1.1.1.1
The
Kwun Tong Line Extension (KTE), otherwise referred to as ‘the Project’, is the
proposed extension of the existing Kwun Tong Line (KTL) from Yau Ma Tei (YMT)
Station to a new Whampoa (WHA) Station and with an interchange with the Shatin
to Central Link (SCL) at the proposed Ho Man Tin (HOM) Station.
1.1.1.2
The
existing KTL was Hong Kong’s first mass transit line opened in 1979, initially
running from Kwun Tong Station through to YMT Station before being extended to
connect with the Eastern Harbour Crossing Link to Quarry Bay in 1985 and, more
recently, the Tseung Kwan O (TKO) Extension in 2002. The current KTL runs from
Tiu Keng Leng Station to YMT Station and is serviced by a depot at
1.1.1.3
The
MTR Corporation has completed feasibility studies for the proposed extension and
submitted a proposal to Government in February 2004. The proposed scheme was subsequently modified
to incorporate improved interchange arrangements with the proposed SCL and a
revised proposal was submitted to Government in July 2005. Positive responses from the public, relevant
stakeholders and the Government have been received for the KTE and Government
has requested the MTR Corporation to proceed with further planning and
implementation of the extension. The target completion date is 2015, subject to
obtaining government and statutory approvals.
Meinhardt Infrastructure and
Environment Limited (MIEL) was commissioned by the MTR Corporation in August
2008 to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study, pursuant to
section 5(7)(a) of the EIA Ordinance (EIAO), for the proposed KTE which is
planned for completion in 2015.
1.1.1.4
The KTE project comprises a new railway extension,
approximately 2.6km long, running from the end of the existing KTL twin
overrun/refuge siding tunnels south of YMT Station to the end of the
overrun/refuge siding beyond the new terminus station at Whampoa. An
intermediate station (HOM Station) will provide an interchange with the
SCL. A crossover is located immediately
east of HOM Station with a turnback siding immediately beyond the crossover.
This allows every second train to turnback through HOM Station to maintain the
current peak headway of 128 seconds. At WHA Station a single refuge siding will
be provided immediately beyond the end of the platform.
1.1.1.5
An application for an EIA Study Brief was made to
the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) dated 24 April 2008 with an
associated Project Profile (No. PP-352/2008).
In accordance with Section 5/(7)(a) of the EIAO, an EIA Study Brief was
issued (No. ESB-188/2008) for the undertaking of an EIA Study and preparation
of an EIA Study Report. This Assignment
comprises the preparation of an EIA Report and associated Executive Summary and
Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual.
1.2
Purpose of this EM&A Manual
1.2.1.1
The purpose of this EM&A Manual is to guide the
set-up of an EM&A programme to check the compliance with the recommendations of the EIA study for the KTE project,
to assess the effectiveness of the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA report (the
Implementation Schedule for Environmental Mitigation Measures (EMIS) is also
included in Appendix 1.1 of this EM&A Manual), and to identify any further requirements for additional mitigation measures and remedial action.
This EM&A
Manual outlines the monitoring and
audit programme for the KTE
project. It aims to provide systematic procedures for the monitoring, auditing and minimising of environmental impacts associated with the
activities of the KTE
project.
1.2.1.2
All the environmental legislation of
1.2.1.3
This EM&A
Manual contains the following
information:
·
The responsibilities of the Contractor, Engineer or
Engineer’s Representative (ER), Environmental Team (ET), and the Independent
Environmental Checker (IEC) with respect to the EM&A requirements during
the course of the KTE project;
·
The organisation for the KTE project;
·
The requirements with respect to the construction
schedule and the EM&A programme to track the varying environmental impacts;
·
The details of methodologies to be adopted,
including all field laboratories and analytical procedures, and details on the
quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) programme;
·
The rationale on which the environmental monitoring
data will be evaluated and interpreted;
·
The definition of Action and Limit levels;
·
The establishment of Event and Action plans;
·
The requirements for reviewing the pollution
sources and working procedures required in the event of the non-compliance with
environmental criteria and complaints;
·
The requirements for the presentation of EM&A
data and appropriate reporting procedures; and
·
The requirements for reviewing the EIA predictions
and effectiveness of mitigation measures/environmental management systems and
the EM&A programme.
1.2.1.4
This EM&A Manual is a dynamic document that
should be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary during the construction
and operation of the KTE
project.
1.3
Project Organisation
1.3.1.1
The roles and
responsibilities of various parties involved in the EM&A process and the
organisational structure of the parties responsible for implementing the
EM&A programme are outlined below.
