14. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS
14.1.1 This chapter summarises the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements for Shenzhen Western Corridor Project. Details of the monitoring procedures and other technical requirements are given in the Environmental Monitoring and Audit Manual (EM&A Manual).
14.1.2 Subsequent to the findings of the assessments in previous sections, it is necessary for this Project to adopt an EM&A programme for the following reasons:
· the Project has potential to cause impacts to the health;
and well-being of people, flora, fauna or ecosystems if mitigation measures are
not properly implemented;
· the Project is situated in an area of high conservation value; and
· the Project involves mitigation measures and the effectiveness of mitigation
measures may require a certain period to establish.
14.1.3 The EM&A programme is to ensure that any undesirable impacts to sensitive receivers are maintained to acceptable levels. Needs and requirements for EM&A are listed in the following sections.
14.1.4 Environmental monitoring will also be implemented by the Shenzhen side to ensure that the construction of SWC within the Mainland boundary would be in compliance with the Mainland environmental standards. It has been established between Highways Department and the Shenzhen authorities that a formal channel will be set up between the two offices for the SWC project in case of the occurrence of cross border environmental pollution problems. Appendix 14A summarises the environmental monitoring requirements and actions to be implemented by the Mainland side.
14.2 Objectives of Environmental Monitoring and Audit
14.2.1 The objectives of carrying out EM&A for SWC are:
· To provide a database against which any short or long term
environmental impacts of the Project can be determined;
· To provide an early indication should any of the environmental control
measures or practices fail to achieve acceptable standards;
· To monitor the performance of the Project and the effectiveness of mitigation
measures;
· To verify the environmental impacts predicted in the EIA Study;
· To determine project compliance with regulatory requirements, standards and
government policies;
· To take remedial action if unexpected problems or unacceptable impacts arise;
and
· To provide data to enable an environmental audit.
14.2.2 In accordance with the Study Brief requirements, a real-time reporting of monitoring data for the Project through a dedicated internet website should be adopted.
14.3 Summary of Areas Requiring EM&A
14.3.1 The following areas, identified in the EIA for this
Project, will require EM&A during the construction or operational phase:
· Air Quality Impact: construction dust
· Noise Impact: construction and operational noise
· Water Quality
· Waste Management
· Ecology
· Landscape and Visual
14.3.2 Environmental monitoring will also be implemented by the Shenzhen side to ensure that the construction of SWC within the Mainland boundary would be in compliance with the Mainland environmental standards. The Shenzhen authorities pointed out at a meeting for the SWC project that in case of the occurrence of cross border environmental pollution problems, a communication channel could be established between the parties from both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen sides who are responsible for the SWC project.
14.3.3 The EM&A requirements for the environmental issues within the Hong Kong boundary are outlined in the following sections and details of the monitoring procedures and requirements are presented in the EM&A Manual.
During Construction Phase
14.4.2 Potential dust impacts would be caused by various construction activities during the construction phase of this Project. Dust mitigation measures with reference to the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation have been highlighted in Chapter 5 of this report. In addition, a dust monitoring program should be carried out to ensure that dust emissions generated from the Project are effectively mitigated to minimise the associated impacts at nearby sensitive receivers.
14.4.3 Dust monitoring should be carried out at representative air sensitive receivers during the construction phase of the Project. Two dust monitoring stations namely SWC-AN1 (assessment point 8109) and SWC-AN2 (assessment point 8125) are proposed to set up at the village houses of Ngau Hom Shek.
14.4.4 Baseline monitoring should be completed before the construction work commences. Impact monitoring should be conducted whenever there is an ongoing construction work in the vicinity of each proposed dust monitoring locations.
During Operational Phase
14.4.5 Air quality monitoring during the operational phase of the Project is not required.
14.5.1 Potential noise impacts would be originated from construction work and operational noise (e.g. traffic noise). As noise mitigation measures have been proposed and formulated in the EIA Study, EM&A is required to ensure that the mitigation measures are timely implemented and that the noise sensitive receivers are protected effectively by the proposed measures.
During Construction Phase
14.5.2 Noise measurement should be carried out at representative NSRs for construction noise monitoring. Baseline monitoring shall be completed before the construction work commences. Impact monitoring shall be conducted whenever there is an ongoing construction work. The monitoring frequency shall depend on the scale of construction work. Two noise monitoring stations AN1 and AN2 are proposed to set up at the village houses of Ngau Hom Shek.
During Operational Phase
14.5.3 Noise monitoring of NSRs should be carried out during the operational phase of the SWC. The purpose of the monitoring is to review the traffic noise prediction results. The scope for operational noise monitoring should include noise measurement at NSR and recording of traffic flow during peak hours. Two monitoring stations AN1 and AN2 are proposed to set up at the village house of Ngau Hom Shek.
14.5.4 The locations of monitoring stations are selected
according to the following criteria:
· They should be at NSRs with angle of view dominated by SWC;
· Floor levels of low, medium and high for the buildings of monitoring points
should be chosen at each location as far as possible.
14.5.5 Monitoring should be done twice within one year after implementation of the mitigation measures during operation of the SWC.
During Construction Phase
14.6.2 Water quality monitoring in the areas near the proposed bridge alignment and at the relevant sensitive receivers during the construction phase of the SWC project is required to ensure that the water quality is within acceptable levels and is not significantly affected by the construction activities, e.g. construction of bridge piers.
