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

Pursuant to Section 10 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (the Ordinance), the Director of Environmental Protection (the Director) granted the Environmental Permit (EP-092/2001) to THE NEW TERRITORIES EAST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, TERRITORITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (hereinafter referred to as the "Permit Holder") on 2 May 2001. Pursuant to Section 13 of the Ordinance, the Director amends the Environmental Permit (EP-092/2001/A) based on the Application No. VEP-059/2002. The amendments, described below, are incorporated into this Environmental Permit (EP-092/2001/B). This Environmental Permit as amended is for the construction and operation of the designated project(s) described in Part B of this Permit subject to the conditions described in or attached to Part C of this Permit.

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 ) 於 2001年 5月 2日 將 環 境 許 可 證 (EP-092/2001)批 予 拓 展 署 (新 界 東 拓 展 署 ) (下 稱 "許 可 證 持 有 人 ")。 根 據 條 例 第 13條 的 規 定 ， 署 長 因 應 更 改 環 境 許 可 證 的 申 請 編 號 VEP-059/2002修 訂 環 境 許 可 證 編 號 EP-092/2001/A。 以 下 修 訂 已 包 含 在 本 環 境 許 可 證 內 (EP-092/2001/B)。 本 經 修 訂 的 環 境 許 可 證 作 為 建 造 及 營 辦 本 許 可 證 B部 所 說 明 的 指 定 工 程 項 目 ， 但 須 遵 守 本 許 可 證 C部 所 說 明 或 附 載 的 條 件 。

This Environmental Permit is based on the documents, approvals and applications described below:-
本 環 境 許 可 證 乃 根 據 下 文 件 、 批 准 及 申 請 而 簽 發 ： -

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. Any non-compliance may constitute a contravention of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap.499) and may become the 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), the 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 by the Director or his authorized officers 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 conspicuously 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 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 display at the construction site.

1.6 The Permit Holder shall construct and operate the Project in accordance with the project descriptions 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 information and all recommendations described in the EIA Report (Register No. EIA-112/BC); the Environmental Review and information contained in the application (Application No. AEP-092/2001); 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.

1.8 All deposited submissions, as required under this Permit, shall be rectified and resubmitted in accordance with the comments, if any, made by the Director within one month of the receipt of the Director's comments or otherwise as 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 Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance.

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 2 weeks prior to the date of 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 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). The Permit Holder shall make copies of this permit available at all times for inspection by the Director at all the sites covered by this permit.

2. Submissions for the Construction of the Project

2.1 An Environmental Team (ET) shall be established no later than 2 months before the commencement of construction of the Project. The ET shall be headed by the ET Leader who shall have at least 7 years' experience in environmental monitoring and auditing (EM&A) or environmental management. The ET Leader 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, and audit the overall EM&A programme including the implementation of all environmental mitigation measures, submission relating to EM&A, and any other submissions required under this Permit. In addition, the ET Leader shall be responsible for certifying and verifying the environmental acceptability of permanent and temporary works, relevant design plans and submissions under the Permit.

2.2 The Permit Holder shall, within 4 weeks after commencement of construction of the Project, inform the Director in writing of 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.

2.3 The Permit Holder shall submit 3 sets of landscape proposal with 1 to 1000 scale layout drawings and explanatory statement for the Project showing the areas to be revegetated and planted within the works boundaries, and the programme for their implementation to the Director for approval at least 8 weeks before commencement of any construction work. In particular, the submission shall include details of planting on all disturbed and new slopes, and amenity planting under road bridges. No construction work shall commence without the approval of the landscape proposal.

2.4 The Permit Holder shall deposit with the Director 3 copies of construction noise mitigation proposal at least 3 weeks before commencement of any construction work indicating the locations and the design of the temporary purposed-built barriers and the arrangement of the number of equipment, procedure and sequence of construction in accordance with the recommendation specified in section 3.4.4.1 of the EIA report to mitigate the construction noise impact arising from the Project. The proposal shall be certified by the ET Leader as conforming to the information and recommendation contained in the EIA report and Environmental Review.

3. Measures for Construction and Operation of the Project

3.1 To mitigate the traffic noise impact arising from the Project, noise barriers shall be constructed as shown in Figure 2 and Table 1 attached to this permit prior to the operation of the Project.

3.2 To protect the water quality of the stream course as indicated in Figure 3 attached to this Permit, temporary barrier shall be provided at the stream bank to prevent accidental dumping or spillage of materials into the stream course during construction.

3.3 To mitigate environmental impacts due to site runoff and other potential water pollution caused by construction activities, mitigation measures described in Annex A shall be fully implemented throughout the construction period.

3.4 To mitigate the construction noise impact arising from the Project, the following measures shall be implemented throughout the construction period:-

(i) The temporary purposed-built barriers and the arrangement of the number of equipment, procedure and sequence of construction shall be implemented in accordance with the submission deposited with the Director under Condition 2.4 of this Permit. The noise barriers shall be remained throughout the construction period.

(ii) Quietened equipment shall be used for the construction works.

3.5 All design or measures recommended in the submission approved under Condition 2.3 of this Permit shall be fully implemented within 12 months after completion of construction work.

4. Environmental Monitoring and Audit requirements during Construction of the Project

4.1 An EM&A programme shall be implemented as set out in the EM&A Manual of the EIA Report (Register No. EIA-112/BC). Any changes to the programme shall be justified by the ET Leader as conforming to the requirements set out in the EM&A Manual and information contained in the EIA Report before submission to the Director for approval.

