The purpose of this Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual is to guide the set up of an EM&A programme for both construction and operation stages of the proposed on-site concrete batching plant (hereinafter called “the Project”) to ensure compliance with the recommendations of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study prepared under the EIAO, to assess the effectiveness of the recommended mitigation measures and to identify any further need for additional mitigation measures or remedial action. Implementation of the EIA requirements shall not remove the project proponents or his/her agents’ liability and responsibility under other ordinances and regulations currently in force in the HKSAR.
This
EM&A programme is aimed to supplement the current EM&A programme which
has been implemented since September 1999 in partial fulfilment of the
Environmental Permit conditions for “Infrastructural works for Cyberport
Development at Telegraph Bay”.
The Manual contains the following :
· Responsibilities of the Contractor, the Engineer or Engineer’s Representative (ER), Environmental Team (ET), and the Independent Checker (Environment) IC(E) with respect to the EM&A requirements during the course of the project
· Information on project organisation and programming of construction activities for the project
· The hypotheses of potential impacts, the basis for, and description of the broad approach underlying the EM&A programme
· Requirements with respect to the construction schedule and the necessary EM&A programme to track the varying environmental impact
· The specific questions and testable hypotheses that the monitoring programme is designed to answer
· Full details of the methodologies to be adopted, including all field, laboratory and analytical procedures, and details on quality assurance and quality control programme
· The rationale on which the environmental monitoring data will be evaluated and interpreted and the details of the statistical procedures that will be used to interpret the data
· Definition of action and Limit levels
· Establishment of Event and Action Plans
· Requirements of reviewing pollution sources and working procedures required in the event of non-compliance of the environmental criteria and complaints
· Requirements of presentation of environmental monitoring and appropriate reporting procedures
· Requirements for review of EIA predictions and effectiveness of the EM&A programme
For the purpose of this manual, the “Engineer” shall refer to the Engineer as defined in the Contract and the Engineer’s Representative (ER), in cases where the Engineer’s powers have been delegated to the ER, in accordance with the Contract. The ET shall refer to the person delegated the role of executing the EM&A requirements. The IC(E) shall refer to the person responsible for reviewing the work carried out by the ET.
The approved EIA
report “Infrastructural Works for the Proposed Development at Telegraph Bay” (hereinafter
called “approved EIA Report”) has assumed that ready-mixed concrete in concrete
mixer trucks would be delivered by barges to Telegraph Bay for the construction
of Cyberport. In fact, the barge traffic would create marine traffic and
environmental impacts during the peak period. In case where a large quantity of
concrete is required, the progress of concreting would be limited by the
available berthing place. In this connection, an on-site concrete batching
plant is desirable from an operational point of view.
In order to
facilitate the construction works for the Cyber Port Development, the Project
Proponent intends to erect a concrete batching plant for the day-to-day
consumption at the site. However, the
proposed facility has the potential to cause adverse cumulative impacts on the
air quality and to a lesser extent the noise level, water quality, waste
management and visual quality at the nearby sensitive receivers. As the issue
was not addressed in the approved EIA Report for the proposed development, the
establishment of the proposed facility is considered to constitute a Material
Change to the approved EIA Report. An EIA report has been prepared to address
this Material Change in fulfilment of the requirement of the Environmental
Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO).
Maunsell
Consultant Asia Limited (MCAL) in association with Maunsell Environmental
Management Consultants Limited (MEMCL) were commissioned by Cyber-Port Limited
to assess the potential environmental impact of constructing and operating the
proposed concrete batching plant on the nearby sensitive receivers. The
assessment has also addressed the cumulative effect due to the concurrent
construction activities on site including advance works and main construction
works.
Besides, the proposed concrete batching plant would reduce significantly the noise and air pollution from barges for the delivery of materials and concrete mixer trucks to the site. It would also eliminate marine traffic impact and reduce environmental impacts caused by one of the concrete batching plant off-site which is currently operated by Ready Mixed Concrete (H.K.) Limited (RMC).
Appendix A1 indicates the site location plan of the purposed On-site concrete Batching Plant.
The EIA study identified the likely environmental impacts during construction and operation phases, including: air quality, noise, water quality, waste management as well as visual impacts. These impacts can be minimized to acceptable levels with the implementation of environmental mitigation measures. However, in order to ensure the compliance, compliance monitoring works have been recommended and are described in details in the subsequent sections. As the advanced works and the main construction works at Telegraph Bay are in progress before the construction of the proposed concrete batching plant, it is considered that no further baseline monitoring is required, and that the baseline conditions prior to the advanced works and main construction works are applicable to this Project.
