14 CONCLUSION 14-1

14.1 Introduction. 14-1

14.2 Environmental Outcomes. 14-3

14.3 Air Quality Impact 14-3

14.4 Noise Impact 14-3

14.5 Water Quality Impacts. 14-3

14.6 Waste Management Implications. 14-3

14.7 Land Contamination Impact 14-3

14.8 Marine Ecological Impact 14-3

14.9 Landscape and Visual Impact 14-3

14.10 Cultural Heritage Impact 14-3

14.11 Environmental Monitoring and Audit 14-3

14.12 Overall Conclusion. 14-3

14 CONCLUSION

14.1 Introduction

14.1.1 The Project is a designated project in accordance with Item A.1 and A.7 of Part I of Schedule 2 of the EIAO, which specifies “a road tunnel more than 800m in length between portal”.

14.1.2 This EIA Report has provided an assessment of the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project, with the consideration of the potential cumulative impact from other projects including the Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII) and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Atrium Link Extension projects. Since the details of the potential future railway projects, i.e. Shatin Central Link (SCL) and North Hong Kong Island Line (NIL) were not available at the time of this EIA study, the cumulative impacts from these two railway projects could not be addressed. Specific mitigation measures requirements for the Project, as well as an environmental monitoring and auditing programme, have been developed during the assessment of the proposed developments. The Implementation Schedule of the recommendations is presented in Section 13. A summary of the environmental impacts associated with the Project are present in Table 14.1. The key assessment assumptions, limitation of assessment methodologies and all obtained relevant prior agreements with the EPD or other authorities on individual environmental media assessment components are given in Appendix 15.1. The key environmental outcomes arising from the EIA study and the principal findings of the study are summarized in Section 14.2.

