This Environmental Monitoring
and Audit (EM&A) Manual (“the Manual”) has been prepared by ERM-Hong Kong, Limited (ERM) on
behalf of Castle Peak Power
Company Limited (CAPCO). The Manual is a supplementary document of the
EIA Study of the project entitled “A Commercial Scale Wind Turbine Pilot
Demonstration at Hei Ling Chau” (hereafter referred to as the Project).
The Manual has been prepared
with reference to the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-145/2006) and the Technical
Memorandum of the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO TM). The purpose of the Manual is to provide
information, guidance and instruction to personnel charged with environmental
duties and those responsible for undertaking EM&A work during construction
and operation of the wind turbine. It
provides systematic procedures for monitoring and auditing of potential
environmental impacts that may arise from the works.
1.2.1
Background to the Study
CAPCO recognises
the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG)’s
efforts in exploring alternative power sources, including renewable energy, and
in promoting public awareness of these alternatives. To this end, CAPCO has launched a commercial
scale wind turbine pilot demonstration (hereafter referred to as wind turbine)
to collect engineering and environmental information required, to investigate
the economic, environmental and technical feasibility and practicality of wind
energy application and to educate and raise the community’s awareness of the issues,
costs, constraints, benefits, etc of wind energy generation in Hong Kong.
A rigorous site selection process has been
conducted to identify suitable areas for the development of the wind turbine considering
factors such as wind resource, environmental, physical, social and engineering
considerations. The Hei Ling Chau site
was identified as the preferred site for the wind turbine pilot demonstration.
The construction and operation of a wind
turbine with capacity between 800kW and 1.3MW with design lifetime of 20 years
in Hong Kong is classified as a Designated Project by virtue of Item D.1 of
Part I of Schedule 2 under the Environmental
Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499) (EIAO) and will therefore require an
Environmental Permit (EP).
1.2.2
The Project
The works that are the subject of the EIA Study
include the construction and operation of a 800kW to 1.3MW commercial scale
wind turbine at the Project site at Hei Ling Chau (see Figure 1.2a). The key components of the Project include the
following:
·
site
clearance and formation;
·
pre-bored
H-piling and construction of reinforced concrete foundation (about 9m x 9m x
2m) for the wind turbine;
·
erection
of wind turbine tower (up to 60m height, hub height about +130mPD, and tip
blade height about 160mPD) by assembling pre-fabricated steel tower sections
(in 3 sections, vary from about 17m to 23m each);
·
installation
of nacelle (up to 12m(l) x 4.5 m (h) x 3.6m (w)) and rotor blades (3-bladed
with diameter of 30m) using the cranes;
·
installation
of step up transformer and substation;
·
installation
of transmission cables between the substation and the 11 kV supply grid; and
·
testing
and commissioning of the wind turbine system; and
·
operation
and maintenance of the wind turbine system.
In addition, minor enabling works are required to upgrade some sections
of existing roads and creation of temporary access for the delivery of
construction materials and equipment.
No marine works will be required for the construction and operation of
the wind turbine.
1.2.3
Construction Programme
Once the EIA has been formally approved by Government,
CAPCO will obtain an EP for construction and operation of the Project. It is scheduled to commence the construction
works in 2007 and anticipated that the wind turbine will start operation in
2008.
1.3
Objectives
of the EM&A Programme
The construction and operational impacts resulting from the
implementation of the Project are specified in the EIA Report. The EIA Report also specifies mitigation
measures that need to be implemented to ensure compliance with the required
environmental criteria. These mitigation
measures and their implementation requirements are presented in the Implementation
Schedule (see Annex A). The EIA
recommends that an environmental monitoring and audit programme be implemented
to assess the effectiveness of measures and to confirm that there will be no
adverse environmental impacts during both construction and operation of the
Project (particularly related to noise and ecology). It is also recommended that regular site
audits be undertaken during construction phase to check whether the good
construction site practices to prevent adverse waste and water quality impacts
are properly implemented. Any activities
which have a potential to cause adverse environmental impacts are identified
before the adverse impacts occurred. Ad-hoc visits to the impacted sites will
also be undertaken in response to any complaints or reported non-compliance on
environmental standards in order to enable prompt actions to rectify any
malpractice.
