequencies;

(c) in cases where specified criteria in the EM&A Manual(s) are exceeded, carrying out remedial actions, as set out in the EM&A Manual(s) to be submitted under section 2.1 of this permit; and

(d) logging and keeping records of the details of (a) to (c) above in accordance with the requirements of the EM&A Manual(s) to be submitted under condition 2.1 of this permit.

4.3 Four copies of the Baseline Monitoring Report shall be submitted to the Director in accordance with the requirements in the EM&A Manual(s) to be submitted under condition 2.1 of this permit. The Baseline Monitoring Report shall be verified by the IEC and approved by the EM and shall be submitted to the Director 4 weeks before the commencement of any major construction works that would affect the monitoring results. Additional copies of the Baseline Monitoring Report may be required by the Director.

4.4 Four copies of monthly EM&A Report shall be submitted to the Director in accordance with the requirements in the EM&A Manual(s) to be submitted under condition 2.1 of this permit. The monthly EM&A Report shall be verified by the IEC and approved by the EM and shall be submitted to the Director within 10 working days from the end of the reporting month or by other means as specified by the Director. Additional copies of the monthly EM&A Report may be required by the Director.

4.5 The submitted reports as required in Conditions 4.3 and 4.4 above shall be rectified in accordance with the comments made by the Director within one month of receipt of the Director's comments, or otherwise specified by the Director.

Notes:

1. This environmental permit consists of three parts, namely, PART A (Main Permit), PART B (Description of Designated Project) and PART C (Permit Conditions).

2. The Permit Holder may apply under section 13 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance to the Director for a variation of the conditions of this environmental permit. The Permit Holder shall replace the original permit displayed on the construction site, by the amended permit.

3. A person who assumes the responsibility for the whole or a part of the designated project may, before he assumes responsibility of the designated project, apply under section 12 of the Ordinance to the Director for a further environmental permit.

4. Under section 14 of the Ordinance, the Director with the consent of the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, may suspend, vary of cancel this environmental permit. The permit shall be removed from the display on the construction site.

5. If this permit is cancelled or surrendered during the construction or operation, an environmental permit must be obtained under the Ordinance before the construction or operation of the project could be continued. It is an offence under section 26(1) of the Ordinance to construct or operate a designated project without an environmental permit.

6. All submissions as required under this permit shall be deposited in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office on the 27/F of Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

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Annex A

Site Practices to Mitigate Environmental Impacts from Construction Noise

To mitigate the environmental impacts from construction noise, the following shall be implemented:

(a) Only well-maintained plant should be operated on-site and plant should be serviced regularly during the construction works;

(b) Machines and plant that may be in intermittent use should be shut down between work periods or should be throttled down to a minimum;

(c) Plant known to emit noise strongly in one direction, should be orientated to direct noise away from nearby NSRs;

(d) Silencers or mufflers on construction equipment should be utilized and be properly maintained during the construction works;

(e) Mobile plant should be sited as far away from NSRs as possible; and

(f) Material stockpiles and other structures should be effectively utilized, where practicable, to screen noise from on-site construction activities.

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Annex B

Measures to Mitigate Environmental Impacts from Construction Noise

(a) The first level mitigation for construction activities is the use of quiet equipment (M1). There are specific Powered Mechanical Equipment (PME) with sound power lower than those specified in GW-TM. Example of such silenced PME taken from a British Standard, namely Noise Control on Construction and Open Sites, BS5228: Part I: 1997, which are known to be used are given below:

PME	SWL dB(A)
Bulldozer Mobile Crane Air Compressor Concrete Pump Dump Truck Excavator -for trenching -for ground excavation Generator Lorry Loader Concrete lorry mixer Vibratory Roller Grader Breaker Road Roller Poker Vibrator	111 106 98 106 109 105 106 100 105 105 100 102 111 110 104 100

(b) The second level mitigation is the use of temporary noise barriers of 3 to 5 metres high located between noisy construction activities and noise sensitive receivers (M2) in addition to the use of the quiet equipment (M1). The Permit Holder could achieve effective noise reduction by providing purpose-built noise barriers or screens constructed of appropriate material (minimum superficial density of 15kg/m2) located close to operating PME, or erecting temporary noise barriers along the proposed roads and at active work sites.

Any barriers designed by the contractor should satisfy the noise performance as stated below to control the emission of noise from PME:

- Stationary plant - 10 dB(A) screening for PME such as air compressor, generator, concrete pump and bar bender; and

- Mobile plant - 5 dB(A) screening for PME such as excavator, breaker, concrete lorry mixer, mobile crane, poker vibrator, roller, loader and asphalt paver.

(c) The third level mitigation is the restriction of the percentage of operation (in terms of time usage) of PME to 50% within a 30-minute period (M3) in addition to the use of temporary noise barrier (M2) and quiet equipment (M1).

(d) For the construction activities of this Project, the mitigation measures listed in Table 1 below shall be implemented:

Table 1 Recommended Mitigation Measures by locations of works sites for the Project

Annex C

Measures to Mitigate Landscape Impacts

To mitigate the environmental impact from landscaping, the following mitigation measures shall be implemented:

(a) Top soil removed from the Project area shall be stored and reused for landscape purposes for areas impacted by the Project;

(b) Transplantation of existing trees impacted by the road improvements to compensatory planting sites or amenity sites identified by or agreed by the Director;

(c) Stabilization and planting of all disturbed areas where necessary;

(d) Provide compensatory new tree and shrub planting. Consideration should be given to the feasibility of advance planting works.

Annex D

Measures to Mitigate Visual Impacts

To mitigate the environmental impact from visual intrusion, the following mitigation measures shall be implemented:

(a) Yuen Long

i) Site hoardings to screen works areas during the construction period; consideration should be given to the design and surface treatment, particularly adjacent to pedestrian environments;

ii) Sensitively designed noise barrier at Road L1; careful choice of materials, colours and textures and associated planting;

iii) Control of lighting during night time construction activity;

iv) Amenity roadside tree and shrub planting to screen the road alignment and associated structures, particularly along new Road L1 and L2.

(b) Tin Shui Wai

i) Site hoardings to screen works areas during the construction period; consideration should be given to the design and surface treatment, particularly adjacent to pedestrian environments;

ii) Sensitively designed noise barrier with careful choice of materials, colours and textures and associated planting;

iii) Control of lighting during night time construction activity;

iv) Amenity roadside tree and shrub planting to screen the road alignment and associated structures (advance planting works should be considered).

(c) Tuen Mun Centre

i) Site hoardings to screen works areas during the construction period; consideration should be given to the design and surface treatment, particularly adjacent to pedestrian environments;

ii) Control of lighting during night construction activity;

iii) Amenity roadside tree and shrub planting to screen the road works.

(d) Mitigation measures should include additional screen planting at riverside open areas and at Tuen Mun Town Park, reinstatement of the edge of Deacon Chui Park and street trees and shrub planting adjacent to the proposed West Rail Station along Pui To and Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road.