14.6.3 It is proposed to set up upstream control stations and downstream impact monitoring stations to monitor the water quality impact during the bridge pier construction period. Release of sediment particles and pollutants would be carried by the tidal flows downstream from the site, the stations at the upstream location would not be affected by the construction activities. However, the stations at the downstream location are likely to be directly affected by the release of sediment particles and pollutants from the site. This approach can minimise the influence from any seasonal and local variations of water quality conditions in the region where monitoring is carried out.
14.6.4 Monitoring of effluents discharging from the construction sites is also required during the construction phase of the Project. The Contractor is responsible for application of a discharge licence from EPD. The discharged effluents should be treated and the effluent quality should comply with the licence conditions.
During Operational Phase
14.6.5 Monitoring of bridge runoff quality during the operational phase of the Project is recommended. The monitoring results should be used to review the effectiveness of the cleaning frequency to remove vehicle-generated pollutants from the bridge by using vacuum air sweeper.
14.6.6 Contract documents for the Project should incorporate the mitigation measures for water pollution control. Auditing of the implementation and effectiveness of the mitigation measures needs to be performed periodically.
14.6.7 The EM&A Manual includes details of the monitoring and audit requirements for water quality.
During Construction Phase
14.7.2 Auditing of each waste stream should be carried out periodically to determine if wastes are being managed in accordance with approved procedures and the Waste Management Plan. The audits should cover all aspects of waste management including waste generation, storage, recycling, treatment, transport, and disposal.
14.7.3 The general site inspections including waste management issues will be undertaken weekly by Environmental Team to check all construction activities for compliance with all appropriate environmental protection and pollution control measures, including those set up in the WMP. Meanwhile, waste management audit will be carried out monthly basis by the IEC.
During Construction Phase
14.8.1 Ecological monitoring is recommended during construction phase of the SWC. The mitigation measures should be included into contract clauses for SWC construction. The implementation of the measures should be audited as part of the EM&A procedures during the construction period. Details of the procedures are presented in the EM&A Manual.
14.8.2 The area within the 50m works area will be restored from oyster beds to mudflats to mitigate the temporary and permanent loss of intertidal habitat caused by the pier construction sites and the piers. This area should be inspected for the compliance of clearance.
14.8.3 One month before the commencement of construction works, any seagrass beds within the 50m works area boundaries should be marked by visible markings and their total extent will be calculated. An area of exposed mudflat of the equal size will be identified in Pak Nai. Seagrass will be removed from Ngau Hom Shek and relocated to the identified area in Pak Nai. Relocated seagrass plugs should be monitored quarterly for survival and growth during construction phase.
14.8.4 Birds use on intertidal area close to the alignment and in one selected control site at Sheung Pak Nai will be monitored. Results will be statistically analysed to show whether there is any change of bird density in the works area.
14.8.5 Works area will be carefully defined and marked to prevent any unnecessary damage of intertidal habitats. Mangrove replanting programme will be prepared according to the number of mangrove tree loss. Seagrass will be relocated to selected site in outer Deep Bay. The survival and conditions will be inspected.
14.8.6 The works area boundaries within the mangal at the shoreline at Ngau Hom Shek should be marked to ensure that work crews and equipment confine all construction activities to the designated works area. Replanting should be conducted within 4 months after the mudflat restoration (clearance of construction materials and wastes) is completed.
14.8.7 Construction wastes and materials will be completely cleared from the works area within two months after construction. The profile of the mudflat will be restored to its original conditions.
During Operational Phase
14.8.8 Ecological monitoring is recommended during operational phase of the SWC. The mitigation measures should be included into contract clauses for SWC operation. The implementation of the measures should be audited as part of the EM&A procedures during the operational period. Details of the procedures are presented in the EM&A Manual.
14.8.9 Birds use on intertidal area close to the alignment and in one selected control site at Sheung Pak Nai will be monitored. Results will be statistically analysed to show whether there is any change of bird density in the area close to the bridge.
14.8.10 Bird collision and lighting arrangement will be recorded to adjust and improve the lighting of the bridge and thus to prevent bird mortality.
14.8.11 Planted mangroves will be monitored for survival and growth quarterly.
14.9.1 Permanent impacts to the fishery are predicted to be minor. Monitoring of fisheries impact is not required.
14.10.1 There is no storage of explosives and the potential hazard is not a concern. Impact monitoring is not required.
14.11.1 The result of the archaeological survey has revealed that rescue excavation would be required within the Ngau Hom Shek Archaeological Site prior to proposed excavation works. Additional archaeological investigation would be required to the west of the Ngau Hom Shek Archaeological Site once the site is available, if archaeological features are identified in this area, rescue excavation would be required prior to the proposed excavation works.
14.11.2 The results of the visual inspection contacted under the marine archaeological investigation found no visible features or objects of archaeological interest.
14.11.3 Monitoring of cultural heritage impact is not required.
14.12.1 It is recommended that EM&A during the design, construction and operational stages is undertaken. The design stage EM&A will consist of auditing the detailed landscape designs. Construction and operational stage EM&A will comprise audit of the EIA recommendations together with planting and planting establishment in the form of site inspection. The operational stage auditing will be undertaken for one year during the Contractor's maintenance period.
14.12.2 The extent of the works areas should be regularly checked during the construction phase. Any trespass by the Contractor outside the limit of the works, including any damage to landscape areas should be reported to the Engineer. The progress of the engineering works should be regularly reviewed on site to identify the earliest practical opportunities for implementing landscape and visual mitigation measures.
14.12.3 The Monthly Report shall provide a statement on the general state of the landscape and visual aspects in the study area, and confirm that required mitigation measures are being implemented.
14.12.4 Details of the EM&A programme are provided in the EM&A Manual which is required to be made available for public exhibition under the EIAO.