11 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS

11.0.0.1 This Section summarizes the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements for Deep Bay Link Project. Details of the monitoring procedures and other technical requirements are given in the Environmental Monitoring and Audit Manual (EM&A Manual).

11.0.0.2 Subsequent to the findings of the assessments in previous sections, it is necessary for this Project to adopt an EM&A programme due to the following reasons:

i) the project has potential to cause adverse impacts to the healthy; well-being of people, flora, fauna or ecosystem if mitigation measures are not properly implemented;

ii) the project is situated in an area of high conservation value; and

iii) the project involves mitigation measures of which the effectiveness may require a long period to establish.

11.0.0.3 It is to make sure that undesirable impacts to sensitive receivers could be maintained in an acceptable manner. Respective needs and requirements for EM&A are listed out in Sections 11.2 to 11.9.

11.1 Objectives of Environmental Monitoring and Audit

11.1.0.1 The objectives of carrying out EM&A for DBL are:

• To provide a database against which any short or long term environmental impacts of the project can be determined;
• To provide an early indication should any of the environmental control measures or practices fail to achieve acceptable standards;
• To monitor the performance of the project and the effectiveness of mitigation measures;
• To verify the environmental impacts predicted in the EIA Study;
• To determine project compliance with regulatory requirements, standards and government policies;
• To take remedial action if unexpected problems or unacceptable impacts arise; and
• To provide data to enable an environmental audit.

11.2 Summary of Areas Required EM&A

11.2.0.1 The following areas identified in the impact assessments will require EM&A during construction or operational phase:

• Noise Impact : construction noise and operational noise
• Air Quality Impact : construction dust
• Waste Management
• Water Quality
• Land Contamination
• Ecology
• Cultural Heritage

11.3 Noise Impact

11.3.0.1 Potential noise impacts would be caused by construction work and the operational noise (e.g. traffic noise). As noise mitigation measures have been proposed and formulated in the EIA study, EM&A are required to ensure that noise sensitive receivers are protected effectively by the proposed measures.

11.3.1 Construction Noise EM&A

11.3.1.1 Noise measurement shall be carried out for representative NSRs for construction noise monitoring. Baseline monitoring shall be completed before the construction work commences. Impact monitoring shall be conducted whenever there is an on-going construction work. The monitoring frequency shall depend on the scale of construction work. The proposed noise monitoring locations are indicated in Table 11.1 below:

Note:
For locations of NSR, please refer to Figure 3.1
Exact monitoring point for sensitive receivers shall be selected as close as practical to the construction work boundary.

11.3.1.2 The construction noise monitoring stations were selected based on the findings of the construction noise assessments. Construction work was concentrated in Lam Tei Interchange area. For critical NSRs (E8, E13, E4 and E12) around Lam Tei Interchange were predicted likely affected by the DBL construction work and required effective mitigation measures. Monitoring stations were proposed to setup at these four location to monitor environmental performance and effectiveness of mitigation measures. Four more monitoring stations were selected along the rest of the alignment.

11.3.1.3 In dealing with the construction noise at the four critical NSRs (E8, E13, E4 and E12), the contractor is required to submit a construction noise mitigation proposal in consultant with the Environmental Team for Independent Environmental Checker and EPD's approval.

11.3.1.4 The Contractor shall also liaise with the NSR E4 Lam Tei Gospel School for proper arrangement of construction work during examination periods and non-school dates.

11.3.2 Operational Noise

11.3.2.1 Noise monitoring of NSRs should be carried out during the operational phase of DBL. The purpose of the monitoring is to ensure that the proposed mitigation measures such as noise barriers are effective to protect the concerned NSRs. The scope for operational noise monitoring shall include noise measurement at NSR and recording of traffic flow during peak hours. Proposed monitoring locations are listed in Table 11.2.