Table 14.1 Summary of Environmental Impacts Associated with the Project

Environmental Issue	Sensitive Receivers/ Assessment Points	Impact Prediction Results	Relevant Standards/ Criteria	Extents of Exceedances	Impact Avoidance Measures/ Mitigation Measures	Residual Impacts
Air Quality
Construction Phase	48 assessment points	1-hour Average TSP Conc.: 88-434 mg/m^3 24-hour Average TSP Conc.: 82-241mg/m^3	EIAO-TM and Air Quality Objective	Nil	Four times daily watering with complete coverage of active construction area Requirements of the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation The following mitigation measures, good site practices and a comprehensive dust monitoring and audit programme are recommended to minimise cumulative dust impacts. · Strictly limit the truck speed on site to below 10 km per hour and water spraying to keep the haul roads in wet condition;	Nil
					· Watering during excavation and material handling;
					· Provision of vehicle wheel and body washing facilities at the exit points of the site, combined with cleaning of public roads where necessary; and
					· Tarpaulin covering of all dusty vehicle loads transported to, from and between site locations.
Operational Phase	56 assessment points	1-hour Average NO2 Conc.: 73-254 mg/m^3 24-hour Average NO2 Conc.: 62-135 mg/m^3 24-hour Average RSP Conc.: 56-78 mg/m^3	Air Quality Objective	Nil	Not Applicable	Nil
	Air quality inside CWB Tunnel & deckover for planned HKCEC Atrium Link	CWB Tunnel – achieve EPD recommended standard of 1 ppm NO2 concentration	EPD Tunnel Air Quality Guidelines	Nil	Not Applicable	Nil
		Deckover on Atrium Link – the predicted maximum NO2 concentrations (5 minutes average) under normal traffic flow and congested traffic flow would be 114mg/m^3 and 130mg/m^3respectively,
Noise
Construction Phase	N1, N2, N3, N6, N8, N11, N13, N15, N17, N18, N20 and N22	Predicted noise levels would be in the range of 57 to 101 dB(A)	Domestic premises: 75dB(A) Educational institutions: 70 dB (A) during normal teaching periods & 65 dB(A) during examinations	Domestic premises: Exceed the noise standard by up to 26dB(A). Educational institutions: Exceed the noise standard by 20 dB(A) during normal teaching period and up to 25 dB(A) during examination period.	Use of quiet equipment, movable/temporary noise barriers and PME grouping to mininise construction noise impact	For N11 (i.e. Mayson Garden), the predicted noise level would exceed the noise standard of 75 dB(A) for 1 month by 10 dB(A) with Group 2 PME. For N17 (i.e.Harbour Heights), the predicted noise level would exceed the noise standard of 75 dB(A) by up to 5 dB(A) with Group 1 or Group 2 PEM for a total of 8 weeks.
						For N18 (i.e. City Garden), the predicted noise level would exceed the noise standard of 75 dB(A) by up to 9 dB(A) with Group 1 or Group 2 PME for a total of 16 weeks. For N20 (i.e. Hong Kong Baptist Church Henrietta Secondary School), the predicted noise level with Group 1 or Group 2 PME would exceed the noise standard of 65 dB(A) by up to 12 dB(A) during examination periods for a total of 28 weeks in 2009, 2013 and 2015. For the normal teaching period, the noise level would exceed the noise standard of 70 dB(A) by 7 dB(A) with Group 1 or Group 2 PME for 13.5 weeks.
Operational Phase	N1 to N23 and P1 to P3	NSRs N1 – N5: 60 – 87 dB(A) NSRs N6 - N8: 78 – 85 dB(A) NSRs N9 – N17 and P1: 65 – 81 dB(A) NSRs N18 – N23, P2 and P3: 65 – 81 dB(A)	Domestic premises: 70 dB(A)	Domestic premises: Exceed the noise standard by up to 17dB(A).	1. About 500m length of noise semi-enclosure with transparent panel covering the westbound slip road from the IEC 2. About 230m length of noise semi-enclosure with transparent panel covering the main carriageways (eastbound and westbound) of the CWB and IEC 3. About 135m length of 5.5.m high cantilevered noise barrier with 3m cantilever inclined at 45° with transparent panel on the eastbound slip road to the IEC. 4. About 95m length of 5.5.m high cantilevered noise barrier with 1m cantilever inclined at 45° with transparent panel on the eastbound slip road to the IEC. 5. About 350m length of 3.5m high vertical noise barrier with transparent panel on the eastbound slip road to the IEC. 6. low noise road surfacing for the trunk road (except tunnel section and beneath the landscaped deck at the eastern portal area) with speed limit of 70 km/hour 7. The openable windows of the re-provisioned Tin Hau Temple, if any, should be orientated so as to avoid direct line of sight to the existing Victoria Park Road as far as practicable	With the proposed noise mitigation measures in place, the ‘New’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels at all representative NSRs would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the ‘New’ road noise levels would all be below the relevant noise criteria. No adverse noise impacts arising from the ‘New’ roads are predicted at representative NSRs. Noise exceedances at the representative NSRs, if any, would be due to the existing roads.
			Educational institutions and all others where unaided voice communication is required: 65dB(A)	Education institution: Exceed the noise standard by up to 12dB(A)
			Places of public worship: 65 dB(A)	Places of public worship: Exceed the noise standard by 7dB(A).
Water Quality
Construction Phase	Seawater intakes at or near the Project site	It is anticipated that the water quality impacts will generally be localised during construction. Unacceptable impact on the identified sensitive receivers is not expected.	Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO) Water Supplies Department (WSD) Water Quality Criteria: for flushing intake	Not applicable	Good housekeeping and stormwater best management practices for control of construction site runoff, stormwater discharges, sewage effluent, drainage and general refuse	Nil
