Table of Contents
14 Environmental Monitoring &
Audit Measures. Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.1 Introduction.. 1
14.2 Objectives of EM&A... 1
14.3 Air Quality.. 2
14.4 Noise. 2
14.5 Water Quality.. 2
14.6 Sewerage and Sewage Implication.. 3
14.7 Waste Management 3
14.8 Land Contamination.. 3
14.9 Ecology.. 4
14.10 Fisheries. 4
14.11 Landscape and Visual Impact 5
14.12 Landfill Gas Hazard.. 5
14.13 Hazard to Life. 5
14
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING & AUDIT MEASURES
This EIA Study has focused on the assessment
and mitigation of the potential impacts associated with the construction and
operation of the Project. One of the key outputs has been the identification of
mitigation measures to be undertaken so that residual impacts comply with
regulatory requirements including the EIAO-TM. To confirm effective and timely
implementation of the mitigation measures, it is considered necessary to
develop Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) procedures and mechanisms
by which the Implementation Schedule
(Annex 14A) may be tracked and its effectiveness assessed.
The objectives of carrying out EM&A for the
Project include:
·
Providing baseline information against which any short or long term
environmental impacts of the projects can be determined;
·
Providing an early indication should any of the environmental control
measures or practices fail to achieve the acceptable standards;
·
Monitoring the performance of the Project and the effectiveness of
mitigation measures;
·
Verifying the environmental impacts identified in the EIA;
·
Determining project compliance with regulatory requirements, standards
and government policies;
·
Taking remedial action if unexpected results or unacceptable impacts
arise; and
·
Providing data to enable an environmental audit to be undertaken at
regular intervals.
The following sections summarise the recommended
EM&A requirements and further details are provided in the EM&A Manual.
The EIA study concluded that no air sensitive
receivers (ASRs) will be affected by construction dust through the
implementation of mitigation measures to reduce dust levels. During the operation phase, emissions will be
controlled by integrated measures, regular inspections and relevant emissions
licenses. Emissions from construction or
operation phase are not predicted to yield concentrations that would lead to
significant air quality impacts at the ASRs.
Therefore, no air quality monitoring will be required for either the
construction or operation phase, aside from that required by specific emissions
licenses.
Regular site inspections and audits will be
carried out during the construction phase in order to confirm that the
mitigation measures are implemented and are working effectively. The detailed EM&A measures are presented
in Section 4.10 of the EIA Report and
Annex 14A.
The EIA study of the Project concluded that with the proper
implementation of practicable mitigation measures, including use of quiet
construction plant, movable noise barriers, noise insulation sheet, scheduling
of construction activities and noise enclosure, no adverse noise impacts are
anticipated during construction phase and noise levels at all Noise Sensitive
Receivers (NSRs) are predicted to comply with the EIAO requirements. During operation phase, all equipment will be
accommodated inside the plant rooms and hence fully enclosed. Operational noise from the pumping station is
assumed to be emitted through louvres.
No adverse noise impacts are anticipated at the representative NSRs
during the operational phase due to the large horizontal separation between the
Project and the NSRs.
Regular site inspections and audits, and regular noise monitoring at NSRs as part of the
EM&A programme during the construction stage is recommended in order to verify compliance with the regulatory requirements and
conformity of the Contractor with regard to noise control and contract
conditions. The detailed EM&A
measures are presented in Section 5.10 of
the EIA Report and the EM&A Manual for this Project.
Computational modelling has been conducted to
predict various potential water quality impacts from the proposed marine
dredging operation under this Project, including Suspended Solids (SS)
elevation, sedimentation, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) depletion, release of nutrient,
heavy metal and trace organic pollutants.
With the implementation of silt curtains around grab dredger and
reduction of dredging rate at the seawater intake, the predicted SS elevation
at the Water Sensitive Receivers (WSRs) nearby dredging works would be
significantly reduced and would be in compliance to the Water Quality
Objectives (WQOs) SS criteria. To ensure
environmental compliance, marine water monitoring for the marine dredging works
is recommended. Site audit would also be
conducted throughout the marine and land-based construction under this
Project. In situ testing of TRC should
also be conducted for the discharge of chlorinated water for pipeline
disinfection to ensure sufficient dechlorination. The marine works contractor is required to
complete a silt curtain efficiency test for the combined use of floating silt
curtain type and cage type silt curtain for dredging at seawater intake prior
to intake dredging works to confirm the silt curtain reduction efficiency
assumptions of the assessment.
