ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ORDINANCE
(CHAPTER 499)
Section 10

環 境 影 響 評 估 條 例
(第 499章 )
第 10條

ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT TO CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE A DESIGNATED PROJECT

建 造 及 營 辦 指 定 工 程 項 目 的 環 境 許 可 證

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 Drainage Services Department (the "Permit Holder") to construct and operate the designated project described in Part B subject to the conditions specified in 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 渠 務 署 (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 訂 明 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 述 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. Any non-compliance may constitute a contravention of the EIAO and may become subject of appropriate action being taken under the Ordinance.

1.2 The Permit Holder shall ensure full compliance with all legislation from time to time in force including without limitation the Noise Control Ordinance (Cap. 400), Air Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 311), Water Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 358), Dumping at Sea Ordinance (Cap. 466) and Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354). This Permit does not of itself constitute any ground of defense against any proceedings instituted under any legislation.

1.3 The Permit Holder shall make copies of this Permit together with all documents referred to in this Permit or the documents referred to in Part A of the Permit readily available at all times for inspection at all sites/offices covered by this Permit. Any reference to the Permit shall include all documents referred to in the Permit and also the relevant documents in the Register.

1.4 The Permit Holder shall give a copy of this Permit to the person(s) in charge of the site(s) and ensure that such person(s) fully understands all conditions and all requirements incorporated by the Permit.

1.5 The Permit Holder shall display a copy of this Permit on the construction site at all vehicular site entrances/exits or at a convenient location for public's information at all times. The Permit Holder shall ensure that the most updated information about the 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 shall also be displayed at the same locations as the original Permit. The suspended, varied or cancelled Permit shall be removed from the display at the construction site.

1.6 The Permit Holder shall construct and operate the Project as described in Part B of this Permit.

1.7 The Permit Holder shall ensure that the Project is designed, constructed and operated in accordance with the EIA Report (Register No. EIAR-124/BC); other relevant documents in the Register; and the information or mitigation measures described in this Permit, or mitigation measures to be recommended in submissions that shall be deposited with or approved by the Director as a result of permit conditions contained in this Permit, or mitigation measures to be recommended under on-going surveillance and monitoring activities during all stages of the Project. Where recommendations referred to in the documents of the Register are not expressly referred to in this Permit, such recommendations are nevertheless to be implemented unless expressly excluded or impliedly amended in this Permit or unless otherwise stated in the application documents referred to in Part A of this Permit, or unless otherwise stated in submissions approved by the Director, deposited without comments by the Director, or submissions rectified in accordance with comments by the Director under this Permit.

1.8 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.

1.9 All submissions approved by the Director, all submissions deposited without comments by the Director, or all submissions rectified in accordance with comments by the Director under this Permit shall be construed as part of the permit conditions described in Part C of this Permit. Any variation of the submissions shall be approved by the Director in writing or as prescribed in the relevant permit conditions. Any non-compliance with the submissions may constitute a contravention of the EIAO.

1.10 The Permit Holder shall release all finalized submissions, as required under this Permit, to the public by depositing copies in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office, or in any other places, or any internet websites as specified by the Director, 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 in writing the commencement date of construction of the Project no later than two weeks prior to the commencement of construction of the Project. The Permit Holder shall notify the Director in writing immediately if there is any change of the commencement date of the construction.

1.12 The Permit Holder shall release all finalized submissions, as required under this Permit, to the public by depositing copies in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office, or in any other places, or any internet websites as specified by the Director, 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.

1.13 All submissions to the Director required under this Permit shall be delivered either in person or by registered mail to the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office (currently at 27/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong).

2. Submissions or Measures for the Construction of the Project

2.1 An Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) shall be employed no later than 4 weeks before the commencement of construction of the Project. The IEC shall have at least 7 years' experience in environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) or environmental management. The IEC shall be responsible for duties defined in the approved EM&A Plan submitted and approved under Condition 3.1 of this Permit, and shall audit the overall EM&A programme including the implementation of all environmental mitigation measures, submissions relating to EM&A, and any other submissions required under this Permit.

