Contract No. : DC/2007/06

River Improvement Works in Upper Lam Tsuen She Shan River and Upper Tai Po River

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND AUDIT

IMPACT MONTHLY EM&A REPORT of UPPER TAI PO RIVER for November 2008

Environmental Pioneers & Solutions Limited

8/F, Chaiwan Industrial Centre Building

20 Lee Chung Street, Chaiwan, Hong Kong

Tel: 28890569 Fax: 2856 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This is the third monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Report for the river improvement works at Upper Tai Po River under Drainage Service Department Contract No. DC/2007/06 entitled “River Improvement Works in Upper Lam Tsuen River, She Shan River and Upper Tai Po River”. This report concludes the impact monitoring for the activities undertaken during the period from 1^st November to 30^th November 2008. The major construction activities carried out by the contractor during this reporting period include erection of temporary noise barrier and construction of boulder trap.

The Environmental Team is responsible for the EM&A works required in the EM&A manual. Site inspections were carried out on weekly basis to investigate and audit the equipment and work methodologies with respect to pollution control and environmental mitigation. The weekly inspections records and photos taken were kept.

Environmental Team had carried out construction noise monitoring on weekly basis and no exceedance was found. Noise monitoring records for the reporting month and the data is presented in section 4. The graphical plots presenting the data are provided in Appendix G.

Piling works were not scheduled for this month. Therefore, Environmental Team had not carried out vibration monitoring during the month.

Ecological capture survey was carried out for this month. The report that is prepared by the Ecologist, Dr Mark Shea is presented in section 3.2. The summary of ecological site inspection findings and implementation status of environmental protection and mitigation for ecology, prepared by the Ecologist Dr. Mark Shea, are provided in table 6.2and Appendix I respectively.

There was one non-compliance recorded for the reporting month.

There were two formal public complaints received in the reporting month. For further details, please refer to section 2.7 of this report. For the complaint reports and logs, please refer to Appendix A and Appendix B of this report.

There was no breach of Action and Limit levels for this month.

There was no reporting change for this reporting month.

Key construction activities in the coming month will be construction of boulder trap and gabion wall construction. It is expected that noise impacts, runoff impacts and waste disposal will be generated on site.

ET has reminded the contractor to provide environmental pollution control measures wherever necessary and to keep a good environmental management at site practice.

1.0 Introduction

This is the third monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Report for the river improvement works at Upper Tai Po River under Drainage Service Department Contract No. DC/2007/06 entitled “River Improvement Works in Upper Lam Tsuen River, She Shan River and Upper Tai Po River”. The site layout plan was shown in Figure 2.1. The Environmental Team, Environmental Pioneers & Solutions Limited appointed by Chiu Hing Construction and Transportation Company Limited, prepares the report. The report is to be submitted to the Contractor, the Engineer and the IEC.

This report presents the results of the environmental monitoring of the project activities for Upper Tai Po River conducted during the month of November 2008. This included regular site inspections once per week for verification of implementation of the mitigation measures as recommended in the EM&A Manual and the Contractor’s Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

2.0 Environmental Status

2.1 Project area

The location of the project site – Upper Tai Po River starting from Ta Tit Yan of Yai Mo Shan, the Upper Tai Po River flows from southeast to northeast alongside Wilson Trail, turning northward before joining the Lam Tsuen River and then runs towards Tai Po Market. To the east of the river, there are active and abandoned cultivated lands. While the village settlements are mainly located on the west and northeast side of the river bank, where the San Uk Ka and Lai Chi Shan establishment also lie. The Project site is indicated in Figure 2.1.

2.2 Construction Programme

Approximately 0.6km of Upper Tai Po River will be improved to enhance the hydraulic performance of the river. The improvement works comprise the following:

(1) Re-profiling and realignment of the Channel;

(2) Inclusion of gabions and retaining wall for bank protection whilst providing a natural channel bed; and

(3) Re-provisioning of footbridges and footpaths along the channel

The construction of the proposed improvement works for Upper Tai Po River has been commenced on September 15^th 2008 and anticipated to complete in April 2011.

2.3 Proposed Construction Sequences

The proposed construction sequence is shown in the following sequences:

(1) Site clearance and preparation works

(2) Construction of the maintenance access which involves the construction of retaining walls

(3) River channel construction and excavation, involving the excavation works, construction of retaining walls and gabion walls

(4) Re-provisioning of footbridges

(5) Construction of footpaths

(6) Landscaping works

Fig 2.1 Layout of Construction Area

2.4 Construction activities for the reporting period

Major construction activities carried out by the contractor during this reporting period include:

(1) Erection of temporary noise barriers

(2) Construction of boulder trap.

