CONTENTS
APPENDICES
Appendix 13.1 Key
Assessment Assumptions and Limitation of Assessment Methodologies
Appendix 13.2 Summary of
Environmental Impacts Associated with the Project
13.1.1.1
This EIA Report has been prepared for ATCL Project (the Project)
in accordance with the requirements given in the EIA Study Brief (SB) (No.:
ESB-342/2021) and the Technical Memorandum of Environmental Impact Assessment
Process (EIAO-TM).
13.1.1.2
Environmental assessment of the potential environmental impacts
associated with the construction and operation of the Project has been
conducted. Environmental issues
covered in this EIA include:
·
Air quality impact;
·
Noise impact;
·
Water quality impact;
·
Waste management implications;
·
Ecological impact (Terrestrial and Marine);
·
Fisheries impact;
·
Impact on cultural heritage; and
·
Landscape and visual impact.
13.1.1.3
This section summarises the assessment results of each technical
aspect and concludes the acceptability of the overall environmental performance
of the Project.
13.1.1.4
The key assessment assumption limitation of assessment
methodologies and all related approach on assessment of different environmental
aspects requiring agreements with EPD are given in Appendix 13.1.
13.1.1.5
A summary of environmental impacts identified in this EIA is
provided in Appendix 13.2 and conclusions of each technical aspect are described in the
following sections.
Construction Phase
13.2.1.1 The air
quality impact assessment studies the potential air quality impacts associated
with the construction phase of the Project.
13.2.1.2 Potential air
quality impacts from the construction works for the Project would mainly be
related to construction dust from excavation, materials handling, spoil removal
and wind erosion. Quantitative
construction dust impact assessment has been conducted which has taken into account the cumulative impacts from the concerned
dust sources and the concurrent construction projects in the vicinity.
13.2.1.3 With the
implementation of regular watering of all exposed areas and mitigation measures
as defined in the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation, all
identified representative sensitive receivers would comply with the relevant
AQOs and the criterion stipulated in EIAO-TM. With the adoption of liquid fuel with a
sulphur content of not more than 0.005% by weight as stipulated in Air Pollution
Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulation, locally supplied marine light diesel
(MLD) with a sulphur content of not more than 0.005% by weight as stipulated in
Air Pollution Control (Marine Light Diesel) Regulation and good site practices
to further control and reduce the emission from the use of non-road mobile
machinery from the Project, the gaseous emissions from construction plants,
equipment and vessels are considered to be minimal and no adverse impact is
anticipated.
Operational Phase
13.2.1.4
In terms of operational impacts, the key air pollutants emissions
associated with the marine facilities and marine vessels have been assessed
cumulatively with key existing vehicular emission and marine emissions. Given that zero emission vehicles will be
adopted for the Project, there will be no emission from the vehicles on the
entire ATCL and stations. The key provision of the proposed depot is the vehicle maintenance
workshop which includes services bays, car lifts, brake testers, overheard
crane, compressed air supply, vehicle repair hand tools, etc. Electrified equipment would be provided,
hence, no gaseous and particulate emissions generated from exhaust emissions of
the electrified equipment used for maintenance operations are expected. There will be NRMMs in the proposed
depot. Air Pollution Control
(NRMMs) (Emission) Regulation and Air Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction)
Regulation shall be followed to control the fuel combustion emission from
NRMMs. Exhaust emissions of NRMMs
adopted for maintenance operations are expected to be limited.
13.2.1.5 In respect of
the operational phase of the Project, the assessment revealed that the
predicted cumulative air quality impacts comply with the RSP, FSP, NO2
and SO2 AQOs at all the identified representative ASRs and no
adverse operational phase impacts are expected to occur.
13.3.1.1 The noise
assessment studies the potential noise impacts on Noise Sensitive Receivers
(NSRs) due to the construction and operation of the Project.
Construction Phase
13.3.1.2 The noise
impacts arising from daytime construction activities for the Project have been
evaluated. With proper
implementation of noise mitigation measures including use of quieter
construction methods, quieter PMEs, noise barrier, noise enclosure and noise
insulating fabric, construction noise levels at all the representative NSRs
would be within the criteria stipulated in the EIAO-TM. No adverse construction noise impacts
are anticipated.
