1.                   INTRODUCTION

Project Background

1.1               The existing Island Line (ISL) provides mass transit railway services to major population and employment centres along the north shore of Hong Kong Island between Chai Wan and Sheung Wan.  An extension of the ISL to Western District has been planned for many years, and has been recommended in Railway Development Strategy 2000 as one of the priority railway extensions. Following Government’s decision in mid 2005 to proceed with further planning and preparation works for this extension, the MTR Corporation (MTRC) commenced preliminary design in October 2005, including an EIA study. The Executive Council gave the green light for further planning and detailed design of the MTR West Island Line in October 2007.

1.2               The extension of the ISL to Western District is known as the West Island Line (WIL) (hereinafter referred to as “the Project”).  The route length of the fully underground WIL is approximately 3 km.  Three new underground stations will be provided, namely Sai Ying Pun (SYP), University (UNI) and Kennedy Town (KET).  The WIL will improve accessibility of people travelling to the Western District and relieve the road congestion in this area. The overall plan of the proposed WIL scheme is shown in Figure 1.1. 

1.3               In October 2005, ENSR Asia (HK) Ltd. was commissioned by MTRC to undertake the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study of the Project. 

Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance

1.4               The WIL as an extension of the MTR Island Line is a Designated Project (DP) under the EIA Ordinance falling into the following categories:

§         A railway and its associated stations (Item A.2 of Part I of Schedule 2 of the EIAO)

§         A railway tunnel more than 800m in length between portals (Item A.7 of Part I of Schedule 2 of the EIAO)

1.5               An application for an EIA Study Brief was made to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the EIA Study Brief No. ESB–130/2005 for the WIL has been issued under the EIAO. 

1.6               A temporary project specific magazine will be built for overnight storage of explosives that will be used for construction of underground railway facilities.  The magazine will consist of a few underground rock caverns connected with a tunnel.  The underground magazine itself is considered as a DP under Item Q.2, Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the EIAO.

1.7               The future decommissioning of the underground explosives magazine is a Designated Project  under Item 11 in the EIAO Schedule 2 Part II and an Environmental  Permit will be required prior to start of decommissioning work.

Objectives of the EIA Study

1.8               The purpose of the EIA Study is to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project and associated mitigation, and related activities that take place concurrently. This information will contribute to decisions on:

§         the overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences as a result of the Project and the associated activities of the Project

§         the conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate against adverse environmental consequences

§         the acceptability of residual impacts after the proposed mitigation measures are implemented

§          

1.9               Specific objectives of the EIA study are as follows:

§         to describe the Project, associated works, and any phasing of development together with the requirements and environmental benefits for carrying out the Project

§         to identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the Project, including both the natural and man made environment and the associated environmental constraints

§         to describe the constraints leading to and considerations given in selecting the proposed alignment, station locations, locations and size of work areas, underground work construction methods including considerations of the comparative benefit(s) and dis-benefit(s) of alternative alignments, station locations, works sites and underground / tunnelling construction methods; to provide reasons for selecting the preferred option(s) for the above; and to describe the part environmental factors played in the whole selection process to include environmental benefit(s) and dis-benefit(s)

§         to identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses

§         to identify and quantify waste management requirements and land contamination prevention requirements, and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts

§         to identify any negative impacts on sites of cultural heritage and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts

§         to identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts

§         to propose the provision of mitigation measures so as to minimize pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during construction and operation of the Project

§         to investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of the proposed mitigation measures

§         to identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the construction and operation phases of the Project in relation to the sensitive receivers and potential affected uses

§         to identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project which are necessary to mitigate these environmental impacts and cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels

§         to investigate the extent of the secondary environmental impacts that may arise from the proposed mitigation measures and to identify constraints associated with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA study, as well as the provision of any necessary modification

§         to design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection and pollution control measures.

Approach of the EIA Study

1.1               The present study has been conducted in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Study Brief issued by EPD (ESB-130/2005) and the guidelines on assessment methodologies provided in Annexes 12 to 19 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (hereinafter referred to as the EIAO-TM).  A general description of the approaches and methodologies adopted for the assessment are described below, and detailed descriptions are to be found in the relevant technical sections to follow.

Description of the Environment

1.2               The relevant characteristics of the existing environment have been identified and described, so as to form a baseline for the identification and prediction of environmental impacts likely to arise from implementation of the project.  Baseline environmental surveys were carried out to determine the existing environmental conditions on the site and in all environs likely to be affected by the proposed Project.  The baseline conditions including the existing noise environment, air quality, water quality, cultural heritage and the landscape and visual quality have been described in the report.

