16                 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND AUDIT

 

Introduction

 

16.1            This section further elaborates the requirements of environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) for the Project, based on the assessment results of various environmental issues.

 

16.2            The objectives of carrying out EM&A for the Project include the following:

 

·         To provide a database against which any environmental impacts of the Project can be determined;

 

·         To provide an early indication should any of the environmental control measures or practices fail to achieve the acceptable standards;

 

·         To monitor the performance of the Project and the effectiveness of mitigation measures;

 

·         To verify the environmental impacts predicted in this EIA;

 

·         To determine project compliance with regulatory requirements, standards and government policies;

 

·         To take remedial action if unexpected problems or unacceptable impacts arise; and

 

·         To provide data to enable an environmental audit.

 

16.3            The following sub-sections summarise the recommended EM&A requirements.  Details of EM&A are provided in a stand-alone EM&A Manual.

 

Air Quality

 

16.4            The construction works would inevitably lead to dust (TSP) emissions, mainly from minor excavation works, material handling and concreting operation.  No exceedance of hourly and daily TSP criteria was predicted at air sensitive receivers (ASRs) in the vicinity of work sites with proposed watering frequency on active work areas.  With implementation of the proposed mitigation measures, dust suppression measures stipulated in the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation, good site practices and comprehensive dust monitoring and audit, the dust impact would be further diminished.  Dust monitoring is recommended in the EM&A Manual to ensure the efficacy of the control measures.

 

16.5            The predicted air quality during the operation of PTW and SCISTW at the ASRs complies with the relevant criteria.  It is recommended that odour monitoring should be carried out during the operation phase to ensure that the odour criteria are satisfied at the ASRs.  Details of the monitoring programme are presented in the EM&A Manual.

 

Airborne Noise

 

16.6            Construction noise impacts from this Project, in addition to the concurrent construction tasks of other projects, would be expected at the noise sensitive receivers (NSRs) identified in this EIA.  Appropriate mitigation measures, including the use of quiet equipment, movable noise barriers and acoustics mats, are required in order to alleviate the impacts to meet the EIAO-TM criteria.  Noise monitoring during construction phase would be recommended to verify that such mitigation measures are implemented properly.  Details of the programme are provided in the EM&A Manual.

 

16.7            The EIA findings confirmed that proper designs of PTWs, SCISTW and disinfection facilities would control the potential noise impact at noise sensitive receivers within acceptable levels, operational noise monitoring is therefore not considered necessary.

 

Groundborne Noise

 

16.8            All noise sensitive receivers identified along the proposed tunnel alignments/shafts would not be adversely affected by the groundborne noise generated by the construction of the Project. Hence, mitigation measures as well as monitoring programme would not be required. 

 

Water Quality

 

16.9            Monitoring of effluent quality is recommended for operational stage and under the perspective of the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO).  A post project monitoring (PPM) programme will be implemented to confirm the water quality predictions made in the EIA report.  The PPM would consist of one-year baseline monitoring before commissioning and one-year impact monitoring after commissioning of the Project. The extent of PPM programme is subject to the prevailing environmental conditions at the time before commissioning of the Project. A more detailed description of the PPM requirements is given in the EM&A Manual.

 

16.10        Marine water quality monitoring is recommended during the emergency discharge (as a result of equipment / power failure at SCISTW) during operational phase and the temporary sewage bypass (required for the modification / interconnection works) during construction phase of the Project or early commissioning of the Project.  A baseline monitoring programme is proposed to establish the baseline water quality conditions at selected monitoring points.  In case of emergency discharge or temporary sewage bypass, daily marine water monitoring should be conducted throughout the whole discharge period until the normal water quality resumes. Details of the monitoring programme are provided in the EM&A Manual.  A more detailed description of the water quality requirements is given in the standalone EM&A Manual.

 

Human Health and Ecological Risk

 

16.11        A monitoring programme is covered in the EM&A Manual to determine whether the Project would induce increase TRC and CBP concentrations in seawater and to verify the predictions of the human health and ecological risk assessment. 

 

Waste Management Implications

 

16.12        During construction stage, waste management will be the contractor’s responsibility. The Contractor must ensure that all wastes produced during the construction of the Project are handled, stored and disposed of in accordance with the recommended good waste management practices and EPD’s regulations and requirements. The mitigation measures recommended in Section 9 should form the basis of a Waste Management Plan to be developed by the Contractor at the construction stage.

 

16.13        It is recommended that the waste arisings generated during the construction activities should be checked against the Waste Management Plan.  In addition, the routine site inspections should check the implementation of the recommended good site practices and other waste management mitigation measures.

