1.                   INTRODUCTION

Project Background

1.1               The “Repositioning and Long Term Operation Plan of Ocean Park” (hereinafter known as the “Project”) will be implemented by the Ocean Park Corporation at its existing site of Ocean Park and Nam Long Shan, Aberdeen.  The current Ocean Park is an exempted designated project under Part 1, Schedule 2, Item O.8 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO), as it was already in existence before the enactment of the EIAO.  The Project involves both reconstruction/ modification of existing facilities and expansion of the Park, and therefore requires an Environmental Permit for construction and operation.

1.2               Figure 1.1 shows the location of the proposed Project.  Further details on site history, the need for the project and environmental design considerations can be found in Section 2 of this report.

Requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance

1.3               The current Ocean Park (the Park) is an exempted designated project under Part I, Schedule 2, Item O.8 of the EIA Ordinance (EIAO): “A theme park or amusement park with a site area of more than 20 hectares in size”. 

1.4               The Park will be redeveloped under the Project which includes physical changes to an exempted designated project.  Before the Project may be either constructed or operated, a detailed environmental assessment for approval by the DEP is required under the EIAO. 

1.5               The Project also includes the construction of a new funicular system comprising the funicular train and its associated stations, as well as the tunnel (more than 800m in length between portals).  It would appear that these items would be classified as Schedule 2 designated projects under the EIAO (Schedule 2, Part 1, Items A2 and A refer).  However, since the funicular system is one of the amusement rides/attractions of Ocean Park, they are not considered as Schedule 2 designated projects under this Project.

            Objectives of the EIA Study

1.6               This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study will identify and quantify potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project and will recommend effective mitigation measures to ameliorate any potentially negative impacts on the environment.

1.7               The specific objectives of this EIA Study as set out in the EIA Study Brief are listed as follows:

l                        To describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements for carrying out the Project.

l                        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.

l                        To identify and describe the elements of the community and environment 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.

l                                                To consider alternatives with regard to avoiding and minimizing the potential environmental impacts on the sensitive receivers; to compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits of the options; to provide reasons for selecting the preferred option(s) and to describe the part of environmental factors played in the selection.

l                                                To identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses.

l                                                To identify and quantify any potential losses or damage to flora, fauna and natural habitats and to propose measures to avoid or mitigate these impacts.

l                                                To identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to avoid or mitigate these impacts.

l                                                To identify any negative impacts on sites of cultural heritage and to propose measures to avoid or mitigate these impacts.

l                                                To propose appropriate mitigation measures where necessary to minimize pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during construction and operation of the Park.

l                                                To investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of the proposed mitigation measures.

l                                                To identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. impact remaining after practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the construction and operation phases in relation to the sensitive receivers and potential affected uses.

l                                                To identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in the detailed design for the expansion, reconstruction of the current Park and the long term operation of the Project, which are necessary to mitigate environmental impacts and cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels.

l                                                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.

l                                                To specify environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection and pollution control measures.

            The Approach

1.8               The present study has been conducted in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Study Brief issued by EPD (ESB-125/2005) and the guidelines on assessment methodologies provided in Annexes 12 to 19 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (hereinafter referred to as the EIAO-TM).  A general description of the approaches and methodologies adopted for the assessment are described below, and detailed descriptions are to be found in the relevant technical sections to follow.

            Description of the Environment

1.9               The relevant characteristics of the existing environment have been identified and described, so as to form a baseline for the identification and prediction of environmental impacts likely to arise from implementation of the project.  Baseline environmental surveys were carried out to determine the existing environmental conditions on the site and in all environs likely to be affected by the proposed Project.  The baseline conditions including the existing noise environment, air quality, water quality, marine and terrestrial ecology, cultural heritage and the landscape and visual quality have been described in the report.

1.10            Relevant reports and drawings have been reviewed and relevant findings from past studies were incorporated where appropriate in this EIA Report.  Previous studies relevant to this Study are listed below:

§         Construction of an International Theme Park in Penny’s Bay of North Lantau together with its Essential Associated Infrastructures. Final EIA Report (February 2000) (hereinafter referred to as the “Penny’s Bay EIA”).

