1                                            Introduction

1.1                                      Background

The existing SENT Landfill is strategically located in the south-east New Territories and currently receives about 6,200 tonnes of a wide variety of waste ([1]) per day.  Based on the current waste input rate, it is predicted that its capacity will be exhausted by around 2012.  As the planning, tendering and contract arrangement, detailed design, construction and commissioning of the landfill extension will take several years, it is essential to establish the environmental acceptability and the engineering feasibility of the proposed SENT Landfill Extension (hereafter referred to as “the Extension”) now.

ERM-Hong Kong, Ltd (ERM) has been commissioned by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to undertake the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill Extension – Feasibility Study (hereafter referred to as the “Assignment”) under the Agreement No. CE 10/2005.  As part of the Assignment, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study has been undertaken in accordance with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-119/2004) issued under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO).  

This EIA Report addresses the nature and extent of the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction, operation, restoration and aftercare of the Extension (hereafter referred to as “the Project”).

1.2                                      Objectives of the EIA Study

The Extension is classified as a Designated Project under Schedule 2, Category G.1 and Q.1 of the EIAO and therefore the construction, operation, restoration and aftercare of the Extension will require an Environmental Permit.   The overall objectives of the EIA Study are to provide information on the nature and extent of environmental impacts arising from the Extension; to recommend appropriate mitigation measures to control the potential environmental impacts so that it complies with the requirements of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process of Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO-TM), and to confirm the environmental acceptability of the Extension.

The specific objectives of the EIA Study described in the EIA Study Brief are listed below.

(i)            to describe the Project and associated works together with the requirements for carrying out the Project;

(ii)           to identify and describe elements of community and environment likely to be affected by the Project and/or likely to cause adverse impacts to the Project, including natural and man-made environment and the associated environmental constraints;

(iii)         to provide information on the consideration of alternatives to avoid and minimise the potential environmental impacts to the ecological sensitive areas and other sensitive uses; to compare the environmental benefits and dis-benefits of each of the different options; to provide reasons for selecting the preferred option(s) and to describe the part of environmental factors played in the selection;

(iv)         to identify and quantify emission sources and determine the significance of impacts on sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;

(v)          to identify and quantify any potential landscape and visual impacts and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(vi)         to identify and quantify any potential losses or damage and other potential impacts to flora, fauna and natural habitats and to propose measures to mitigate these impacts;

(vii)       to propose the provision of mitigation measures so as to minimize pollution, environmental disturbance and nuisance during construction, operation, restoration and aftercare stages of the Project;

(viii)      to investigate the feasibility, practicability, effectiveness and implications of the proposed mitigation measures;

(ix)         to identify, predict and evaluate the residual environmental impacts (i.e. after practicable mitigation) and the cumulative effects expected to arise during the construction, operation, restoration and aftercare stages of the Project in relation to the sensitive receivers and potential affected uses;

(x)          to identify, assess and specify methods, measures and standards, to be included in the detailed design, construction, operation, restoration and aftercare stages of the Project which are necessary to mitigate these environmental impacts and cumulative effects and reduce them to acceptable levels;

(xi)         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

(xii)       to design and specify environmental monitoring and audit requirements to ensure the effective implementation of the recommended environmental protection and pollution control measures.

As specified by the EIA Study Brief, the EIA Study will address the following key environmental issues due to the construction, operation, restoration and aftercare of the Project:

·                potential noise impacts (including the off-site traffic noise impact along the roads with traffic generated from the Project) to the identified Noise Sensitive Receivers (NSRs) during all stages of Project development;

·                potential air quality impacts (including the off-site dust , gaseous emission and odour impacts along the roads due to traffic generated from the Extension) to the identified Air Sensitive Receivers (ASRs) during all stages of Project development;

·                potential environmental impacts associated with the handling and disposal of wastes during all stages of Project development, in particular the disposal of surplus excavated materials arising from site formation works;

·                potential water quality impacts during all stages of Project development;

·                potential landfill gas hazard during all stages of Project development;

·                potential landscape and visual impacts due to the Project during all stages of Project development, in particular the potential impact to the landscape value and recreational interests of the Clear Water Bay Country Park (CWBCP);

·                potential aquatic and terrestrial ecological impacts during all stages of Project development, including the loss of habitats, removal of vegetation and disturbance to wildlife, in particular the CWBCP and any other sensitive areas that may be identified during the course of the EIA study;

·                environmental risk to any nearby waterbodies/watercourses, especially the Fat Tong Chau due to accidental leakage of leachate and/or other wastewater and the necessary contingency measures; and

·                potential cumulative environmental impacts of the Extension, through interaction or in combination with other existing (including the existing SENT Landfill), committed and planned developments in the vicinity of the Extension, in particular the planned deep waterfront industries at the southern part of the Project site and that those impacts may have a bearing on the environmental acceptability of the Project. 

1.3                                 Organisation of the Report

The remainder of this report is organised as follows.

·       Section 2 presents a description of the need of the Extension, the options selection process and the consideration of alternative construction methods;

·       Section 3 presents a description of the Extension;

·       Section 4 presents the air quality assessment;

·       Section 5 presents the noise assessment;

·       Section 6 presents the water quality assessment;

·       Section 7 assesses the waste management implications of the Extension;

·       Section 8 presents the landfill gas hazard assessment;

·       Section 9 presents the ecological assessment;

·       Section 10 presents the landscape and visual assessment;

·       Section 11 describes the requirements for environmental monitoring and audit; and

·       Section 12 summarises the environmental outcomes associated with the Project.

Annex A – Supporting Information for Air Quality Assessment

Annex B – Supporting Information for Noise Assessment

Annex C – Supporting Information for Landfill Gas Hazard Assessment

Annex D – Supporting Information for Ecological Assessment

Annex E – Implementation Schedule

Annex F – Groundwater Quality Monitoring Data


 



 (1)     Including municipal solid waste, construction waste and special wastes.