9.                         ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND AUDIT

9.1                      Introduction

9.1.1                 In this section, the environmental monitoring and auditing (EM&A) requirements for the proposed Yau Tong Bay (YTB) reclamation are summarized.  It is considered that an EM&A programme will be required to assess the effectiveness of the mitigative measures employed during the construction period of the proposed YTB reclamation, and to ensure compliance with environmental regulatory requirements, standards and Government policies.

9.1.2                 The EM&A requirements will be developed in detail in the EM&A Manual (Volume 2 of 3 of the EIA Study reports).  This Manual will be produced as a stand-alone document to be submitted with the EIA Final Assessment Report.  The objectives and recommended outline of the EM&A programme are presented in this section, and recommendations are given for the contents and reporting requirements of the EM&A Manual.

9.2                      Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirements

Environmental Monitoring Requirements

9.2.1                 The primary objective of the EM&A programme is to provide a means to determine the efficacy of the recommended mitigatory measures developed within the EIA study for the proposed YTB reclamation.  This will be achieved through the application of specified procedures and actions defined in Event and Action Plans (EAPs) to manage the Project’s response to any identified unacceptable environmental impacts.

9.2.2                 The specific objectives of the EM&A programme for the proposed YTB reclamation include the following:

·       to provide a database which can be used to determine any short or long-term environmental impacts of the Project;

·       to verify the environmental impacts predicted in the EIA study;

·       to monitor the performance and effectiveness of mitigation measures employed;

·       to determine project compliance with regulatory requirements, standards and Government policies;

·       to provide an early indication and suggest appropriate additional or remedial measures should any of the environmental mitigation measures or controls fail to achieve acceptable standards; and

·       to provide data to enable an environmental audit of the Project.

9.2.3                 Noise monitoring shall be performed at the representative noise sensitive receivers in the residential area and schools around YTB to ensure that the construction noise arising from the identified sources, e.g. the operation of powered mechanical equipment and the demolition of the existing building structures, are in compliance with the noise control ordinance.  The location and number of monitoring stations to be used are described in details in the EM&A manual.

9.2.4                 During the dredging and sand filling works for the YTB reclamation, it is recommended that a water quality impact monitoring programme be undertaken.  It is recommended that monitoring of water quality be carried out in Victoria Harbour near Yau Tong Bay.

Noise Baseline and Impact Monitoring

9.2.5                 It is recommended that baseline noise monitoring be carried out at all of the identified monitoring stations for at least two consecutive weeks prior to the commissioning of the construction work.  A baseline monitoring report shall be produced.  The baseline level will be used as a basis for the noise impact and compliance auditing during the implementation stage.

9.2.6                 Noise measurement during the project construction and implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant environmental regulatory requirements, in particular, the Technical Memorandum on the Assessment of Noise from Construction Work other than Percussive Piling.  The monitored result shall be compared with the baseline condition so as to detect adverse impacts arising from the YTB reclamation.

Water Quality Baseline and Impact Monitoring

9.2.7                 It is recommended that a baseline water quality monitoring programme be undertaken prior to the commencement of the construction works.  The determined baseline levels would be used as a basis for environmental impact and compliance auditing during the implementation stage.

9.2.8                 The location and number of water quality monitoring stations will be identified in the EM&A Manual, together with details of the monitoring parameters and frequencies and equipment to be used.  It is recommended that monitoring stations be located in the vicinity of the identified sensitive receivers and that control stations will be necessary to compare the water quality from potentially impacted stations with the ambient water quality.  These control stations should be located within the same body of water as the impact monitoring stations but outside the area of influence of the works and, as far as practicable, not affected by any other works.

Biogas Monitoring

9.2.9                 It is also recommended to establish gas boreholes for the monitoring of methane gas emissions immediately after reclamation, prior to the development of YTB.  Details of the recommended monitoring requirements are given in the EM&A Manual.

9.2.10              The above recommended monitoring and control requirements together with the organisational arrangements for the EM&A program will be developed in detail in the EM&A Manual.


Environmental Audit Requirements

9.2.11              In addition to routine monitoring, environmental auditing is required to ensure that the proposed YTB reclamation is in compliance with environmental regulatory requirements and standards.  The environmental auditing will test the adequacy and effectiveness of the environmental monitoring programme adopted.

9.2.12              These audits should be conducted on a regular basis with the following aims:

·       to review and verify information available in records developed through the monitoring programme;

·       to identify specific issues of non-compliance and to give recommendations to meet them; and

·       to check the effectiveness of mitigation measures and to review the need for further mitigatory measures.

9.2.13              In addition to the above, an audit of the environmental complaints handling procedures should be conducted to verify that any complaints are properly addressed and follow up procedures taken.  The detailed environmental audit requirements will be described in the EM&A Manual. 

Project Implementation Schedule

9.2.14              A schedule of all the mitigation measures recommended in this EIA is presented in Chapter 11.  This schedule lists the proposed mitigation measure requirements for each environmental discipline, the location where the mitigation measure is to be implemented and the timing for implementation, the implementation agent and the key EM&A requirements for the project.  Details of the recommended mitigation measures can be referred to in Chapter 11.

9.3                      Environmental Monitoring and Audit Manual

9.3.1                 The purpose of the EM&A Manual is to guide the set up of an EM&A programme to ensure compliance with the EIA study recommendations, to assess the effectiveness of the recommended mitigation measures and to identify any further need for additional mitigation measures or remedial action.  The Manual describes the monitoring and audit programme to be undertaken during the construction of YTB reclamation.  It aims to provide systematic procedures for monitoring, auditing and minimizing environmental impacts.

9.3.2                 Hong Kong environmental regulations together with the HKPSG have served as environmental standards and guidelines in the preparation of the EM&A Manual.  In addition, the EM&A Manual will be prepared in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Annex 21 of the Technical Memorandum on the EIA Process.

9.3.3                 The EM&A Manual will include, but not be limited to, the following:

·       Responsibilities of the Contractor, the Engineer or Engineer’s Representative (ER), the Environmental Team (ET) Leader and the Independent Checker (Environment) (IC(E)) with respect to the environmental monitoring and audit requirements during the course of the project;

·       Information on project organization and management structure and programming of construction activities for the project;

·       Full details of the methodologies to be adopted, including all field laboratory and analytical procedures, and details on quality assurance and quality control programme;

·       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 for each of recommended monitoring parameters;

·       Establishment of Event and Action Plans for impact and compliance monitoring;

·       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 audit data and appropriate reporting procedures and frequency; and

·       Requirements for review of EIA predictions and effectiveness of the environmental monitoring and audit programme.