Operational Phase
13.3.1.3 Operational noise
sources including zero emission vehicle, and, fixed plant at depot and marine
facilities are identified. Given
the large separation between depot / marine facilities and the NSR, significant
operational noise sources impact due to the proposed depot and marine
facilities are not anticipated. In
addition, there are no other fixed plant at the proposed stations and natural
ventilation will be adopted, hence, noise impact from mechanical ventilation
system is not expected. Impact of zero
emission vehicle have been assessed.
Maximum Sound Power Level (SWL) of zero emission vehicle have been
predicted in the assessment, which is 100dB(A). With the proper selection of zero
emission vehicle, adverse operational noise impacts from the Project are not
anticipated.
Construction Phase
13.4.1.1
Based on the selected construction method, no open sea dredging
works for the Project is required.
Potential water quality impact from marine-based and land-based
construction works, the generation of wastewater, and the sewage from workforce
under the Project have been assessed.
Silt curtain would be set up to enclose the entire active work area
before the commencement of piling works for marine facilities and marine
viaduct to control sediment dispersion.
At most two marine piles will be installed / constructed concurrently at
the proposed marine facilities work area and the viaduct works area across Tung
Chung Navigation Channel, respectively during construction phase. Good site practices, such as adopting clean
ballast system, sufficient vessel clearance from seabed, etc, are recommended
to minimise the potential water quality impact from marine construction
works. With the implementation of
the recommended mitigation measures, adverse water quality impact from the
Project during the construction phase is not anticipated.
Operational
Phase
13.4.1.2 The potential
water quality impact arising from the operation of the Project has been
assessed. This impact is associated
with the change in flow regime from the presence of the Project facilities,
maintenance dredging, sewage and wastewater generated from workforce, depot
operation, and potential oil spillage from the operation of the marine
vessels. Modelling assessment
indicated change in flow regime due to the presence of the Project facilities
(1) would be localized within the embayment area between the Airport Island and
the Hong Kong Port and have no noticeable impact beyond and (2) would not
affect the identified beneficial uses within the embayment, and thus will not
result in unacceptable water quality impact.
13.4.1.3 Maintenance
dredging will be carried out to allow vessels to access the marine facilities
at low tide and to enhance navigational safety. Cage type silt curtain will be provided
during maintenance dredging for the marine facilities and the maximum allowable
rate of dredging would be limited to 40 m3/hr. No unacceptable change in water quality
from maintenance dredging would be expected with the above mitigation
measures. Other mitigation
measures, including no direct discharge of untreated sewage, regular cleaning
and removal of floating refuse, no new drainage outfall in marine facilities,
provision of adequately designed pollution removal devices to new drainage will
be implemented. With the
implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, adverse water quality
impact from the Project during the operational phase is not anticipated.
Construction Phase
13.5.1.1 Potential
waste management implications from the generation of waste during the
construction phase have been evaluated.
The waste types generated from the Project would include C&D
materials, marine sediment, chemical wastes from maintenance of construction
plant and equipment, general refuse from the workforce, and floating
refuse. It has been estimated that
21,379m3 of inert C&D materials, 1,950 m3 of
non-inert C&D materials, 2,803m3 of land-based and marine-based
sediment, less than 100 litres per month of chemical waste, 198 tonnes of
general refuse, as well as 3m3 per year of floating refuse.
13.5.1.2 In order to
reduce the disposal quantity of waste, waste re-use and recycling on-site would
be implemented. The amounts of
waste to be backfilled on-site include 5,963 m3 of inert C&D
material and 375 m3 of land-based sediment while the waste to be
recycled include 450 m3 of non-inert C&D material, 9 tonnes of
general refuse and 1 m3 per year of floating refuse.
13.5.1.3 With proper
implementation of the mitigation measures such as good site practices, waste
reduction through good management and control, proper storage, collection and
transportation of waste, all dump trucks engaged on site for delivery of
C&D materials from the site to designated locations equipped with Global
Positioning System (GPS) or equivalent system Automatic Identification System
(AIS) for real time tracking and monitoring of their travel routings and parking
locations in order to avoid illegal dumping or landfilling of C&D materials
etc., adverse environmental impacts from waste management during construction
phase are not anticipated.
