13 Conclusions

13.1.1 This EIA Report has provided an assessment of the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project, based on the engineering design information available at this stage. 

13.1.2 The assessment has been conducted, in accordance with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB –268/2014) under the EIAO for the Project, covering the following environmental issues:

· Air Quality Impact

· Noise Impact

· Water Quality Impact

· Waste Management Implication

· Land Contamination

· Ecology Impact (Terrestrial)

· Landscape and Visual Impacts

· Landfill Gas Hazard

13.1.3 The findings of this EIA study have determined the likely nature and extent of environmental impacts predicted to arise from the construction and operation of the Project.  During the EIA process, environmental control measures have been identified and incorporated into the planning and design of the Project, to achieve compliance with environmental legislation and standards during both the construction and operation phases.  The Implementation Schedule listing the recommended mitigation measures is presented in Section 12.

13.1.4 Overall, the EIA study for the Road Improvement Works has predicted that the Project, with the implementation of the mitigation measures, would be environmentally acceptable with no adverse residual impacts on the population and environmentally sensitive resources.  Table 13.1 below summarises the environmental outcomes/benefits that have accrued from the environmental considerations and analysis during the EIA process and the implementation of environmental control measures of the Project. The summary of environmental impacts and the summary of key assessment assumptions and limitation of methodologies are presented in Appendices 13.1 and 13.2 respectively.