This Manual provides the
EM&A requirements that have been recommended in the EIA Report in order to ensure compliance with the specified
mitigation measures. The main objectives
of the EM&A programme are to:
·
provide a database against which any short or long term
environmental impacts of the Project can be determined;
·
provide an early indication should any of the environmental control
measures or practices fail to achieve the acceptable standards;
·
monitor the performance of the Project and the effectiveness of
mitigation measures;
·
verify the environmental impacts predicted in the EIA Report;
·
determine Project compliance with regulatory requirements,
standards and government policies;
·
take remedial action if unexpected problems or unacceptable
impacts arise; and
·
provide data against which environmental audits may be undertaken.
1.4
Scope
of The EM&A Programme
The scope of the EM&A programme is to:
·
implement monitoring and site audit requirements for noise
monitoring programme;
·
implement monitoring and site audit requirements for ecology
monitoring programme;
·
implement inspection requirements for mitigation measures;
·
liaise with, and provide environmental advice (as requested or
when otherwise necessary) to construction site staff on the comprehension and
consequences of the environmental audit;
·
identify and resolve environmental issues and other functions as they
may arise from the construction works;
·
check and quantify the Contractor's overall environmental
performance, and remedial actions taken to mitigate adverse environmental
effects as they may arise from the works;
·
conduct monthly reviews of monitored impact data as the basis for
assessing compliance with the defined criteria and to ensure that necessary
mitigation measures are identified and implemented, and to undertake additional
ad hoc monitoring and auditing as
required by special circumstances;
·
evaluate and interpret all environmental monitoring data to
provide an early indication should any of the environmental control measures or
practices fail to achieve the acceptable standards, and to verify the
environmental impacts predicted in the EIA
Report;
·
manage and liaise with other individuals or parties concerning
other environmental issues deemed to be relevant to the construction process;
·
conduct regular site audits/inspections of a formal or informal
nature to assess:
-
the level of the Contractor's general environmental awareness;
-
the Contractor's implementation of the recommendations in the EIA Report;
-
the Contractor's performance as measured by the EM&A;
-
the need for specific mitigation measures to be implemented or the
continued usage of those previously agreed;
-
to advise the site staff of any identified potential environmental
issues; and
-
submit monthly EM&A reports which summarise project monitoring
and auditing data, with full interpretation illustrating the acceptability or
otherwise of any environmental impacts and identification or assessment of the
implementation status of agreed mitigation measures.
1.5
Organisation and
Structure of the EM&A
1.5.1
General
The Proponent (CAPCO) will appoint an Environmental Team
(ET) to conduct monitoring and auditing works and to provide specialist advice
on undertaking and implementation of environmental responsibilities.
The ET will have previous relevant experience with
managing similarly sized EM&A programmes, particularly concerning noise and
ecological impacts, and the Environmental Team Leader (ET Leader) will be a
recognized environmental professional, preferably with a minimum of seven years
relevant experience in impact assessments and impact monitoring programmes.
With the consideration of the reasons listed below, as
well as the small-scale nature of the Project and low magnitude of expected
impacts, it is not considered necessary to appoint an Independent Environmental
Consultant to act as an “Independent Environmental Checker” (IEC) to verify and
validate the environmental performance of the Contractor and the Environmental
Team appointed by the Proponent:
·
Low complexity, reliability and implementation experience of proposed
mitigation measures;
·
Low significance, short duration and reversibility of the impacts due to
the Project; and
·
No complicated monitoring and auditing exercise and results to validate.