11.3.2.2 The monitoring locations are to be selected according to the following criteria:

• They should be at NSRs in the vicinity of recommended indirect/direct technical remedies; preferably, there should be one representative monitoring locations near noise screening elements (i.e. vertical barrier, cantilever barrier and enclosure).
• Floor levels of low, medium and high for the buildings of monitoring points should be chosen at each location as far as possible;
• Selected monitoring locations should enable monitoring to be done twice within one year after implementation of the mitigation measures during operation of DBL.

Note:
For locations of monitoring location, please refer to the corresponding location of noise sensitive receivers in Figure 3.1.
(AP8018) - corresponding assessment point in the EIA report

11.3.2.3 This operation noise monitoring shall be reviewed during the detail design stage and submit to EPD for approval before the monitoring starts. The monitoring details such as methodologies, location and number of monitoring stations shall be agreed with EPD.

11.4 Air Quality

11.4.0.1 Potential dust impacts would be caused by various construction activities during the construction phase of this project. Dust mitigation measures with reference to the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation have been highlighted in Section 2 of this report. In addition, a dust monitoring program should be carried out to ensure that dust emissions generated from the project are effectively mitigated to minimize the associated impacts at nearby sensitive receivers.

11.4.0.2 Dust monitoring should be carried out at representative air sensitive receivers during the construction phase of the project. Baseline monitoring shall be completed before the construction work commences. Impact monitoring shall be conducted whenever there is ongoing construction work in the vicinity of each proposed dust monitoring locations listed below in Table 11.3.

Note:
For locations of dust monitoring location, please refer to the corresponding location of air sensitive receivers in Figure 2.1.

11.5 Waste Management

11.5.0.1 Auditing of each waste stream should be carried out periodically by the DBL contractor to determine if wastes are being managed in accordance with approved procedures and the site waste management plan. The audits should look at all aspects of waste management including waste generation, storage, recycling, treatment, transport, and disposal. An appropriate audit programme would be to undertake a first audit at the commencement of the construction works, then to audit quarterly thereafter.

11.6 Water Quality

11.6.0.1 Water quality monitoring of effluents discharging from the construction sites is required during the construction phase of the project. The site management of the DBL contractor is responsible for application of a discharge licence from EPD. The discharged effluents should comply with the licence conditions.

11.6.0.2 Contract documents for the project should incorporate the mitigation measures for water pollution control. Auditing of the implementation and effectiveness of the mitigation measures needs to be performed periodically. The EM&A Manual includes detailed monitoring and audit requirements for water quality.

11.7 Land Contamination

11.7.0.1 Several sites were identified which would require further investigation and they are:

(i) Area C1 near proposed helipad
(ii) Area C3 near propose road to helipad
(iii) Area D near Ha Tsuen Interchange
(iv) Area F under the alignment of DBL south to San Wai Sewage Treatment Works
(v) Area G under the alignment of DBL south to San Wai Sewage Treatment Work
(vi) Area J under the alignment of DBL along Fuk Hang Tsuen Road
(vii) Area L at Lam Tei Interchange
(viii) Area M at Lam Tei Interchange
(ix) Area K at Lam Tei Intechange
(x) Area B near the proposed helipad

11.7.0.2 Further contamination assessment at the above sites should follow the requirements laid out in the proposed contamination assessment plan.

11.7.0.3 For Area K and Area B, further inspection is required when access to the site is available, probably after the land is available to DBL. The inspection aims to identify if there is likely land contamination through site appraisal.

11.8 Ecology

11.8.0.1 Ecological monitoring is recommended during construction phase of the DBL. The mitigation measures should be included into contract clauses for DBL construction. The implementation of the measures should be audited as part of the EM&A procedures during the construction period. Details of the procedures are presented in the EM&A Manual.

11.9 Cultural Heritage

11.9.0.1 Recommended mitigation measures to reduce potential cultural heritage impacts are as follows:

11.9.1 The Chung Shan Cemetery (Permitted Burial Ground No. 22)

11.9.1.1 The entire cemetery and each grave in the cemetery should be recorded in detail. The form of the recording should include written text, photographs, basic measurements and location plans. The content of the recording should include:

• The scale and distribution of the cemetery as well as the arrangement and grouping of the graves;

• The types and structures of the graves; and

• The hosts of the graves and the content of gravestone inscriptions.