2.2 An Environmental Team (ET) shall be established no later than 4 weeks before commencement of construction of the Project. The ET shall be supervised by a team leader (ET Leader) who has at least seven years' experience in EM&A or environmental management. The ET leader shall be responsible for the implementation of the control programme as described in Condition 2.5 of this Permit and all other mitigation measures required under this Permit.

2.3 The Permit Holder shall, within 4 weeks after the commencement of construction of the Project, inform the Director in writing the management organization of the main construction companies and/or any form of joint ventures associated with the construction of the Project. The submitted information shall include at least an organization chart, names of responsible persons and their contact details.

2.4 Within 4 weeks after the commencement of the construction of the project, the Permit Holder shall deposit with the Director 3 sets of works programme demonstrating that soil excavation works will be minimized during rainy seasons. The construction works shall be carried out according to the schedules indicated in the works programme deposited with the Director, unless otherwise agreed with the Director.

2.5 Within 4 weeks after the commencement of the construction of the project, the Permit Holder shall deposit with the Director 3 sets of control programme demonstrating that the construction process will be monitored to enforce controls and modify methods of work if dusty conditions arise. Monitoring and controlling works shall be implemented according to the control programme deposited with the Director, unless otherwise agreed with the Director.

2.6 Three sets of waste management plan for the construction phase of the Project shall be deposited with the Director within 6 weeks after the commencement of construction of the Project. The plan shall be certified by the ET Leader and verified by the IEC as conforming to Section 4.7.3 of the EIA Report and shall include details on the arrangements for avoidance, minimization, material recovery/recycling, collection, transportation and disposal of various types of waste generated during the construction of the Project. The waste management plan shall demonstrate that no more than 17,500 cubic metres of excavated spoil shall be disposed of off site as recommended in Section 4.7.3 of the EIA Report. The disposal of construction and demolition waste shall be controlled through a trip-ticket system and the records shall be readily available at all times for inspection at all site office(s) covered by this Permit.

2.7 No later than 6 months after the commencement of construction of the Project, the Permit Holder shall deposit with the Director 3 sets of landscape master plan(s), of scale 1 to 1000 or other appropriate scale as agreed by the Director. The submission shall include a schedule of implementation and completion of the landscape works. Before submission, the landscape master plan(s) shall be certified by the ET Leader and verified by the IEC as conforming to the information and recommendations contained in Section 4.9 of the EIA Report. All measures recommended in the deposited landscape master plan(s) shall be fully implemented.

2.8 To mitigate environmental impacts due to site run-off and other potential water pollution caused by construction activities, mitigation measures described in Appendix A shall be implemented throughout the construction period.

2.9 All fuel tanks and chemical storage areas within the Project shall be provided with locks and be sited on sealed areas. The storage areas shall be sheltered from rain water and surrounded by bunds with a minimum holding capacity of 110% of the storage capacity of the largest tank to prevent spilled oil, fuel and chemicals from reaching the receiving waters.

2.10 Wastewater generated from the kitchen/canteen shall be treated by grease traps before discharge into a septic tank.

2.11 All sewage generated from the construction site shall be diverted to chemical toilets or septic tanks, unless otherwise agreed with the Director. All chemical toilets and septic tanks shall be maintained at least once a week to ensure proper functioning.

3. Submissions or Measures for the Operation of the Project

3.1 No later than two months before the operation of the Project, the Permit Holder shall submit for the Director's approval an Operational Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Plan for the operation of the Project. Before the submission to the Director, the EM&A Plan shall be certified by the IEC as conforming to the information and recommendations contained in the EIA Report. The EM&A Plan shall include without limitation to the monitoring of water quality, odour and Chinese White Dolphin during operation stage. All measures recommended in the EM&A Plan shall be fully and properly implemented in accordance with the requirements and time schedule(s) set out in the EM&A Plan. The Operational Environmental Monitoring and Audit Plan approved under this condition shall hereinafter be referred to as the "EM&A Plan".

