New World First Bus Services Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental Impact Assessment

New World First Bus Permanent Depot

at Chai Wan

 

 

 

Executive Summary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared by:

Westwood Hong & Associates Ltd

Supported by

ERM-Hong Kong Ltd

 

 

 

 

DECEMBER 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION *

1.1 Background of the Project *

1.2 Project Description *

2. Overall Approach *

2.1 Study Approach *

2.2 Technical Scope of the EIA Study *

3. findings and recommendations of the technical assessments *

3.1 Introduction *

3.2 Air Quality *

3.3 Noise *

3.4 Waste Management *

3.5 Land Contamination *

3.6 Hazard *

4. Environmental management plan (emp) *

4.1 Introduction *

4.2 EM&A Requirements *

4.3 Compliance with Legal Requirements *

4.4 EMS Requirements *

4.5 Operational Agreement *

5. Conclusions *

 

  

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 3.1

Proposed Bus Ingress/ Egress Routeing

 

  1. INTRODUCTION

    1. Background of the Project

      1. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the New World First Bus Permanent Depot at Chai Wan was prepared in response to the EIA Study Brief No. ESB-034/1999 issued to the New World First Bus Services Ltd (NWFB) on 23 July 1999 by the Hong Kong Government’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD).

      2. The Study Brief was issued based on the information provided in the Project Profile submitted by NWFB on 14 June 1999 under the statutory provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO).

      3. The approach adopted by the EIA Study Team follows the requirements of the EIAO and is in compliance with the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIA-TM) issued under the EIAO.

      4. The NWFB has commissioned Westwood Hong & Associates Ltd (WHA) to determine the environmental acceptability of the proposed New World First Bus Permanent Depot by undertaking this EIA Study. The WHA’s EIA Study Team has been assisted and supported by specialist input from ERM-Hong Kong Ltd (providing hazard assessment and advice).

      5. This executive summary presents the key findings and recommendations identified during the assessment of the impacts associated with the construction and operation of the proposed New World First Bus Permanent Depot at Chai Wan.

    2. Project Description

      1. The project is proposed to provide a new permanent depot building for bus parking, maintenance facilities and provision of office accommodation. The new depot is proposed to replace the existing Chai Wan bus depot located at Chai Wan Road and the existing temporary servicing/parking site, which has only parking, refueling and washing facilities, located to the south-west of the proposed project site.

      2. The proposed bus depot is located to the north of the Chai Wan Cargo Handling Area and to the north-east of the existing temporary servicing/parking site. The proposed site is used as a temporary car park.

        3.  

      4. Concurrent projects near the proposed site include the site at the junction of Shing Tai Road and Chong Fu Road which has been reserved for the joint Government departmental depot and, sites located to the west of the cargo handling basin along Shing Tai Road reserved for further industrial development including a lorry park/motor vehicle repair workshop.

  2. Overall Approach

    1. Study Approach

      1. The purpose of this EIA Study is to evaluate the potential environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the proposed project and its related activities, to develop and specify measures necessary to mitigate particular adverse impacts identified, and to determine the environmental acceptability of the residual impacts of the overall project.

      2. In particular, traffic noise is the primary concern as the off-site routeing for buses returning at mid-night and leaving in early morning may affect the nearby residents. The proponent (NWFB) has therefore liaised with the Transport Department to work out a bus routeing suitably avoiding the section of the Shing Tai Road facing Heng Fa Chuen.

      3. The other main concern arises from the potential hazard due to the storage, transport and handling of hazardous goods at the nearby CRC Chai Wan Oil Terminal and at the depot itself. A detailed risk assessment has been carried out to identify the hazards and counter measures for achieving acceptable societal risk levels.

      4. Other minor concerns such as air quality, waste management and land contamination have been identified and their potential impacts have been addressed.

    2. Technical Scope of the EIA Study

      1. In accordance with the Study Brief and in view of the potential concerns as mentioned above, the following technical assessments have been undertaken for both the construction and operational phases of the proposed depot development:

      1. The key findings of the technical assessments for the new bus depot are presented in the following sections.

      2. Appropriate Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) and Environmental Management System (EMS) requirements were identified during the EIA Study. An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) comprising the EM&A Manual and an outline of the EMS has been developed to ensure that the environmental performance commitments given in the EIA are correctly incorporated through the detailed design stage and tendering, and adequately implemented during the construction and operation of the project.

 

  1. findings and recommendations of the technical assessments

    1. Introduction

      1. The key findings and recommendations of the technical assessments are presented below.

    2. Air Quality

      3. Construction Phase

      1. The major dust generating activities during the construction phase have been identified as the construction works. The dust impact assessment confirms that predicted dust emissions will fully comply with the statutory limits. With the adoption of the proper dust control measures, compliance with the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation at the work site will control the potential dust nuisance to meet the established criteria. It is envisaged that the nearby ASRs would not be adversely affected by dust.

