7
LAND CONTAMINATION
1.1.1
This Section presents the potential implications of land contamination
due to historical and current land uses within the Project site.
1.1.2
Site appraisal, including desktop review and site walkover, was
conducted to identify the presence of potential land contamination and assess
the potential land contamination impacts within the Project site. Should
any historical or current land contamination activities and potential land
contamination issues be identified in this EIA, further land contamination
assessment would be recommended to be undertaken prior to commencement of the
construction phase.
7.2
Legislation, Standards and Guidelines
7.2.1
The following EPD’s guiding documents are referenced
for this land contamination assessment:
· Annex 19 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental
Impact Assessment Process (Annex 19 of EIAO-TM);
· Guidance Note for Contaminated Land Assessment
and Remediation (the RBRGs Guidance Note);
· Guidance Manual for Use of Risk-based
Remediation Goals for Contaminated Land Management (the RBRGs Guidance Manual);
and
· Practice Guide for Investigation and Remediation
of Contaminated Land (the Practice Guide).
7.3
Description of the Environment
7.3.1 This Project is to improve So Kwun Po
Interchange (SKPIC), with a new-built road referred as So Kwun Po Link (SKPL),
comprising an at-grade road, an underpass, a single 2-lane flyover (main ramp) and a single 1-lane flyover (side ramp) connecting San Wan Road and Pak Wo Road;
and other road re-alignments, junction improvements and
associated works at So Kwun Po Road, San Wan Road and Pak Wo Road. The
location of the Project is shown in Figure 1.1.
7.3.2 As shown in the site location provided in Figure 1.1, the Project site is located on generally flat terrain and is
mainly bounded by high-rise residential buildings to the south, village and
vegetated land to the north, education institutions to the west and a regional
park to the east.
7.3.3
Based on the latest engineering design and as shown in Figure 2.2, the Project would include the construction of at-grade roads,
depressed roads, elevated roads and other associated works where soil
excavation could be anticipated within the Project site.
7.3.4
The land uses in close vicinity of the Project site are
urban residential with community and recreational facilities (i.e. sport centre
and park), institutional use (i.e. schools) and vehicle road networks.
7.4
Assessment Methodology
7.4.1
Land contamination assessment was undertaken in accordance
with the criteria set out in Annex 19 of the EIAO-TM, as well as other Guidance
Note, Practice Guide, Guidance Manual and related legislation as presented in Section
7.2.
7.4.2
A site appraisal, including desktop review and site
walkover, was conducted to identify the potentially contaminating activities
that may pose an adverse impact on the Project site. Site walkovers were
conducted within the Project site to review the general site conditions and to
identify any sources of land contamination. For the desktop review, the
following information was reviewed:
·
Historical aerial photos from the Lands Department
(LandsD);
·
Hong Kong Geological Survey Map (Series HGM20) – Sheet
No. 3 (1:20,000); and
· Records on chemical waste and chemical spillage/leakage from the
identified potentially contaminated sites from Environmental Protection
Department (EPD) and other relevant publicly available information.
7.5
Identification of Potential Land Contamination
Desktop Appraisal
7.5.1
A review of past land uses of the Project site was
conducted by reviewing the relevant historical aerial photographs in the years
between 1963 and 2021. The aerial photographs were obtained from the
Surveys and Mapping Office of LandsD. This review aims to evaluate
potential land contamination implications associated with any land changes
within the Project site. The historical land uses within the Project site
are summarised in Table 7.1. The referenced historical aerial
photographs and descriptions are presented in Appendix 7.1.
Table 7.1
Summary of Historical Land Uses
|
Period
|
Description
|
Potential
Contamination
(Yes/No)
|
|
1960s
to 1970s
|
Based on the review of the historical
aerial photographs from Year 1963 and 1973, the Project site was comprised of
farmlands and village houses. Fanling Station and Sheung Shui Station
were in operation.
|
No
|
|
1980s
|
Based on the review of the historical
aerial photograph in Year 1983, the northern part of the Project site mainly
consisted of undeveloped land, while the southern part of the Project site
remained as farmlands and village houses.
|
No
|
|
1990s
to 2000s
|
Historical aerial photographs from
Year 1994 and 2004 indicated that the Project site consists of railway and
vehicle roads, including So Kwun Po Road, San Wan Road, Fanling Highway, Po
Wing Road and Pak Wo Road. North District Park commenced operation in
March 1990.
|
No
|
|
2010s
to Present
|
Historical aerial photographs from
Year 2012 indicated that Po Wing Road Playground commenced operation.
