Environmental Permit No. EP-279/2007

       環境許可證編號 EP-279/2007

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ORDINANCE

(CHAPTER 499)

Section 10

 

環境影響評估條例

(499)

10

 

ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT TO CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE

A DESIGNATED PROJECT

 建造及營辦指定工程項目的環境許可證

 

PART A (MAIN PERMIT)

A (許可證主要部分)

 

Pursuant to Section 10 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (the Ordinance), the Director of Environmental Protection (the Director) grants this environmental permit to The University of Hong Kong (hereinafter referred to as the “Permit Holder”) to construct and operate the designated project described in Part B subject to the conditions specified in Part C. The issue of this environmental permit is based on the documents, approvals or permissions described below:

 

根據《環境影響評估條例》(環評條例)第10條的規定,環境保護署署長(署長)將本環境許可證批予香港大學(下稱許可證持有人)以建造及營辦B所說明的指定工程項目,但須遵守C所列明的條件。本環境許可證的發出,乃以下表所列的文件、批准或許可作為根據:

Application No.

申請書編號:

AEP-279/2007

 

Document in the Register:

登記冊上的文件:

 

(1) Project Profile - Reprovisioning and Upgrading of Salt Water Service Reservoirs in Western District for Water Supplies Department (Register No.: PP-313/2007)

(1) 工程項目簡介為水務署重置及改善西區海水配水庫 (登記冊編號: PP-313/2007)

 

(2) The Director’s letter of permission to apply directly for environmental permit dated 15 May 2007 [Ref.: (16) in Ax(1) to EP2/H10/Q2/151]

(2) 署長於2007515 發出批准直接申請環境許可證的信件 [檔案編號 : (16) in Ax(1) to EP2/H10/Q2/151]

 

(3) Application for Environmental Permit submitted by the Permit Holder on 16 May 2007 (Application No. AEP-279/2007)

(3) 許可證持有人 2007516提交的環境許可證申請(申請書編號: AEP-279/2007)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            4  June 2007   

Date

日期

 

                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                      

 

(Mrs. Shirley LEE)

Principal Environmental Protection Officer

for Director of Environmental Protection

環境保護署署長

(首席環境保護主任 李韓琇玲女士 )

 

                                                                                                                                        

PART B (DESCRIPTIONS OF DESIGNATED PROJECT)

B (指定工程項目的說明)

 

Hereunder is the description of the designated project mentioned in Part A of this environmental permit

(hereinafter referred to as the “Permit”):

下列為本環境許可證(下稱許可證”)A所提述的指定工程項目的說明:

 

Title of Designated Project

指定工程項目的名稱

 

Reprovisioning and Upgrading of Salt Water Service Reservoirs in Western District for Water Supplies Department [This designated project is hereinafter referred to as “the Project”].

 

為水務署重置及改善西區海水配水庫

[這指定工程項目下稱工程項目”]

 

Nature of Designated Project
指定工程項目的性質

 

To construct and operate two salt water service reservoirs within an underground rock cavern.

 

於地下石洞內建造及營辦兩個海水配水庫

 

Location of Designated Project

指定工程項目的地點

The two salt water service reservoirs are located in rock beneath the northern hill slopes of Lung Fu Shan immediately adjacent to the Centennial Campus, south of Pok Fu Lam Road (as shown in Figure 1 attached to this Permit).

 

兩個海水配水庫會建於龍虎山北面山坡的地下石洞內,毗鄰薄扶林道以南的百周年校園的位置(見載於本許可證夾附的1)

 

Scale and Scope of Designated Project(s)

指定工程項目的規模和範圍

The rock cavern will comprise two salt water storage tunnels (each about 60m in length and 17m in span) connecting to a common section (about 40m in length and 8m in span) leading to an access portal underneath the northern hill slopes of Lung Fu Shan.  The internal tank dimensions of each of salt water service reservoirs will be 46.8m (L) x15m (W) x9m (H) approximately, with a combined capacity of 12,000 m3  approximately.

