1.1
On 5 January 2007, following the decision of the Executive
Council in January 2006, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) was
requested to proceed with further planning of the proposed Hong Kong section of
the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong
Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), which is an express rail link connecting Hong
Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. It aims to provide a fast and convenient railway
service linking the three places.
1.2
The Hong Kong section of the XRL will
be a 26-km long underground rail line on a dedicated track that runs from the
terminus in
1.3
The decision of adopting the Dedicated Corridor Option for
the Hong Kong section of the XRL was announced by the Chief Executive after the
Tenth Plenary of the
1.4
The
1.5
In April 2008, the Hong Kong Special Administration Region
(HKSAR) Government gave permission for the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC) to
proceed with further planning and design of the
1.1
The Project covers the
following designated project (DP) elements as specified under A.2, A.4, A.7 and
Q.1 in Schedule 2 Part 1 of the Environmental
Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) (Cap. 499):
·
A
railway and its associated station;
·
A
railway siding and maintenance workshop;
·
A
railway tunnel more than 800m in length between portals; and
·
Project
includes works partly or wholly in a country park or special area, a
conservation area, and a site of special scientific interest.
1.2
An application for an EIA Study Brief was made to the
Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the EIA Study Brief No. ESB–197/2008 (ESB) for the Project has been
issued under the EIAO.
1.3
AECOM Asia Co. Ltd.
(Integrating the operation of ENSR Asia (HK)
Limited) has been commissioned by the MTRC, the Project Proponent, to undertake the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study of the Project.
1.4
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 that are likely to arise as a result of the Project;
§
the conditions and requirements
for the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project to mitigate
adverse environmental consequences whether practicable; and
§
the acceptability of residual
impacts after the proposed mitigation measures is implemented.
1.5
The EIA study has been conducted and completed in accordance
with the requirements of the EIA Study Brief under the EIAO (ESB-197/2008) 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). The EIA Report has been prepared as follows:
§ to describe the Project, associated works, and any option(s) of alignment together with the requirements and environmental benefits for carrying out the Project;
§ to identify any other individual Designated Project under Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO to be covered in the Project to ascertain whether the findings of this EIA Study have adequately addressed the environmental impacts of these projects;
§ 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 and by the Project;
§ to describe the alternative option(s) considered and the constraints leading to the selection of the proposed alignment; locations of the terminus, ventilation buildings, adits, stabling sidings and emergency rescue station; locations and size of work sites and underground work construction methods; to describe the comparative benefit(s) and dis-benefit(s) of the alternative option(s) ; 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 identify and assess noise impacts, ecological impacts, water quality impacts, landscape and visual impacts, hazard to life, waste management implications, fisheries impacts, air quality impacts and impacts on sites of cultural heritage, and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;
§ 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 and quantify contaminated land within any project area for development works, and to propose measures to avoid disposal in the first instance;
§ to identify and quantify any potential ecological impacts to flora, fauna and natural habitats and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;
§ to identify and quantify any potential fisheries impacts arising from the construction and operation of the project, and to propose measures to avoid in the first instance or mitigate these impacts;
§ to identify any negative impacts on sites of cultural heritage, historic buildings and structures 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 infrastructure or 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 environmental mitigation measures or infrastructure;
§ 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 operational 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; and
§ to design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure the implementation and effectiveness of the recommended environmental protection and pollution control measures.
1.6
This EIA Report comprises eighteen sections, as outlined below:
§ Section 1 presents the introduction of this EIA Study.
§ Section 2 presents a description of the Project, including alternative options considered for the Project.
§ Section 3 assesses potential ecological impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 4 assesses potential fisheries impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 5 identifies and assesses potential airborne noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 6 identifies and assesses potential ground-borne noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.
§
Section 7 identifies and
assesses potential landscape and visual impacts arising from the construction
and operation of the Project.
§
Section 8 assesses potential
impacts on cultural heritage arising from the construction and operation of the
Project.
§ Section 9 identifies and assesses issues in relation to potential land contamination.
§
Section 10 assesses potential
impacts associated with waste generation during construction and operation of
the project.
§ Section 11 assesses potential water quality impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 12 assesses potential air quality impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 13 identifies and assesses potential hazards associated with the use of explosives during construction of the Project.
§ Section 14 identifies and assesses potential landfill gas hazards associated with the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 15 identifies and assesses potential impacts on the restored Ngau Tam Mei Landfill associated with the construction and operation of the Project.
§ Section 16 highlights the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements.
§
Section 17 presents the overall
conclusion and summary of environmental outcomes.
§ Section 18 presents an Implementation Schedule of recommended mitigation measures for various environmental issues.
[1] The Railway Development Strategy
2000 maps out the preferred railway network expansion plan for