1                                  Introduction

1.1                            Background

At present, traffic queues are already observed on the northern approach of the Pok Oi Roundabout (POR) during the evening peak period and on the southern approach at both morning and evening peaks.  The situation will likely deteriorate further when the nearby developments are completed.  The tailback of traffic onto the southbound carriageway on the northern approach to POR may block the through traffic from Tai Lam Tunnel / New Territories (NT) North to Tuen Mun / Tin Shui Wai / Hong Kong – Shenzhen Western Corridor.

The Technical Feasibility Statement (TFS) for the Improvement to Pok Oi Interchange was completed in November 2005.  In September 2006, Highways Department (HyD) commissioned Mott Connell Ltd (MCL) to undertake the Traffic Impact Assessment and Alignment Design Study (Agreement No. WD 3/2006).  The Study reviewed the preliminary improvement layouts proposed in the TFS, presented recommendations on the preferred alignment, configuration and layout, and investigated the traffic carrying capacities of the improvement scheme. 

An application under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study Brief was submitted by HyD in May 2007 with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-166/2007) issued in July 2007. 

ERM-Hong Kong, Ltd (ERM), supported by Halcrow China Ltd (Halcrow), has been commissioned by HyD to undertake the Improvement to Pok Oi Interchange – Environmental Impact Assessment Study (hereafter referred to as “the Assignment”) under Agreement No. WD 6/2007.  As part of the Assignment, an EIA Study has been undertaken in accordance with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-166/2007).  

This EIA Report addresses the nature and extent of the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Improvement to the Pok Oi Interchange (hereafter referred to as “the Project”).

1.2                            Objectives of the EIA Study

The overall objectives of the EIA Study are to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the Project and related activities that take place concurrently; to recommend appropriate mitigation measures to control the potential environmental impact so that it complies with the requirements of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process of Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO-TM), and to confirm the environmental acceptability of the Project.  An analysis to identify elements of the Project that qualify as Designated Projects (DPs) is presented in Section 2.2.

The specific objectives of the EIA Study described in the EIA Study Brief are as follows:

(i)                 to describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements for carrying out the Project;

(ii)                to identify and describe elements of community and environment likely to be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the Project, including natural and man-made environment and the associated environmental constraints;

(iii)              to provide information on the consideration of alternatives to avoid and minimise the potential environmental impacts to environmentally sensitive areas and other sensitive uses; to compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits of each of the different options; to provide reasons for selecting the preferred option(s) and to describe the part of environmental factors played in the selection of preferred option(s);

(iv)              to identify and quantify all environmental sensitive receivers, emission sources and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;

(v)               to identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

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

(vii)            to investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of the proposed mitigation measures;

(viii)           to identify, within the Study Area, any individual project(s) that fall under Schedule 2 and/or Schedule 3 of the EIAO; to ascertain whether the findings of this EIA Study have adequately addressed the environmental impacts of those projects; and where necessary, to identify the outstanding issues that need to be addressed in any further detailed EIA study;

(ix)              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;

(x)               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;

(xi)              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; and

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

As specified in the EIA Study Brief, the EIA Study will address the following key environmental issues due to the construction and operation of the Project:

·           potential noise and air quality impacts from the construction and operation of the Project to sensitive receivers along or near the Project, taking into account the cumulative impact from the operation of existing and planned roads and developments in the assessment area of the Project;

·           potential water quality impact on the relevant water system(s) from the construction and operation activities of the Project;

·           waste arising as a result of the construction activities of the Project and potential land contamination from land to be resumed for the Project; and

·           potential landscape and visual impacts from the construction and operation of the Project especially impact caused by the above ground structures including noise mitigation measures.

1.3                            Organisation of the Report

The remainder of this report is organised as follows:

·           Section 2 describes the scope and the outline implementation programme of the Project and identifies the DP elements;

·           Section 3 presents the need for the Project and considerations given to alternative construction methods and works sequences;

·           Section 4 presents the noise assessment;

·           Section 5 presents the air quality assessment;

·           Section 6 presents the water quality assessment;

·           Section 7 assesses the waste management implications;

·           Section 8 presents the landscape and visual assessment;

·           Section 9 summarises the environmental outcomes associated with the Project; and

·           Section 10 describes the requirements for environmental monitoring and audit.