13.5.1.4 1,895m3 and
533m3 of land-based and marine-based sediment will be disposed of for
Type 1 – Open Sea Disposal and Type 1 – Open Seas Disposal (Dedicated Sites)
respectively. With implementation
of the recommended mitigation measures and the requirements of Practice Note
for Authorized Persons and Registered Structural Engineers on Management
Framework for Disposal of Dredged/Excavated Sediment (PNAP ADV-21), adverse
environmental impacts arising from the excavation, treatment, transportation
and disposal of marine sediment are not anticipated.
Operational Phase
13.5.1.5 Potential waste
management implications from the generation of waste during the operational
phase have been evaluated. The main
waste types include chemical waste, municipal solid waste from maintenance
activities and staff and passengers, floating refuse and marine sediments from
maintenance dredging at marine facilities.
It has been estimated that maximum 35,000m3 of marine
sediment from maintenance dredging in every two years, less than 100 litres of
chemical waste per month, 11 tonnes of general refuse per year and 3m3
of floating refuse per year will be generated during operational phase, with
the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures and the requirements
of PNAP ADV-21 for excavation, treatment, handling, transportation and
disposal.
13.6.1.1 A desktop
literature review and supporting field surveys were conducted to establish the
ecological profile of the area within and surrounding the Project site. Potential impacts to terrestrial and marine
ecological resources due to the construction and operation of the Project were
assessed.
Construction Phase
13.6.1.2
The Project would involve minimal vegetation clearance and loss of
small patch of woodland fringe with low to moderate ecological value. Considering the habitat loss is largely
restricted to developed area which is urbanized, the direct habitat loss caused
by the construction activities is considered to be Minor. Also, given the road/ road edge
vegetation areas/ developed area are not typical habitats for wildlife and that
no fauna species of conservation importance were recorded in the Project Site,
direct impact on wildlife (esp. fauna species of conservation importance) due
to the Project is considered to be Negligible.
13.6.1.3
Considering the temporary nature of the construction works at the
marine viaduct and marine facilities, the small extent of area affected and
water quality mitigation measures will be implemented, impacts from habitat
loss and disturbance of the Project are considered to be of minor significance.
Unacceptable impacts on the benthic
communities, subtidal and intertidal habitats, as well as key marine species
and functionality of marine parks due to the construction of the Project are
not anticipated.
Operational Phase
13.6.1.4
During the operational phase, the developed area within the
Project site will be reinstated, but the loss of 0.31ha woodland at the edge of
Scenic Hill will be permanent. Considering
the degraded nature and involved small-scaled loss, unacceptable impact due to
permanent loss of woodland and the area would likely be developed into a
landscape feature with vegetation planting is considered to be Minor. However, precautionary measures are
recommended with respect to water quality control and disturbance to adjacent
wildlife in order to minimise impacts. Residual ecological impacts of the
Project is not anticipated.
13.6.1.5 The affected
benthic and marine ecological habitat is considered to be very small and
availability of habitat elsewhere shows unacceptable impacts are not expected. Indirect impacts to marine ecological
resources, including prey resources of Chinese White Dolphins (CWD) in the
vicinity of the Project site, the change in water quality from maintenance
dredging and the change in hydrodynamic properties due to the Project operation
are also expected to be Minor. Water
quality mitigation measures will be sufficient to mitigate the impact on
marine ecological resources (e.g. deployment of cage-type silt curtain during
construction, good site practise). With
the implementation of relevant mitigation measures, all operational marine
ecological impacts are deemed acceptable.
13.7.1.1
A review of baseline information on commercial fisheries
resources, habitats and fishing operations surrounding the waters of the
proposed Project from available literature studies the potential fisheries
impacts on sensitive receivers due to the construction and operation of the
Project.
Construction
Phase
13.7.1.2
Potential impacts arising from the proposed construction of the
marine viaduct and the marine facilities include temporary disturbance to
fisheries habitats and loss of access to fishing ground within the Project area. Impacts on fisheries are expected to be
minor considering that the extent of this area is of low fisheries operation
and low to moderate fisheries production, as well as low commercial value of
majority of fisheries resources. Also,
impact of elevated levels of underwater sound as a result of construction
activities are considered minor considering the background underwater sound level
in the vicinity. Changes of water
quality due to construction activities are considered to be minor to fisheries
resources.
