1                                  INTRODUCTION

1.1                            Project Description

1.1.1                      Project Background

At present, traffic queues are already observed on the northern approach of Pok Oi Roundabout (POR) during the evening peak period and 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 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) and the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements are presented in this EM&A Manual.

1.1.2                      Project Location and Scope

The Project is located at Pok Oi Interchange (POI) in the Yuen Long region of the North-West New Territories.  The Study Area is generally rural in nature, with village houses at Wong Uk Tsuen and Small Traders New Village in the surrounding area and along Yuen Long Highway, high-rise residential development at YOHO Town, educational institution at Kwong Ming Ying Loi School, Pok Oi Hospital and Jockey Club Care and Attention Home.

The scope of the Project is as follows:

·           provision of a single lane flyover (approximately 140m in length) adjacent to the northbound carriageway of Pok Oi Flyover (POF) (denoted as Flyover A in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report);

·           construction of a slip road (approximately 410m in length) connecting the northbound carriageway of the ground level road of Yuen Long Highway (YLH) on the southern arm of POR to the proposed flyover (denoted as Slip Road A in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report);

·           construction of a slip road (approximately 100m in length) connecting the proposed flyover to the northbound carriageway of the ground level section of YLH on the northern arm of POR (denoted as Slip Road B in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report);

·           construction of a slip road (approximately 280m in length) connecting the southbound carriageway of POF to the southbound carriageway of the ground level section of YLH on the southern arm of POR (denoted as Slip Road C in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report);

·           resurfacing and re-marking of a stretch of the southbound carriageway (approximately 280m in length) of the ground level section of YLH on the northern arm of POR to increase the number of traffic lanes on the carriageway from three to four (denoted as Road Resurfacing and Remarking A in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report);

·           resurfacing and re-marking of a stretch of the northbound carriageway (approximately 470m in length) of the ground level section of YLH on the northern arm of POR (denoted as Road Resurfacing and Remarking B in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report);

·           construction of a segregated left-turn lane (approximately 110m in length) at the northern arm of POR (denoted as Left-turn Lane A in Figure 1.1 and subsequent sections of this report); and

·           associated ancillary works.

The proposed alignment of the Project is presented in Figure 1.1.

The Project qualifies as a Designated Project under Item A.1 of Part 1, Schedule 2 of the EIAO and the construction and operation of the Project will require an Environmental Permit (EP).

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 impacts 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.

1.1.3                      Construction Programme

The construction activities are scheduled to commence in December 2009 and complete in December 2011.  A preliminary outline construction programme is provided in Annex A.

1.2                            Purpose of the EM&A Manual

The purpose of this EM&A Manual is to guide the set up of an EM&A programme to ensure compliance with the EIA Study recommendations, to assess the effectiveness of the recommended mitigation measures and to identify any further need for additional mitigation measures or remedial action.  This EM&A Manual outlines the environmental monitoring and auditing works for both construction and operation phases of the Project.  It provides systematic procedures for the monitoring and auditing of potential environmental impacts that may arise from the works.

Hong Kong environmental regulations, the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines and the recommendations in the EIA Report of this Project have served as environmental standards and guidelines in the preparation of this EM&A Manual.  In addition, this EM&A Manual has been prepared in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Annex 21 of the EIAO-TM.

This EM&A Manual contains the following information:

·           Responsibilities of the Contractor, the Engineer or Engineer’s Representative (ER), Environmental Team (ET) and Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) with respect to the environmental monitoring and audit requirements during construction phase;

·           Project organization for the Project;

·           Requirements with respect to the construction programme schedule and the necessary environmental monitoring and audit programme to track the varying environmental impact;

·           Details of the methodologies to be adopted, including all field laboratories and analytical procedures, and details on quality assurance and quality control programme;

·           Definition of Action and Limit levels;

·           Establishment of Event and Action plans;

·           Requirements for reviewing pollution sources and working procedures required in the event of non-compliance with the environmental criteria and complaints;

·           Requirements for presentation of environmental monitoring and audit data and appropriate reporting procedures; and

·           Requirements for review of EIA predictions and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures/environmental management systems and the EM&A programme.

This EM&A Manual is a dynamic document that should be reviewed regularly and to be updated (as necessary) during the implementation of the Project.

For the purpose of this EM&A Manual, the “Engineer” refers to the Engineer as defined in the Contract and the ER, in case where the Engineer’s power have been delegated to the ER, in accordance with the Contract.  The ET Leader, who should be responsible for and in charge of the ET, refers to the person delegated the role of executing the EM&A requirements.  The IEC should undertake the auditing role.