1.5.2
Project Organisation
The roles and responsibilities
of the various parties involved in the EM&A process are further expanded in
the following sections. The ET Leader
will be responsible for, and in charge of, the Environmental Team; and will be
the person responsible for executing the EM&A requirements.
CAPCO
CAPCO will:
·
appoint an ET, as necessary, to undertake monitoring, audit works
and reporting of the EM&A requirements outlined in this Manual;
·
provide assistance to the ET in conducting the required
environmental monitoring;
·
participate in the site inspections undertaken by the ET, as required,
and undertake any necessary corrective actions;
·
provide information/advice to the ET regarding works activities
which may contribute, or be contributing to the generation of adverse
environmental conditions;
·
implement measures to reduce impact where any applicable Action
and Limit levels are exceeded; and
·
take responsibility and strictly adhere to the guidelines of the
EM&A programme and complementary protocols developed by their project
staff.
The Contractor(s)
The Contractor(s) will:
·
work within the scope of the construction contract and other
tender conditions;
·
provide assistance to the ET in carrying out monitoring;
·
submit proposals on mitigation measures in case of exceedances of
Action and Limit levels in accordance with the Event and Action Plans;
·
implement measures to reduce impact where Action and Limit levels
are exceeded;
·
implement measures to reduce impact where Action and Limit levels
are exceeded;
·
implement the corrective actions instructed by CAPCO and the ET;
·
participate in the site inspections undertaken by the ET and
undertake any corrective actions instructed by CAPCO and the ET Leader; and
·
adhere to the procedures for carrying out complaint investigation.
Environmental Team
The duties of the ET are to:
·
monitor the various environmental parameters as required by this
or subsequent revisions to the Manual;
·
assess the EM&A data and review the success of the EM&A
programme determining the adequacy of the mitigation measures implemented and
the validity of the EIA predictions as well as identify any adverse
environmental impacts before they arise;
·
conduct site inspections to investigate and inspect the
construction equipment and work methodologies with respect to pollution control
and environmental mitigation, monitor compliance with environmental protection
specifications, and to anticipate environmental issues that may require
mitigation before the problem arises;
·
audit the environmental monitoring data and report the status of
the general site environmental conditions and the implementation of mitigation
measures resulting from site inspections;
·
review working programme and methodology, and comment as
necessary;
·
investigate and evaluate complaints, and identify corrective
measures;
·
advice to the on environmental improvement, awareness, enhancement
matters, etc, on site;
·
report on the environmental monitoring and audit results and the
wider environmental issues and conditions to the Contractor(s), CAPCO and the
EPD;
·
adhere to the agreed protocols or those in the Contract
Specifications in the event of exceedances or complaints; and
·
the ET Leader will keep a contemporaneous log-book and record each
and every instance or circumstance or change of circumstances which may affect
the environmental impact assessment and every non-conformance with the
recommendations of the EIA Reports or the EPs.
The ET will be led and managed
by the ET Leader. The ET Leader will
have relevant education, training, knowledge, experience and professional
qualifications. Suitable qualified staff
will be included in the ET, and the ET should not be in any way an associated
body of the Contractor(s).
1.6
Structure
of the EM&A Manual
The remainder of the Manual is
set out as follows:
·
Section 2 sets out the EM&A general
requirements;
·
Section 3 details the requirements for
noise monitoring;
·
Section 4 details the requirements for ecology impact monitoring, and lists
relevant monitoring methodologies, submissions, compliance and Event and Action
Plans (EAPs);
·
Section 5 details the requirements for
landscape and visual impacts mitigation measures;
·
Section 6 details the requirements for
controlling water quality impacts;
·
Section 7 details the requirements for
waste management;
·
Section 8 describes the scope and
frequency of site auditing; and
·
Section 9 details the EM&A reporting
requirements.
The Manual is an evolving document that should be updated to
maintain its relevance as the Project progresses. The primary focus for these updates will be
to ensure the impacts predicted and the recommended mitigation measures remain
consistent and appropriate to the manner in which the works are to be carried
out.