4.2 Samples and measurements shall be taken in accordance with the requirements of the EM&A Manual by :

a) conducting baseline environmental monitoring as set out in the EM&A Manual; and

b) conducting impact monitoring as set out in the EM&A Manual.

4.3 The remedial actions described in the Event/Action Plans of the EM&A Manual shall be fully and properly carried out, in accordance with the time frames(s) set out in the Event/Action Plans, or as agreed by the Director.

4.4 Records of measurements and remedial actions taken under Conditions 4.2 and 4.3 respectively of this Permit shall be logged and kept, within 3 working days of the collection of data or completion of remedial action, for the purpose of preparing and submitting the EM&A Reports and making the information available for inspection on site.

4.5 Two hard copies and one soft copy of the Baseline Monitoring Report shall be submitted to the Director no later than 2 weeks before the commissioning of the Project. The submissions shall be certified and verified by the ET Leader. Additional copies of the submission shall be provided to the Director upon request by the Director.

4.6 One hard copy and one soft copy of monthly EM&A Report shall be submitted to the Director within 2 weeks after the end of the reporting month. The EM&A Reports shall include a summary of all noncompliance (exceedances) of the environmental quality performance limits (Action and Limit levels). The submissions shall be certified and verified by the ET Leader. Additional copies of the submission shall be provided to the Director upon request by the Director.

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

4.8 The Permit Holder shall relay all environmental complaints regarding construction works to the Environmental Team. .

5. Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirements during Operation of the Project

5.1 The Permit Holder shall, at least 6 months before the operation of the Project, deposit with 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. At least one monitoring location at the noise sensitive receivers protected by noise mitigation measures shall be proposed. At least three sets of measurements shall be conducted and the monitoring shall be done within the first year of operation of the project. 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. The report shall be certified by the Permit Holder before it is deposited with the Director, within one month after the completion of the monitoring.

5.2 The Permit Holder shall deposit with the Director 3 copies of audit report, certified by the ET Leader, demonstrating the satisfactory completion of the landscape and visual mitigation measures recommended in the submission approved under Condition 2.3 of this Permit. The audit report shall be deposited within 2 weeks after completion of the landscape and visual mitigation measures.

6. Electronic Reporting of EM&A Information

6.1 To facilitate public inspection of the Baseline Monitoring Report and monthly EM&A Reports via the EIAO Internet Website and at the EIAO Register Office, electronic copies of these Reports shall be prepared in 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 and shall be submitted at the same time as the hard copies as described in Conditions 4 and 5 of this Permit. For the HTML version, a content page capable of providing hyperlink to each section and sub-section of these Reports shall be included in the beginning of the document. Hyperlinks to all figures, drawings and tables in these Reports shall be provided in the main text from where the respective references are made. All graphics in these Reports shall be in interlaced GIF format unless otherwise agreed by the Director. The content of the electronic copies of these Reports must be the same as the hard copies.

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 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.

Environmental Permit No. EP-092/2001/B

Table 1 (as referred to in Condition 3.1)

Schedule of Recommended Noise Mitigation Measures
(Extracted from Table 5.1 of the Environmental Review)

Annex A (as referred to in Condition 3.3)

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

(a) Surface Runoff

(i) Surface run-off from the construction site shall be directed into adequately designed sand/silt removal facilities such as sand traps, silt traps and sediment basins 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.

(ii) Catchpits and perimeter channels shall be constructed in advance of site formation works and earthworks.

(iii) Silt removal facilities, channels and manholes shall be suitably maintained with the deposited silt and grit 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.

(iv) Earthworks final surfaces shall be well compacted and the subsequent permanent work or surface protection shall be carried out immediately after the final surfaces are formed to prevent erosion caused by rainstorms. Appropriate intercepting channels shall be provided along the site boundary or at the locations agreed with the ET Leader. Rainwater pumped out from trenches or foundation excavations shall be discharged into silt removal facilities before discharge into storm drains.

(v) Open stockpiles of construction materials (e.g. aggregates and sand) on site shall be covered with tarpaulin or similar fabric during rainstorms. Measures such as providing sand bag barriers shall be taken to prevent the washing away of construction materials, soil, silt or debris into any drainage system.

(vi) All generators, fuel and oil storage shall be within bunded areas. Drainage from the areas shall be connected to storm drains via a petrol interceptor.

(b) General Construction Activities

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. Temporary on-site storage of excavated materials from construction works shall be covered with tarpaulin or similar fabric during rainstorms. Any washout of construction or excavated materials should be diverted to the drainage system via sediment traps. Stockpiling of the excavated material shall be minimised by scheduling the construction programme in a way that one section of the alignment can be constructed and completed before the excavation works of the next section commence.

To mitigate environmental impacts from wastewater due to construction activities, water used for water testing, boring, drilling works, concrete batching and precast concrete casting shall be recirculated and reused; wastewater from concrete batching and precast concrete casting shall be treated for pH adjustment and silt removed prior to discharge into stormwater drains and washwater from wheel washing facilities shall have sand, silt or other materials removed before discharge into stormwater drains; the access road sections between site exits and the public roads shall be paved with backfall to prevent site run-off from entering the public roads.

Figure 1 | Figure 2 | Figure 3