The project organisation and lines of communication with respect to
environmental protection works are shown in Figure 1.1.
The Engineer or Engineer’s Representative
(ER)
1.3.1.2
The Engineer is responsible
for overseeing the construction works and ensuring the works to be undertaken
by the Contractor in accordance with the specifications and contractual
requirements. The duties and responsibilities
of the Engineer with respect to the EM&A programme include:
·
To supervise the Contractor’s activities and ensure
the requirements in the EM&A Manual to be fully complied with;
·
To inform the Contractor when action is required to
reduce the environmental impacts in accordance with the Event and Action Plans;
·
To lead the regular site inspections and audits
attended by the Contractor and the ET; and
·
To adhere to the procedures for carrying out the
complaint investigation.
Contractor
1.3.1.3
The Contractor should
report to the Engineer. The duties and
responsibilities of the Contractor are:
·
To implement the recommendations and requirements
of the EIA study;
·
To provide assistance to the ET in carrying out the
relevant environmental monitoring;
·
To submit the proposals of mitigation measures in
case of exceedances of the Action and Limit levels, in accordance with the
Event and Action Plans;
·
To implement the mitigation measures to reduce the
environmental impacts where the Action and Limit levels are exceeded until the
events are resolved; and
·
To adhere to the procedures for carrying out the
complaint investigation as required in the EM&A Manual.
Environmental Team (ET)
1.3.1.4
The ET will be set up by
MTR Corporation and will conduct the EM&A programme to ensure the
Contractor’s compliance with the KTE project’s environmental requirements
during the construction phase.
1.3.1.5
The ET should be led and
managed by the Environmental Team Leader (ETL).
The ETL should possess at least 7 years of experience in EM&A. The ET should monitor the mitigation measures
implemented by the Contractor on a regular basis to ensure the compliance with
the intended aims of the mitigation measures.
The duties and responsibilities of the ET are:
·
To monitor various environmental parameters as
required in the EM&A Manual;
·
To carry out site inspections to investigate and
audit the Contractor’s site practices, equipment and work methodologies with
respect to the pollution control and environmental mitigation, and anticipate
the environmental issues for the proactive and practicable action before
problems arising;
·
To 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 the EM&A results to the IEC,
Contractor, and ER;
·
To prepare the reports of environmental monitoring
data and site environmental conditions; and
·
To review the proposals of mitigation measures by
the Contractor in case of exceedances of the Action and Limit levels, in
accordance with the Event and Action Plans.
Independent Environmental Checker (IEC)
1.3.1.6
The IEC should advise the
ER on the environmental issues related to the KTE project. The IEC should possess at least 7 years of
experience in EM&A. The duties and
responsibilities of the IEC are:
·
To review and audit in an independent, objective
and professional manner in all aspects of the EM&A programme;
·
To validate and confirm the accuracy of the monitoring
results, monitoring equipment, monitoring locations, monitoring procedures and
locations of sensitive receivers;
·
To carry out random sample checking and audit of
the environmental monitoring data and sampling procedures, etc;
·
To conduct random site inspections during
construction;
·
To audit the recommendations and requirements of
the EIA study against the status of the implementation of environmental
protection measures on-site;
·
To review the effectiveness of the environmental mitigation
measures and environmental performance of the KTE project;
·
On as-needed basis, to verify and certify the
environmental acceptability of the Environmental Permit (EP) holder’s
construction methodology (both temporary and permanent works), relevant design
plans and submissions under the EP;
·
To verify the investigation results of the
environmental complaints and the effectiveness of corrective measures;
·
To verify the EM&A reports that have been
certified by the ETL; and
·
To provide feedback of the audit results to the
ET/EP holder according to the Event and Action Plans in the EM&A manual.
1.4
Structure of this EM&A Manual
1.4.1.1
Following this introductory
section, the remainder of the EM&A Manual is set out as follows:
·
Section 2 sets out EM&A requirements for cultural
heritage;
·
Section 3 details auditing requirements for
landscape and visual impact;
·
Section 4 sets out EM&A requirements for air
quality;
·
Section 5 sets out EM&A requirements for
air-borne noise;
·
Section 6 sets out EM&A requirements for
ground-borne noise;
·
Section 7 sets out EM&A requirements for water
quality;
·
Section 8 details auditing requirements for waste
management;
·
Section 9 details auditing requirements for hazard
to life;
·
Section 10 describes the scope and frequency of the
environmental site audits and sets out the general requirements of the EM&A
programme; and
·
Section 11 details the EM&A reporting
requirements; and
·
Section 12 describes the termination of the
EM&A programme.