2.5 Construction activities for the next reporting period

Major construction activities carried out by the contractor anticipated for the coming month include:

(1) Construction of boulder trap

(2) Construction of gabion wall

2.6 Non-compliance with the environmental performance limits

There was one non-compliance recorded on Nov 5^th regarding muddy water in Upper Tai Po river, please refer to section 6.2 for further details.

The event and action plan for Ecology is shown in Appendix C.

The action and limit level for Noise is shown in Appendix D.

The reference standards for vibration are shown in Appendix E.

2.7 Summary of Complaints

There were two formal complaints received in this reporting month. Cumulative complaint log is shown in Appendix H.

The complaint on Nov 5^th 2008 was regarding muddy water from the Upper Tai Po River (Chainage 100). ET arranged a site investigation and a follow up meeting with representative from the contractor to resolve the incident on Nov 5^th 2008. Findings from the investigation showed that muddy water was mainly generated by river diversion activities and formation works of barrier bunds. Barrier bunds covered by geo-textile was found defective that soil runoff could not be prevented effectively. ET has urged the contractor to rectify the discrepancy as soon as possible and second site investigation on Nov 10^th was conducted to check the remedial actions taken. During the follow up investigation, no muddy water was found.

For the detailed complaint report, please refer to Appendix A of this report.

Another complaint on Nov 28^th 2008 was regarding mud deposition and dust generation by vehicles leaving out from the site. ET arranged a site investigation and a follow up meeting with the representative of contractor to resolve the incident on Dec 3^rd. In the investigation follow up actions taken by contractor were observed which include provision of water sprinklers for regular watering to the dusty surfaces and paving the section of site entrance by bituminous materials for dust suppression issues. ET suggested contractor to wash the vehicles before leaving site and immediate clean up to the public access should be given once earthy materials were found brought from the site.

For the detailed complaint report, please refer to Appendix B of this report.

For the cumulative complaint log, please refer to Appendix G of this report

3.0 Ecological Monitoring Results

Capture survey was carried out in this reporting month. The report was prepared by the ecologist Dr. Mark Shea and it is incorporated into this monthly report.

3.1 Capture survey monitoring parameters, methodology and locations.

Detailed monitoring parameters methodology and locations for ecological impact were proposed and summarized in table 3.2.1 below. The capture survey results were presented in table 3.2.2. The capture survey and releasing site is shown in section 3.2.3, for the detailed capture survey results and report, please refer to section 3.2 of this report.

3.2.2 SCOPE OF SURVEY

Scope of surveys is detailed in the Table 3.2.2

Table 3.2.2 Summary of scope of ecological baseline monitoring*
No.	Item	Form	Methodology	Locations*	Frequency	Duration
1	Hong Kong Newt Paramesotriton hongkongensis	Amphibian	live trapping, netting	Entire river channel within project area	1	Daytime 2^nd Nov. 08


2	Pseudobagrus trilineatus	Fish	live trapping, netting	Entire river channel within project area	1	Nighttime 1^st Nov. 08


3	Parazacco spilurus	Fish	live trapping, netting	Entire river channel within project area	1	Daytime 2^nd Nov. 08




* Entire river channel within project area starts at Sheung Wu Yiu and ends near hilltop garden-Wai King terrace. The total length for works area is 600m.

3.2.3 RESULTS OF CAPTURE SURVEYS

Hong Kong Newt and target fish

Capture survey was undertaken within works boundary along the Upper Tai Po river during daytime and night time on the 4^th November 2008. Captured target species were released at the upper stream of Tai Po River. The capture route and release site was shown in figure 3.1 and 3.2. Result of capture survey was presented in the table3.2.3 below:

Table 3.2.3 results of capture surveys.

Species Name	Species name in Chinese	No of captured	No of individuals released at Wo Liu
Species Name	Species name in Chinese	No of captured	No of individuals released at Wo Liu
Paramesotriton hongkongensis	香港蠑螈	0	0
Pseudobagrus trilineatus	三線擬鱨	0	0
Parazacco spilurus	異	220	220

Figure 3.1 (Location of capture survey and releasing site at Upper Tai Po River)

Figure 3.2 (Location of releasing site at Upper Tai Po River)

4.0 Noise Monitoring Results

Noise monitoring was carried out by the Environmental Team for this month from Nov 1^st to Nov 30^th. The Leq(30min) result ranged from 51.5dB(A) to 72.2dB(A) for all the monitoring locations in the month of November. The results, graphical plots and the location plan for the noise monitoring locations are presented in APPENDIX F.

