1.                       ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS

 

1.1                   Introduction

 

               Purpose of the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual

 

1.1.1             The purpose of this EM&A Manual is to guide the setup of an EM&A Program to ensure the effective implementation of mitigation measures recommended in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study, relevant environmental protection, and pollution prevention and control legislation. The EM&A programme will be used to assess the effectiveness of, inter alia, the implementation of, recommended mitigation measures, and to identify any further need for additional mitigation measures or remedial actions.

 

1.1.2             This Manual outlines the monitoring and audit programme for the construction and operation phases of the proposed Project, namely “Secondary Drainage Channel KT13” (hereinafter referred to as “the Project” or “KT13”). It aims to provide systematic procedures for monitoring, auditing and minimizing the environmental impacts associated with the construction works.

 

1.1.3             Findings, recommendations and requirements of the EIA, all relevant requirements under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) and other environmental legislation, the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) are adopted in the preparation of this EM&A Manual.

 

1.1.4             Technical memoranda and guidelines of all environmental related legislation are adopted in the preparation of this EM&A Manual. Reference has also been made to EPD’s “Environmental Monitoring and Audit Guidelines for Development Projects in Hong Kong”.

 

1.1.5             The EM&A Manual describes the following:

 

(a)                 duties of the Environmental Team (ET), the ET Leader, the Independent Environmental Checker (IEC), Engineer’s Representative and Contractor, in relation to the project’s environmental monitoring and audit requirements during construction;

 

(b)                information on the project organisation and programming of construction activities;

 

(c)                 the project construction schedule and the necessary environmental monitoring and audit programme to track the environmental impacts;

 

(d)                requirements for the review of pollution sources and working procedures in the event of non-compliance of the project’s environmental performance criteria;

 

(e)                 environmental auditing procedures;

 

(f)                  requirements for the documentation of environmental monitoring and audit data, and appropriate reporting procedures; and

 

(g)                 complaint resolution procedures.

 

1.1.6             Figure 1.1 summarize the procedures to be adopted under this EM&A programme.

 

               Background

 

1.1.7             Black & Veatch Hong Kong Limited (B&V HKL) (formerly Binnie Black & Veatch Hong Kong Limited) was commissioned by the Drainage Services Department (DSD) to carry out the preliminary and detailed design and construction supervision of the Yuen Long, Kam Tin, Ngau Tam Mei & Tin Shui Wai Drainage Improvement, Stage 1 Project (the Assignment).

 

1.1.8             The Assignment comprises a number of elements, one of these elements, the construction and operation of Secondary Drainage Channel KT13 (the Project) in the vicinity of Ho Pui and Ma On Kong constitutes a Designated Project as defined under the EIA Ordinance pursuant to Item I.1(b)(vii) and Item Q.1 of Schedule 2 Part I of the Ordinance. An Environmental Permit (EP) from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is required for the construction and operation of KT13. In applying for the EP, an EIA Report is required to be approved by the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP).

 

1.2                   Location of Designated Project and Existing Environment

 

1.2.1             Secondary drainage channel KT13 is in the vicinity of a recognized egretry, the Ho Pui Egretry. The site is located between two villages, Ma On Kong and Ho Pui in southern Kam Tin in Northwest New Territories of Hong Kong. It is approximately 1 km northeast of the portal of the Route 3 Tai Lam Tunnel, less than 300 m from West Rail alignment and depot, and immediately north of the Tai Lam Country Park. Figure 1.2 shows the location of KT13 in relation to the main water catchments in the Northwest New Territories.


1.3                   Secondary Drainage Channel KT13

 

1.3.1             Secondary drainage channel KT13 has been proposed in the Yuen Long, Kam Tin, Ngau Tam Mei and Tin Shui Wai Drainage Master Plan (YLDMP) to drain the areas in Ma On Kong where the existing streamcourse is insufficient, to deal with catchwater overflows for Ho Pui Reservoir to the south and to provide infrastructure for future development.

 

1.3.2             In order to improve the hydraulic performance of the streamcourse, the downstream section (Section A) of the streamcourse is widened and deepened to a trapezoidal channel with 5 m wide gabion base and banks, and depth of 3 m. The upstream section (Section B) is also trained to a trapezoidal channel with 5 m wide gabion base and banks with a constant depth of 2 m.

 

1.3.3             A concrete bypass culvert will be built for the middle section of Ma On Kong streamcourse with the maintenance access to be formed above the bypass culvert. The bypass culvert is a twin cell box culvert. With the bypass culvert, the flow in the middle section of Ma On Kong streamcourse can be controlled so that there will be no overbank flow during a 1 in 50 years storm, while maintaining dry weather flow similar to existing condition in the unmodified middle section of the KT13 stream to ensure protection of egretry and associated habitat.

