| Press
Release
Dredging
and dumping of mud from reclamation under control
In response to media
enquiries, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department
(EPD) said today (October 29) that measures have been put in place
to ensure that the environmental impact of the dredging and dumping
of mud from the Central Reclamation Phase III project (CRIII) was
kept under control.
"The project had gone
through the statutory environmental impact assessment (EIA) process.
The public and the Advisory Council on the Environment were consulted
on the EIA before endorsement," the spokesman said.
The EIA concluded that
with the implementation of recommended mitigation measures, such
as providing silt curtains around the dredging sites, controlling
the dredging rate and using closed grab dredgers, the amount of
contamination released from marine sediments during dredging should
be minimal and not result in any adverse impacts on the surrounding
waters.
The Environmental Monitoring
and Audit Programme of the project showed that the environmental
impact resulting from the project was within acceptable levels,
the spokesman said.
The composition
of the dredged mud from the CRIII was described in the full EIA
report for the project which was available to the public on EPD
website at http://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/english/register/aeiara/all.html.
"We have never attempted
to hide the fact that most of the mud was contaminated. However,
our system can handle such mud," the spokesman said.
The dredged contaminated
mud would be disposed of at the special seabed pits at East Sha
Chau using the confined aquatic disposal method. Capping of the
pit is practised to prevent dispersion of the contaminated mud from
the pit.
A team from the Civil
Engineering Department is stationed on site at East Sha Chau to
ensure strict disposal procedures and depth filling level are followed
and observed.
"A long-term extensive
environmental monitoring programme has been put in place since 1992
when the East Sha Chau disposal site started operation. It consists
of water quality, sediment and biota monitoring, together with a
risk assessment on impacts to marine life and humans.
"No adverse environmental
impact has been detected," the spokesman said.
The report on the results
of the monitoring programme was well received without dispute from
participants of the Scientific Group Meeting of the International
Maritime Organisation in May 2002.
End/Wednesday, October
29, 2003
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