 

在石洞內建造兩條海水儲水隧道(每條約長60、濶17),經一條約長40、濶8的共用通道,連接至龍虎山北面山坡上的出入口。 每個海水配水庫的內部大小約為46.8() x 15() x 9()。 兩個海水配水庫的總設計容量約為12,000立方米

                                                                                                                                            

 

PART C (PERMIT CONDITIONS)

1.         General Conditions

 

1.1              The Permit Holder and any person working on the Project shall comply with all conditions set out in this Permit. Any non-compliance by any person may constitute a contravention of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499) and may become the subject of appropriate action being taken under the Ordinance.

 

1.2              The Permit Holder shall ensure full compliance with all legislation from time to time in force including without limitation to the Noise Control Ordinance (Cap. 400), Air Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 311), Water Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 358), Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354) and Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap.59).  This Permit does not of itself constitute any ground of defence against any proceedings instituted under any legislation or imply any approval under any legislation.

 

1.3              The Permit Holder shall make copies of this Permit together with all documents referred to in this Permit or the documents referred to in Part A of the Permit readily available at all times for inspection by the Director or his authorised officers at all sites/offices covered by this Permit.  Any reference to the Permit shall include all documents referred to in the Permit and also the relevant documents in the Register.

 

1.4              The Permit Holder shall give a copy of this Permit to the person(s) in charge of the site(s) and ensure that such person(s) fully understands all conditions and all requirements incorporated by the Permit. The site(s) refers to site(s) of construction and operation of the Project and shall mean the same hereafter.

 

1.5              The Permit Holder shall display conspicuously a copy of this Permit on the construction site(s) at all vehicular site entrances/exits or at a convenient location for public information at all times.  The Permit Holder shall ensure that the most updated information about the Permit, including any amended permit, is displayed at such locations. If the Permit Holder surrenders a part or the whole of the Permit, the notice he sends to the Director shall also be displayed at the same locations as the original Permit. The suspended, varied or cancelled Permit shall be removed from display at the construction site(s).

 

1.6              The Permit Holder shall construct and operate the Project in accordance with the project descriptions in Part B of this Permit.

 

1.7              The Permit Holder shall ensure that the Project is designed, constructed and operated in accordance with the information and all recommendations described in the Project Profile (Register No.: PP-313/2007) and other relevant documents in the Register, the information or mitigation measures described in this Permit, mitigation measures to be recommended in submissions that shall be deposited with or approved by the Director as a result of permit conditions contained in this Permit, and mitigation measures to be recommended under on-going surveillance and monitoring activities during all stages of the Project. Where recommendations referred to in the documents of the Register are not expressly referred to in this Permit, such recommendations are nevertheless to be implemented unless expressly excluded or impliedly amended in this Permit.

 

1.8              All submissions, as required under this Permit, shall be rectified and resubmitted in accordance with the comments, if any, made by the Director within one month of the receipt of the Director’s comments or otherwise specified by the Director.

 

1.9              All submissions deposited without comments by the Director, or all submissions rectified in accordance with comments by the Director under this Permit shall be construed as part of the permit conditions described in Part C of this Permit.  Any variation of the submissions shall be approved by the Director in writing or as prescribed in the relevant permit conditions.  Any non-compliance with the submissions may constitute a contravention of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499).  All submissions or any variation of the submissions shall be certified by the Environmental Team (ET) Leader referred to in Condition 2.1 below before submitting to the Director under this Permit.

 

1.10          The Permit Holder shall release all finalized submissions, as required under this Permit, to the public by depositing copies in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office, or in any other place, or any internet websites as specified by the Director, or by any other means as specified by the Director for public inspection.  For this purpose, the Permit Holder shall provide sufficient copies of the submissions.

 

1.11          All submissions to the Director required under this Permit shall be delivered either in person or by registered mail to the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Register Office (currently at 27/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong).  Electronic copies of all finalized submissions required under this Permit shall be prepared in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) (version 4.0 or later) and in Portable Document Format (PDF version 4.0 or later), unless otherwise agreed by the Director and shall be submitted at the same time as hard copies.

