This Section presents the EM&A requirements for the construction and operation of the
Project, based on the assessment results for the various environmental issues
considered.
The objectives of undertaking EM&A for
the Project are as follows:
·
to
provide a database against which any short- or long-term 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.
The following sections discuss the
recommended EM&A requirements. A
separate EM&A Manual has been prepared for the Project to provide details
of the EM&A programme and procedures.
10.2.1
Construction
Phase
With the implementation of the proposed
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.
Regular site auditing is recommended to
ensure the efficacy of the control measures.
10.2.2
Operational
Phase
There will be no exceedance
of AQOs at the sensitive receivers. No mitigation measures or environmental
monitoring are considered necessary during the operational phase of the
Project.
10.3.1
Construction
Phase
Construction noise impacts from the
Project are expected at the representative NSRs. Appropriate mitigation measures such as the
adoption of quiet PMEs, movable noise barrier and
scheduling of PMEs/construction activities are
required to alleviate the impacts to a level that meets the EIAO-TM criteria. Noise monitoring during the construction
phase of the Project is recommended to ensure that the relevant criteria are
not exceeded and that the recommended mitigation measures are implemented
properly. The recommended noise
monitoring locations are indicated in Table
10.3a.
Table 10.3a Noise Monitoring Stations for Construction Phase
|
Monitoring Station |
Description |
|
KMYLS1 |
|
|
JCCAH1 |
Jockey Club Care & Attention Home |
The status and location of NSRs may change in time and the location of the noise
monitoring stations may need to be adjusted accordingly. In the event of such changes, the monitoring
location should be updated for agreement with EPD.
When alternative monitoring location is
proposed, the following criteria should be followed as far as practicable:
·
close
to the major site activities which are likely to have noise impacts; and
·
close to the NSRs.
The monitoring station should normally be
at a point 1 m from the exterior of the NSR building façade and at a height of
approximately 1.2 m above ground or at the height that has the least obstructed
view of the construction activities in relation to the NSR. If access to the normal monitoring
position cannot be obtained, an alternative position should be chosen and a
correction to the measurements should be made, if appropriate. For instance, a correction of +3 dB(A) should be made to free field measurements. Once the positions for the monitoring
stations are chosen, the baseline monitoring and the impact monitoring should be
carried out at the same positions.
10.3.2
Operational
Phase
Upon the commissioning of the Project,
traffic noise monitoring should be carried out at the NSRs
in the vicinity of the Project for one year. The purpose of the monitoring is to confirm
results of the traffic noise impact assessment and to ensure that compliance
with the relevant noise criteria is achieved.
A monitoring plan should
be prepared and agreed with EPD at least 6 months before the operation of the
works under the Project for the purpose of assessing the accuracy of traffic
noise predictions by comparing the noise impact predictions with the actual
impacts. The monitoring plan should
provide information on monitoring locations, monitoring schedules, methodology
of noise monitoring including noise measurement procedures, traffic counts and
speed checks, and methodology of comparison with the predicted levels. Monitoring details and results including
the comparison between the measured noise levels and the predicted levels should
be recorded in a report to be deposited with EPD within one month of the
completion of the monitoring.
The traffic noise
levels should be measured twice at 6-month intervals within the first year upon
completion of the Project.
Measurements should be made in terms of the A-weighted L10
over 3 half hour periods during the peak traffic hour; other parameter including
Leq should also be taken for reference.
The two monitoring
stations selected for operational traffic noise monitoring are indicated in Table 10.3b.
Table 10.3b Traffic Noise Monitoring Stations for Operational Phase
|
Monitoring Station |
Description |
|
KMYLS1 |
|
|
JCCAH1 |
Jockey Club Care & Attention Home |
In choosing the
specific monitoring locations, the following criteria should be observed:
·
they should be located at NSRs
in the vicinity of the recommended direct technical remedies;
·
one high floor and one medium floor monitoring points
should be chosen at each location as far as practicable; and
·
the selected
monitoring locations should allow monitoring to be done twice within one year
after implementation of the mitigation measures during operation of the Project.
Similar to the
case for the construction phase monitoring, the status and locations of NSRs may change in time and the monitoring locations may
need to be adjusted accordingly. In
such event, agreement should be obtained from EPD for alternative monitoring
locations.
The operational
noise monitoring should be carried out at a distance of 1 m from the openable window and 1.2 m above the floor level of the NSRs identified.
Any necessary corrections to
be adopted should be agreed with EPD before the commencement of the monitoring
programme.
Specific measurements to be obtained include:
·
one set of measurements during the morning traffic
peak hour on a normal weekday;
·
one set of measurements during the evening traffic
peak hour on a normal weekday;
·
a concurrent census of traffic flow and percentage
heavy vehicles conducted for the far-side and near-side of the road and the
existing road network in the vicinity of each measurement point;
·
average vehicle speed estimated for far-side and near-side of
the road and the existing road network in the vicinity of each measuring point.
The measured/
monitored noise levels should be compared with the predicted results and the
predicted traffic flow conditions (calculated noise levels based on concurrent
traffic census obtained). Where discrepancies
are observed, an attempt should be made to identify the cause of such discrepancies.
10.4.1
Construction
Phase
The water quality assessment has concluded
that the identified water quality impacts could be minimised by implementing
the recommended mitigation measures for the construction works, such as control
measures on runoff and drainage from the Site to minimise construction run-off
and proper site management and good housekeeping practices. No
unacceptable residual water quality impact is expected. Any effluent
discharges from the Site will be required to comply with the terms and
conditions of a discharge licence issued by EPD under the WPCO.
It is recommended that regular site
inspections be undertaken to inspect the construction activities and works
areas to ensure that the recommended mitigation measures are properly
implemented.
10.4.2
Operational
Phase
No residual impact is anticipated during the
operational stage of the Project, EM&A requirement is considered not
necessary.
The Contractor will be responsible to
ensure that all wastes produced during the construction of the Project are
handled, stored, reused and disposed of in accordance with the recommended good
waste management practices and EPD’s regulations and
requirements. The mitigation
measures recommended in Section 7
should form the basis of the Construction Waste Management Plan to be developed
by the Contractor before the commencement of the construction.
It is recommended that the waste arisings generated by the construction activities should be
audited periodically to determine if wastes are being managed in accordance
with approved procedures and the Construction Waste Management Plan. Routine site audits should look at all
aspects of waste management including waste generation, storage, reuse,
transport and disposal and should check the implementation of the recommended
good site practices and other waste management mitigation measures.
The EIA has recommended landscape and
visual mitigation measures to be implemented during construction and operation
phases of the Project. EM&A is
required to ensure that the proposed mitigation measures are effectively
implemented.
Baseline monitoring is required to record
baseline conditions of the Site, in particular, changes of each landscape
resource, landscape character area and the view conditions of each visually
sensitive receiver. Parameters used
to describe changes in each of the above should be the same as in Section 8 of this report. The baseline monitoring should be
conducted as a one-off site survey prior to the commencement of any
construction works.
During the construction phase, all
mitigation measures proposed in the EIA should be implemented by the Contractor
and audited by a landscape auditor of the Environment Team, on a regular basis
to ensure compliance with the intended aims of the measures. Site inspections should be undertaken at
least once every two weeks throughout the construction period.
The landscape auditor should also audit
the operational phase mitigation measures proposed in Section 8 and as depicted in the landscape mitigation plan to
ensure that they are fully implemented during the Project design and
construction stages.