			Technical Memorandum on Standards for Effluents Discharged into Drainage and Sewerage Systems, Inland and Coastal Waters (TM-DSS) ProPECC PN 1/94 “Construction Site Drainage”
Operational Phase	Seawater intakes at or near the Project site	It is anticipated that the water quality impacts will generally be localised during operation. Unacceptable impact on the identified sensitive receivers is not expected.	WPCO WSD Water Quality Criteria: for flushing intake TM-DSS ProPECC PN 1/94 “Construction Site Drainage”	Not applicable	Provision of adequately designed silt trap and oil interceptors, as necessary	Nil
Waste Management Implications
Construction Phase	Not applicable	General refuse from the workforce; chemical waste from plant and equipment maintenance; and C&D material from excavation works and the demolition of existing structures.	1. Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354)	Not applicable	Refer to Table 13.4	Nil
			2. Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation (Cap. 354)
			3. Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28)
			4. Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) - Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation
			5. Annexes 7 & 15 of EIAO TM
Land Contamination Impact
Construction Phase	Construction Workers via direct ingestion of and dermal contact with contaminated soils.	No land contamination impact is expected.	ProPECC PN3/94 - “Contaminated Land Assessment and Remediation” “Guidance Notes for Investigation and Remediation of Contaminated Sites of: Petrol Filling Stations, Boatyards, and Car Repair /Dismantling Workshops	None	None	Nil
Marine Ecological Impacts
Construction Phase	Marine ecological resources in the assessment area.	No adverse ecological impact is expected. Only negligible indirect impact on subtidal and intertidal habitats and associated marine wildlife caused from change of water quality due to potential site run-off from land-based construction sites.	(See water quality assessment)	(See water quality assessment)	- As no adverse ecological impact on marine habitats and associated wildlife is identified, no necessary mitigation measure specific for marine ecology is required.	Not expected
Landscape and Visual Impact
Construction Phase	All Landscape Resources / Landscape Character Areas and Visual Sensitive Receivers within the study area	- Approximately 300 trees will be affected. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered specie but common species.	1. ETWB TCW No. 29/2004 - Registration of Old and Valuable Trees, and Guidelines for their Preservation, 2. ETWB TCW No. 3/2006 - Tree Preservation	Not applicable	- Existing trees to be retained on site should be carefully protected during construction. - Trees unavoidably affected by the works should be transplanted where practical. - Compensatory tree planting should be provided to compensate for felled trees.	Landscape Impacts Approximately 300 trees will be affected. There will be substantial negative impacts on the CBTS landscape character and moderate residual impact on Victoria Harbour and Victoria Park.
			·		- Control of night-time lighting. - Erection of decorative screen hoarding compatible with the surrounding setting.	Visual Impacts With implementation of mitigation measures, there will still be some moderate negative visual impact on the VSRs in the front row of high rise buildings along the waterfront from Central to North Point. Residual impacts VSRs further away the Victoria harbour will become slight.
Operational Phase	All Landscape Resources / Landscape Character Areas and Visual Sensitive Receivers within the study area	Not applicable	1. EIAO and TM, particularly Annexes 10 and 18, 2. EIAO Guidance Note 8/2002, 3. Town Planning Ordinance (Cap 131),	Not applicable	- Aesthetic design of buildings and road-related structures, including viaducts, vent buildings, subways, footbridges and noise barriers and enclosure. - Shrub and Climbing Plants to soften proposed structures.	Landscape Impacts There are slight negative impacts on Victoria Harbour and Victoria Park. The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be further enhanced by the proposed open space. Specific themes for the open spaces will be proposed to the waterfront from Central to North Point.
			4. ETWB TCW No. 2/2004 - Maintenance of Vegetation and Hard Landscape Features, 5. ETWB TCW No. 29/2004 - Registration of Old and Valuable Trees, and Guidelines for their Preservation		- Buffer Tree and Shrub Planting to screen proposed roads and associated structures. - Aesthetic streetscape design. - Aesthetic design of roadside amenity areas.	Visual Impacts There will be substantial to moderate positive visual impact on VSRs along the new waterfront as the landscape and visual amenity are generally enhanced and strengthen by the proposed project.
			6. ETWB TCW No. 3/2006 - Tree Preservation
Cultural Heritage Impact
Construction Phase	Cultural heritage resources within the project boundary	No adverse cultural heritage impact is expected.	1. Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap.53) 2. Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) (Cap. 499, S.16)	Not applicable	None	Nil
			3. Technical Memorandum on the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM)
			4. Guidance Notes on Assessment of Impact on Sites of Cultural Heritage in Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (GN-CH)
			5. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) 6. Marine Archaeological Investigation Guidelines.

