4a.1.1.1 The study area for the potential noise impacts from the construction and operation of the IWMF is 300m from the boundary of the facilities. After carrying out detailed desktop review and site survey, no noise sensitive receiver (NSR) was identified within the study area. Hence no assessment was carried out for the potential noise impacts from the construction and operation of the proposed facilities.
4a.1.1.2
However, during the operation
phase of the IWMF, extra traffic to the IWMF are anticipated. Assessment for the potential off-site traffic
noise impact at NSRs along
4a.1.1.3 This section presents the assessment for the potential off-site traffic noise impact at the NSRs and compares the traffic noise impact for scenarios with and without the operation of the IWMF.
4a.2 Environmental Legislation, Policies, Plans, Standards and Criteria
4a.2.1 Traffic Noise Criteria under Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance
4a.2.1.1 The potential noise impact from the off-site traffic generated from the IWMF at TTAL site was assessed in accordance with Annex 5 “Criteria for Evaluating Noise Impact” and Annex 13 “Guidelines for Noise Assessment” of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM). Annex 5 of the EIAO-TM defines the criteria L10 (1 hour) for road traffic noise at various NSRs:
· 70 dB(A) at the façades of dwellings, hotels, offices;
· 65 dB(A) at the façades of schools, places of public worship, courts of law, place where unaided voice communication is required; and
· 55 dB(A) at the façades of hospital.
4a.2.1.2 In the case of any façades of NSRs are exposed to predicted noise levels exceeding the relevant noise criteria and noise induced by the IWMF contribute significantly to the overall traffic noise level by 1.0 dB(A) or more, direct mitigation measures shall be proposed.
4a.3.1.1
The assessment area for the
off-site traffic noise is the area within
4a.4 Existing and Planned Sensitive Receivers
4a.4.1.1
In accordance with Annex 13 of
the EIAO-TM, 5 numbers of representative NSRs were identified along
4a.4.1.2 No statutory planned use in the area is known currently. Many land lots within the assessment area are privately owned. Some land lots are with existing buildings and some are vacant lands. Should a land owner wish to construct a building within his/her land lots, he/she has to apply for a building licence from the Lands Department. The permission of the application is subject to the decision of the Lands Department.
4a.4.1.3
In view of this situation,
there is a potential that new sensitive receivers would exist in the assessment
area at any time. However, as the
existing NSRs are already located in close proximity along
4a.4.1.4 Same set of representative NSRs in the approved WENT Landfill Extensions EIA Report were adopted for this Assessment. The details of the NSRs are given in Table 4a.1. The relative locations of the IWMF and the NSRs are shown in Figure 4a.1. The photographs of the representative NSRs are shown in Appendix 4.1.
Table 4a.1 Summary of Representative Noise Sensitive Receivers
|
NSR ID |
Description |
Use |
No. of Floors |
|
NSR-2 |
Lung Kwu Sheung Tan |
Village House |
3 |
|
NSR-3a |
Pak Long |
Village House |
3 |
|
NSR-3b |
|
|
1 |
|
NSR-4 |
Sha Po |
Village House |
3 |
|
NSR-5 |
Lung Tsai |
Village House |
3 |
Note: Information is extracted
from the approved WENT Landfill Extensions EIA Report
4a.5.1.1
The forecasted peak hour
traffic flow for the Year 2010 and Year 2020 in the approved WENT Landfill
Extensions EIA Report were adopted. The mixed
MSW that would be delivered from various existing refuse transfer stations (RTSs)
in Hong Kong to the site by marine vessels, some of the mixed MSW originally
planned to deliver to the WENT Landfill Extension by land transport might also
be diverted to the IWMF for treatment.
Therefore, the IWMF at the TTAL site is not anticipated to attract
additional MSW delivery vehicles/trucks travelling along
4a.5.1.2 Three scenarios, namely the “Without project end (2010s)”, “Without project end (2020s)” and “With project” scenarios have been considered to assess whether the Project would result in adverse traffic noise impact on the NSRs. It is considered that the Project would induce adverse traffic noise impact on the NSRs if the predicted traffic noise levels at the NSRs in “With project” scenario exceeds that in “Without project” scenarios by more than 1.0 dB(A).
