1.1.1
In 2002, Civil
Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) commissioned an integrated
planning and engineering study under Agreement No. CE 87/2001
(CE) “Further Development of Tseung Kwan O –
Feasibility Study” (the “TKO Study”) to formulate a comprehensive plan for
further development of TKO New Town.
It recommended to further develop TKO to house
a total population of 450,000 besides the district’s continuous commercial and
industrial developments.
1.1.2
At present, the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel is the main connection between Tseung Kwan O (TKO) and other areas in the territory. To cope with the anticipated transport need,
the TKO Study recommended the provision of Tseung
Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel (TKO-LT Tunnel) and Cross Bay Link (CBL) to meet the
long-term traffic demand between TKO and the external areas.
1.1.3
The TKO-LT
Tunnel, together with the proposed Trunk Road T2 in Kai Tak Development (KTD) and
Central Kowloon Route (CKR), will form Route 6 in the strategic road
network. Route 6 will provide an
east-west express link between Kowloon and TKO areas. Upon completion, this strategic route will
also provide the necessary relief to the existing heavily trafficked road
network in the central and eastern Kowloon areas, and reduce the related
environmental impacts on these areas.
1.1.4
AECOM Asia Co.
Ltd. was appointed by CEDD to carry out the Assignment on Tseung
Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel and Association Works – Investigation (hereafter
referred to as “the Project”). The
Project is a Designated Project under the Environmental Impact Assessment
Ordinance (EIAO). An application (No. ESB-195/2008)
for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study Brief under section 5(1) of
the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) was submitted by the CEDD
on 17 July 2008 with a Project Profile (No.PP-361/2008) for the Project. An
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study for the Project has been undertaken
as part of the Assignment, in accordance with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-195/2008) which was issued in August 2008 and the Technical
Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM).
1.2
Designated
Projects under EIAO
1.2.1
The Project
covers the following designated project (DP) elements as specified in Items
A.1, A.7, A.8, A.9 and C.2(c) in Schedule 2 Part 1 of the EIAO (Cap.499):
·
DP1 – A road
which is an expressway, trunk road, primary distributor road or district
distributor road including new roads, and major extensions or improvements to
existing roads under A.1 in Schedule 2 Part 1;
·
DP2 – A road
tunnel more than 800m in length between portals under A.7 in Schedule 2 Part 1;
·
DP3 – A road
bridge more than 100m in length between abutments under A.8 in Schedule 2 Part
1;
·
DP4 – A road
fully enclosed by decking above and by structure on the sides for more than
100m under A.9 in Schedule 2 Part 1; and
·
DP5 – Reclamation works (including associated dredging works) more than 1
ha in size and a boundary of which is less than 100m from an existing
residential area under C.2(c) in Schedule 2 Part 1.
1.2.2
Subsequent to the
issue of the EIA Study Brief (ESB-195/2008), Lei Yue
Mun Road Underpass (LYMR UP) is put on hold after study of alternative road
improvement options and public consultation, and it will be carried out
separately from TKO-LT Tunnel if it is decided to proceed later. As such, the works related to LYMR UP which was originally included as part of the Project has been deleted. Since there is no change in the Project nature and
increase in its scope, the scope of issues covered under the EIA Study Brief is
considered still adequate and valid.
1.3
Objectives of
this EIA Study
1.3.1
The Project covers several
DP elements
under Schedule 2 of the EIAO which requires an Environmental Permit (EP) for
its construction and operation. Clearly stated in the EIA Study Brief, the main
purpose of this EIA study is to provide information on the nature and extent of
potential environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of
the Project and related activities taking place concurrently, and to contribute
to decisions on the overall environmental acceptability of the Project, after
the implementation of environmental mitigation measures.
1.3.2
The objectives of
the EIA study as stated in the EIA Study Brief are as follows:
(i)
to
describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements for
carrying out the Project;
(ii)
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;
(iii)
to
provide information on the consideration of alternatives/options for site
locations and layouts of the Project to avoid and minimise potential
environmental impacts to environmentally sensitive areas and other sensitive
uses; to compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits
of each of the different options; to provide reasons for selecting the
preferred option(s) and to describe the part of environmental factors played in
the selection of the preferred option(s);
(iv)
to
identify and assess air quality impact, noise impact, water quality impact,
waste management implication, ecological impact, fisheries impact, cultural
heritage impact, landscape and visual impact; and landfill gas hazard and
determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential
affected uses;
(v)
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;
(vi)
to
identify, predict and evaluate the residual (i.e. after practicable mitigation)
environmental impacts and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the
construction and operation phases of the Project in relation to the sensitive
receivers and potential affected uses;
(vii)
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 reducing them to
acceptable levels;
(viii)
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;
(ix)
to
identify any individual project element(s) and associated works of the Project
that fall under Schedule 2 of the EIA Ordinance; to ascertain whether the
findings of this EIA study have adequately addressed the environmental impacts
of those projects; and, where necessary, to identify the outstanding issues
that need to be addressed in any further detailed EIA study; and
(x)
to design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements
to ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental
protection and pollution control measures.
1.4
Structure of the
EIA Report
1.4.1
The background of
the Project and objectives of this Report are introduced in Section 1. A description of the Project and details of
consideration alternative options are provided in Section 2. Sections 3 to 12 detail the results of the
environmental impact assessment of each key subject area, covering relevant
legislation, environmental conditions, assessment criteria and methods, and
assessment findings.
Sections 3 to 12 include:
·
Section
3: Air Quality Impact
·
Section
4: Noise Impact
·
Section 5: Water Quality Impact
·
Section 6: Ecological
Impact
·
Section
7: Fisheries Impact
·
Section
8: Waste Management
·
Section
9: Impact on Cultural Heritage
·
Section
10: Landscape and Visual Impact
·
Section 11: Landfill Gas Hazard
·
Section 12: Hazard to Life
1.4.2
An outline of the
requirements for the environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) programme is presented in Section 13. The EM&A programme
is presented in detail in a separate EM&A
Manual. A detailed implementation
schedule of the recommended mitigation measures is provided in Section 14. A summary of environmental outcome and conclusion of
the whole assessment is given in Section 15.