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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.