11.9.1.2 The recording of the graves should be undertaken by a qualified archaeologist before the commencement of grave relocation.

11.9.2 The Ngau Hom Shek Beach Site with Archaeological Significance

11.9.2.1 The western part of the Ngau Hom Shek Beach Site is located within the alignment of the landing point of Shenzhen Western Corridor and it is now occupied by a piggery as shown in Figure 9.22. The location of the landing point in design is outside the site boundary but a vault will be constructed within the site area. Therefore, a salvage excavation should be carried out at the location of the vault and before the commencement of vault construction. The remaining part of the site will not be directly affected by the construction but it is recommended to cover the site area with layer of soil (30 cm minimum) to protect the site from potential indirect impact.

11.9.2.2 The total size of the salvage excavation is estimated 100 square metres (pending the finalisation of the specific location and size of the proposed vault). The average depth of cultural deposit is around 1.5 metres according to the result of augering on the site and the estimated time length of field work for the salvage excavation is one month (based on an assumption that one qualified archaeologist, four experienced field assistants and eight labour workers are participated in the excavation, the same assumption is also taken for the estimation of the time length of field excavation on other sites).

11.9.2.3 The archaeological excavation should be conducted by a qualified archaeologist who should apply for a licence under the provision of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap.53). The entire process of licence approval takes minimum two months after submitting the application. The same requirement and time span of licence application also apply to other salvage excavations mentioned below
11.9.2.4 The coastal area at Ngau Hom Shek to the immediate west to the DBL alignment was not accessible for archaeological survey at this stage but the possibility of identifying significant archaeological remains cannot be completely excluded, although the archaeological potential of this area is low. It is recommended therefore to conduct a further archaeological survey and, if necessary, to carry out a rescue excavation in the project area with earthworks and building works by the project proponent after land resumption and before the commencement of construction works. The areas where archaeological survey, rescue excavation and protection from indirect impact are required in coastal Ngau Hom Shek are indicated by Figure 9.31.

11.9.3 The Ngau Hom Shek Hill Site with Archaeological Significance

11.9.3.1 The Ngau Hom Shek Hill Site of the prehistoric period is located slightly outside and above the impact zone of the proposed DBL (Figure 9.22), the construction therefore will not cause direct adverse impact to this site. It should be emphasized, however, the site area should be protected from indirect impact potentially caused by the construction and facilities and activities related to the construction should be kept away from this site during the entire process of construction.

11.9.4 The Tsing Chuen Wai Site with Archaeological Significance

11.9.4.1 The central area with concentrated deposit of tiles of the Tsing Chuen Wai Site of the Ming dynasty is around 4800 square metres in size and this area is entirely located within the impact zone of the DBL alignment (Figure 9.25). A salvage excavation therefore should be carried out in this area before the commencement of the DBL project.

11.9.4.2 It is recommended to allocate three long test trenches along the traces of tiles on the tiers of the low terrace, with a size of 30 m x 3m, 20 m x 3m and 10 x 3 m, respectively. Besides, additional four square test pits of 5 m x 5 m will be allocated in other parts of the site. The total size of salvage excavation at this site is 280 square metres and the fieldwork is estimated taking two and half months.

11.9.5 The Lam Tei Site with Archaeological Significance

11.9.5.1 The size of the Lam Tei Site is around 3200 square metres and the site is entirely located within the impact zone of the DBL alignment (Figure 9.28). A salvage excavation therefore should be carried out at this area before the commencement of the DBL project.

11.9.5.2 It is recommended to allocate 20 small test pits of 2 m x 2 m first in the excavation to locate the central area of the site with concentrated structural features. The initial test pits with important findings will then be expanded. The total size of salvage excavation is estimated 200 square metres and fieldwork will be accomplished within two months.