 

1.12          The Permit Holder shall notify the Director in writing the commencement date of construction and operation of the Project at least two weeks before the commencement of construction and operation of the Project.  The Permit Holder shall notify the Director in writing immediately if there is any change of the commencement date of the construction and operation.

 

1.13          For the purpose of this Permit, “commencement of construction” does not include works related to site clearance and preparation, or other works as agreed by the Director.

 

2.      Special Conditions

 

Employment of Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Personnel

 

2.1              An ET shall be established by the Permit Holder no later than 2 weeks before commencement of construction of the Project.  The ET shall not be in any way an associated body of the Contractor of the Project. The ET shall be headed by an ET Leader.  The ET leader shall be a person who has at least 7 years of experience in environmental monitoring and auditing (EM&A) or environmental management. The ET and the ET Leader shall be responsible for the implementation of the EM&A programme in accordance with the requirements as contained in the EM&A Manual stated in Condition 2.3 of this Permit.  In addition, the ET Leader shall be responsible for certifying the environmental acceptability of permanent and temporary works, relevant design plans and submissions under this Permit.  The ET Leader shall keep a contemporaneous log-book of each and every instance or circumstance or change of circumstances which may affect the environmental impact assessment and each and every non-compliance with the recommendations of the Project Profile (Register No.: PP-313/2007), or this Permit. The ET Leader shall notify the Director within one working day of the occurrence of any such instance or circumstance or change of circumstances. The ET Leader’s log-book shall be kept readily available for inspection by all persons assisting in supervision of the implementation of the recommendations of the Project Profile (Register No.: PP-313/2007), or this Permit or by the Director or his authorized officers.  Failure to maintain records in the log-book, failure to discharge the duties of the ET Leader as defined in the EM&A Manual or failure to comply with this Condition would entitle the Director to require the Permit Holder by notice in writing to replace the ET Leader. Failure by the Permit Holder to make replacement, or further failure to keep contemporaneous records in the log-book despite the employment of a new ET Leader may render the Permit liable to suspension, cancellation or variation.

 

2.2              The Permit Holder shall, no later than two weeks before the commencement of construction of the Project, inform the Director in writing the management organization of the main construction companies and/or any form of joint ventures associated with the construction of the Project.  The submitted information shall include at least an organization chart, names of responsible persons and their contact details.

 

Submission of Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual

 

2.3              The Permit Holder shall, no later than 2 weeks before the commencement of works, submit to the Director for approval four hard copies and one electronic copy of an EM&A Manual for the construction of the Project.  The EM&A Manual approved under this condition shall hereinafter be referred to as the “EM&A Manual”.  The EM&A Manual shall list out the EM&A programme including, at least, the following:

 

(i)                  requirements on construction noise and dust monitoring with details on methodology, location(s), frequency and duration for baseline and impact monitoring;

(ii)                requirements on structural survey and vibration monitoring on the Elliot Treatment Works with details of methodology, frequency and duration for baseline and impact monitoring;

(iii)               the environmental quality performance limits (Action and Limit Levels);

(iv)              Event and Action Plans;

(v)                procedures for reviewing the monitoring results and follow-up;

(vi)              implementation schedule and compliance audit procedures of mitigation measures as recommended in the Project Profile No. PP-313/2007;

(vii)              procedures and flow charts for handling complaints or enquires on environmental nuisances or pollution caused by the Project; and

(viii)           a recording system with details on the amount of the waste and construction and demolition material generated, recycled and disposed of at various destination(s) for the purposes of monitoring the disposal of construction waste, avoiding fly-tipping and maximizing recycling of the excavated rock material.

 

2.4              The Permit Holder shall set up and operate a community liaison office throughout the construction stage of the Project to receive and respond to complaints or enquiries by following the procedures set out under Condition 2.3(vii) above and to follow up on implementation of remedial mitigation measures.