Whilst
the discharge of RO concentrate from the desalination process is the main
environmental concern for the Project operation, no adverse water quality
impact from the discharge of RO concentrate would be expected. To ensure environmental compliance,
monitoring of discharge effluent quality and marine water quality at nearby
selected WSRs are recommended. The detailed EM&A measures are detailed in Section 6.12 and the EM&A Manual for this Project.
The proposed
strategy, discharge of sewage directly via a sewerage system to the Tseung Kwan
O Primary Treatment Works, is considered feasible in terms of regional sewerage
strategy, land, environmental impact and construction considerations. The proposed plant is considered sustainable
in terms of sewerage.
The configuration
and alignment of the proposed new sewerage system will be confirmed in the
detail design stage of this project, while the infrastructure design especially
the road alignment and sewerage system of TKO Area 137 is proposed. Gravity sewer is a preferable option in term
of cost-benefit consideration by constructing the sewer from the plant to
connect the existing manhole. The detailed EM&A measures are provided in Section 7.7 of the EIA Report.
A Waste Management Plan and C&D
Material Management Plan (C&DMMP) will be devised which incorporates mitigation measures that have been
proposed in the EIA Report to avoid or reduce potential adverse environmental
impacts associated with handling, collection and disposal of waste arising from
the construction and operation of this Project.
Proposed measures are based on good management, control and site
practices. The Project Proponent will
implement the project in accordance with the Dumping At Sea Ordinance (DASO)
and the requirements as stipulated in ETWB
TC(W) No. 34/2002, prior to the application and allocation of space for
dredging and disposal of marine sediment arising from the Project.
In order to confirm that the construction
Contractor(s) has(have) implemented the recommendations of the EIA Report,
regular site inspections and audits will be conducted of the waste streams, to
determine if wastes are being managed in accordance with the approved procedures
and the site Waste Management Plan. The
inspections/audits will look at all aspects of waste management including waste
generation, storage, recycling, transport and disposal. The first inspection/audit will be conducted
at the commencement of the construction works.
The detailed EM&A measures are presented in Section 8.7 of the EIA Report.
Before the hand‐over of the TMS Site to
WSD for further development, the owner of TMS Site and its contractor shall
ensure the TMS site is properly cleaned up before handover to CEDD. After the
TMS Site is handed over to WSD and before the commencement of any construction
work, the contractor of WSD shall prepare a Contamination Assessment Plan (CAP)
for EPD endorsement prior to the commencement of site investigation. A
Contamination Assessment Report (CAR) shall be prepared to summarise the
results of the site investigation. If land contamination is identified, a
Remediation Action Plan (RAP) shall be prepared to identify feasible
remediation methods and a Remediation Report (RR) shall be prepared to
demonstrate completion of remedial actions for EPD endorsement
In order to confirm that the construction
Contractor(s) has(have) implemented the recommendations of the EIA Report,
regular site inspections and audits during construction phase will be conducted
in accordance with the approved procedures in CAP. The visual inspections/audits will look at
all aspects of construction activities that disturb soil. The first inspection/audit will be conducted
at the commencement of the construction works.
The detailed EM&A measures are provided in Section 8A.6 of the EIA Report.
The assessment
presented in Section 9 of the EIA Report indicates that unacceptable
construction and operation phase impacts are not expected to occur to
terrestrial ecological resources. The
implementation of the ecological mitigation measures described in Section 9.7 will be inspected regularly
as part of the EM&A procedures during the construction period.
At the detailed design
stage prior to the commencement of the slope mitigation works, a vegetation
survey shall be carried out at the slope mitigation areas within the Clear
Water Bay Country Park to assess the condition and identify the location of
each individual of Marsdenia lachnostoma
and other flora species of conservation interest that may be directly affected
by the construction works. A
specification for fencing and demarcating individuals of Marsdenai lachnostoma (or other flora species of
conservation interest, if found) adjacent to the proposed alignment of the
flexible barriers will be prepared to protect the species, and a detailed
specification describing the exact
locations of the flexible barrier foundation plates, soil nails and rock dowels
will be prepared to illustrate how the setback distance from existing trees
would be implemented for tree avoidance.
