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 and the
Preliminary Project Feasibility Study (PPFS) Report for the drainage
improvements in Southern Lantau in March 2002.
1.1.2
The DMP Study identified deficiencies
and flooding problems in the existing drainage systems in Sai Kung, East Kowloon
and Southern Lantau. The PPFS
identified the constraints, proposed a preliminary development option and
recommended further investigations and studies for the drainage improvement
works in Southern Lantau.
1.1.3
A Preliminary Environmental Review
(PER), undertaken in the PPFS stage, identified that part of the drainage
improvement works in Southern Lantau is a Designated Project under Schedule 2
Part I of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) and 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 Mui Wo (hereafter referred to as “the
Project”) (refer to Figure 1.1).
1.1.4
An EIA Study for the Project has been
undertaken in accordance with the EIA Study Brief No. ESS-101/2002 registered
under the EIAO and the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment
Process (EIAO-TM).
1.2.1
The purpose of this Environmental
Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual is to guide the set up of an EM&A
programme to ensure compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (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. This Manual outlines
the monitoring and audit programme for the construction and operation phases of
the Project, to provide systematic procedures for monitoring, auditing and
minimising environmental impacts associated with construction works and
operational activities.
1.2.2
Hong Kong environmental regulations
and the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines have served as
environmental standards and guidelines in the preparation of this Manual. In addition, the EM&A Manual has been
prepared in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Annex 21 of the
Technical Memorandum on the EIA Process (EIAO TM).
1.2.3
This Manual contains the following
information:
·
responsibilities
of the Contractor, the Engineer or Engineer’s Representative (ER),
Environmental Team (ET) and Independent Checker (Environment) (IC(E)) with
respect to the environmental monitoring and audit requirements during the
course of the Project;
·
project organization;
·
basis for and description of the broad approach
underlying the EM&A programme;
·
requirements with respect to the construction programme
schedule and the necessary environmental monitoring and audit programme to
track the varying environmental impact;
·
details of the methodologies to be adopted, including
all field laboratories and analytical procedures, and details on quality
assurance and quality control programme;
·
definition of Action and Limit levels;
·
establishment of Event and Action plans;
·
requirements for reviewing pollution sources and
working procedures required in the event of non-compliance with the
environmental criteria and complaints;
·
requirements for presentation of environmental
monitoring and audit data and appropriate reporting procedures; and
·
requirements
for review of EIA predictions and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures
/ environmental management systems and the EM&A programme.
Project Components
1.3.1
The Project comprises the following (Figure
1.1 refers):
·
Construction of
approximately 80m long gabion with natural bed in Pak Ngan Heung River,
approximately 180m of three cells 3m x 2m box culvert and approximately 100m of
rectangular channel at Pak Ngan Heung River;
·
Construction of
approximately 200m of 0.75m wide U-Channel at Ling Tsui Tau Village in Mui Wo;
·
Construction of
approximately 350m and 240m long of gabion channels at Luk Tei Tong By-pass
Channel and Luk Tei Tong River respectively; and
·
Widening
three existing bottlenecks with gabion lined at Tai Tei Tong River.
Project Location
1.3.2
The proposed site of the Project is
located in Mui Wo, Southern Lantau.
Most of the watercourses in Mui Wo remain untouched at their upper
reaches and are partially channelised at their downstream ends near River
Silver. Pak Ngan Heung River, Luk Tei
Tong River and Tai Tei Tong River merge at Silver River before passing Mui Wo
township to Silver Mine Bay. The Luk
Tei Tong (2) River is a tributary of Luk Tei Tong River and flows through an
existing floodplain to the north of the Luk Tei Tong Village. Ling Tsui Tau, a small village adjacent to
Pak Ngan Heung River, is a flooding black spot. Figure 1.1 shows the location of these rivers.
Construction Programme
1.3.3
The drainage improvement works at Pak Ngan
Heung River, Tai Tei Tong River, Luk Tei Tong River and Luk Tei Tong (2) River
would commence in June 2006 and is expected to complete by June 2009. A preliminary construction programme is
presented in Figure 1.2.
1.4.1
The following sub-sections summarise
the EM&A requirements recommended in the EIA Report.
Noise Impact
1.4.2
Owing to the predicted construction
noise impacts from the Project on the identified noise sensitive receivers (NSRs),
the EIA Report recommended that a monitoring and audit programme for
construction noise be undertaken. The EM&A is required to monitor
compliance with permissible noise levels and to check the effectiveness of the
recommended mitigation measures. Details
of the EM&A are provided in Section 3.
Air Quality Impact
1.4.3
Potential dust impacts would be
generated mainly from excavation, material handling and wind erosion from the
site. The air quality assessment
recommended that regular site inspections be undertaken to inspect the
construction activities and works areas in order to ensure all the recommended
mitigation measures as stipulated in the Air Pollution Control (Construction
Dust) Regulation are properly implemented.
