1.                 introduction

 

Purpose of the Manual

 

1.1              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 phase and operational phase of the proposed Project, namely “Expansion of Heliport Facilities at MFT” (hereinafter referred to as “the Project”).  It aims to provide systematic procedures for monitoring, auditing and minimising environmental impacts associated with construction works and operational activities.

 

1.2              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).

 

1.3              This Manual contains the following information:

 

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

·         project organisation for the Project;

·         the 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;

·         the rationale on which the environmental monitoring data will be evaluated and interpreted;

·         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;

·         requirements for review of EIA predictions and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures / environmental management systems and the EM&A programme.

 

1.4              For the purpose of this manual, the ET leader, who shall be responsible for and in charge of the ET, shall refer to the person delegated the role of executing the EM&A requirements.

 

Project Description

 

Project Background

 

1.5              At present, there is an elevated landing/take-off helipad located at the rooftop of the Inner Pier of Macau Ferry Terminal (hereinafter referred to as “MFT”) which can accommodate Class 1 performance helicopters up to the 12-passenger S76C+.  Civil Aviation Department (CAD) commissioned a consultancy study on Helicopter Traffic Demand and Heliport Development in Hong Kong (hereinafter referred to as “Main Study”) in 2001.  The Main Study concluded that expansion works for the existing heliport at MFT should be carried out as soon as possible to meet the anticipated growth in cross-boundary helicopter services. 

 

1.6              The Project is to expand the existing cross-boundary heliport at the rooftop of the MFT by adding one landing/take-off pad and a new taxiway to connect the existing and proposed helipadproposed new helipads connecting taxiway to the existing helipad.  Upon completion of the Project, there will be two helipads operating concurrently at the MFT. 

 

Project Location and Scope

 

1.7              The MFT is a busy cross-boundary ferry terminal.  The location of the proposed expansion works at the existing heliport at the rooftop of the MFT are shown in Figure 1.1.  The areas to the immediate south of the proposed project site are mainly the commercial and mixed commercial/residential buildings along Connaught Road Central, whereas the areas to the north of the site are the MFT Outer Pier and Victoria Harbour.

 

1.8              The development and operation of the Project comprises the following major items:

 

(a)         Construction of a new elevated landing/take-off helipad of size of about 42m x 42m to the east of the existing helipad;

 

(b)         Construction of a taxiway to connect the existing and proposed helipadproposed new helipads;

 

(c)         Renovation, extension and re-location of the existing heliport supporting facilities, e.g. passenger lounge, crew office and flight control room; and

 

(d)         Provision of additional means of access, e.g. escalators and access to/from the helipads.

 

(e)         Expansion of the existing helipad from size of about 29.75m x 29.75m to about 32m x 32m;

 

1.9              The locations of the existing and proposed landing/take-off helipads and the proposed taxiway are shown in Figure 1.1.  Other heliport supporting facilities may be located within the MFT Building or its rooftop.

1.10          The expansion of the existing helipad would not cause significant environmental impacts during construction phase due to limited scale of works.  As there would be no change in the allowable flight frequency and the types of operated helicopters, no adverse impacts would be expected during operation phase of the existing helipad.  Also, advised by CAD, the Sheung Wan Helipad project was suspended.  The assessment in the EIA Report therefore focused on the impact from operation of proposed helipadproposed new helipad and cumulative impact from both existing and proposed helipadproposed new helipad at MFT Building. 

Project Programme

 

1.11          The construction works for the expanded heliport are tentatively estimated to commence in mid 2006 for completion in end 2007. 

 

Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirements

 

1.12          The following sub-sections summarize the EM&A requirements recommended in the EIA Report.

 

Noise Impact

 

Construction Phase

 

1.13          As insignificant construction noise impacts would be anticipated, the EIA Report concluded that noise monitoring was not necessary.  However, environmental audit was recommended to monitor the implementation of good site practices during the construction phase.

 

Operation Phase

 

1.14          The predicted helicopter noise levels from the proposed helipadproposed new helipad would comply with relevant criteria in the EIA Report.  It was recommended to conduct noise monitoring for the first year after the commencement of operation of the proposed helipadproposed new helipad and the requirement of extension of noise monitoring will be reviewed based on the previous impact monitoring results and the number of complaints received.  Details are provided in Section 2 of this EM&A Manual.

 

Water Quality Impact

 

Construction Phase

 

1.15          The construction phase water quality impact would be temporary and localised during construction.  No unacceptable residual water quality impacts would be expected during the construction phase of the Project, provided that all the recommended mitigation measures are properly implemented.

 

1.16          Implementation of regular site audits is recommended to ensure that the recommended mitigation measures are properly undertaken during the construction phase of the Project. It can also provide an effective control of any malpractices and therefore achieve continual improvement of environmental performance on site.

 

            Operation Phase

 

1.17          No adverse operational water quality impact is identified.  Environmental monitoring and audit for water quality during operational phase is considered unnecessary.

 

Air Quality Impact

 

Construction Phase

 

1.18          With the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures stipulated in the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation, dust levels at all ASRs would be expected to comply with the dust criteria.  Dust monitoring during the construction stage was considered not necessary given the very limited scale of construction activities which could be a potential source of construction dust.  However, site audits are required to ensure that the dust control measures presented in the EIA Report are properly implemented.

 

            Operation Phase

 

1.19          No adverse operational air quality impact is identified.  Environmental monitoring and audit for air quality during operational phase is considered unnecessary.

 

            Waste Management Impact

 

1.20          Waste management would be the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that all wastes produced during the construction of the Project are handled, stored and disposed of in accordance with good waste management practices, and EPD’s regulations and requirements.  The mitigation measures recommended in the EIA Report for the Project should form the basis of the site Waste Management Plan to be developed by the Contractor at the construction stage. 

 

1.21          Waste arisings generated during the construction activities 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. 

 

Project Organisation

 

1.22          The proposed Project organisation and lines of communication with respect to environmental protection works for designated project are shown in Figure 1.2.

 

1.23          The leader of the ET shall be an independent party from the Contractor and shall possess at least 10 years experience of EM&A and have relevant professional qualifications, which shall include being an Accredited Monitoring Professional of the Hong Kong Institute of Environmental Impact Assessment (HKIEIA), subject to approval of the EPD.  The Independent Checker (Environment) (IC(E)) shall have the same experience and professional qualifications as stipulated above for the ET Leader.

 

1.24          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 6 of this Manual.

 

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 mitigation 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 6 of this Manual.

 

Engineer or Engineer’s Representative

 

·         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 6 of this Manual.

 

Independent Checker (Environment)

 

·         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 6 of this Manual.

 

1.25          During operation phase, the heliport / helicopter operator would responsible to submit noise mitigation measures to IC(E) and CAD for further action, and CAD would instruct the heliport / helicopter operator to implement corrective actions.

 

1.26          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.