4.1 Noise Monitoring Location

In accordance with the EM&A Manual, noise monitoring locations were established at 11 N.S.R. locations. During this month of monitoring, the RE requested an additional monitoring at Hilltop Garden on Nov 22^nd and it is a free field measurement location. UTP 5 could not be monitored by the Environmental Technician due to the danger caused by dogs on Nov 5^th. The following table 4.1 is the description of those 11 N.S.R. and the additional temporary monitoring location at Hilltop Garden on Nov 22^nd.

TABLE 4.1 Description of Noise Sensitive Receivers

Sensitive Receiver No.	Location and Description
UTP1	54B, Sheung Wun Yiu
UTP2	Village House in Lai Chi Shan
UTP3	Village House near Upper Tai Po River
UTP4	Village House near Upper Tai Po River
UTP5	Village House near Upper Tai Po River
UTP6	Village House near Upper Tai Po River
UTP7	Village House near Upper Tai Po River
UTP8	Village House near Upper Tai Po River
UTP9	49A, Pun Shan Chau
UTP10	Village House near the proposed access road
UTP11	49G, San Uk Ka
Hilltop Garden	Temporary measurement requested by RE at Hilltop Garden on Nov 22^nd only.

5.0 Vibration monitoring Results

There was no vibration monitoring results for this reporting month. Vibration monitoring will be started once the piling works starts in Upper Tai Po River.

6.0 Environmental issues and Actions

6.1 Site inspections and key environmental issues

As mentioned in Section 8.1 of the EM&A manual, site inspections were undertaken routinely to inspect the construction activities in Upper Tai Po River to ensure that appropriate environmental protection and pollution control mitigation measures are properly implemented. For the implementation status of the environmental protection and mitigation measures, please refer to Appendix I of this report.

Site inspection were conducted on 5, 12, 19 and 26^th of November 2008. A detailed checklist of each site inspection together with comments and relevant photos have been filed and kept. The inspections were summarized in Table 6.1. The ecological inspections prepared by the Ecologist, Dr. Mark Shea were summarized in Table 6.2.

Table 6.1 Summary results of site inspection findings.
Date	Observations	Observation or Non compliance	Advice from ET	Action Taken	Closing Date	Remarks
Nov 5^th	1. Muddy water was found along Chainage 0-50 due to the poor design and installation of the Geo-textile along the banks which resulted in surface runoff was directly discharged into the river	Non-Compliance	Contractor was reminded to improve the design of the Geo-textile along the banks to avoid the runoff to be directly discharged into the river	-Action taken as advised by changing and improving the design of barriers formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile prior to the Nov 12^th inspection. -No muddy water was found during the Nov 12^th inspection	Nov 12^th 2008	This observation has been recorded as a non-compliance; please refer to section 6.2 for details.
Nov 12^th	1. Barriers formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile materials should be maintained properly. 2. The coverage of the barriers formed by rocks/ bunds and geo-textile materials was not enough along the construction zone of the river.	1. Observation 2. Observation	1. Contractor was reminded to be cautious of the barriers conditions formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile. 2. Contractor was reminded to extended the coverage of the barriers formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile along the construction zone of the river.	1. Action taken as advised by the contractor by replacing the broken geo-textile prior to the Nov 19^th inspection. . 2. Action taken as advised by the contractor by extending the coverage of the barriers formed by rocks/bunds and geo textile along the construction zones of the river prior to the Nov 19^th inspection.	Nov 19^th 2008	-- --
Nov 19^th	The height coverage of the newly formed barriers formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile materials was not high enough along the construction zone of the river	Observation	Contractor was reminded to place more sandbags under the geo-textile materials to increase the height coverage of barriers formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile materials	Action taken as advised by the contractor by placing additional sandbags under the geo-texile materials to increase the height coverage of the barriers formed by rocks/bunds, sandbags and geo textile materials prior to the Nov 26^th inspection.	Nov 26^th 2008	--
Nov 26^th	Outlet of the drip tray provided for drilling rig was not sealed properly, this may cause leakage to the surrounding area.	Observation	Contractor was reminded to place a cap on the outlet of the drip tray to avoid any leakage to the surrounding area.	The contractor has taken immediate follow up action by sealing the outlet with tapes temporarily. The contractor said the whole set of drilling rig will be removed in two days.	Dec 3^rd 2008	--