13.7.1.3
The construction of the Project has been designed to reduce
potential impacts on water quality which will, in turn, reduce impacts on
fisheries resources. No
fisheries-specific mitigation measures are required during construction and no
unacceptable residual impacts to fisheries are expected to occur.
Operational Phase
13.7.1.4 During operation phase of the marine facilities and marine viaduct,
permanent loss of fishing ground of <0.01 ha for pile structures of marine
viaduct section and marine facilities and loss of access to approximately 8.33
ha of fishing ground are expected. However, the
affected area is considered to very small compared to the availability of
fishing grounds elsewhere in Northern Lantau waters available for fishing
activities. Hence, impacts on
fisheries are expected to be minor.
Underwater sound due to vessel operation is considered to be minor to
fisheries resources which are habituated to a relatively high background level of underwater sound. Indirect impacts to fisheries resources
related to perturbations to key water quality parameters from maintenance
dredging for the marine facilities are expected to be minor as well since the
predicted changes in water quality are localised to immediate vicinity of the
Project. No unacceptable change in
water quality would be expected. All
of the potential operational fisheries impacts
identified are deemed acceptable.
13.8.1.1 No impact on
declared monuments, proposed monuments, graded historic
sites/buildings/structures, sites/buildings/structures in the new list of
proposed grading items; and Government historic sites are identified within the
Assessment Area. A part of Ha Law
Wan Site of Archaeological Interest locates within the Assessment Area with
large separation distance (approximately 295m) from the proposed works of the
Project. No impact to these
cultural heritage resources arising from the Project is anticipated. Hence, no mitigation measures are
required.
13.8.1.2
The desktop review supplemented with the results of geophysical
surveys conducted for the Project identified eight sonar contacts in MF Site,
which are interpreted as modern debris, dumped materials, and navigation buoys,
while five magnetic anomalies found in ATCL Site are interpreted as
debris. They are considered to have
no marine archaeological potential.
No marine archaeological impact arising from the Project is
anticipated. No mitigation measures
and further MAI are required.
13.8.1.3
Although sub-bottom profiling (SBP) and marine magnetometer (MAG)
were not conducted at the Marine Facilities Survey Area (MF Site), the seabed
in MF Site has been highly disturbed with deep scars from anchoring and seabed
disturbance works in the past for many years with very low marine
archaeological potential, the potential impact is considered minimal. As a precautionary measure, the project
proponent and his/her contractor are required to inform AMO immediately when
any antiquities or supposed antiquities under the Antiquities and Monuments
Ordinance (Cap 53) are discovered during the seabed disturbance works in the MF
Site and the ATCL Site.
13.9.1.1 The Landscape
Resources (LRs) and Landscape Character Areas (LCAs) as well as the Visually
Sensitive Receivers (VSRs) within the Visual Envelop (VE) of the Project, were
identified and assessed.
13.9.1.2 The Project
could cause moderate to insubstantial impacts to all the LRs and LCAs. With the implementation of mitigation
measures during construction phase and operational phase, except for the
Amenity Landscape Areas along Airport Road and Chek
Lap Kok Road (LR5) and Transport Corridor Landscape
(LCA1), the residual landscape impacts on all the other concerning LRs and LCAs
are expected to be reduced to ‘Slight’ and ‘Insubstantial’.
13.9.1.3 The residual
visual impacts on VSRs are anticipated to be in the range of ‘Slight’ to ‘Insubstantial’
with the provision of mitigation measures during construction phase and
operational phase respectively. Hence,
the visual impacts are considered acceptable with mitigation measures.
13.10.1.1 The findings in
this EIA Study for all aspects during the construction and operational phase of
the Project have been studied and identified in accordance with the requirements
outlined in the EIA Study Brief (ESB-342/2021), EIAO-TM and all environmental
legislation and standards.
13.10.1.2 In conclusion,
with the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures, no adverse environmental
impacts is anticipated during the construction and
operational phases of the Project.