 

Terrestrial Ecology

 

16.14        As only minor impacts on terrestrial ecology were identified in this assessment, no monitoring programme specific for terrestrial ecology are required under this Project. However, all the recommended mitigation measures should be incorporated into the EM&A programme for implementation during the construction phase and the implementation should be subject to regular audit. Details of the programme are provided in the EM&A Manual.

 

Marine Ecology

 

16.15        It is recommended to implement monitoring of the transplanted corals after translocation, every 3 months for one year (this follows previous examples of post-translocation monitoring methodology, proposed in the EM&A Manual for Dredging Work for Proposed Cruise Terminal at Kai Tak).. Information gathered during each post-translocation monitoring survey should include observations on the presence, survival, health condition and growth of the transplanted coral colonies. Oulastrea crispata is not expected to grow significantly over the one year monitoring period but previous study (Lam, 2000) has shown it to have a growth rate of 0.9-1.04 mm per month and thus, growth should be detectable during the post-translocation monitoring period. This would be done by an experienced marine ecological specialist that has been approved by the AFCD. Translocation plan for corals will be submitted to AFCD for approval prior to the commencement of construction works.

 

16.16        Environmental monitoring and auditing requirements relevant to protection of ecological resources are covered in the Water Quality Assessment, Ecological Risk Assessment in Section 6 and Section 8 respectively and in the standalone EM&A Manual.

 

Fisheries

 

16.17        Environmental monitoring and auditing requirements for fisheries resources are covered in the EM&A programme recommended for ecological risk impact, and thus a specific monitoring programme for fisheries resources is not required.

 

Landscape and Visual Impact

 

16.18        Monitoring and audit should be undertaken to ensure that the implementation and maintenance of landscape and visual mitigation measures are being properly carried out.

 

16.19        A Registered Landscape Architect (RLA) as a member of the Environmental Team shall be responsible for conducting the baseline review and monitoring the implementation of landscape and visual mitigation measures during construction phase in accordance with the EIA Report.

 

16.20        Details of the monitoring and audit programme are presented in the EM&A Manual.

 

Hazard to Life

 

Potential Hazardous Installations

 

16.21        The Contractor must ensure that peak particle velocity (PPV) levels do not exceed 5mm/s in the vicinity of the HKCG Aberdeen Depot and LPG Compound of the Shell Depot during construction phase, particularly the blasting programme for the Tunnel P and shaft construction. The Contractor must also ensure that vibration monitoring is carried out at regular intervals so that vibration levels are maintained within the prescribed limits.

 

16.22        The Contractor must ensure that magnitudes of ground settlement do not exceed 13mm or requirements from relevant authorities within the HKCG Aberdeen Depot and LPG Compound of the Shell Depot during construction phase. The Contractor must also ensure that ground settlement monitoring is carried out at regular intervals so that magnitudes of settlement are maintained within the prescribed limits.

 

16.23        The Contractor must ensure safety zone of a crane should not across boundary of both PHIs and safety operation of the crane.

 

16.24        The Contractor must establish a sound communication channel with gas facilities. An emergency plan must be set up and regular drills must be coordinated for evacuation of construction workers in case of gas leakage.

 

Disinfection Facilities

 

16.25        No dangerous goods (DG) would be expected on site during the construction phase of the Project.  Mitigation measures during construction are recommended in Section 14C to protect the existing hypochlorite and bisulphite pipelines.  

 

16.26        The DGs used during the operation phase of the SCISTW should be handled, stored and transported in accordance with FSD’s Dangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap.295) and subsidiary regulations and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) as obtained by the manufacturer/supplier.  The mitigation measures recommended on Chemicals/ Material Management and Employee Protection in Section 14C should be implemented in order to minimize the potential hazards of the DGs on site.

 

Cultural Heritage

 

16.27        The Project Proponent must ensure that peak particle velocity (PPV) levels do not exceed 25mm/s in the vicinity of heritage buildings/structures identified in the Project during blasting for tunnel, shafts, effluent conveyance system and disinfection facilities. To ensure that the levels are not exceeded, the Project Proponent is required to propose and implement a monitoring programme for measurement of the vibration levels at the identified heritage buildings/structures. The Project Proponent is required to make proposals for blasting and to monitor and report the results of the blasting, including groundbourne vibration, in accordance with conditions attached to permits to use explosives by Mines Division of CEDD. Should an exceedance of the vibration limit occurs, the Project Proponent must immediately adjust the blasting proposals to return groundbourne vibrations to below the limiting value.