1.1
The “Repositioning and Long Term Operation Plan of Ocean
Park” (hereinafter known as the “Project”) will be implemented by the Ocean
Park Corporation at its existing site of Ocean Park and Nam Long Shan,
Aberdeen. The current
1.2
Figure 1.1 shows the location of
the proposed Project. Further details on
site history, the need for the project and environmental design considerations
can be found in Section 2 of this report.
Requirements of the Environmental
Impact Assessment Ordinance
1.3
The current
1.4
The Park will be redeveloped
under the Project which includes physical changes to an exempted designated
project. Before the Project may be either constructed
or operated, a detailed environmental
assessment for approval by the DEP is required
under the EIAO.
1.5
The Project also includes the
construction of a new funicular system comprising the funicular train and its
associated stations, as well as the tunnel (more than
1.6
This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study will
identify and quantify potential environmental impacts associated with the
construction and operation of the Project and will recommend effective
mitigation measures to ameliorate any potentially negative impacts on the
environment.
1.7
The specific objectives of this EIA Study as set out in the
EIA Study Brief are listed as follows:
l
To describe the Project and associated works together with
the requirements for carrying out the Project.
l
To identify any individual Designated Project under Part I
Schedule 2 of the EIAO to be covered in the Project to ascertain whether the
findings of this EIA Study have adequately addressed the environmental impacts
of these projects.
l
To identify and describe the elements of the community and
environment to be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse
impacts to the Project, including both the natural and man-made environment and
the associated environmental constraints.
l
To consider alternatives with regard to avoiding and
minimizing the potential environmental impacts on the sensitive receivers; to
compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits of the options; to provide
reasons for selecting the preferred option(s) and to describe the part of
environmental factors played in the selection.
l
To identify and quantify emission sources and determine the
significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses.
l
To identify and quantify any potential losses or damage to
flora, fauna and natural habitats and to propose measures to avoid or mitigate
these impacts.
l
To identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual
impacts and to propose measures to avoid or mitigate these impacts.
l
To identify any negative impacts on sites of cultural
heritage and to propose measures to avoid or mitigate these impacts.
l
To propose appropriate mitigation measures where necessary
to minimize pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during construction
and operation of the Park.
l
To investigate the feasibility, practicability,
effectiveness and implications of the proposed mitigation measures.
l
To identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental
impacts (i.e. impact remaining after practicable mitigation) and the cumulative
effects expected to arise during the construction and operation phases in
relation to the sensitive receivers and potential affected uses.
l
To identify, assess and specify methods, measures and
standards, to be included in the detailed design for the expansion,
reconstruction of the
current Park and the long term operation of the Project,
which are necessary to mitigate environmental impacts and cumulative effects and
reduce them to acceptable levels.
l
To investigate the extent of the secondary environmental
impacts that may arise from the proposed mitigation measures and to identify
constraints associated with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA
study, as well as the provision of any necessary modification.
l
To specify environmental monitoring and audit requirements
to ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental
protection and pollution control measures.
1.8
The present study has been conducted in accordance with the
requirements of the EIA Study Brief issued by EPD (ESB-125/2005) and the
guidelines on assessment methodologies provided in Annexes 12 to 19 of the Technical
Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (hereinafter referred
to as the EIAO-TM). A general
description of the approaches and methodologies adopted for the assessment are
described below, and detailed descriptions are to be found in the relevant
technical sections to follow.
Description of the Environment
1.9
The relevant characteristics of the existing environment
have been identified and described, so as to form a baseline for the
identification and prediction of environmental impacts likely to arise from
implementation of the project. Baseline environmental
surveys were carried out to determine the existing environmental conditions on
the site and in all environs likely to be affected by the proposed
Project. The baseline conditions
including the existing noise environment, air quality, water quality, marine
and terrestrial ecology, cultural heritage and the landscape and visual quality
have been described in the report.