Table 13.1 Summary of Key Environmental Outcomes and Benefits

The Project Need	To improve the traffic condition and cater for the additional traffic demand arisen from the future population of the ARQ site
Benefits of the Project and Environmental Friendly Design	· The proposed road improvement works will resolve and relieve the capacity problems at the road links · The proposed road improvement works will improve the road links to cope with the additional traffic generated from ARQ and other the planned and committed developments in the future · The proposed road layout minimized the extent of the affected slope and surrounding structures such that less excavation works. This can minimize the generation of construction waste as well as construction noise and dust due to the excavation works · The excavation works on slope and construction works of proposed viaduct are conventional and well adopted methods. This can avoid the possibility of prolonged adverse environmental impact · The proposed road layout provided opportunity for early completion of the excavation works so that the newly formed area can be act as temporary stockpile area. This can maximize the re-use of excavated materials
Air Quality Impact	Construction Phase Potential air quality impacts from the construction works would be mainly due to construction dust from excavation, materials handling and wind erosion.  With the implementation of recommended dust suppression measures including watering once per hour on active construction works areas and mitigation measures specified in the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation and EM&A programme, the predicted dust impact on the air sensitive receivers would comply with the dust criteria as stipulated in EIAO-TM and AQO. Operational Phase Cumulative air quality impact arising from the vehicular emissions from the open roads, portal emission from TKO tunnel (Kowloon side) and chimney emissions within the assessment area has been assessed at the worst case years.  The assessment results conclude that the predicted cumulative 1-hour average and annual average Nitrogen Dioxide, daily average and annual average Respirable Suspended Particulates / Fine Suspended Particulates concentrations at representative ASR would comply with the Air Quality Objectives.
Noise Impact	Construction Phase This assessment has predicted the construction noise impacts of the Project, taking into account other concurrent projects. To mitigate the noise impact, all the practicable mitigation measures including quiet PME, construction noise barriers and other possible mitigation measures have been proposed and exhausted in order to minimize the impact. With the mitigation measures in place, the predicted mitigated noise levels would range from 47 to 79 dB(A) at the representative NSRs. It is recommended that the particularly noisy construction activities should be scheduled to avoid examination periods of these NSRs as far as practicable. With respect to the Project contribution alone, mitigation measures have been recommended to reduce the noise levels to within the EIAO-TM noise criterion, including good site practices, quieter plant, movable noise barrier and noise insulating fabric. The residual construction noise impact is transient in nature. During the construction period, as much as practically possible should be done to reduce the construction noise and on-going liaison with all concerned parties and site monitoring should also be conducted to enable more effective management of noise generated from the works. A construction noise EM&A programme is recommended to verify compliance with the noise criteria during normal daytime working hours. Operational Phase The potential road traffic noise impacts have been assessed based on the worst-case traffic flows in 2030. Without any noise mitigation measures in place, the predicted noise levels at the NSRs would range from 49 to 82 dB(A). Practicable traffic noise mitigation measures were therefore formulated for achieving compliance with the EIAO-TM traffic noise criteria. With the proposed noise barriers, semi-enclosures and full-enclosures in place on the Project Roads, the predicted overall noise levels at some of the NSRs would still exceed the relevant noise criterion. For these NSRs, the predicted traffic noise levels due to the Project Roads would not exceed the noise criterion. The noise contributions from the Project Roads to the overall traffic noise levels would also be less than 1.0 dB(A). Noise exceedances predicted at the representative NSRs are therefore due to traffic noise from the Other Roads. The residual traffic noise impact of the Project is considered acceptable.
Water Quality Impact	Construction Phase Water Sensitive Receivers (WSRs) are identified for the water quality impact assessment. The key issue from the land-based road improvement works construction activities would be the potential for release of wastewater from surface works areas and open cut excavation. Minimization of water quality deterioration could be achieved through implementing adequate mitigation measures, such as control of site run-off of different general construction activities. Regular site inspections should be undertaken routinely to inspect the construction activities and works areas in order to ensure the recommended mitigation measures are properly implemented. Operational Phase The only source of potential impact on water quality during the operational phase will be runoff from the road surfaces. It is anticipated that the water quality impact associated with the operational phase would be minimal and acceptable, provided that the recommended mitigation measures (such as design measures to be incorporated and devices/facilities to control pollution) and best management practices are properly implemented.
Waste Management Implication	Waste types generated by the construction activities are likely to include inert and non-inert C&D materials from site clearance, demolition of existing roads, slope excavation works, construction of new roads, general refuse from the workforce and chemical wastes from the maintenance of construction vehicles and equipment. To minimize the net amount of C&D materials generated from this Project, part of the inert portion would be transferred to the SF&I site of the Development of Anderson Road Quarry Site while the granitic rocks would be sorted out on site and recycled in rock quarry sites. The remaining inert portion is to be disposed to Public Filling Area. Non-inert C&D materials generated would be reused and recycled as much as possible before disposing to landfills. Provided that the identified wastes would be handled, transported and disposed of using the recommended methods and that good site practices would be strictly followed, adverse environmental impacts are not expected. The waste management assessment has recommended good waste management practices to ensure that adverse environmental impacts are prevented. The assessment concluded that no unacceptable environmental impacts would result from the storage, handling, collection, transport and disposal of wastes arising from the construction and operation of the project.
Land Contamination	Based on the findings of site appraisal within the Sites, adverse land contamination impact arising from Project is not anticipated.
Ecological Impact (Terrestrial)	Literature review and ecological surveys have been conducted. Eight habitat types were identified, namely woodland, plantation, grassland/ shrubland, natural watercourse, modified watercourse, marsh, agricultural land and developed area within the assessment area. The ecological value of woodland and permanent natural watercourse habitats within 500 m assessment area were considered to be moderate to high and moderate respectively. The ecological values of other recorded habitats were considered to be low or low to moderate. Six flora and 13 fauna species of conservation importance were recorded from the assessment area during the surveys. The Project Site composed of developed area, plantation, modified watercourse and small area of woodland habitat. Nevertheless, the affected woodland, plantation and developed area habitats within the Project Site boundary were subject to edge-effects (e.g. disturbance from traffic noise, air quality/ dust, road lighting/ glare).Major ecological impacts would include direct habitat loss of woodland habitat (0.34 ha). The affected woodland habitat is isolated, disturbed and subject to edge-effects. Two flora species of conservation importance (Incense Tree, Luofushan Joint-fir) would be impacted. Through implementation of mitigation measures (e.g. transplantation, post-transplantation monitoring, and implementation of hoarding / fencing,) and the provision of compensatory tree planting recommended in landscape and visual impact assessment, the residual impact is considered to be minor and acceptable. The level of disturbance during the operational phase would be comparable to the existing condition. No significant adverse impact is therefore expected. With the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, no unacceptable residual indirect impact due to the construction and operation of the proposed Project would be expected. The implementation of mitigation measures would be subject to regular audit as part of the EM&A programme.
Landscape and Visual Impact	Based on the broad-brush tree survey conducted, it is estimated that approximately 1,485 nos. of trees would need to be felled and 24 nos. of trees would need to be transplanted. Others will be retained on site. Compensatory proposal for different landscape resources will be applied to compensate for the loss of existing trees. The overall residual impact on trees is considered acceptable with implementation of the recommended mitigation measures. Semi-natural dense hillside woodland would be set back for widening the existing roads. The impacts on the affected areas are considered to be acceptable as the existing green backdrop of the surrounding area would not be severely damaged or changed over time. Appropriate mitigation measures are recommended to enhance the greening effects and facilitate regeneration of woodland in the future. The slope at Lin Tak Road would be set back for the construction of the new flyover and road widening. Vegetation on the slope will be removed. Residents of lower floors of Hong Wah Court next to the junction of Sau Mau Ping Road / Lin Tak Road will suffer from large visual impact. To alleviate the impact from the hard structure, the noise barrier will adopt a pleasing design and planting will be applied to the edge of the flyover. Toe planters and berm planting have been proposed as landscape mitigation measures to further reduce the visual impact on the surrounding residential area. In summary, the residual visual impact to residents living in lower floors of Hong Wah Court would be minimized. The work areas for the RIW are generally at ground level. The visual experience of the VSRs will not change much as alternative view is available and the change will be even less significant with the implementation of mitigation measures. In summary, the landscape and visual impacts from the Project are considered to be generally acceptable with the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures.
Landfill Gas Hazard	The Source-Pathway-Target analysis of Jordan Valley Landfill, Ma Yau Tong West Landfill and Ma Yau Tong Central Landfill and the proposed works indicated medium sources with very short & direct pathways towards medium to low sensitivity targets resulting in an overall risk category of medium during the construction and operational stages. Mitigation measures in terms of general precautionary measures, safety procedures and sensible housekeeping practices are recommended to minimize the perceived risks to comply with the requirements of the EIAO-TM. It is anticipated that with the proposed measures in place, potential risk associated with LFG hazard to the respective targets will be negligible.

13.1.5 The various sections of this EIA Report have presented the measures to minimise the potential environmental impacts associated the Project in construction and operational phases. The key measures to minimise the environmental impacts are summarised in Section 12.

13.1.6 Environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) requirements have been recommended, where necessary, to check on project compliance of environmental legislation and standards. These are presented in a separate, stand-alone EM&A manual.