 

Measures for protection of Secondary Woodland and Streams

 

2.5              To protect the ecological resources in the vicinity of the project area, no construction works shall be carried out on the ground surface within the secondary woodland habitat marked green and green hatched as shown in Figure 2 attached to this Permit.

 

2.6              To protect the ecological resources in the two natural seasonal streams - labeled as S1 and S2 as shown in Figure 2 attached to this Permit - no discharge from any construction site of the Project shall be made into these streams.

 

Measures for mitigating construction noise impacts

 

2.7              To minimize the construction noise impacts, the Permit Holder shall:-

 

(a)    no later than 2 weeks before commencement of construction works, deposit with the Director four copies and one electronic copy of a noise enclosure design plan showing:

 

(i)                  the location/layout (in the scale of 1:1000) and design details (in the scale of 1:100 or other appropriate scale); and

(ii)                the material adopted for the noise enclosure with superficial surface density of at least 10kg/m2.

 

Before submission to the Director, the noise enclosure design plan shall be certified by the ET Leader as conforming to the information and requirements set out in the layout as shown in Figure 3;

 

(b)   install the noise enclosure at the portal of the Project in accordance with what the design details that is contained in the submission required under Condition 2.7(a) above, before commencement of construction works; and

 

(c)    maintain the proper functioning of the above noise enclosure throughout the entire construction stage of the Project.

 

Measure for Mitigating Impact on Cultural Heritage

 

2.8              The Permit Holder shall provide a fence around the entire Elliot Treatment Works with its location as shown in Figure 1, and to separate the Elliot Treatment Works from the remaining parts of the construction site.

 

3.         Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Requirements

3.1              The EM&A programme shall be implemented in accordance with the procedures and requirements as set out in the EM&A Manual of this Project. Any changes to the EM&A requirements or programme and termination of the programme shall be justified by the ET Leader with respect to their conformance with the requirements as set out in the EM&A Manual, and prior approval from the Director shall be sought before their implementation.

 

3.2              Four hard copies and one electronic copy of the Baseline Monitoring Report shall be submitted to the Director at least one week before the commencement of construction. The submissions shall be certified by the ET Leader as complied with the requirements as set out in the EM&A Manual before submission to the Director. Additional copies of the submission shall be provided upon request by the Director.

 

3.3              Four hard copies and one electronic copy of the monthly EM&A Reports for the construction stage shall be submitted to the Director within two weeks after the end of the reporting month. The monthly EM&A Reports shall include a summary of all non-compliance with the recommendations in the EIA Report or this Permit. The submissions shall be certified by the ET Leader as complied with the requirements as set out in the EM&A Manual before submission to the Director. Additional copies of the submission shall be provided upon request by the Director.

 

3.4              All environmental monitoring and audit results submitted under this Permit shall be true, valid and correct.

 

3.5              Any necessary remedial measures and actions as described in the EM&A Manual shall be fully and properly carried out, in accordance with the time frame(s) set out in the EM&A Manual, or as agreed by the Director.

 

3.6              For timely access of information by the affected community, all environmental monitoring data and results shall be made available to the public through a dedicated web site to be set up by the Permit Holder under Condition 4.2 below in the shortest time practicable, and in no event later than 2 working days for construction noise data and 2 weeks for other data/results after the relevant environmental monitoring data are collected or become available, unless otherwise agreed with the Director.