§         Long Term Redevelopment and Operation Plan for Ocean Park. Final Engineering Report (April 2005) (hereinafter referred to as the “Final Engineering Report”).

Impact Prediction

1.11            This Study has been undertaken following the guidelines on assessment methodologies given in Annexes 12 to 19 of the EIAO-TM.  Quantitative predictive tools have been used for the prediction of environmental impacts associated with construction noise, project-induced traffic noise (e.g. increased visitor traffic), fixed plant noise, air quality, and water quality.  The predictions were based on internationally recognised methods.  For instance, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) approved air dispersion model, California Line Source Dispersion Model, CALINE 4, was used to predict the dispersion of exhaust pollutants from vehicles using the surrounding road network.  Besides, the methodologies described in the United Kingdom Department of Transport’s “Calculation of Road Traffic Noise” (1988) and the Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work other than Percussive Piling (GW-TM) under the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO) were adopted to predict, respectively, the road traffic and construction noise impact.  Fixed noise source impacts were predicted by standard acoustic principles.

1.12            These methodologies have previously been applied in similar situations in other EIA studies (e.g. Penny’s Bay EIA).  They have generally been accepted for use in assessing environmental impacts and for the comparison of prediction results with EIAO-TM standards.  There remain some limitations of the methodologies such as the accuracy of the predictive base data for future conditions, e.g. traffic flow forecasts and weather conditions.  Uncertainties in the assessment of impacts have been considered when drawing conclusions from the assessment.  For instance, realistic worst-case assumptions have been used in the assessment in order to provide a conservative assessment of environmental impacts.  As an example, the noise and air quality impacts are predicted using the peak hourly traffic flows likely to arise from the Park operations, so noise and air quality conditions at other times are likely to be better.

Impact Evaluation

1.13            The anticipated changes and effects as a result of the proposed Project were evaluated with respect to the criteria described in Annexes 4 to 10 of the EIAO-TM.  As far as possible and as appropriate to the needs of the assessment, the evaluations have been presented quantitatively. 

Impact Mitigation

1.14            Mitigation measures have been identified and evaluated with the aim to avoid, reduce or minimise/ remedy the impacts.  The priority in selecting mitigation measures is the avoidance of impacts.  The effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures has been assessed and any residual environmental impacts have been clearly defined.  The various mitigation measures have been set out in an implementation schedule that clearly identifies each measure, when and where it needs to be applied, and the parties responsible for both implementation and, where required, maintenance of the mitigation measure.

Report Structure

1.15            This EIA Report comprises fifteen sections and each section is briefly described below:

 

Section 1 is an introduction to this EIA Study and presents the background of the Project and the framework of the assessment.

 

Section 2 presents a description of the Project, including the project location, defines the EIA Study Area and describes the envisaged construction activities.

 

Section 3 identifies and assesses potential noise impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project, including noise from rides, shows, and visitor traffic.

 

Section 4 identifies and assesses potential temporary and permanent landscape and visual impacts arising from the Project.

 

Section 5 identifies and assesses potential direct and indirect ecological impacts arising from the construction and operation of the project.

 

Section 6 identifies and assesses potential impacts associated with waste generation during construction and operation of the project and describes measures for storage and handling of waste material.

 

Section 7 identifies and assesses issues arising from areas of potential land contamination, and presents a contamination assessment plan (CAP) containing detailed proposals for sampling and analysis to determine the nature and extent of contamination, and setting out a scheme for dealing with any identified contamination of concern.

 

Section 8 identifies and assesses potential air quality impacts arising from the construction and operation of the Project, including vehicle emissions.

 

Section 9 identifies and assesses potential water quality impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Project.

 

Section 10 identifies and assesses potential sewerage and sewage treatment implications in relation to the operation of the Project.

 

Section 11 identifies and assesses potential impacts on cultural heritage arising from the Project.

 

Section 12 identifies and assesses potential hazards associated with overnight on site storage of explosives for the construction of the Project.

 

Section 13 presents the Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) requirements.

 

Section 14 summarises the environmental outcomes and the overall conclusions of this EIA study.

 

Section 15 presents the Implementation Schedules of recommended mitigation measures for various environmental issues.