11.1.1. This section presents the summary of key environmental issues regarding the proposed Project on surrounding sensitive receivers during the construction and operation phases. The proposed Project was predicted to be environmentally acceptable with the implementation of proposed mitigation measures, and no adverse residual impacts would be imposed on population and surroundings.
11.2.1. The proposed Project aims to accommodate the existing HKPF PVP&EC, the HKPF Centralised Case Property Store, the FEHD Depot, the EMSD Depot and the GL Specialist Laboratory, which all occupy temporary sites that require periodic extensions of their tenancy duration.
11.2.2. Moreover, the relocation of existing HKPF PVP&EC and the FEHD Depot in Quarry Bay can pave the way for the future development of the Quarry Bay Park Phase II.
11.2.3. Since the Project site is located some distance away from nearby residential developments in Chai Wan and has a shorter travelling distance from the IEC, the site selected is expected to introduce less vehicular emissions and noise nuisance to nearby sensitive receivers.
11.3.1. Environmental friendly designs have been incorporated into the proposed Project, including the following:
· Providing green roof to minimise reflection from roofing materials and enhancing the landscape character of the Project site and the visual quality to the nearby viewers;
· Using non-reflective finishes in light colour on the exterior of the building to blend in with the surrounding environment;
· Providing landscape area along the Project site boundary to soften the hard edges of the building structure;
· Adopting similar building height as compared to the existing developments in the vicinity of the Project site to minimise visual intrusion;
· Incorporating gaseous treatment equipment for extracted gases from laboratory to minimise nuisance to neighbourhood;
· Optimising the use of natural ventilation so as to reduce the use of mechanical ventilation; and
· Engineering design for fixed plant complies with the day-time, evening time and night time noise criteria.
11.4.1. The proposed Project would influence populations including on-site workers and workers in the offices, depots and industrial area in the vicinity. Educational, institutional and residential users were identified within the study area, including Heng Fa Chuen, Tsui Wan Estate, Knight Court, the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Chai Wan), Endeavourers Chan Cheng Kit Wan Kindergarten, the planned THEi New Campus and the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital. With the implementation of relevant mitigation measures, these people would not be significantly affected by the proposed Project.
11.4.2. The major sensitive areas within the study area include the abovementioned educational, institutional and residential developments. Avoidance and / or minimisation of environmental impacts due to the construction and operation of the proposed Project were considered and therefore 100% of population and sensitive areas within the study area will be protected from various environmental aspects.
11.5.1. A number of environmental assessments were conducted with the aim of identifying environmental impacts and alternative strategies in advance. As such, the following key environmental problems have been avoided or minimised:
· Fixed plant noise will be minimised by arranging all the vehicle repair / testing activities to be carried out in covered area.
· Substantial visual impact and incompatibility with the surrounding environment will be minimised with the adoption of similar building height as compared with adjacent buildings; and.
· Impacts on the adjacent landscape including Landscape Resources (LRs) and Landscape Character Areas (LCAs) will be minimised by appropriate landscape designs and incorporation of the proposed landscape and visual mitigation measures.
11.6.1. Trees are expected to be felled due to direct conflict with the proposed Project. In accordance with the landscape impact assessment, compensatory tree planting will be undertaken within the Project site boundary.
11.7.1. Mitigation measures have been recommended to reduce the environmental impacts due to the construction and operation of the proposed Project. Key recommended mitigation measures and their associated benefits include the following:
Air Quality
· Adopting dust control measures to reduce dust generation;
· Providing metal tailgate cover and deodourising system in every RCV to mitigate the spread of odour; and
· Installing activated carbon or scrubber to treat the extracted gases from fumehood to minimise the harmful gaseous emissions
Noise
· Selecting QPME, using movable noise barriers and limiting concurrent use of plants during construction to reduce construction noise impacts to nearby NSRs;
· Avoiding the carrying out of the vehicle repair / testing activities to reduce noise emission during night-time as far as possible; and
· Applying acoustic treatments including silencers and acoustic louvers to the MVAC/ BS installation in order to achieve the specified maximum allowable SWL.
Water Quality
· Implementing site practices as outlined in ProPECC Note PN 1/94 to control and minimise site runoff and drainage; and
· Discharging all generated sewage effluent to the existing Chai Wan Preliminary Treatment Works (PTW) via public sewer connection at Sheung On Street.
Landscape and Visual
· Avoiding disturbance to existing vegetation as far as practicable for preservation of landscape values;
· Erection of construction site hoarding with aesthetic treatment around works area to minimise visual intrusion;
· Providing temporary landscape treatments during construction phase to improve the landscape and visual aesthetics;
· Implementing compensatory planting, landscape planting and green roof to enhance the environmental settings as well as screening and softening the hard edges of the building structure; and
· Adopting compatible building height and form with non-reflective materials to blend in with the surrounding environment to minimise potential visual impact to visual sensitive receivers
Waste Management
·
Using standardized,
durable and
pre-fabricated formwork or plastic facing as far as practicable to minimise the
C&D Materials arising;
· Sorting construction debris and excavated materials on-site to recover reusable/recyclable portions (i.e. soil, broken concrete, metal, etc.) for backfilling and reinstatement;
·
Establishing a trip-ticket system in accordance with DevB TC(W) No. 6/2010
and Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation in
order to monitor the disposal of inert C&D materials at public fill and the
remaining C&D waste to landfills, and control fly-tipping;
· Handling chemical waste in accordance with the“Code of Practice on the Packaging, Handling and Storage of Chemical Wastes”;
· Providing waste separation facilities on site for papers, aluminium cans, plastic bottles, etc. to encourage recycling; and
· Providing sufficient enclosed bins for general refuse, food and beverage waste to reduce odour, pest and litter impact.