No significant changes were observed after Year 2012.
|
No
|
Site Geology
7.5.2
The superficial geology of the Project site generally
comprises various Quaternary deposits. According to the published
1:20,000 Geological Map (Sheet No.3) and the archival ground investigation
records, the superficial deposit of the Project site comprises quaternary
alluvium (clay, silt and sand), terraced alluvium and debris flow deposit (dune
sand). The solid geology of the Project site consists of Tai Mo Shan
Formation with feldspar and quartz crystals, some dark green biotite, and
lithic lapilli of pale sandstone.
Record of
Chemical Waste Producer
7.5.3
An enquiry was made to the EPD to obtain the Chemical
Waste Producer (CWP) record of the Project site. A visit to the Chemical
Waste Collection Licensing Section of the EPD Territorial Control Office was
arranged on 21 December 2021 and information related to the CWP registered at
the Project site was reviewed. No CWP record within the Project site was
found in EPD's current valid and past CWP registration. Based on the
above, no land contamination issue associated with the CWP record is
anticipated.
Record of
Chemical Spillage Incidents
7.5.4
Letters were sent to the EPD and Fire Service Department
(FSD) on the records of chemical spillage incidents and chemical leakage for
the Project site (see Appendix 7.2). Based on the
replies from EPD and FSD, no records of chemical spillage incidents and
chemical leakage were found within the Project site.
Record of
Fire Incidents
7.5.5
A letter was sent to the FSD on the records of
Dangerous Goods (DGs) and records of reported fire incidents at the Project
site (see Appendix
7.2). Based on the reply from FSD, no DG
license record and no chemical spillage incident were identified within the
Project site. Yet, three fire incidents were
reported within the Project site. Table 7.2 below presents the
incident records provided by FSD. The locations of the fire incidents are
presented in Appendix
7.2.
Table 7.2 Record of Fire Incidents from FSD
|
Incident ID
|
Date
|
Approximate Address
|
Type of Incident
|
|
1
|
13 November 2019
|
Near Lamppost EA3271, Near San Wan Road
|
Vegetation Fire
|
|
2
|
13 May 2020
|
Lamppost N7885, Near So Kwun Po Road
|
Electrical Fire
|
|
3
|
30 June 2021
|
Near Lamppost DD0452, Near San Wan Road
|
Rubbish Fire
|
7.5.6
Based on the FSD’s records, there were one vegetation
fire incident, one electrical fire incident and one rubbish fire incident
reported within the Project site in the last three years. Although these
fire incidents occurred within the Project site, having further reviewed the
type of construction works involved, no earthworks would be carried out at
these incident locations. Therefore, potential contamination impact from the
concerned electric fire to the Project site is not anticipated. The
locations of the fire incidents and the extent of the earthworks within the
Project site are presented in Appendix 7.2.
Site Walkover
7.5.7
A site walkover was conducted on 23 December 2021 to
observe the conditions and identify signs of potential land contamination
issues associated with current land uses and activities within the Project
site. Site observations and findings are summarised in Table 7.3.
Photos of the site walkover are presented in Appendix 7.3. The site walkover checklist is provided in Appendix 7.4.
Table 7.3 Summary of Current
Land Uses
|
Area
|
Description
|
|
Vehicular roads
|
The Project site covers So Kwun Po
Road, San Wan Road, Fanling Highway, Po Wing Road and Pak Wo Road. The
vehicular roads involved were asphalt paved and were observed in good condition.
No signs of oil stain were noted on those vehicle roads during the site
walkover.
|
|
North District Park
|
The Project site covers a small
proportion of North District Park, including a roller skating rink.
They were observed in good conditions without any signs of oil stain and
stressed vegetation during the site walkover.
|
|
Po Wing Road Playground
|
Po Wing Road Playground, including a
football field, falls within the Project site. The ground was observed
in good condition without any signs of oil stain during the site walkover.
|
|
MTR East Rail Line
along San Wan Road
|
A section of the MTR East Rail Line
connecting Fanling Station and Sheung Shui Station falls within the Project
site. As observed during the site walkover, some WSD’s temporary
barricades were placed at the unpaved road along the MTR railway (Photo 7 of Appendix 7.3 refers). No signs of oil stain
were noted. According to the site person-in-charge from WSD (Contract
no.: 5/WSD/19), the contract involved pipe replacement works for
Dongjiang water mains by open trench method. Neither chemicals nor
dangerous goods were used and stored on-site within the Project site.
