1.                   INTRODUCTION

 

Project Description

 

1.1               The Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) is planned to connect Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.  The Hong Kong Section of XRL (hereinafter referred to “the Project”) runs as an underground railway in dedicated tunnels from the boundary at Huanggang to West Kowloon Terminus (WKT).  An overview of the Project alignment and the associated works areas is provided in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M50/001 to 003.

 

1.2               Key elements of the Project are as follows:

 

·          Approximately 26km of underground railway running from West Kowloon to the boundary at Huanggang;

·          A terminus in West Kowloon, and its associated building elements such as ventilation facilities, public transport interchange, traction sub-station, and seawater cooling facility;

§         Seven tunnel ventilation buildings at Mai Po, Ngau Tam Mei, Pat Heung, Shing Mun, Kwai Chung, Nam Cheong and Mong Kok West; and an Emergency Access Point (EAP) at Tai Kong Po;

·          Stabling sidings and maintenance facilities located at Shek Kong (Shek Kong Stabling Sidings (SSS)) to provide for train stabling, minor maintenance and cleaning; and

·          An emergency rescue station (ERS) located next to the SSS.

 

1.3               Apart from the key elements above, supporting works areas, access roads, barging facilities, magazines and nursery sites will be required to support the construction of the Project. Locations of the works areas are presented in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M50/004 to 015. 

 

1.4               The proposed construction is tentatively scheduled to commence in late 2009, for completion in 2015.

 

Purpose of the Manual

 

1.5               The purpose of this Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual is to guide the set-up of an EM&A programme to check on compliance with the Project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study recommendations, to assess the effectiveness of the recommended mitigation measures, and to identify any further need for additional mitigation measures or remedial actions.  This Manual outlines the monitoring and audit programme for the Project.  It aims to provide systematic procedures for monitoring, auditing and minimizing environmental impacts associated with the activities of the Project.

 

1.6               Hong Kong environmental regulations and the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines have served as environmental standards and guidelines in the preparation of this Manual.  In addition, the EM&A Manual has been prepared in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Annex 21 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM).

 

1.7               This Manual contains the following information:

Ÿ             Responsibilities of the Contractor, the Engineer or Engineer’s Representative, the Environmental Team, and the Independent Environmental Checker with respect to the environmental monitoring and audit requirements during the course of the Project;

Ÿ             Project organisation for the project;

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

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

Ÿ             The rationale on which the environmental monitoring data will be evaluated and interpreted;

Ÿ             Definition of Action and Limit levels;

Ÿ             Establishment of Event and Action plans;

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

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

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

 

1.8               This EM&A Manual is a dynamic document that should be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary during the construction and operation of the Project.

 

Project Organisation

 

1.9               The roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved in the EM&A process and the organisational structure of the organisations responsible for implementing the EM&A programme are outlined below. The proposed project organisation and lines of communication with respect to environmental protection works are shown in Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M62/000.

 

Engineer or Engineer’s Representative (ER)

 

1.10            The Engineer is responsible for overseeing the construction works and for ensuring that the works are undertaken by the Contractor in accordance with the specification and contractual requirements. The duties and responsibilities of the Engineer with respect to EM&A may include:

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

Ÿ             Inform the Contractor when action is required to reduce impacts in accordance with the Event and Action Plans;

Ÿ             Participate in site inspections undertaken by the ET; and

Ÿ             Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigations.

 

The Contractor

 

1.11            The Contractor should report to the Engineer. The duties and responsibilities of the Contractor are:

Ÿ             Implement the EIA recommendation;

Ÿ             Provide assistance to ET in carrying out monitoring;

Ÿ             Submit proposals on mitigation measures in case of exceedances of Action and Limit levels, in accordance with the Event and Action Plans;

Ÿ             Implement measures to reduce impact where Action and Limit levels are exceeded; and

Ÿ             Adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation as required in the EM&A Manual.

 

Environmental Team (ET) (MTRC)

 

1.12            The ET should conduct the EM&A programme and ensure the Contractor’s compliance with the project’s environmental performance requirements during construction.  The ET should be an independent party from the Contractor. 

 

1.13            The ET should be led and managed by the ET leader.  The ET leader should possess at least 7 years of experience in EM&A.  The ET team should monitor the mitigation measures implemented by the Contractor on a regular basis to ensure compliance with the intended aims of the measures. The duties and responsibilities of the ET are:

Ÿ             Monitor the various environmental parameters as required in the EM&A Manual;

Ÿ             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 anticipate environmental issues for proactive action before problems arise;

Ÿ             Analyse the EM&A data, review the success of EM&A programme to confirm the adequacy of mitigation measures implemented and the validity of the EIA predictions, and to identify any adverse environmental impacts arising and report EM&A results to the IEC, contractor, and ER;

Ÿ             Prepare reports on the environmental monitoring data and the site environmental conditions; and

Ÿ             Review mitigation measure proposal’s from the Contractor in the case of exceedance of action and Limit levels, in accordance with the Event and Action Plans.

 

Independent Environmental Checker (IEC)

 

1.14            The IEC should advise the ER on environmental issues related to the project. The IEC should possess at least 7 years of experience in EM&A.  The duties and responsibilities of the IEC are:

Ÿ             Review and audit in an independent, objective and professional manner in all aspects of the EM&A programme;

Ÿ             Validate and confirm the accuracy of monitoring results, monitoring equipment, monitoring locations, monitoring procedures and locations of sensitive receivers;

Ÿ             Carry out random sample check and audit on monitoring data and sampling procedures, etc;

Ÿ             Conduct random site inspection;

Ÿ             Audit the EIA recommendation and requirement against the status of implementation of environmental protection measures on site;

Ÿ             Review the effectiveness of environmental mitigation measures and project environmental performance;

Ÿ             On a need basis, verify and certify the environmental acceptability of the permit holder’s construction methodology (both temporary and permanent works), relevant design plans and submissions under the environmental permit;

Ÿ             Verify the investigation results of complaint cases and the effectiveness of corrective measures;

Ÿ             Verify EM&A report that has been certified by the ET leader; and

Ÿ             Feedback audit results to ET/permit holder according to Event/Action Plan in the EM&A manual.

 

Structure of the EM&A Manual

 

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

 

Ÿ             Section 2 – Sets out EM&A requirement for ecology and fisheries;

Ÿ             Section 3 – Sets out EM&A requirement for airborne noise;

Ÿ             Section 4 – Sets out EM&A requirement for ground-borne noise;

Ÿ             Section 5 – Details auditing requirement for landscape and visual impact;

Ÿ             Section 6 – Sets out EM&A requirement for cultural heritage;

Ÿ             Section 7 – Details auditing requirement for waste management;

Ÿ             Section 8 – Sets out EM&A requirement for water quality;

Ÿ             Section 9 – Sets out EM&A requirement for air quality;

Ÿ             Section 10 – Details auditing requirements for hazard to life;

Ÿ             Section 11 – Sets out EM&A requirement for land fill gas hazard;

Ÿ             Section 12 – Describes scope and frequency of environmental site audit and sets out general requirements of EM&A programme; and

Ÿ             Section 13 – Details the EM&A reporting requirements.