3.2 Three sets of waste management plan for the operational phase of the Project shall be deposited with the Director at least one month before the operation of the Project. The plan shall be certified by the IEC as conforming to the EIA Report and shall include details on the arrangements for avoidance, minimization, material recovery/recycling, collection, transportation and disposal of various types of waste generated during the operation of the Project. The wastes referred to in the plan shall include without limitation to sludge from the treatment plant and used UV lamps from the disinfection facility. All measures and recommendations in the deposited waste management plan shall be fully and properly implemented.

3.3 To avoid impacts on the marine ecology due to effluent discharge, the disinfection facility as stated in Part B of this Permit shall be equipped with an UV disinfection system capable of removing at least 99.9% of E.coli from the sewage.

3.4 To mitigate the odour impacts during operation, sewage treatment works including sludge thickening tanks, the sludge pump house and sludge press house shall be completely enclosed, with the exhaust air ventilated to an odour scrubber prior to discharge. The odour removal efficiency of the scrubber shall be at least 95%.

3.5 Three copies of the performance test report shall be deposited with the Director no later than 3 months after the operation of the Project. The performance test(s) shall identify the optimum dosage of chemical applied and shall demonstrate that under the full capacity of the treatment works, the criterion of 5 odour units based on an averaging time of 5 seconds at the nearest air sensitive receivers can be met. The performance test(s) shall demonstrate that the UV disinfection facility is capable of removing at least 99.9% of E.coli from the sewage. The performance test report shall be certified by the IEC as conforming to the performance specified in the EIA Report. If the specified sewage treatment, odour removal or disinfection performance cannot be achieved, the Permit Holder shall submit proposal on further mitigation measures to the Director for approval. The Permit Holder shall fully and properly implement the mitigation measures as approved by the Director.

3.6 Transportation of sludge shall be carried out in fully enclosed containers, or be placed in sludge skips with tarpaulin covers.

4. Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) during Operation

4.1 The EM&A Programme during operation of the Project shall be implemented in accordance with the procedures and requirements in the EM&A Plan. Any proposed changes to the EM&A details shall be justified by the IEC as conforming to the requirements set out in the EM&A Plan, and shall be submitted to the Director for approval.

4.2 The EM&A Plan shall contain monitoring locations, monitoring schedules, methodology, and qualification of monitoring team members. Monitoring details and results shall be recorded in EM&A Reports submitted in accordance with the EM&A Plan.

4.3 A hard copy and a soft copy of the reports shall be deposited with the Director within two weeks after the completion of each reporting period as specified in the EM&A Plan. The EM&A Reports shall be certified by the IEC before deposit with the Director.

4.4 All environmental monitoring and audit data submitted under this Permit shall be true, valid and correct.

5. Electronic Reporting of EM&A Information

5.1 To enable public inspection of the EM&A Reports via the EIAO Internet Website and at the EIAO Register Office, electronic copies of the EM&A Reports shall be prepared in both Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) (version 4.0 or later) and in Portable Document Format (PDF version 4.0 or later), unless otherwise agreed by the Director. The electronic copies shall be submitted at the same time as the hard copies as described in Conditions 4.3 of this Permit. For the HTML version, a content page capable of providing hyperlink to each section and sub-section of the EM&A Reports shall be included in the beginning of the document. Hyperlinks to all figures, drawings and tables in the EM&A Reports shall be provided in the main text from where the respective references are made. All graphics in the report shall be in interlaced GIF format unless otherwise agreed by the Director. The content of the electronic copies of the monthly EM&A Reports must be the same as the hard copies.

5.2 All environmental monitoring data as described in Condition 5.1 above shall be made available to the public via internet access in the form of a website, in the shortest possible time and in no event later than 2 weeks after the relevant environmental monitoring data are collected or become available, unless otherwise agreed with the Director. The Permit Holder shall notify the Director in writing within 6 weeks after the operation of the Project the internet address where the environmental monitoring data are to be placed. The internet address and the environmental monitoring data shall be made available to the public via the EIAO Internet Website and the EIAO Register Office.