14.2 Environmental Outcomes

14.2.1 The major environmentally sensitive areas within the study area include residential buildings, commercial buildings, hotels, recreational areas, educational institutions, and WSD flushing water intakes and cooling water intakes at the waterfront of Victoria Harbour. The population within the study area is approximately 125,000. With the implementation of the proposed control and mitigation measures, the air, noise and water quality sensitive receivers within the study area would be protected from adverse environmental impacts arising from the Project during both construction and operational phases. A summary of the key environmental outcomes arising from the EIA study and environmental benefits of the environmental protection measures recommended are presented in Table 14.2 below.

Table 14.2 Summary of Key Environmental Outcomes/ Benefits

Issue	Environmental Outcomes/Benefits
The Project	Requirements: The Trunk Road is defined as the section of road extending from Rumsey Street Flyover Extension to the IEC, comprising the CWB and the IECL. The Trunk Road will form an east-west strategic route through Central and Wan Chai and is an essential element of Government’s strategic transportation planning for Hong Kong that is required to provide relief to the existing main east-west corridor (that is, Connaught Road - Harcourt Road - Gloucester Road).
	Benefits: The Project provides key transport infrastructure so as to relieve congestion on the strategic east-west routes through Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay and on the public transport system, and their implementation is a core element of Government's transport planning strategy.
	Potential consequences without the Project: (i) Not able to relieve traffic congestion · Without the Trunk Road, the east-west strategic corridors of the hinterland such as Gloucester Road, Harcourt Road and Connaught Road Central will be severely affected. At the eastern end of the Trunk Road, long queues would be anticipated along the IEC as Victoria Park Road between Causeway Bay Flyover and Canal Road, already very congested, will become a bottleneck. At the western end, Connaught Road Central will be severely congested. Road connections from the hinterland will also not be able to operate due to congestion.
	· From traffic point of view, given that the existing east-west corridor along the north shore is already overloaded at present, the future increase in general traffic growth on the Island due to territory-wide population and employment growth will exert additional pressure on the existing road network, thus causing further congestion and likely ‘gridlock’ situations to the north shore of Hong Kong Island, which may also have far reaching impacts to the harbour crossings.
	· A district traffic study has confirmed that a dual 3-lane Trunk Road (or Central-Wan Chai Bypass), together with intermediate slip roads, is required to divert traffic away from the existing east-west corridor and to provide adequate relief to the corridor and the local road network. The need for the Trunk Road has also been confirmed by the Expert Panel on Sustainable Transport Planning and Central-Wan Chai Bypass (‘Expert Panel’), which consists of independent local and overseas experts in the relevant fields. (ii) Likely environmental conditions · In the absence of project, similar air quality conditions along the northshore areas of Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and North Point as currently exist would be expected to continue. There would be no opportunity to improve air quality condition by diverting traffic underground. With the project, air quality at the east tunnel portal area of the proposed Trunk Road would be enhanced by the introduction of an electrostatic precipitator system into the tunnel ventilation exhaust system and zero portal emission design of the East Tunnel Portal. · In the absence of the project, the noise environment of the project area would be increased due to the natural growth of traffic. In the presence of the project, it would help lessen the traffic burden on Gloucester Road by diverting traffic to the proposed Trunk Road tunnel. There would be an improvement of the noise environment alongside Gloucester Road. Besides, the project would provide an opportunity to alleviate the noise impact at noise sensitive receivers along IEC at North Point area by installing the proposed landscaped deck at the east tunnel portal area of the Trunk Road and direct noise mitigation measures on the reconstructed IEC. In this regard, it is anticipated that the future noise environment would be improved in the presence of the project. · Water quality at Victoria Harbour would be similar for both the situations with and without the Project.
Development Alternatives	Factors such as engineering, social, and environmental aspects have been considered in the light of different alternatives and construction methods. The following outcomes are found: · A “foreshore” alignment of Trunk Road is considered the most reasonable and practical Trunk Road routeing, while “offshore” and “inland” alignments are found not feasible due to conflict with existing development and infrastructure. · Tunnel Option is selected in preference to Flyover Option, as it would serve better to protect and preserve the Harbour. · Trunk Road Tunnel Variation 1 scheme is selected as the preferred scheme in that it provides the necessary functional requirements of the Trunk Road in meeting the overriding need and results in the least affected area of the Harbour in conformance with the PHO.
Environmentally Friendly Designs Recommended	The following environmental-friendly designs have been incorporated into the current project designs:
	l The length of elevated road section from east portal ramp of Trunk Road to existing IEC is approximately 1.2 km under the original scheme. In the current scheme, the Trunk Road will run in tunnel and connect directly to the existing IEC beyond the tunnel section. Open new road sections are greatly reduced.
	l A landscaped deck has been proposed over the east tunnel portal area of the Trunk Road. This landscaped deck provides visual and noise screening effect to the nearby sensitive receivers.
	l The current ventilation system proposed for the Trunk Road consists of three extraction fans for the East Tunnel Portal. Two fans will be adequate to extract all polluted air from the upstream tunnel section of the exit portal. The third fan will be used as standby in case one fan is under maintenance or out of order. Airflow direction sensors will be installed at the location of the exit portal to monitor the airflow direction of the tunnel. This sensor will be used to control the operation of tunnel portal extraction system to ensure that the target of “zero portal emission” will be met.
	l The polluted tunnel air extracted from the East Tunnel Portal will be filtered by electrostatic precipitator installed at the East Ventilation Building to filter about 80% of the emitted RSP. The filtered tunnel air will then be conveyed to the exhaust vent shaft proposed at the East Breakwater of the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter. The proposed ventilation scheme aims at enhancing the air quality of the tunnel portal areas.
Environmental Problems Avoided	The environmental problems avoided/minimized due to the current scheme include: · As a result of the tunnel design of the Trunk Road, potential vehicle emissions and road traffic noise impacts from the proposed Trunk Road on the air and noise sensitive receivers at Wan Chai and Causeway Bay would be avoided/minimized. · Noonday Gun at CBTS would not be affected and would be retained at the same location. · Kellett Island Archaeological Site at RHKYC would not be affected. · Since the section of Trunk Road across RHKYC under the current scheme is more than 20m below ground level, land contamination impact associated with the construction of Trunk Road section at RHKYC would be avoided. · With the zero portal emission design of the East Tunnel Portal, potential air quality impact from the portal emission would be avoided. In addition, the air quality of the East Tunnel Portal area would be enhanced by locating the exhaust vent shaft proposed at the East Breakwater of the CBTS and the electrostatic precipitator system at the East Ventilation Building.
Construction Air Quality Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: During construction phase, potential air quality impacts include dust nuisance and gaseous emissions from the construction plant and vehicles.. Mitigation measures for dust impact include four times watering a day on the active work areas and implementation of the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation and good site practices. With the implementation of the recommended control and mitigation measures, no adverse air quality impacts are anticipated. Compensation areas included: Not required Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Existing air sensitive receivers within 500m of the project boundary.