 

1.3.4             With the widening and deepening of both the upstream and downstream sections and a bypass culvert for the middle section, the Ma On Kong streamcourse will have adequate flow capacities to convey the maximum predicted flows within bank.  Figures 1.3a and 1.3b show details of KT13.

 

1.4                   Design and Construction Programme

 

1.4.1             The construction of the secondary drainage channel KT13 is scheduled to commence in mid 2007 and is expected to be completed in mid 2010.  The construction of secondary drainage channel KT13 is expected to take approximately 36 months.

 

1.4.2             The endorsed environmental mitigation measures in the EIA Report will be incorporated in the detailed design of the channel.

 

1.5                   Mitigation Measures listed in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report

 

1.5.1             Mitigation measures to be implemented during construction phase for air quality, noise, water quality, waste management, ecology, and landscape & visual impact are included in separate Chapters of this EM&A Manual. The implementation schedule for the full list of mitigation measures proposed under the EIA is included in Appendix A of this Manual.

 

1.6                   Project Organization

 

1.6.1             The project organisation and lines of communication with respect to environmental protection works are shown in Figures 1.4 and 1.5 respectively.

 

               Contractor

 

1.6.2             The Contractor shall be responsible for:

 

(a)                 employ an Environmental Team (ET) to undertake monitoring, laboratory analysis and reporting of environmental monitoring and audit;

 

(b)                implementing environmental controls and mitigation as set out in this manual as well as any additional measures necessary for compliance with the environmental control standards;

 

(c)                 following any reasonable directions and corrective actions given by the Engineer or the ER(s) particularly as the result of the implementation of event/action plan and co-operate with the environmental performance review undertaken by the IEC;

 

(d)                each Contractor shall comply with and observe all Ordinances, bye-laws, regulations and rules for the time being in force in Hong Kong governing the control of any form of pollution, including air, noise, water and waste pollution, and shall implement environmental controls and mitigation as set out in this manual as well as any additional measures necessary for compliance with the environmental control standards;

 

(e)                 each Contractor shall carry out all works in such a manner as to cause as little impact as possible to environs and the Contractor shall be held responsible for any claims which may arise from such impacts; and

 

(f)                  operate and strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) developed by the Contractor.

 

               The Engineer

 

1.6.3             The Engineer will be responsible for:

 

(a)                 ensuring that the EM&A programme is fully implemented in accordance with the Environmental Permit issued upon approval of the EIA and this EM&A Manual;

 

(b)                ensuring that the Contractor is implementing environmental controls and mitigation as set out in the contract specifications, Environmental Permit issued upon approval of the EIA and this EM&A Manual as well as any additional measures necessary for compliance with the environmental control standards;

 

(c)                 ensuring that the Contractor is implementing and enforcing event/action plans when exceedances of Action and Limit (AL) levels or complaints occur;

 

(d)                reviewing the monitoring and audit reports submitted by the Contractor’s ET leader;

 

(e)                 implementing a `stop work' action if repeated exceedance of target levels justifies this action;

 

(f)                  follow up and close out corrective actions in accordance with the event/action plans; and

 

(g)                 investigating and auditing the Contractor’s equipment and work methodologies with respect to pollution control and environmental mitigation, and to anticipate environmental issues that may require mitigation before the problem arises.

 

1.6.4             The division of the responsibilities under the Engineer are given in the following paragraphs.

 

               The Engineer's Representative (ER(s))

 

1.6.5             The ER(s) have a key role to play with the EM&A programme, undertaking:

 

(a)                 an engineering audit of environmental reports;

 

(b)                site liaison;

 

(c)                 implementing and enforcing event/action plans under the Contract when exceedances of AL levels or complaints occur; and

 

(d)                ensuring that measures to protect the environment are sufficient, properly and regularly maintained under the Contract.

 

               The Contractor’s Environmental Team (Contractor’s ET)

 

1.6.6             The Contractor’s ET led by Contractor’s ET leader will hold a key position with the EM&A programme.

 

1.6.7             Appropriate staff shall be included in the Contractor’s ET to fulfil the following EM&A duties:

 

(a)                 environmental monitoring of various aspects such as noise, air quality and water quality as required by this EM&A Manual and using the procedures outlined in this EM&A Manual;

 

(b)                recording activities or operations taking place at the site before or during the monitoring period;

 

(c)                 recording factors such as weather conditions at the time of sampling or data collection;

 

(d)                undertaking regular maintenance and calibration of equipment so that accurate data are collected with precision;

 

(e)                 reporting to the Contractor’s ET leader any abnormality in monitoring process and any difficulties encountered; and

 

(f)                  ensuring that monitoring results are sent to both the ER and the ET leader within the time frame as agreed by the ER.