5.3 The internet website as described in Condition 5.2 above shall enable user friendly public access to the monitoring data and with features capable of:

(a) providing access to all environmental monitoring data collected since the commencement of works;

(b) searching by data;

(c) searching by types of monitoring data (air quality, water quality and noise); and

(d) hyperlinks to relevant monitoring data after searching;

or otherwise as agreed by the Director.

Notes:

1. This Permit consists of three parts, namely, PART A (Main Permit), PART B (Description of Designated Project) and PART C (Permit Conditions). Any person relying on this permit should obtain independent legal advice on the legal implications under the Ordinance, and that the following notes are for general information only.

2. The Permit Holder may apply under Section 13 of the Ordinance to the Director for a variation of the conditions of this 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 may with the consent of the Secretary for the Environment and Food, suspend, vary or cancel this Permit. The suspended, varied or cancelled Permit shall be removed from display at the construction site.

5. If this Permit is cancelled or surrendered during construction or operation of the Project, another environmental permit must be obtained under the Ordinance before the Project could be continued. It is an offence under Section 26(1) of the Ordinance to construct or operate a designated project listed in Part I of Schedule 2 of the Ordinance without a valid environmental permit.

6. Any person who constructs or operates the Project contrary to the conditions in the Permit, and is convicted of an offence under the Ordinance, is liable: -

(i) on a first conviction on indictment to a fine of $ 2 million and to imprisonment for 6 months;

(ii) on a second or subsequent conviction on indictment to a fine of $ 5 million and to imprisonment for 2 years;

(iii) on a first summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months;

(iv) on a second or subsequent summary conviction to a fine of $1 million and to imprisonment for 1 year; and

(v) in any case where the offence is of a continuing nature, the court or magistrate may impose a fine of $ 10,000 for each day on which he is satisfied the offence continued.

7. The Permit Holder may appeal against any condition of this Permit under Section 17 of the Ordinance within 30 days of receipt of this Permit.

Appendix A

Measures to Mitigate Environmental Impacts due to Site Run-off and Other Potential Water Pollution During Construction

(a) Surface Runoff

(i) Perimeter channels shall be provided at the site boundary to intercept storm-runoff from outside the site. Catchpits and perimeter channels shall be constructed in advance of site formation works and earthworks.

(ii) Surface run-off from the construction site shall be directed into adequately designed sand/silt removal facilities such as sand traps, silt traps, sediment basins, and oil interceptors at appropriate locations before discharge into storm drains. Channels, earth bunds or sand bag barriers shall be provided on site to properly direct stormwater to such silt removal facilities.

(iii) Earthworks final surfaces shall be well compacted and the subsequent permanent work or surface protection by shotcrete or hydroseeding shall be carried out immediately after the final surfaces are formed to prevent erosion caused by rainstorms.

(iv) Temporary access roads shall be protected by crushed gravels and exposed slope surfaces shall be covered with tarpaulin, similar fabric or hydroseeding to avoid weather erosion when rainstorms are likely.

(v) Manholes (including any newly constructed ones) shall always be adequately covered so as to prevent silt, construction materials or debris from getting into the drainage system, and to prevent storm run-off from getting into foul sewers. Discharges of surface run-off into foul sewers shall always be prevented in order not to unduly overload the foul sewerage system.

(b) Groundwater

(vi) Groundwater pumped out of wells, etc. for the lowering of ground water level in foundation construction shall be discharged into storm drains after being passed through appropriate silt removal facilities.

(c) General Construction Activities

(vii) At all parts of all works areas and construction sites, and throughout the full duration of the construction contract(s), debris and rubbish on site shall be handled and disposed of to avoid entering the water column and causing water quality impacts. Any washout of construction materials into the drainage system shall be via sediment traps.

(viii) Silt removal facilities, channels, oil interceptors and manholes shall be maintained with the deposited silt, grit and oil being removed at least once a week, and at the onset of and after each rainstorm to ensure that these facilities are functioning properly at all times.

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