Operational Air Quality Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No unacceptable residual traffic emission impacts are anticipated at the existing and future ASRs.
	Air quality inside CWB Tunnel and deckover for planned HKCEC Atrium Link would comply with standards of EPD Tunnel Air Quality Guidelines. Air quality monitoring for the operation performance of the East Ventilation Building and the East Vent Shaft will be conducted. Compensation areas included: Not required Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Existing and planned air sensitive receivers within 500m of the project boundary.
Construction Noise Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: The predicted mitigated noise levels would range from 44 to 85 dB(A) at the representative NSRs. With the implementation of quiet PME, movable barriers, temporary barriers, PME grouping and good site practices for construction tasks under the Project and implementation of the noise mitigation measures proposed in the CRIII Reports, the noise levels at the NSRs selected for construction noise impact assessment except N11, N17, N18 and N20 would comply with the construction noise standard.
	Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Noise sensitive receivers within 300m of the project boundary.
Road Traffic Noise Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: The following mitigation measures would be recommended: · about 500m length of noise semi-enclosure with transparent panel covering the westbound slip road from the IEC; · about 230m length of noise semi-enclosure with transparent panel covering the main carriageways (eastbound and westbound) of the CWB and IEC; · about 135m length of 5.5m high cantilevered noise barrier with 3m cantilever inclined at 45° with transparent panel on the eastbound slip road to the IEC; · about 95m length of 5.5m high cantilevered noise barrier with 1m cantilever inclined at 45° with transparent panel on the eastbound slip road to the IEC; · about 350m length of 3.5m high vertical noise barrier with transparent panel on the eastbound slip road to the IEC; · low noise road surfacing for the trunk road (except tunnel section and beneath the landscaped deck at the eastern portal area) with speed limit of 70 km/hour; and · the openable windows of the re-provisioned Tin Hau Temple, if any, should be orientated so as to avoid direct line of sight to the existing Victoria Park Road as far as practicable. Predicted mitigated noise levels would be in the range of 60 dB(A) to 87 dB(A). Noise exceedances at the representative NSRs are due to the existing roads. The ‘new’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels at all representative NSRs would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the ‘new’ road noise levels would all be below the relevant noise criteria. No adverse noise impacts arising from the ‘new’ roads are predicted at any of the representative NSRs.
	In general, the noise environment for the NSRs would be improved by the Project and the direct noise mitigation measures. As compared with the prevailing noise environment, the predicted road traffic noise levels at the existing NSRs in year 2031 would be reduced by: · 1-10 dB(A) at N2 to N5 (Wan Chai area) · 1-3 dB(A) at N6 to N8 (Causeway Bay area) · 1-27 dB(A) at N12 to N17 (Tin Hau area) · 1-27 dB(A) at N18 to N21 (North Point area)
	Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Existing and planned NSRs within 300m of the project boundary.
Fixed Plant Noise Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: Operation of the proposed ventilation buildings would not impose adverse noise impacts on the existing and planned NSRs. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Noise sensitive receivers within 300m of the proposed ventilation buildings.
Water Quality Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: Water quality impacts from land-based construction are associated with the surface runoff, effluent discharge from the site, and sewage from on-site construction workers. Impacts can be controlled to comply with the WPCO standards by implementing the recommended mitigation measures. No unacceptable residual impacts on water quality are anticipated.
	Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Seawater intakes along the waterfront of Victoria Harbour and corals identified in Junk Bay, Green Island and Cape Collinson.
Waste Management Implications	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: With the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures and practices, potential air, odour, noise, water quality for the handling, transportation and disposal of the identified waste arisings, no adverse environmental impacts are expected. Limited amount of refuse and debris may be unintentionally brought from the site into the harbour during heavy rains or typhoons. Given that the Project would not worsen the shoreline configuration and the implementation of appropriate control measures during construction phase, it is considered that the future quantity of refuse to be found along the shoreline would be similar if not better than the existing situation. With the implementation of a refuse collection system within the project area, no insurmountable environmental impact with regard to floating refuse would be anticipated during the construction phase, or after completion of the Project. Compensation areas included: Not required.
	Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Water quality, air, and noise sensitive receivers at or near the Project site, the waste transportation routes and the waste disposal site.
Land Contamination Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No potential contaminative land uses were identified within the Study Area. As such, adverse land contamination impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project is not expected. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: No construction worker would be affected.
Marine Ecological Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No adverse ecological impact on marine ecology is expected. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: No marine resources would be adversely affected.
Landscape and Visual Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: · Under the proposed development, approximately 13.8 ha of new waterfront open space and nine new pedestrian links to the new harbour-front will be provided. This will strengthen the existing waterfront character from Wan Chai to North Point and enhance the connectivity between the waterfront and the hinterland. The overall urban landscape framework will be strengthened and enhanced by the proposed project. · The bowling greens will be temporarily affected by the construction of Slip Road 8 and will be reprovisioned within the Victoria Park during the operation phase.
	· Approximately 300 trees will be affected. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees, Registered Old and Valuable Trees, rare or endangered specie, all trees are common species. Approximately 1500 new trees and other proposed planting will be planted in the new waterfront and along roadside amenity areas after the new open space is built to compensate the felled trees.
	· During construction, substantial negative impacts on the Fenwick Pier Street Public Open Space landscape character and the CBTS landscape character, and moderate residual impact on Victoria Harbour and Victoria Park.
	· During operation, slight negative impacts on Victoria Harbour due to the loss of harbour area. There are slight negative impacts on the Victoria Park due to the slight reduction in park area. · There will still be slight residual visual impact due to the provision of noise barriers/screening/semi-enclosures in North Point. However, there will be significant area of new waterfront open space from Tin Hau to Oil Street with at-grade pedestrian to North Point.
	· With implementation of mitigation measures during construction, there will still be some moderate negative visual impact on the VSRs in the front row of high rise buildings along the waterfront from Central to North Point. Residual impacts on VSRs further away the Victoria Harbour will become slight. · During operation, there will be substantial to moderate positive visual impact on VSRs along the new waterfront as the landscape and visual amenity are generally enhanced and strengthened by the Project. Compensation areas included: Approximately 13.8 ha of new waterfront open space and nine new pedestrian links to the new harbour-front will be provided Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: Existing and planned Landscape Resources , Landscape Character Area and VSR at and near the project site.
Cultural Heritage Impact	Environmental benefits of environmental protection measures recommended: No archaeological impact due to the construction activities is not expected. Compensation areas included: Not required. Population and environmental sensitive receivers protected: No archaeological resources would be affected.