1.10
Relevant reports and drawings have been reviewed and
relevant findings from past studies were incorporated where appropriate in this
EIA Report. Previous studies relevant to
this Study are listed below:
§
Construction of an
§
Long Term Redevelopment and
Operation Plan for
Impact Prediction
1.11
This Study has been undertaken following the guidelines on
assessment methodologies given in Annexes 12 to 19 of the EIAO-TM. Quantitative predictive tools have been used
for the prediction of environmental impacts associated with construction noise,
project-induced traffic noise (e.g. increased visitor traffic),
fixed plant noise, air quality, and water quality.
The predictions were based on internationally recognised methods. For instance, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) approved air dispersion model, California Line
Source Dispersion Model, CALINE 4, was used to predict the dispersion of
exhaust pollutants from vehicles using the surrounding road network. Besides, the methodologies described in the
United Kingdom Department of Transport’s “Calculation of Road Traffic Noise”
(1988) and the Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work other
than Percussive Piling (GW-TM) under the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO) were
adopted to predict, respectively, the road traffic and construction noise
impact. Fixed
noise source impacts were predicted by standard acoustic principles.
1.12
These methodologies have previously been applied in similar
situations in other EIA studies (e.g. Penny’s Bay EIA). They have generally been accepted for use in
assessing environmental impacts and for the comparison of prediction results
with EIAO-TM standards. There remain
some limitations of the methodologies such as the accuracy of the predictive
base data for future conditions, e.g. traffic flow forecasts and weather
conditions. Uncertainties in the assessment of impacts have
been considered when drawing conclusions from the assessment. For instance, realistic worst-case
assumptions have been used in the assessment in order to provide a conservative
assessment of environmental impacts. As
an example, the noise and
air quality impacts are predicted using the peak hourly traffic flows likely to arise from the Park operations, so noise
and air quality conditions at other times are likely to be better.
Impact Evaluation
1.13
The anticipated changes and effects as a result of the
proposed Project were evaluated with respect to the criteria described in
Annexes 4 to 10 of the EIAO-TM. As far
as possible and as appropriate to the needs of the assessment, the evaluations
have been presented quantitatively.
Impact Mitigation
1.14
Mitigation measures have been identified and evaluated with
the aim to avoid, reduce or minimise/ remedy the impacts. The priority in selecting mitigation measures
is the avoidance of impacts. The
effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures has been assessed and any
residual environmental impacts have been clearly defined. The various mitigation measures have been set
out in an implementation schedule that clearly identifies each measure, when
and where it needs to be applied, and the parties responsible for both
implementation and, where required, maintenance of the mitigation measure.
1.15
This EIA Report comprises fifteen sections and each section
is briefly described below:
Section 1 is an
introduction to this EIA Study and presents the background of
the Project and the framework of the assessment.
Section 2 presents a
description of the Project, including the project location, defines the EIA
Study Area and describes the envisaged construction activities.
Section 3 identifies and
assesses potential noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of
the Project, including noise from rides, shows, and visitor traffic.
Section 4 identifies and assesses
potential temporary and permanent landscape and visual impacts arising from the
Project.
Section 5 identifies and assesses
potential direct and indirect ecological impacts arising from the construction
and operation of the project.
Section 6 identifies and
assesses potential impacts associated with waste generation during construction
and operation of the project and describes measures for
storage and handling of waste material.
Section 7 identifies and assesses issues
arising from areas of potential land contamination, and presents a
contamination assessment plan (CAP) containing detailed proposals for sampling
and analysis to determine the nature and extent of contamination, and setting
out a scheme for dealing with any identified contamination of concern.
Section 8 identifies and assesses
potential air quality impacts arising from the construction and operation of
the Project, including vehicle emissions.
Section 9 identifies and assesses
potential water quality impacts associated with the construction and operation
of the Project.
Section
10 identifies and assesses potential sewerage and sewage treatment implications
in relation to the operation of the Project.
Section 11 identifies and assesses
potential impacts on cultural heritage arising from the Project.
Section 12 identifies and assesses
potential hazards associated with overnight on site storage
of explosives for the construction of the Project.
Section
13 presents
the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements.
Section 14
summarises the environmental outcomes and the overall conclusions of this EIA
study.
Section 15 presents the
Implementation Schedules of recommended mitigation measures for various
environmental issues.