Ecological inspections prepared by Dr. Mark Shea. In Table 6.2

Table 6.2 Summary results of ecological site inspection findings
Date	Observations	Advice from Ecologist	Action Taken	Closing Date
Nov 5^th	No Major findings for this inspection	No Advice is required	No Action is required to be taken	Nov 12^th
Nov 12^th	No Action is required to be taken	No Advice is required	No Action is required to be taken	Nov 19^th
Nov 18^th	No Action is required to be taken	No Advice is required	No Action is required to be taken	Nov 26^th
Nov 26^th	No Action is required to be taken	No Advice is required	No Action is required to be taken	Dec 3^rd

6.2 Non-compliance

There was one non-compliance recorded on November 5^th 2008. Muddy water was found at Upper Tai Po River during the site inspection. The contractor was advised to improve the design of the barriers of the formed by rocks/bunds and geo-textile. The contractor took the advice and implemented newly designed barriers formed by bunds/ rocks and geo-textile. Muddy water was not found during the Nov 12^th site inspection.

6.3 Recommendations

Water quality was the main concern for this month. Progressive improvement for rectifying the muddy water that was being discharged into the stream was the priority task. As mentioned in table 6.1 in the above, the contractor should properly maintain the barriers formed by bunds rocks and geo-textile. The contractor should be aware of the conditions of the barriers to avoid the leakage of muddy water. Also, they should extend the height of the barriers to avoid muddy runoff being directly discharged into the stream. Besides, Contractor should also be cautious on drip tray condition to avoid chemical leakage to the surround area.

6.4 Implementation status and effectiveness of the mitigation measures

During the site investigation, it was found that the contractor improved the design of geo-textile along the stream. The height coverage of the geo-textile coverage had been extended. Contractor was reminded to properly maintain the de-silting facilities that have implemented on site to avoid muddy water being discharged into the river.

7.0 Waste Management Status

It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that all wastes produced during construction phase for the drainage improvement works are handled, stored and disposed of in accordance with good waste management practices and EPD’s regulation and requirement. Waste materials generated during construction activities such as construction and demolition (C&D) material, chemical wastes and general refuse, are recommended to be audited at regular intervals to ensure that proper storage, transportation and general reuse are recommended to be audited to ensure that proper storage, transportation and disposal practices are being implemented. Table 7.1 is to the Waste Disposal recorded by the Contractor recorded on November 2008.

Table 7.1 Summary of Waste Disposal in November 2008

Type of waste	Inert Waste	Non-Inert Waste	Chemical Waste
November 2008	36m³	0	0

8.0 Status of environmental licensing and permit

This project requires different permits and licenses to be run legally. Table 8.1 is the summary of permits/ licenses for this project

Table 8.1 Summary of Environmental Licensing and Permit Status

Description	License / Permit No.#	Date of Issue	Date of Expiry	Remarks
Environmental Permit	EP-223/2005	31^st Aug, 2005	N/A	Issued
Amended Environmental Permit	EP-223/2005/A	18^th Nov, 2008	N/A	Issued
Construction Noise Permit	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Effluent Discharge License	3678	14^th Mar, 2008	31^st Mar, 2013	Issued
Registration Chemical Producer	5213-724-C3251-03	19^th Dec, 2007	Not applicable	Issued
Registration of C&D Waste Producer	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

9.0 Future Key issues

Key construction activity in the coming month will be the construction of boulder trap and the gabion wall. The construction activities for these items may generate some environmental impacts. They include air, noise, water and waste.

The construction site and the site entrance may generate dust. Therefore, proper water spraying, tarpaulin covering and wheel washing at the site entrance are recommended

The plants for the construction of boulder trap will generate construction noise. The plants may be in intermittent use should be shut down between work periods or should be throttled down to a minimum in order to minimize the noise impact from the construction activities.

The construction of boulder trap may generate runoff and water concern at the site. The contractor shall implement proper barriers formed by bunds, rocks and geo-textile or wastewater treatment facilities to avoid muddy water being discharged into the stream.

It is expected that construction waste would be generated on site for the boulder trap and the gabion wall construction. Contractor shall assign proper site storage area for waste and construction materials.

Drip tray pans are recommended to be provided on site and ready to be used when there are diesel containers placed on site.

10.0 Conclusion

In this reporting month, construction works for hoarding (noise barriers) and boulder trap were carried out as the main part of the construction activities.

Regular site meetings and inspection audits lead by the seniors for discussing environmental issues were held among project proponent, Contractors and the ET on weekly basis.