14.3 Air Quality Impact

Construction Phase

14.3.1 Cumulative dust impacts arising from construction activities of the CWB Project, WDII Project and CRIII Project were expected. Due to the complex sequencing of the construction activities, six worst case scenarios of the construction schedules have been identified and assessed. The findings of the construction phase air quality assessment indicate that no exceedance of the 1-hour and 24-hour total TSP criteria are predicted at ASRs in the vicinity of the construction sites. In order to ensure compliance with the TSP criteria at the ASRs at all times, the dust suppression measures and requirements of the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation should be adhered to during the construction period. In addition, a comprehensive dust monitoring and audit programme are recommended to ensure the effective implementation of dust suppression measures.

Operational Phase

14.3.2 The cumulative effect arising from the background pollutant levels within and adjacent to the WDII, vehicle emissions from open road networks, tunnel portal and ventilation building emissions from the Trunk Road, tunnel portal emissions from the CHT and portal emissions from existing underpasses and planned deckovers have been assessed. Results show that the predicted air quality at the ASRs would comply with the AQO. No mitigation measures are required. The air quality inside the tunnel section of Trunk Road and planned deckovers on Atrium Link, Road P2 and Expo Drive would also comply with EPD in-tunnel air quality standard.

14.3.3 With the Trunk Road tunnel ventilation system designed for zero portal emission at the eastern portal, at North Point, potential air quality impacts from the tunnel portal emission would be avoided. In addition, the air quality at the eastern portal area would be enhanced by locating the vent shaft at the end of the eastern breakwater of the CBTS and by the introduction of an electrostatic precipitator system at the East Ventilation Building to screen RSPs from the tunnel emissions.

14.4 Noise Impact

Construction Phase

14.4.1 This assessment has predicted the construction noise impacts of the Project during normal daytime working hours, taking into account other concurrent Schedule 2 DPs, CRIII and HKCEC ALE projects. The predicted unmitigated noise levels would range from 57 to 101 dB(A) at the representative NSRs. With the use of quiet PME, movable barriers, temporary barriers and PME grouping for construction tasks under the Project and implementation of the noise mitigation measures proposed in the CRIII Reports, the noise levels at the NSRs selected for construction noise impact assessment except N11, N17, N18 and N20 would comply with the construction noise standard.

14.4.2 Having exhausted practicable noise mitigation measures, the predicted noise level at N11 (i..e Mayson Garden) would exceed the noise standard of 75 dB(A) for 1 month by 10 dB(A) with Group 2 PME. For N17 (i.e.Harbour Heights), the predicted noise level would exceed the noise standard of 75 dB(A) by up to 5 dB(A) with Group 1 or Group 2 PME for a total of 8 weeks. For N18 (i.e. City Garden), the predicted noise level would exceed the noise standard of 75 dB(A) by up to 9 dB(A) with Group 1 or Group 2 PME for a total of 16 weeks. For N20 (i.e. Hong Kong Baptist Church Henrietta Secondary School), the predicted noise level with Group 1 or Group 2 PME would exceed the noise standard of 65 dB(A) by up to 12 dB(A) for Group 1 or Group 2 PME during examination periods for a total of 28 weeks in 2009, 2013 and 2015. For the normal teaching period, the noise level would exceed the noise standard of 70 dB(A) by 7 dB(A) with Group 1 or Group 2 PME for 13.5 weeks. However, the school has been noise insulated with air conditioners and, by keeping the windows closed during construction activities, noise impacts at the indoor environment can be avoided. Notwithstanding this, it is recommended that the particularly noisy construction activities be scheduled to avoid examination period as far as practicable.

14.4.3 Whilst this impact assessment does indicate some noise exceedances for limited periods of time, even with the consideration of all practicable mitigation measures, during the actual construction period as much as practically possible will be done to reduce construction noise still further, and there will be on-going liaison with all concerned parties and site monitoring to deal with and minimise any exceedances..

14.4.4 A construction noise EM&A programme is recommended to check the compliance of the noise criteria during normal daytime working hours.

Operational Phase

14.4.5 The potential road traffic noise impacts have been assessed based on the worst case traffic flows in 2031. The noise levels at most of the NSRs in the areas of Wanchai, Causeway Bay, Tin Hau and North Point are predicted to exceed the EIAO-TM traffic noise criteria due to the existing roads. Without the noise mitigation measures in place, the predicted noise levels at the NSRs would range from 60 to 87 dB(A). As a result, direct mitigation measures have been proposed to mitigate the noise impacts at NSRs N16, N17, N17-A, N18, N18-A, N18-B, N19, N19-A, N20, P2 and P3 where ‘New’ road noise levels would exceed the relevant noise criteria and ‘New’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels would be more than 1.0 dB(A).

14.4.6 With the proposed noise semi-enclosure, cantilevered noise barrier and vertical noise barrier in place, the predicted overall noise levels at N17, N17-A, N18, N18-A, N18-B, N19, N19-A, P2 and P3 would be in the range of 51 to 66 dB(A) which comply with the noise limit of 70 dB(A). For all other affected NSRs, the ‘New’ road noise contributions to the overall noise levels would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the ‘New’ road noise levels would all be below the relevant noise criteria, although the overall noise levels would still exceed the relevant noise criteria. However, it should be noted that such noise exceedances at the representative NSRs are due to the existing roads. Nevertheless, there will be an overall reduction of noise brought about by the project, which may be considered an environmental benefit.

14.4.7 A section of the noise semi-enclosure (~265m long) located in between the Electric Centre and CDA(1) site would only be required to be constructed before the occupation of future/planned NSRs (i.e. P2 and P3), while the remaining sections of noise semi-enclosure and vertical noise barrier shall be implemented before commencement of operation of the proposed road project.