1.3               Relevant reports and drawings have been reviewed and relevant findings from past studies were incorporated where appropriate in this EIA Report. 

Impact Prediction

1.4               This Study has been undertaken following the guidelines on assessment methodologies given in Annexes 12 to 19 of the EIAO-TM.  Quantitative predictive tools have been used for the prediction of environmental impacts associated with airborne construction and fixed plant noise, ground-borne construction and train noise and air quality.  The predictions were based on internationally recognised methods.  For instance, the methodologies described in the Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work other than Percussive Piling (GW-TM) under the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO) were adopted to predict the construction noise impact.  Fixed noise source impacts were predicted by standard acoustic principles. Besides, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) approved air dispersion model, namely Fugitive Dust Model (FDM) (1993 version), was used to predict the construction dust impact. 

1.5               These methodologies have previously been applied in similar situations in other EIA studies (e.g. EIA Report for the Kowloon Southern Link Project).  They have generally been accepted for use in assessing environmental impacts and for the comparison of prediction results with EIAO-TM standards.  There remain some limitations of the methodologies such as the accuracy of the predictive base data for future conditions, e.g. weather conditions.  Uncertainties in the assessment of impacts have been considered when drawing conclusions from the assessment.  For instance, realistic worst-case assumptions have been used in the assessment in order to provide a conservative assessment of environmental impacts.  As an example, total suspended particulates levels at representative air sensitive receivers were predicted based on the worst case meteorological condition.  Ground-borne train noise impacts were predicted using the peak train frequency.

Impact Evaluation

1.6               The anticipated changes and effects as a result of the proposed Project were evaluated with respect to the criteria described in Annexes 4 to 10 of the EIAO-TM.  As far as possible and as appropriate to the needs of the assessment, the evaluations have been presented quantitatively.

Impact Mitigation

1.7               Mitigation measures have been identified and evaluated with the aim to avoid, reduce or minimise/ remedy the impacts.  The priority in selecting mitigation measures is the avoidance of impacts.  The effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures has been assessed and any residual environmental impacts have been clearly defined.  The various mitigation measures have been set out in an implementation schedule that clearly identifies each measure, when and where it needs to be applied, and the parties responsible for both implementation and, where required, maintenance of the mitigation measure.

 

EIA Scope and Assessment Area

1.8               The environmental issues covered in the EIA study and their assessment areas, as specified in the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-130/2005), is presented below:

§         Airborne and ground-borne noise impact – assessment area would be within 300m from the Project boundary and all works area proposed for the Project.

§         Landscape and visual impact - landscape impact assessment areas would be 100m distance from the works limit of the Project and the visual impact assessment areas defined by the visual envelop of the Project.

§         Cultural heritage impact - area within 300m from either side along the full length of the Project boundary.

§         Water quality impact - the Victoria Harbour and Western Buffer Water Control Zones stipulated under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, and areas within 500m from the Project boundary. 

§         Waste management implication and land contamination assessment.

§         Hazard to life issues associated with the transport, storage and use of explosives.

§         Construction stage air quality impact – areas within 500m from the Project boundary.

Purpose of EIA Report

1.9               This EIA Report presents the environmental assessment findings based upon the available design information for WIL at the time of preparing the report.  This report provides information on key environmental issues and evaluates the environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of WIL.  Mitigation measures would also be proposed where necessary to mitigate the adverse impacts to acceptable levels.  

1.10            The proposed WIL scheme is illustrated in Figure 1.1.  Details of the proposed scheme are presented in Section 2.

Report Structure

1.11            This EIA Report comprises fourteen sections, as outlined below:

 

§         Section 1 presents the introduction of this EIA Study.

§         Section 2 presents a description of the Project, including the project background and construction activities.

§         Section 3 identifies and assesses potential airborne noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 4 identifies and assesses potential ground-borne noise impact arising from the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 5 identifies and assesses potential temporary and permanent landscape and visual impacts arising from the Project.

§         Section 6 identifies and assesses potential impacts on cultural heritage arising from the Project.

§         Section 7 identifies and assesses potential impacts associated with waste generation during construction and operation of the project and describes measures for storage and handling of waste material.

§         Section 8 identifies and assesses issues arising from areas of potential land contamination.

§         Section 9 identifies and assesses potential water quality impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project.

§         Section 10 identifies and assesses potential hazards associated with transport, use and overnight on site storage of explosives for the construction of the Project.

§         Section 11 identifies and assesses potential air quality impacts arising from the construction stage of the Project.

§         Section 12 highlights the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements.

§         Section 13 presents the overall conclusion and summary of environmental outcomes

§         Section 14 presents the Implementation Schedules of recommended mitigation measures for various environmental issues.