Water Quality Impact
1.4.4
The water quality assessment concluded
that the identified water quality impacts would be minimized by implementing
the recommended working method controls and mitigation measures for the river
channel drainage improvement works. Any
effluent discharges from the site would be required to comply with the terms
and conditions of a discharge licence, issued by EPD, under the Water Pollution
Control Ordinance (WPCO). It was
recommended that regular site inspections be undertaken to inspect the
construction activities at all works areas in order to ensure the recommended
mitigation measures are properly implemented.
In addition, given that Pak Ngan Heung River, Tai Tei Tong River and Luk
Tei Tong River discharge to the three-river confluence at the head of the
Silver River, which ultimately discharges to Silver Mine Bay, monitoring of
downstream water quality within the rivers was recommended during the
construction phase. Details of the
recommended EM&A requirements are provided in Section 4.
Waste Management Implications
1.4.5
The mitigation measures recommended in
the EIA Report should form the basis of the site Waste Management Plan to be
developed by the Contractor at the construction stage. The waste arisings should be audited periodically
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, transport and disposal.
An appropriate audit programme would be to undertake a first audit near
the commencement of the construction works, and then to audit on a quarterly
basis thereafter. In addition, the
routine site inspections should check the implementation of the recommended good
site practices and other waste management mitigation measures.
Ecological Impact
1.4.6
The ecological assessment recommended
a specific monitoring programme on the channels constructed to replace the
existing rivers. The programme would provide data on the re-establishment of
aquatic/riparian and marsh communities in the channels, and allow an assessment
of the relative success of mitigation measures to be made. In addition, a specific programme to monitor
breeding activity of the White-shouldered Starlings was recommended. Details of the recommended EM&A
requirements are provided in Section 6.
Impact on Cultural Heritage
1.4.7
The assessment of potential impact on
cultural heritage identified that there may be potential vibration impact to
the existing retaining wall and associated structures of the Yuen Compound
during the construction of rubble seawall and retaining wall at the Luk Tei
Tong River. It was also identified that
small areas of minor excavation works for the proposed U-channel at Ling Tsui
Tau Village would lie within the Chung Hau Archaeological Site. Details of the
recommended EM&A requirements are provided in Section 7.
1.5.1
The proposed project organization and
lines of communication with respect to environmental protection works are shown
in Figure 1.3.
1.5.2
The leader of the Environmental Team
(ET) should be an independent party from the Contractor and should possess at
least 10 years experience of EM&A and have relevant professional
qualifications, e.g. being an Accredited Monitoring Professional of the Hong
Kong Institute of Environmental Impact Assessment (HKIEIA). The Independent Checker (Environment)
(IC(E)) should have the same experience and professional qualifications as
stipulated above for the ET Leader.
1.5.3
The responsibility of respective
parties are:
The Contractor:
·
provide information/advice to the ET regarding works
activities which may contribute, or be continuing to the generation of adverse
environmental conditions;
·
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 whenever Action and
Limit levels are exceeded;
·
implement the corrective actions instructed by the
Engineer;
·
accompany joint site inspection undertaken by the ET;
and
·
adhere
to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with
Section 8.
Environmental Team:
·
monitor various environmental parameters as required in
the EM&A Manual;
·
analyse the environmental monitoring and audit data and
review the success of EM&A programme to cost-effectively confirm the
adequacy of mitigatory measures implemented and the validity of the EIA
predictions and to identify any adverse environmental impacts arising;
·
carry out site inspection to investigate and audit the
Contractors' site practice, equipment and work methodologies with respect to
pollution control and environmental mitigation, and effect proactive action to
pre-empt problems;
·
audit and prepare audit reports on the environmental
monitoring data and site environmental conditions;
·
report on the environmental monitoring and audit
results to the IC(E), Contractor, the ER and EPD or its delegated
representative;
·
recommend suitable mitigation measures to the
Contractor in the case of exceedance of Action and Limit levels in accordance
with the Event and Action Plans; and
·
adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint
investigation in accordance with Section 8.
Engineer or Engineer’s
Representative (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;
·
participate
in joint site inspection undertaken by the ET; and
·
adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint
investigation in accordance with Section 8.
Independent Checker (Environment)(IC(E)):
·
review
the EM&A works performed by the ET (at not less than monthly intervals);
·
audit the monitoring activities and results (at not
less than monthly intervals);
·
report the audit results to the ER and EPD in parallel;
·
review
the EM&A reports (monthly and quarterly summary reports) submitted by the
ET;
·
review the proposal on mitigation measures submitted by
the Contractor in accordance with the Event and Action Plans; and
·
adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint
investigation in accordance with Section 8.
1.5.4
Sufficient and suitably qualified
professional and technical staff should be employed by the respective parties
to ensure full compliance with their duties and responsibilities, as required
under the EM&A programme for the duration of the Project.