1.1.1
The Drainage Services Department
substantially completed the “Stormwater Drainage Master Plan Study in Sai Kung,
East Kowloon and Southern Lantau” (DMP Study) in September 2000. The DMP Study identified deficiencies and
flooding problems in the existing drainage systems in Sai Kung, East Kowloon
and Southern Lantau. The Preliminary
Project Feasibility Study (PPFS) Report for the drainage improvements in Southern
Lantau was subsequently completed in March 2002.
1.1.2
The PPFS identified constraints,
proposed a preliminary development option and recommended further
investigations and studies for the drainage improvement works in Southern
Lantau.
1.1.3
Metcalf & Eddy Limited (M&EL)
have been commissioned by the Drainage Services Department (DSD) of the Hong
Kong SAR Government in May 2003 to undertake the “Drainage Improvement in Southern
Lantau – Investigation” (hereinafter referred to as “the Assignment”), with
environmental support from Maunsell Environmental Management Consultants
Limited.
1.1.4
A Preliminary Environmental Review
(PER), undertaken in the PPFS stage, identified part of the drainage
improvement works in Southern Lantau as a Designated Project under Schedule 2
Part I of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) that requires an
environmental permit under the EIAO for its construction and operation. The Designated Project includes the drainage
improvement works in Pak Ngan Heung River, Tai Tei Tong River, Luk Tei Tong
River and Luk Tei Tong (2) River in the Mui Wo area (hereafter referred to as
“the Project”).
1.1.5
Figure 1.1 shows the location plan of the
proposed works. An application for an Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) Study Brief was obtained from the Environmental
Protection Department (EPD), registered under the EIAO as EIA Study Brief No.
ESS-101/2002. An EIA Study for the
Project has been undertaken as part of the Assignment, in accordance with the
EIA Study Brief and the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment
Process (EIAO-TM).
1.2.1
In accordance with the EIA Study
Brief, the main objective of the EIA study is to provide information on the
nature and extent of potential environmental impacts arising from the
construction and operation of the Project and related activities taking place
concurrently, and to contribute to decisions on the overall environmental
acceptability of the Project, after the implementation of environmental
mitigation measures.
1.2.2
The scope of this EIA study covers the
proposed drainage improvement works in Mui Wo for Pak Ngau Heung River, Tai Tei
Tong River, Luk Tei Tong River and Luk Tei Tong (2) River. The EIA Report has also reported on the need
of the Project and addressed alternative drainage options in Section 2.
1.3.1
The assessment area for the purpose of
this EIA study, as specified in the EIA Study Brief, is presented below:
·
Air quality impact assessment – area
within 500m from the Project boundary.
·
Noise
impact assessment – areas within 300 m from the Project boundary. If the first layer of noise sensitive
receivers provides acoustic shielding to those
receivers further from the site, the assessment area could be reduced accordingly.
·
Water quality impact assessment –areas
within 500m from the Project boundary, covering the Luk Tei Tong freshwater
marsh.
·
Ecological impact assessment – the
assessment area for terrestrial ecological assessment includes areas within 500
m distance from the site boundary of the works areas, or the area likely to be
impacted by the Project. For aquatic
ecology, the assessment area is the same as for water quality assessment.
·
Cultural heritage impact study - sites
of cultural heritage that may be adversely affected by the Project.
1.4.1
The background of the Project and the
objectives of this Report are introduced in Section 1. A description of the Project is provided in
Section 2. Sections 3 to 8 detail the
results of the environmental impact assessment of each key subject area,
covering relevant legislation, environmental conditions, assessment criteria
and methods, and assessment findings:
·
Section
3: Air quality
·
Section
4: Noise
·
Section
5: Water Quality
·
Section
6: Waste Management Implications
·
Section
7: Ecology
·
Section
8: Cultural heritage
1.4.2
An outline of the requirements for the
environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) programme is presented in Section
9. The EM&A programme is presented
in detail in a separate EM&A Manual.
An overall conclusion of the EIA Study is given in Section 10. A detailed implementation schedule of the
recommended mitigation measures is provided in Section 11.