Details of all the
recommended mitigation measures are included within the Implementation Schedule
provided in Annex 14A. No
terrestrial ecology specific operational phase monitoring is considered
necessary.
The dredging operations have been shown to
proceed at rates that maintain environmental impacts to within acceptable
levels following application of mitigation measures. The mitigation measures designed to mitigate
impacts to water quality to acceptable levels (compliance with assessment
criteria) are expected to mitigate impacts to marine ecological resources and
thus specific measures are not deemed necessary. The water quality monitoring programme will
provide management actions and supplemental mitigation measures to be employed
should impacts arise, thereby ensuring the environmental acceptability of the
Project.
The detailed EM&A measures for ecology are
presented in Section 9.10 of the EIA
Report.
Results from the review indicate that fisheries
importance of the Project Area and its vicinity is low when compared to other
waters of Hong Kong. Sensitive receivers
including spawning ground, nursery ground, artificial reefs and Fish Culture
Zone area have been identified; however, the assessment of water quality
impacts demonstrated that these areas will not be affected.
Monitoring activities designed to detect and
mitigate any unacceptable impacts to water quality during construction phase
are also expected to serve to protect against unacceptable impacts to
fisheries. The details of the water
quality monitoring programme are presented in the EM&A Manual attached to
this EIA. The detailed EM&A measures
are presented in Section 10.10 of the
EIA Report.
The Landscape and Visual Assessment of the EIA
recommended a series of mitigation measures for the construction phase to
mitigate the landscape and visual impacts of the Project. Details of all the recommended mitigation
measures are included in Sections 11.10.3
and 11.11.3 of the EIA Report and
summarized in the Implementation Schedule provided in Annex 14A.
Implementation of the mitigation measures for
landscape and visual resources recommended by the EIA will be monitored through
the site inspection and audit programme.
The Landfill Gas Hazard Assessment of the EIA
recommended a series of precautionary mitigation measures for the construction
phase to mitigate the potential landfill gas hazard impacts of the
Project. Details of all the recommended
mitigation measures presented in Section
12.7 of the EIA Report are summarized in the Implementation Schedule
provided in Annex 14A.
Implementation of the mitigation measures for
landfill gas hazard recommended by the EIA will be monitored through the site
inspection and audit programme.
14.13
Hazard to Life
The EIA study concluded that no unacceptable
risks are foreseen as a result of the operation of the desalination plant. No mitigation measures are thus deemed
necessary and no monitoring will be required for the construction and operation
phases. Safeguard measures in Section 13.5.8 and Annex L are recommended to ensure the risk associated with the use,
storage, and transport of chlorine and DGs at the proposed Desalination Plant
complies with the Hong Kong Risk Guidelines and stays in “Acceptable”
region. They are summarized in the
Implementation Schedule provided in Annex 14A.
14.14
Summary of EM&A Measures
EM&A procedures are required during the
design, construction and operational phases of the project implementation and a
summary of the requirements for each of the environmental parameters is
detailed in Table 14.1.
Table 14.1 Summary of EM&A Requirements
|
Parameters
|
EM&A
Phase
|
|
Design Phase (1) (2)
|
Construction Phase
|
Operation Phase
|
|
Air
Quality
|
-
|
ü(SI)
|
-
|
|
Noise
|
-
|
ü
|
-
|
|
Water
Quality
|
-
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
Waste
|
-
|
ü (SI)
|
-
|
|
Land
Contamination
|
-
|
ü (SI)
|
-
|
|
Ecology
(Terrestrial & Aquatic)
|
ü
|
ü (SI)
|
-
|
|
Fisheries
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Landscape
& Visual
|
ü
|
ü (SI)
|
ü (SI)
|
|
Landfill
Gas Hazard
|
ü (3)
|
ü
|
ü (SI)
|
|
Hazard
to Life
|
ü
|
ü
|
ü
|
|
Notes:
“ (SI)
”= Site Inspection forms the main checking method; “ ─ “ = no EM&A required
|
|
(1)
Pre-construction monitoring may overlap the design
phase
(2)
EM&A requirements in the design phase shall
include confirmation on the compliance for environmental designs which were
specified in the EIA Report and the EP for all parameters.
(3)
The monitoring of landfill gas during construction
would act as baseline monitoring.
|
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