 

               Contractor’s Environmental Team Leader (Contractor’s ET Leader)

 

1.6.8             The Contractor’s ET leader shall have relevant professional qualifications, or have sufficient relevant EM&A experience subject to approval of the Engineer. The Contractor’s ET leader will be responsible for:

 

(a)                 reviewing the EIA final report and the detailed designs to ensure that the EIA recommendations and any other measures identified during the reviews are incorporated into the designs;

 

(b)                ensuring that the contracts, licences and detailed designs of the KT13 incorporate the measures recommended in the EIA report;

 

(c)                 checking that timely implementation of mitigation measures identified in the EIA final report occurs;

 

(d)                examining Contractors' rolling works programmes, method statements, licence application and other relevant documentation so as to ensure the best practice would be implemented to generate no unacceptable impacts to the established guidelines/standards;

 

(e)                 identifying any potential unanticipated or greater than expected impacts;

 

(f)                  formulating any necessary preventative or remedial measures to be actioned for these potential impacts;

 

(g)                 liaising with the Engineer(s), and Contractors on environmental considerations both regularly and as necessary;

 

(h)                 undertaking environmental site inspection and audit both regularly and on ad-hoc basis at a frequency appropriate to the intensity of the works;

 

(i)                   supervising the ET;

 

(j)                  reviewing the monitoring data produced taking into account any factors which may influence these data;

 

(k)                interpreting the reviewed data with reference to AL levels and baseline and control data;

 

(l)                   a contemporaneous log-book of each and every instance or circumstance or change of circumstances which may affect EIA, and each and every non-compliance with recommendation of the EIA report or the Environmental Permit. The log-book shall be kept readily available for inspections by all persons assisting in supervision of the implementation of the EIA Report recommendations and the Environmental Permit or by the Director of Environmental Protection and his authorized officers;

 

(m)               ascertaining whether any extraneous activities, unrelated to the construction work on the site, may have influenced the data.  Cumulative impacts from nearby construction works should be considered;

 

(n)                 implementing event/action plans when exceedances of AL levels or complaints occur;

 

(o)                liaising and consulting with all relevant parties during the implementation of action plans;

 

(p)                establishing the A/L levels of water quality and Action Level of air quality;

 

(q)                reviewing the EM&A programme after the collection and analysis of the baseline data.  Modifying the EM&A programme in terms of parameters, sites, sample sizes, frequency etc. if appropriate in consultation with the Independent Environmental Checker (IEC), Engineer, EPD and Client;

 

(r)                  modifying the EM&A programme in consultation with the ER(s), EPD and AFCD if necessary throughout the period of Works;

 

(s)                 producing and circulating reports:

 

                     on a regular basis as required in Section 9 of this Manual;

                     when action plans are implemented;

                     when responding to public complaints; and

 

(t)                  implementing the complaints procedures.

 

               Independent Environmental Checker (IEC)

 

1.6.9             The IEC shall be employed before the commencement of the Project. The IEC shall have at least 7 years experience in EM&A or environmental management. The IEC shall not be in any way an associated body of the Contractor. The appointment of the IEC is subject to the approval of the ER and DSD.

 

1.6.10         The IEC shall audit the overall EM&A programme including the implementation of all environmental mitigation measures, submissions relating to EM&A, and any other submission required under the Environmental Permit.

 

1.6.11         In addition, the IEC shall be responsible for verifying the environmental acceptability of permanent and temporary works, relevant design plans, contemporaneous log-book and submissions under the Environmental Permit.

 

1.6.12         Arrange and conduct monthly general site inspections of the different works areas along the KT13 alignment.

 

1.6.13         Ensure that impact monitoring is conducted at the correct locations at the correct frequency as identified in this Manual.

 

1.6.14         Report the findings of the site inspections and other environmental performance reviews to the Client and the EPD.

 

1.6.15         The IEC shall also prepare the following information for inclusion into the monthly EM&A reports:

 

(a)                 summary of site audit observations and results;

 

(b)                comments and/or recommendations;

 

(c)                 areas of concern; and

 

(d)                verification and certification of the report.

 

1.7                   Approved EIA Report and Environmental Permit

 

1.7.1             To deal with key project changes after the approval of the EIA report, the project proponent or the person in charge of the project shall seek written agreement from the Director of Environmental Protection (the Director) on those project changes that would affect the findings and recommendations of the approved EIA report, and shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that the same environmental performance requirements in the approved EIA report can be met by equivalent or additional measures.  All such information shall be reviewed by the ET leader and verified by the IEC before submitting to the Director.  Such information shall be made available to the public, as directed by the Director.

 

1.7.2             All parties described in Section 1.6 (where applicable) are required to comply with all the Environmental Permit (EP) Conditions.