Chapter Title Page
Figure 1.1 General Layout Plan
Appendices
Appendix 1.1 Not Used
In December 2007, the Government gave the green light for MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) to proceed with preliminary planning and design of the South Island Line eastern section (SIL(E)). In response to the Government’s decision, MTRCL recruited an Engineering Design Consultant to undertake preliminary design for the SIL(E) in February 2008, and appointed a separate Engineering Design Consultant to undertake scheme and detailed design in June 2009.
The
SIL(E) (hereafter referred to as “the Project”) will be a medium capacity
railway that measures a total length of approximately
In May 2008, Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Ltd. (formerly known as Mott Connell Ltd.) was commissioned by MTRCL to carry out an EIA for the proposed Project. The EIA Consultant is independent from the Engineering Design Consultant, with necessary interface between them facilitated via MTRCL’s Environmental Team. Key environmental factors have been evaluated early to ensure that design of the SIL(E) and planning of construction works of the Project have taken into account the potential environmental impacts, that adverse environmental impacts have been avoided as far as practicable, and sufficient mitigation measures have been identified to reduce impact to acceptable levels.
1.2 Designated Projects under EIA Ordinance
The SIL(E) is a Designated Project (DP) under Category A “Roads, Railways and Depots” of Part I in Schedule 2 to the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) falling into the following categories:
¡ Item A.2. “A railway and its associated stations”;
¡ Item A.4. “A railway siding, depot, maintenance workshop, marshalling yard or goods yard”;
¡ Item A.7. “A road or railway tunnel more
than
A temporary project specific magazine is proposed to be built at Chung Hom Shan for overnight storage of explosives that will be used for construction of underground railway facilities. The magazine will consist of above ground single-storey structures. The explosives magazine is considered as a DP under Item K.10, Part I of Schedule 2 of the EIAO.
The future decommissioning of the explosives magazine is a DP under Item 11, Part II of Schedule 2 of the EIAO and an Environmental Permit will be required prior to commencement of decommissioning work.
An environmental permit issued under the EIAO is therefore required before the construction and operation of SIL(E).
MTRCL submitted a Project Profile (No. PP-344/2008) on 5 February 2008 for application of an EIA Study Brief under Section 5(1) of the EIAO for the Project. Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-181/2008) on 19 March 2008 for the undertaking of the EIA study.
1.3 Objectives of the EIA Study
In accordance with the EIA Study Brief, this EIA aims to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project and related activities that take place concurrently. This information will contribute to decisions by Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) on:
a.
the
overall acceptability of any adverse environmental consequences that are likely
to arise as a result of the Project;
b.
the
conditions and requirements for the detailed design, construction and operation
of the Project to mitigate against adverse environmental consequences wherever
practicable; and
c.
the
acceptability of residual impacts after the proposed mitigation measures are
implemented.
Clause 2.1 of the EIA Study Brief sets out the specific objectives of the EIA Study as follows:
a.
to
describe the Project, associated works, and any option(s) of alignment together
with the requirements and environmental benefits for carrying out the Project;
b.
to
identify any individual Designated Project under Part I, Schedule 2 of the EIAO
to be covered in the Project to ascertain whether the findings of this EIA
Study have adequately addressed the environmental impacts of these projects;
c.
to
identify and describe the elements of the community and environment likely to
be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the
Project, including both the natural and man made environment and the associated
environmental constraints;
d.
to
present the considerations of alternatives with regard to avoiding and
minimising the potential environmental impacts on the sensitive receivers; to
compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits of the options (including
project alignment, station and depot locations, train system, locations and
size of works sites and construction methods); to provide reasons for selecting
the preferred option(s) and to describe the part that environmental factors
played in the selection;
e.
to
identified and assess noise impacts, ecological impacts, water quality impacts,
landscape and visual impacts, hazard to life, waste management implications,
air quality impacts and impacts on sites of cultural heritage, and determine
the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;
f.
to
investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of
the proposed mitigation measures;
g.
to
identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e., after
practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the
construction and operational phases in relation to the sensitive receivers and
potential affected uses;
h.
to
identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in
the detailed design, construction and operational stages of the Project which
are necessary to mitigate these environmental impacts and cumulative effects
and reduce them to acceptable levels;
i.
to
investigate the extent of the secondary environmental impacts that may arise
from the proposed mitigation measures and to identify constraints associated
with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIA study, as well as the
provision of any necessary modification; and
j.
to
design and specify the environmental monitoring and audit requirements to
ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection
and pollution control measures.
This EIA report addresses all key environmental issues associated with the construction and operational phases of the Project, which are as specified under clause 3.2 of the Study Brief:
a.
the
potential noise impacts on the existing and planned sensitive receivers,
including but not limited to, South Horizons, Lei Tung Estate, Wong Chuk Hang
Complex for the Elderly, Wong Chuk Hang Hospital and Wong Chuk Hang San Wai,
during the construction and operation of the Project;
b.
the
potential ecological impacts arising from the construction and operation of the
Project, including, but not limited to, the impacts on Site of Specific
Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Nam Fung Road, Aberdeen Country Park and marine
habitats (including intertidal and subtidal);
c.
the
potential water quality impacts arising from the construction and operation of
the Project, including, but not limited to, impacts on the Aberdeen Channel
(Typhoon Shelter) and the Wong Chuk Hang Nullah;
d.
the
potential landscape and visual impacts on existing and planned sensitive
receivers during the construction and operation of the Project;
e.
the
potential hazard to life during the construction and operation of the Project;
f.
the
potential impacts of various types of waste arising, including, but not limited
to, excavated materials from constructing tunnels and stations of the railway
and, any other construction waste and chemical waste to be generated from the
construction and operation of the Project;
g.
the
potential air quality impacts during the construction stage of the Project; and
h.
the
potential impacts on cultural heritage likely to be affected by the
construction works of the Project.
Reference could be made to EIA undertaken for similar railway
projects approved under the EIAO, such as those for the Hong Kong Section of
1.6 Structure of the EIA Report
After this introductory section, the remainder of this EIA is arranged as follows:
¡
Section
2 presents a description of the Project;
¡
Section
3 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Noise Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
4 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Ecological Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
5 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Water Quality Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
6 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
7 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Quantitative Risk Assessment;
¡
Section
8 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Waste Management Implications Assessment;
¡
Section
9 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Land Contamination Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
10 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Air Quality Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
11 presents the approach and methodology to and findings of the Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment;
¡
Section
12 presents the Environmental Monitoring
and Audit Requirements;
¡
Section
13 presents the Conclusions and
Recommendations of the EIA study; and
¡
Section
14 presents the Implementation Schedule
of Mitigation Measures.