14.4.8 For noise mitigation at the proposed site of the reprovisioned floating Tin Hau Temple, at the south-east corner of the CBTS, a 2.5m high boundary wall along the southern and eastern boundary of re-provisioned Tin Hau Temple has been examined for its noise reduction effectiveness. However, in view of the traditional design of a Tin Hau Temple, it would not be considered desirable to erect a boundary wall along the western boundary of the temple, as this will block the seaview. With the southern and eastern boundary wall in place but without the western boundary wall, the predicted noise levels at the temple would still exceed EIAO-TM noise limit of 65 dB(A) by 4 dB(A) due to the existing roads. Instead of a western boundary wall, the openable windows of the temple should rather be orientated so as to avoid direct line of sight to the existing Victoria Park Road as far as practicable. An indicative layout for the temple has demonstrated that the traffic noise criterion would be met with proper orientation of the sensitive façade. The project proponent of the temple will need to take into account such environmental requirements/constraints and review the mitigation measures during the detailed design of the temple with a view to eliminating the need for the boundary wall.

14.4.9 No adverse impacts in respect of the NCO and the EIAO-TM noise criteria arising from the operation of the proposed ventilation buildings are anticipated at existing and planned NSRs.

14.4.10 Monitoring of road traffic noise is recommended to verify the effectiveness of the mitigation schemes during the first year after road opening. Besides, as part of the design process, monitoring of operation noise from proposed EVB during the testing and commissioning stage would be recommended to verify the maximum sound power levels as assumed in the noise assessment in this EIA.

14.5 Water Quality Impacts

Construction Phase

14.5.1 Water quality impacts from land-based construction are associated with the surface runoff, effluent discharge from the site, and sewage from on-site construction workers. Impacts can be controlled to comply with the WPCO standards by implementing the recommended mitigation measures. No unacceptable residual impacts on water quality are anticipated.

Operational Phase

14.5.2 It is considered that impacts resulting from the operation of CWB, in terms of water quality, will be minimal and similar for both the elevated and tunnel sections of the route. Surface runoff from slip-roads and elevated structures may be contaminated by oils leaked from passing vehicles, and tunnel seepage would potentially be contaminated to the same extent. It is considered that impacts upon water quality will be minimal provided that the tunnel and elevated sections of the CWB are designed with adequate drainage systems and appropriate oil interceptors, as required.

14.6 Waste Management Implications

14.6.1 Wastes generated by the construction activities of the Trunk Road will include C&D material (including excavated material and demolition material), general refuse from the workforce and chemical waste from the maintenance of construction plant and equipment. C&D material with suitable characteristics would be reused on-site as far as practicable (approximately 1.085Mm³). Surplus material would require disposal to designed public filling facilities (approximately 1.418Mm³). By reducing the quantity of C&D material requiring off-site disposal, the potential impacts from the transportation of material by road will be reduced (such as noise impacts, possible congestion due to increased traffic flows, and dust and exhaust emissions from the haul vehicles). Provided that these identified waste arisings are handled, transported and disposed of using approved methods and that recommended good site practice are strictly followed, adverse environmental impacts of air and odour emissions, noise, potential hazards, wastewater discharge and transport would not be expected during the construction phase.

14.6.2 Floating refuse is an existing waste and the Project itself is not designed to generate floating refuse. Owing to the project area in close proximity to or within Victoria Harbour, limited amount of refuse and debris may be unintentionally brought from the site into the harbour during heavy rains or typhoons. Given that the Project would not worsen the shoreline configuration and the implementation of appropriate control measures during construction phase, it is considered that the future quantity of refuse to be found along the shoreline would be similar if not better than the existing situation.

14.6.3 With the implementation of the refuse collection system properly within the project area, no insurmountable environmental impact with regard to floating refuse would be anticipated during the construction phase, or after completion of the Project.

14.7 Land Contamination Impact

14.7.1 No potential contaminative land uses were identified within the Study Area. As such, no adverse land contamination impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project is expected.

14.8 Marine Ecological Impact

14.8.1 As no proposed marine works would be included in this project, no adverse ecological impact on marine ecology is expected. Only negligible indirect impact on marine ecological resources caused from potential run-off from nearby land-based construction sites is identified. No necessary mitigation measure and monitoring programme specific for marine ecology would be required.

14.9 Landscape and Visual Impact

14.9.1 The proposed development and associated works follow in principle the planning intentions from the Metroplan, Visions and Goals for Victoria Harbour prepared by Town Planning Board and the views of the public received during the engagement exercises of the HER that was carried out under the steer of HEC Sub-committee on WDII Review. In respond to the CFA judgment on the PHO, the extent of reclamation has been reduced to the minimum. With the new waterfront development proposals together with enhanced connectivity to the waterfront from the hinterland and east-west linkages along the northshore, the landscape planning framework of the waterfront from Wan Chai to North Point is strengthened and reinforced by the proposed project.