        2. Operational Phase

      2. The major air pollutant emissions are from the off-site bus traffic and the bus movement within the depot. The results of the quantitative studies indicate that the predicted air pollutant concentrations are well within the HKAQO limits at the nearby ASRs due to the emissions. No adverse impacts are anticipated with insignificant air pollutant contributions from the depot to the neighbourhood.

      3. With the proposed bus routeing that buses are not allowed to pass through the section of Shing Tai Road facing Heng Fa Chuen (Figure 3.1), it is envisaged that the nearby ASRs would not be adversely affected by the air emissions including the vehicular emission from the depot.

    4. Noise

      5. Construction Phase

      1. Due to the relatively large setback distances of greater than 150m between the construction site and the NSRs, the predicted construction noise levels are well below the criteria stipulated in the EIA-TM.

      2. No substantive construction noise mitigation programme will be required. However, recommendations including use of quiet plants and good site practices have been given to reduce further the construction noise impact and to conduct construction noise checks to assure compliance.

        3. Operational Phase

      3. The predicted noise levels from depot operation, on-site and off-site traffic are within the stipulated noise criteria at all identified NSRs. Plant noise will be suitably controlled (e.g. by silencers, acoustic louvres, etc) and is not expected to give rise to any adverse impact.

      4. The off-site traffic noise impact on the nearby NSRs will be minimised by proper routeing to avoid buses passing the section of Shing Tai Road facing Heng Fa Chuen during midnight return and early morning leaving. Improvement will also be made possible with the ingress and egress for the permanent depot via a new Road 20/6 (Figure 3.1), which is located farther away from Heng Fa Chuen when compared with that of the existing temporary servicing / parking site.

    5. Waste Management

      1. The assessment of waste management has identified the various types and quantities of wastes expected to arise during the construction and operation phases. Wastes generated will include the normally anticipated excavated materials, construction and demolition materials, small volumes of chemical wastes, industrial wastes, general refuse and sewage. No significant impacts or concerns were identified due to the waste generated from the depot.

      2. Good practices have been recommended to ensure that adverse environmental impacts are prevented and that opportunities for waste minimisation and recycling are followed.

      3. By implementing the waste management plan, the storage, handling, collection, transport and disposal of wastes should comply with regulatory requirements and no unacceptable environmental impacts should occur.

       

    7. Land Contamination

      1. The assessment of the potential for land contamination focused primarily on the diesel fuel storage tanks for the refueling facilities, the storage and handling of limited amount of chemicals and other dangerous goods.

      2. Appropriate operational practices (including inspection and monitoring arrangements and, reporting and recording of incidents), material and waste management strategies and precautionary measures for prevention of contamination problems will be adopted. In particular, the drills and training activities will be conducted to prevent and minimise the potential for spills and the subsequent contamination. Emergency procedures will be followed to manage the consequences of spills, leaks and other losses during the storage, transfer and handling of the fuel and other chemicals.

      3. The assessment concluded that there are no problems for land contamination associated with the construction and operation of the depot, provided that the proposed measures are implemented.

    8. Hazard

      1. A hazard assessment was conducted and the potential hazards were identified to be a fire caused by ignition of diesel spilled during vehicle refueling and the transportation risk of diesel tanker collisions. The hazard assessment determines the risk to people at the New World First Bus Permanent Depot as well as the surrounding population. With a drencher system around the refueling area, a four-hour F.R.P. fire rated doors to prevent escalation of fire into the building and reduce possible hazard arising from the refueling operation and, designated evacuation routes for people to evacuate in case of emergency, the risk levels at the New World First Bus Permanent Depot and risk posed its surrounding population were found to be insignificant.

      2. The main hazard from the nearby CRC oil terminal arises from smoke ingress in the event of a major fire at the oil terminal. The individual risk to people working inside the bus depot due to the presence of the oil terminal is tolerable. The societal risk lies within the 'ALARP' region. Consideration will be given to building design and layout, such as minimising openings on the side of the building facing the oil terminal, using non-combustible material for the construction of the building exterior and choosing self-closing emergency exit doors. Off-site transportation risk due to tanker collisions has been assessed as insignificant.

  3. Environmental management plan (emp)

    1. Introduction

      1. An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has been developed for the construction and operation of the proposed bus depot to confirm the effectiveness of all the proposed mitigation measures in achieving satisfactory environmental performance. The EMP:-

    1. includes the EM&A requirements during the construction and operation phases as outlined in the EM&A Manual with recommendations for regular review and update;

    2. assures compliance with all relevant existing legislation, standards, guidelines, code of practices, environmental policy in Hong Kong;

    3. recommends the future operator of the proposed bus depot to develop and implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) with reference to international standard; and

    4. includes recommendations for specific operational agreement to be incorporated into the agreement between the Government and the proponent to ensure implementation.