1.3                            Project Organization

The roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved in the construction phase EM&A programme are outlined below. The organization and lines of communication with respect to environmental management for the Project are shown in Figure 1.3.

The leader of the Environmental Team (ET) should be an independent party from the Contractor and should possess at least 7 years experience of EM&A and have relevant professional qualifications, which should include being an Accredited Monitoring Professional of HKIEIA, subject to approval of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD).  The Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) should have the same experience and professional qualifications as stipulated above for the ET Leader.

The duties and responsibilities of respective parties are as follows:

Engineer or Engineer’s Representative (ER)

·           Supervise the Contractor’s activities and ensure that the requirements in the EM&A Manual are fully complied with;

·           Monitor the Contractor’s compliance with Contract Specifications, including the implementation and maintenance of environmental mitigation measures and other aspects of the EM&A programme;

·           Monitor the implementation of EM&A programme;

·           Inform the Contractor when action is required to reduce impacts in accordance with the EAPs or protocols or those in the Contract Specifications in the event of exceedance or complaint;

·           Participate in joint site inspection undertaken by the ET; and

·           Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with Section 9 of this EM&A Manual.

Contractor

·           Appoint an ET to undertake monitoring, laboratory analysis and reporting of the EM&A requirements outlined in this Manual;

·           Ensure thorough implementation of mitigation measures as required;

·           Provide assistance to the ET in carrying out monitoring and preparing reporting;

·           Accompany joint site inspections undertaken by ET and implement the corrective / follow-up actions / recommendations instructed by the Engineer;

·           Follow the procedures stipulated in the agreed EAPs in the event of exceedance or complaint;

·           Submit proposals on mitigation measures in case of exceedances of Action and Limit levels in accordance with the EAPs;

·           Implement measures to educe impact whenever Action and Limit levels are exceeded;

·           Report all findings of site inspections and corrective / follow-up actions taken to the ER; and

·           Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with Section 9 of this EM&A Manual.

Environmental Team (ET)

·           Monitor the various environmental parameters as required by this or subsequent revisions to the Manual;

·           Provide advice on all environmental issues to the Contractor;

·           Analyse the EM&A data and review the success of EM&A programme to cost-effectively confirm the adequacy of mitigation measures implemented and the validity of the EIA predictions and to identify any adverse environmental impacts arising;

·           Carry out site inspection to investigate and audit the Contractor’s site practice, equipment and work methodologies with respect to pollution control and environmental mitigation, and review the programme of works, in order to anticipate environmental issues that may require mitigation before the problem arises;

·           Audit the environmental monitoring data and report the status of general site environmental conditions and of the implementation of mitigation measures resulting from site inspections;

·           Follow the procedures stipulated in the agreed EAPs in the event of exceedance or complaint;

·           Report the EM&A results and wider environmental issues and conditions to the IEC, Contractor, ER, and EPD;

·           Prepare EM&A Reports as required in the EM&A Manual

·           Recommend suitable mitigation measures to the Contractor in the case of exceedance of Action and Limit levels in accordance with the EAPs; and

·           Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with Section 9 of this EM&A Manual.

Independent Environmental Checker (IEC)

·           Review the EM&A works performed by the ET (at not less than monthly intervals);

·           Audit the monitoring activities and results (at not less than monthly intervals);

·           Report the audit results to the ER and EPD in parallel;

·           Review the EM&A Reports submitted by the ET;

·           Review the proposal on mitigation measures submitted by the Contractor in accordance with the EAPs; and

·           Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation in accordance with Section 9 of this EM&A Manual.

Sufficient and suitably qualified professional and technical staff should be appointed by the respective parties to ensure full compliance with their duties and responsibilities, as required under the EM&A programme for the duration of the Project.

1.4                            Structure of the EM&A Manual

Following this introductory section, the remainder of the Manual is set out as follows:

·           Section 2 – Sets out general requirements of EM&A programme;

·           Section 3 – Details auditing requirements for air quality;

·           Section 4 – Details methodology and criteria, monitoring equipment, locations for baseline and impact monitoring and mitigation measures for noise, compliance assessment and EAP;

·           Section 5 – Details auditing requirements for water quality;

·           Section 6 – Detail auditing requirements for waste management;

·           Section 7 – Details baseline monitoring, auditing requirements and mitigation measures for landscape and visual impact, compliance assessment and EAP;

·           Section 8 – Describes scope and frequency of environmental site audit;

·           Section 9 – Details protocols in handling environmental enquires and complaints; and

·           Section 10 – Details the EM&A reporting requirements.