14.9.2 It is estimated that approximately 300 trees will be affected by construction of Central-Wanchai Bypass (CWB) including its road tunnel and slip roads (including the reprovisioning of affected facilities in Victoria Park) (DP1). None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered species, all trees are common species. All the trees with high amenity value which are unavoidably affected by the works will be transplanted where possible. Detailed tree preservation, transplanting and felling including compensatory planting proposals will be submitted to relevant government departments for approval in accordance with ETWB TCW no. 3/2006. Based on the proposed works, new trees will be planted along roadside amenity areas and new waterfront to compensate for the loss of existing trees.

14.9.3 The proposed Trunk Road consists primarily of a road tunnel, administration building, Central Ventilation Building, eastern tunnel portal, East Ventilation Building and an associated exhaust vent shaft at the eastern breakwater of CBTS. At the eastern end, the Trunk Road rises on flyover structure to connect with the existing IEC. Most of the Trunk Road is underground or underneath the CBTS and there will not be significant visual or landscape impacts. The eastern tunnel portal will be covered by a landscaped deck with lush planting. The noise barriers/semi-enclosures on the IEC will mainly compose of transparent noise barrier panels above and green panels below. Amenity planting will provided along the eastbound and westbound of IEC with vertical greening of noise barriers/semi-enclosures for around 3m above the planter to soften the structures. The location of the administration building is selected at the least prominent location along the available waterfront area; it is proposed at a location underneath the elevated IEC and climbers will be planted on the building façade to soften the structure.

14.9.4 The Central Ventilation Building, East Ventilation Building and its associated exhaust vent shaft will be the main source of impact. These buildings will be structures with compatible disposition, form and finishing which match with the future harbour environment to achieve visual conformity. Tree and shrub planting is proposed to soften the Central Ventilation Building and East Ventilation Building. The location of the East Ventilation Building at the north of the FEHD Whitfield Depot and at the west end of the North Point reclamation area has been selected in order to increase the distance to the nearby residents as far as practicable. The building height has been minimised by placing some E&M equipment in a basement. The overall height of the building will be lower than the adjacent existing IEC elevated road. The exhaust of the East Ventilation Building has been separated from the East Ventilation Building and extended to the tip of the eastern breakwater of CBTS to further increase the distance to the residents. The vent shaft will be a structure with compatible disposition, form, colour and finishing to create a harmonious visual relationship with the Harbour. Finishing materials will be sensitively designed in form, basic color, color/tone variation, micro- and macro-texture, and reflectivity/light absorbance to avoid glare. The maximum height of the vent shaft will be restricted to +25mPD.

14.9.5 With implementation of mitigation measures during construction, there will still be some moderate negative visual impact on the VSRs in the front row of high rise buildings along the waterfront from Central to North Point. Residual impacts on VSRs further away the Victoria Harbour and in the hinterland will become slight or insubstantial. During operation, there will be substantial to moderate positive visual impact on VSRs along the new waterfront as the landscape and visual amenity are generally enhanced and strengthen by the proposed project. The visual impact from the hinterland and the harbour will be slight or insubstantial.

14.9.6 Under the proposed WDII scheme, there will be a significant area of new open space (13.8 ha) and a substantial number of new trees and other proposed planting (approximately 1500 new trees will be planted in the new waterfront and along roadside amenity areas after the new open space is built to compensate the felled trees). The existing landscape characters along the waterfront will be enhanced. There will still be slight residual visual impact due to the provision of noise barriers/screening/semi-enclosures in North Point. However, there will be significant area of new waterfront open space from Tin Hau to Oil Street with at-grade pedestrian connection to North Point. Therefore, overall, it is considered that the residual landscape and visual impacts of the proposed development and the associated designated projects are considered acceptable with mitigation measures during construction, acceptable with mitigation measures during operation up to 10 years and beneficial with mitigation in the long run after 20 to 30 years.

14.10 Cultural Heritage Impact

14.10.1 As no proposed marine works would be included in DP1, adverse impact on marine archaeological resources associated with the construction and operation of the Project is not expected.

14.11 Environmental Monitoring and Audit

14.11.1 Environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) are recommended for construction dust monitoring and construction and operation noise. Site inspection / audit is also recommended for water quality and waste management during construction and also for implementation of landscaping measures during operation. Details of the recommended mitigation measures, monitoring procedures and locations will be presented in a stand-alone EM&A Manual. This will enable the Contractor to have early warning and provide necessary action to reduce impacts at specific areas if the assessment criteria are approached. The effectiveness of on-site control measures could also be evaluated through the monitoring exercise. All the recommended mitigation measures should be incorporated into the EM&A programme for implementation.

14.12 Overall Conclusion

14.12.1 The EIA has been conducted based on currently available information and has been adequately addressed the environmental impacts of this Schedule 2 designated project. No outstanding issues were identified and hence further detailed EIA study was considered not necessary. The findings of this EIA have provided information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project. The EIA has, where appropriate, identified mitigation measures to ensure compliance with environmental legislation and standards.

14.12.2 Overall, the EIA Report for this DP has predicted that the Project will generally comply with the environmental standards and legislation after the proposed construction and operational stage mitigation measures are implemented. This EIA has also demonstrated the general acceptability of the residual impacts from the Project and the protection of the population and environmentally sensitive resources. Environmental monitoring and audit mechanisms have been recommended before and during construction and operation, where necessary, to verify the accuracy of the EIA predictions and the effectiveness of recommended mitigation measures.