 

    1. EM&A Requirements

      1. The EIA Study has identified the need to establish EM&A for the construction and operational phases of the proposed new bus depot. The EM&A requirements cover air, noise, waste, land contamination and hazard issues. The specific mitigation measures are presented in the Implementation Schedule as part of the EM&A Manual.

        2. Construction Phase

      2. The EM&A requirements identified for the construction phase are summarised in the following. Details are presented in the EM&A Manual.

Although the predicted levels of construction dust are well within the limits stipulated in the HKAQO, continuous surveillance of the implementation of dust mitigation measures will be carried on a weekly basis to ensure effective control of dust emissions.

As the predicted construction noise levels are within the limits stipulated in the EIA-TM, only a limited amount of daytime noise monitoring will be carried out for 30 active minutes on a bi-weekly basis. The preferred locations for noise monitoring will be at the HK Technical College (Chai Wan) and Staff Quarters, Heng Fa Chuen and Tsui Wan Estate.

EM&A for land contamination and hazard are considered not necessary during the construction phase.

 

Operational Phase

      1. A detailed EM&A Manual for operational phase has been prepared to define the scope and programme, method and reporting requirements for the EM&A of the operation of the depot. The EIA study have identified the following EM&A requirements for the operational phase :

The predicted off-site traffic noise impacts are insignificant provided that the following measures are taken by NWFB to reduce adverse noise impacts on the NSRs during the operational phase of the bus depot:-

- buses that run through the nearby roads will adhere to the suggested routeing prepared by the Traffic Consultant (MVA (HK) Ltd) (Figure 3.1); and

The predicted operational noise levels caused by the depot are well within the limits stipulated in the EIA-TM. However, monitoring of operational plant will be undertaken to ensure that the source terms derived for the operational noise predictions are achieved both in terms of the vendor’s sound power specifications and the operational and maintenance assumptions.

A waste management plan will be employed to minimise potential adverse impacts associated with the solid waste and wastewater arising from operation of the depot.

Auditing of each waste stream will be carried out annually by an IC (Environmental) to determine if wastes are being managed in accordance with approved procedures and the site waste management plan and to see if waste reduction could be enhanced. The audits will cover all aspects of waste management including waste generation, storage, recycling, transport and disposal.

A contamination avoidance plan will be employed to prevent land contamination associated with contaminants arising from the operation of the depot. It is proposed that leak detection equipment to monitor the interstitial space in the double skinned fuel tank will be provided.

Auditing will be carried out annually by the IC (Environmental) to determine if procedures and instructions in the contamination avoidance plan have been followed. Regular inspection, testing and checks are to be carried out on the following :

The establishment of safety management and emergency response systems for the depot operation will be adequate to reduce the likelihood of undesirable events and provide for their effective management.

With the proper design of the depot and bus routeing, the operation of the depot will not cause adverse air emission impacts on the ASRs. EM&A for air quality is considered not necessary during operational phase.

 

    1. Compliance with Legal Requirements

      1. Various legal requirements will be met with sufficient environmental protection and pollution control measures included in all the works method statements for the construction and operation of the new bus depot. The progress and programme of the works will be reviewed in order to assure the compliance with the requirements stipulated in all the relevant legislation, standards, guidelines, code of practices and environmental policy in Hong Kong.

    3. EMS Requirements

      1. The EIA Study has identified the need to establish EMS for the operational phase of the proposed new bus depot. An outline EMS with recommendations has been proposed and detailed in the EMP for the control of air, noise, waste and contamination issues.

      2. NWFB will ensure the facilities and programme are properly operated and maintained in accordance with the relevant operational requirements and targets. In addition, the potential environmental impacts and effectiveness of the mitigation measures will be monitored according to specific performance objectives, i.e. legal requirements and guidelines.

      3. NWFB will develop an EMS with reference to the requirements of ISO 14001 and relevant publications available from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD).

    4. Operational Agreement

      1. NWFB agree to minimise the off-site traffic noise impact on the nearby NSRs by proper routeing to avoid buses passing the section of Shing Tai Road facing Heng Fa Chuen during mid-night return and early morning leaving. Following completion of the road network the proposed bus routeing is shown in Figure 3.1.

 

  1. Conclusions

      1. A comprehensive EIA Study has been conducted for the construction and operational phases of the proposed bus depot. The Study has taken into account the latest available information about the design, layout, bus routeing, construction and operation of the project.

      2. Results of the Study show that all of the potential environmental impacts identified are found to be acceptable without mitigation. In order to further reduce and minimise the impacts, recommendations during construction and operational phases are given in various areas, including, air quality, noise, waste management, land contamination and hazard.

      3. An Environmental Management Plan (EMP), which includes an Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual and an outline Environmental Management System (EMS), has been proposed to confirm the effectiveness of all the proposed mitigation measures. Provided that the mitigation measures are adopted and implemented, environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the bus depot are amenable to mitigation during the project implementation.