Different level involvement is essential to ensure that the project progresses in an environmental acceptable manner. In general, the parties involved in the project organisation should include :
· Information Technology Broadcasting Bureau (ITBB) (Project Proponent)
· EPD, Plan D & AMO (The Authorities)
· Engineer Representative (ER) (Project Proponent’s Representative)
· Contractor
· Environmental Team (ET)
· Independent Checker (Environment) (IC(E))
The proposed project organisation is shown in Figure 1.1. The responsibility of respective parties are :
Carlyle International Limited
- Hold ultimate responsibility for the project
- Decision-making authority
- Liaise with EPD, Plan D and AMO with respect to environmental related issues
EPD/Plan D/AMO
- Statutory bodies for relevant environmental protection matters in Hong Kong
- Provide mandatory environmental standards
- Consultation board for environmental issues arising from the project
The Contractor
- Employ an ET to undertake monitoring, laboratory analysis and reporting of EM&A
- Provide assistance to ET in carrying out monitoring
- Submit proposals on mitigation measures in case of exceedances of Action and Limit levels in accordance with the Event and Action Plans
- Implement measures to reduce impact where Action and Limit levels are exceeded
- Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with the section 6.3.
ER
- Supervise the Contractor’s activities and ensure that the requirements in the EM&A Manual are fully complied with
- Inform the Contractor when action is required to reduce impacts in accordance with the Event and Action Plans
- Review the EM&A works performed by the ET
- Audit the monitoring activities and results
- Review the EM&A reports submitted by ET
- Review the proposal on mitigation measures submitted by the Contractor in accordance with the Event and Action Plans
- Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with the section 6.3.
ET
ET Leader
· Overall supervision and administration of the Environmental Team’s daily operation;
· Managing the various specialist and professionals who are designated as the member of the Team
· Liaison with other government departments or external parties regarding any environmental issues arising from the project; and
· Ensuring the outputs of the Team meet the objectives and requirements set out in this manual.
Environmental
Engineer / Scientist
· To schedule the environmental monitoring activities;
· To check the validity of data upon receipt of field measurement and laboratory results;
· To prepare reports, which are specified in the EM&A Manual, in timely manner and ensure the quality of the outputs;
· To liaise with ER and Contractor upon receipt of complaints and/or breaching of statutory limits;
· To ensure the Event/Action Plan is implemented;
· To investigate the causes of complaints and/or limit exceedances;
· To advise on required mitigation measures;
· To ensure the proposed mitigation measures are implemented;
· To perform regular audits of the environmental monitoring data;
· To perform site inspections during audit;
· To provide advice on any pollution control measures, if necessary, after a site inspection;
· Provision, calibration and maintenance of monitoring equipment.
Environmental
Technician
· To perform monitoring activities for the environmental parameters as required by the EM&A Manual;
· To be proficient in the monitoring methodologies and QA/QC procedure set out in this EM&A Manual;
· To ensure the quality of the monitoring data;
· To know the specified Action and Limit Levels in the EM&A Manual;
· To alert the ET Leader of any observed exceedances of the Action/Limit Levels;
· Calibration and general maintenance of monitoring equipment; and
· To assist the Environmental Engineer / Scientist in performing regular site inspections as required.
Sufficient and suitably qualified professional and technical staff shall be employed by the respective parties to ensure full compliance with their duties and responsibility, as required under the EM&A programme for the duration of the project. The ET shall not be in any way an associated body of the Contractor. The ET Leader shall have relevant professional qualifications, or have sufficient relevant EM&A experience subject to approval of the ER.
Independent Checker (Environment)
· Review the EM&A works performed by the ET;
· Audit the monitoring activities and results;
· Report the audit results to the ER and EPD in parallel;
· Review the EM&A reports submitted by the ET;
· Review the proposal on mitigation measures submitted by the Contractor whenever necessary in accordance with the Event and Action Plans; and
· Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with the relevant section of this Manual.
The construction and operation programme of the proposed concrete batching plant is presented in Table 1.1. The working programmes for various works are shown in Figures 1.2 and 1.3. This programme is for information of the ET to get an initial idea of the projection of the works. The ET shall make reference to the actual works progress and programme during the construction and operation of the Concrete Batching Plant to schedule the EM&A works, and the Contractor shall provide the respective information to the ET for formulating the EM&A schedule.
Table 1.1 Construction and Operation Programme of the Proposed Concrete Batching Plant
|
12/2000 |
01/2001 – 03/2001 |
04/2001 – 12/2001 |
|
Phase 1 |
Phase 2 |
Phase 3 |
|
Construction of Stage 1 batching plant |
Construction of Stage 2 batching plant and operation of Stage 1 batching plant |
Operation of Stage 2 batching plant |
A list of the recommended environmental mitigation measures for both construction and operation phases is at Appendix C. The EM&A programme shall cover all the recommended mitigation measures to ensure timely implementation of these measures to the satisfaction of relevant authorities.