No record of polluting activities under the aforementioned contract was
found.
|
7.5.8
Based on the site walkover, the Project site is mainly
occupied by non-contaminating land use including vehicle roads, footpaths,
cycling tracks, parks and playgrounds, MTR East Rail Line and vegetation.
No potentially contaminating land uses or activities were observed in the
aforementioned areas. All Project sites are well paved with concrete,
except for the WSD’s 5/WSD/19 works area which is bare land.
Neither storage and/or handling of hazardous chemical and chemical waste nor
equipment repair and/or maintenance activities were observed within the Project
site. No evidence of oil stains or chemical leakages and/or spillages
were observed. Besides, no potential land contamination facilities, such
as underground fuel oil storage tanks, underground oil pipelines, chemical and
chemical waste storage areas, dangerous goods stores, wastewater treatment
facilities and transformer rooms, were observed within the Project site.
Also, no signs of obvious and suspected contamination such as abnormal odour
and/or distressed vegetation were observed or notified at the Project
site. To conclude, no land contamination issues (including land
contamination activities and facilities) were found during the site walkover.
7.6
Prediction and Evaluation of Environmental Impacts
7.6.1
With reference to the aerial photos reviewed from the
Survey and Mapping Office of LandsD, the Project site was in undeveloped status
(i.e. natural terrain and agricultural land) in 1963 and before. The
Project site was formed into part of the major road networks in the North
District during the late 1980s to early 1990s and gradually developed as the
present. No historical potential land contamination activities were
identified within the Project site. Discussion on the historical aerial
photos are provided in Section 7.5.1 and Appendix 7.1.
7.6.2
Based on the available CWP records from EPD, no valid
and past CWP registration was found within the Project site. Chemical
waste storage and/or handling is not anticipated within the Project site.
Discussion on CWP records is provided in Section 7.5.3. Moreover,
further to the response from EPD and FSD, there are no records of chemical
spillage incidents and chemical leakage incidents within the Project site. The
responses from these government departments were provided in Appendix 7.2.
7.6.3
Referring to the responses from FSD, no DG licence
record and no chemical spillage incident was identified within the Project
site. Yet, three fire incidents were reported within the Project site.
Although these fire incidents occurred within the Project site, having
further reviewed the type of construction works involved, no earthworks would
be carried out at these incident locations. Therefore, potential contamination
impact from the concerned electric fire to the Project site is not anticipated.
Details of the incident records were presented in Table 7.2 and Appendix 7.2
and discussed in Sections 7.5.4 to 7.5.6.
7.6.4
According to the site walkover, the majority of the
area of the Project site comprises concrete paved vehicle road networks and
pedestrian access, except for the WSD’s 5/WSD/19 works area which is
bare land. No potential contamination activities (e.g. handling of
hazardous chemical and/or chemical waste and repair and/or maintenance
activities) and no potential land contamination facilities (e.g. aboveground/
underground fuel oil storage tank and oil pipeline, chemical and chemical waste
storage area, dangerous goods store, wastewater treatment facility and
transformer room) were observed within the Project site. No signs of
obvious and suspected contamination such as abnormal odour and/or distressed
vegetation were observed within the Project site. Therefore, no land
contamination issues (including land contamination activities and facilities)
were found during the site walkover. Details of the site walkover are
provided in Sections 7.5.7 to 7.5.8 and Appendices 7.3 and
7.4.
7.6.5
In view of the above, no potential land contamination
issues are anticipated within the Project site. Therefore, it is
considered that the land contamination impact associated with the Project is
not anticipated. Further site investigation and mitigation measures are
considered not necessary.
7.7
Evaluation of Residual Impacts
7.7.1
No land contamination impacts are anticipated for the
Project. Thus, no residual impacts are expected.
7.8
Environmental Monitoring and Audit
7.8.1
No land contamination impacts are anticipated for the
Project. Thus, environmental monitoring and audit for the Project are not
required.
7.9.1 A desktop appraisal and a site walkover
were carried out to identify any historical and current potentially
contaminating land uses and activities within the Project site.
7.9.2 Based on the findings of the desktop appraisal (including a review of historical aerial photos and
requests for information from related government departments) and site walkover, no potentially contaminating activities
and facilities were identified within the Project site. Therefore, no
adverse environmental impact in respect of land contamination is
anticipated. Further site investigation works and mitigation measures are
deemed not necessary for the Project.