 

4.              Electronic Reporting of EM&A Information

 

4.1              To facilitate public inspection of the Baseline Monitoring Report and the monthly EM&A Reports via the EIAO Internet Website and at the EIAO Register Office, electronic copies of these Reports shall be prepared in the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) (version 4.0 or later) and in Portable Document Format (PDF version 4.0 or later), unless otherwise agreed by the Director and shall be submitted at the same time as the hard copies as described in Conditions 3.2 and 3.3 of this Permit. For the HTML version, a content page capable of providing hyperlink to each section and sub-section of these Reports shall be included in the beginning of the document.  Hyperlinks to all figures, drawings and tables in these Reports shall be provided in the main text from where the respective references are made.  All graphics in these Reports shall be in interlaced GIF format unless otherwise agreed by the Director. The content of the electronic copies of these Reports must be the same as the hard copies.  All these Reports shall also be made available to the public through a dedicated web site to be set up by the Permit Holder under Condition 4.2 below in the shortest time practicable and in no event later than 2 weeks after the relevant baseline monitoring data are collected or become available or the end of the reporting month, unless otherwise agreed with the Director.

 

4.2              The Permit Holder shall set up a dedicated web site and notify the Director in writing the internet address where the environmental monitoring and project data is to be placed within 2 weeks after the commencement of construction of the Project.  All finalized submissions required by this Permit as described in Condition 1.10 above, all environmental monitoring data and results as described in Condition 3.6 above and all monitoring reports as described in Condition 4.1 above shall be made available to the public via this dedicated web site.  The Permit Holder shall maintain this dedicated website throughout the construction stage for public access to the environmental monitoring data.

 

4.3              The internet website as described in Condition 4.2 above shall enable user-friendly public access to the monitoring data and project data including the EIA report, the environmental permit(s) and project profile of the Project. The internet website shall have features capable of:

 

(a)      providing access to all environmental monitoring data collected since the commencement of work and all submissions under this permit;

(b)      searching by date;

(c)      searching by types of monitoring data; and

(d)      hyperlinks to relevant monitoring data after searching;

 

or otherwise as agreed by the Director.

 

Notes :

 

1.         This Permit consists of three parts, namely, PART A (Main Permit), PART B (Description of Designated Project) and PART C (Permit Conditions). Any person relying on this Permit should obtain independent legal advice on the legal implications under the Ordinance, and the following notes are for general information only.

 

2.         If there is a breach of any conditions of this Permit, the Director or his authorized officer may, with the consent of the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, order the cessation of associated work until the remedial action is taken in respect of the resultant environmental damage, and in that case the Permit Holder shall not carry out any associated works without the permission of the Director or his authorized officer.

 

3.         The Permit Holder may apply under Section 13 of the Ordinance to the Director for a variation of the conditions of this Permit. The Permit Holder shall replace the original permit displayed on the construction site by the amended permit.

 

4.         A person who assumes the responsibility for the whole or a part of the designated project may, before he assumes responsibility of the designated project, apply under Section 12 of the Ordinance to the Director for a further environmental permit.

 

5.         Under Section 14 of the Ordinance, the Director may with the consent of the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, suspend, vary or cancel this Permit.  The suspended, varied or cancelled Permit shall be removed from display at the construction site.

 

6.         If this Permit is cancelled or surrendered during construction or operation of the Project, another environmental permit must be obtained under the Ordinance before the construction or operation of the Project could be continued. It is an offence under Section 26(1) of the Ordinance to construct or operate a designated project listed in Part I of Schedule 2 of the Ordinance without a valid environmental permit.

 

7.         Any person who constructs the Project contrary to the conditions in the Permit, and is convicted of an offence under the Ordinance, is liable: -

 

(i)             on a first conviction on indictment to a fine of $2 million and to imprisonment for 6 months;

(ii)           on a second or subsequent conviction on indictment to a fine of $5 million and to imprisonment for 2 years;

(iii)          on a first summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months;

(iv)           on a second or subsequent summary conviction to a fine of $1 million and to imprisonment for 1 year; and

(v)            in any case where the offence is of a continuing nature, the court or magistrate may impose a fine of $10,000 for each day on which he is satisfied the offence continued.

 

8.                   The Permit Holder may appeal against any condition of this Permit under Section 17 of the Ordinance within 30 days of receipt of this Permit.

 

9.                   The Notes are for general reference only and that the Permit Holder should refer to the EIA Ordinance for details and seek independent legal advice.

 

 


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