4a.5.1.3 Road traffic noise levels at the representative NSRs were calculated based on the procedures given in “Calculation of Road Traffic Noise” (CRTN) prepared by the UK Department of Transport.
4a.5.1.4 According to the CRTN, the change in traffic noise levels is determined by the equation given as below:
Increase in noise level due to changes in traffic flow, Lflow
= 10 log Q1-10log Q0
where Q0 = Initial Traffic Flow in vehicle per hour and;
Q1 = Increased Traffic Flow in vehicle per hour
Increase in noise level due to changes in % of heavy vehicles, Lphv
= 10 log (1+5p1/v)-10log (1+5p0/v)
where p0 = Initial % of heavy vehicle and;
p1 = Increased % of heavy vehicle
v = Mean traffic speed (km/hr)
Overall increase in noise level due to changes in traffic flow and % of heavy vehicles, L = Lflow + Lphv
Table 4a.2 Projected Peak Hour Off-site Traffic Flow
|
Road section |
Peak Traffic Flow |
|||
|
Before Landfill Extension at end 2010s(1) |
After Landfill Extension at end 2020s(2) |
Additional Traffic generated by the IWMF |
Total Traffic at end 2020s (2) |
|
|
No. of Refuse Vehicle/hour |
118 |
141(1) |
- |
141 |
|
No. of Heavy Vehicle/hour |
- |
- |
4 |
4 |
|
No. of Light Vehicle/hour |
193 |
225 |
10 |
235 |
|
Total No. of Vehicle/hour |
311 |
366 |
14 |
380 |
|
Percentage of Heavy Vehicle |
38% |
39% |
29% |
38% |
|
Speed, kph |
50 |
50 |
50 |
50 |
Notes: (1) Data extracted from
the approved WENT Landfill Extensions EIA Report.
(2) The traffic
data are based on the BDTM model developed by Transport Department (TD) and the
methodology on the preparation of required traffic data have been agreed by the
TD. The correspondences with TD are
shown in Appendix 4.2.
4a.6 Evaluation of Potential Traffic Noise Impact
4a.6.1.1 The potential traffic noise impact at representative NSRs was assessed based on the peak traffic data in Table 4a.2. Table 4a.3 summarized the predicted road traffic noise levels at the representative NSRs for the “Without Project” and “With Project”.
Table 4a.3 Predicted Noise Levels at Representative NSRs
|
NSR
ID |
Noise
Criteria, dB(A) |
Predicted Noise levels,
dB(A) |
Difference, dB(A) |
|||
|
Before Landfill Extension (1)
(i.e. without Project (end 2010s)) |
After Landfill Extension
(i.e. Without Project (end 2020s)) |
With Project |
Without Project (end 2020s)
– Without Project (end 2010s) |
With Project – Without
Project (end 2020s) |
||
|
NSR-2 |
70 |
66.8 |
67.6 |
67.7 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
|
NSR-3a |
70 |
72.8 |
73.6 |
73.7 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
|
NSR-3b |
65 |
68.7 |
69.5 |
69.6 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
|
NSR-4 |
70 |
72.0 |
72.8 |
72.9 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
|
NSR-5 |
70 |
70.2 |
71.0 |
71.1 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
Note: (1) Data
extracted from the approved WENT Landfill Extensions EIA Report.
4a.6.1.2 As revealed from the assessment results shown in Table 4a.3, the predicted traffic noise levels at all representative NSRs (except NSR-2) for both the 2010 prevailing scenario and the 2020 “With Project” scenario would exceed the noise criteria stipulated in the EIAO-TM. Since the changes in predicted noise levels are all below 1 dB(A), the potential off-site traffic noise impact on the identified NSRs due to the operation of the IWMF would be considered insignificant.
4a.7.1.1
The assessment focused on the
traffic noise impact due to the off-site traffic generated from the operation
of the IWMF. A traffic noise impact
assessment was carried out for the scenarios “With Project” and “Without
Project”. Assessment results indicated
that the predicted traffic noise due to the off-site traffic generated from the
IWMF would not result in significant increase in traffic noise impact on the
NSRs along