11.8.1. Air quality impact assessment has been conducted for the construction and operation phases of the proposed Project.
11.8.2. During the construction period, there would be no major earthworks carried out for the site formation works for the Project site. With the implementation of sufficient dust suppression measures as stipulated under the Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation, thus adverse construction dust impact would not be anticipated.
11.8.3. For the operation of the proposed Project, no adverse air quality impacts would be anticipated as there would be limited vehicular emissions from the vehicle repair / testing and parking activities of the Project, considered with cumulative effect of emissions from the open roads within the study area. Modelling results show that the predicted maximum 1-hour and annual average NO2 and maximum daily and annual average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations at the representative ASRs complied with the AQOs. No mitigation measure is required.
11.8.4. Particularly, potential odour nuisance and the volatile chemicals emissions associated with the operation of the proposed Project are also predicted to be negligible.
11.9.1. Noise impact assessment has been conducted for the construction and operation phases of the proposed Project.
Construction Noise
11.9.2. With the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures such as the use of QPME, limiting the number of construction plants operating concurrently, using movable noise barriers and adopting good site practices, adverse construction noise impact is not anticipated except at NSR 2. As it is close to the site, NSR 2 is expected to expose to construction noise exceeding the relevant noise standard during examination period when the noise criterion will be 65 dB(A), when site formation, excavation and filling works take place in mid 2016. The duration of exceedance is expected to be around 7 days. It is recommended that more detailed construction planning, which includes the arrangement on work sequence and plant locations, etc. before actual construction work is undertaken by the Contractor, and practicable noise mitigation measures should be implemented according to the actual site condition and constraints, in order to reduce the construction noise impact. In this connection, the Contractor should keep close liaison with the nearby educational institutions to obtain the examination schedule and should control noise from their construction work such as avoiding concurrent operation of noisy PME, and /or reduction in percentage on-time of PME during school examination periods. A Construction Noise Management Plan shall be provided by the Contractor before commencement of the construction to avoid noise exceedance.
11.9.3. To ensure the implementation of construction noise mitigation measures as well as to establish a noise complaint handling mechanism, environmental monitoring and auditing are also recommended in EM&A Manual.
Fixed Plant Noise
11.9.4. With the implementation of the mitigation measures for vehicle repair / testing activities (including carrying out vehicle repair / testing activities at covered area during daytime and evening as far as possible), and the selection of MVAC and other BS equipment with mitigation measures where necessary to meet the maximum allowable sound power levels, adverse fixed noise impact on the NSRs will not be anticipated during operation phase.
Road Traffic Noise
11.9.5. A comparison of the noise levels for the “with project” and “without project” scenarios predicted for year 2033 (i.e. the worst case scenarios) indicated that traffic noise contribution from the road traffic generated by the proposed Project will be insignificant. Therefore, operation of the proposed Project will have no significant contribution to road traffic noise impact on the nearby NSRs.
11.10.1. Construction site run-off, sewage from workforce and potential risk of chemical spillage have been considered and identified as potential water pollution sources. Mitigation measures including the implementation of construction site practices in accordance with the EPD’s ProPECC PN 1/94 Construction Site Drainage, provision and management of portable chemical toilets on-site, and preventive measures to avoid accidental chemical spillages are recommended to minimise potential adverse impacts on water quality. Residual adverse impact on water quality would not be anticipated.
11.10.2. Considering the operation phase of the proposed Project, insignificant sewerage and sewage treatment implications are predicted, along with the implementation of recommended mitigation measures, adverse water quality impact would not be anticipated.
11.11.1. Assessment on landscape and visual impact has been conducted for the proposed Project. The potential sources of landscape and visual impact of the proposed Project mainly arisen from the operation of site works, removal of existing vegetation, and the presence of the permanent structure and its operation.
11.11.2. With the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures, such as proper control of construction activities, incorporation of hard landscape design, and provision of compensatory planting and green roof, to enhance the screening of the proposed Project and soften the impact of the permanent structure, the proposed Project would have insubstantial impact on the existing landscape resources and landscape character area during both construction and operation phases.
11.11.3. Although the residual visual impact ranges from insubstantial to moderately adverse and insubstantial to slightly adverse during construction and operation phase respectively, the overall visual quality of the Project site would be enhanced with the provision of mitigation measures as compared to the original setting of the Project site. Therefore, the landscape and visual impact of the proposed Project is considered as acceptable with mitigation measures.
11.12.1. Assessment on waste management implication has been conducted for the proposed Project for both construction and operation phases.
11.12.2. With the implementation of mitigation measures to ensure prior handing, storage, collection, transportation and disposal of waste, adverse residual impact is predicted to be not anticipated during both the construction and operation phases.
11.13.1. Assessment on land contamination has been conducted for the proposed Project based on historical and current land uses and site reconnaissance.
11.13.2. With the implementation of proper site practice for handling, storage, transportation, collection and disposal of DGs, chemicals and chemical waste, the construction and operation of the proposed Project is not anticipated to result in quantifiable adverse land contamination.
11.14.1. Assessment on hazard to life has been conducted for the proposed Project for both construction and operation phases.
11.14.2. The risks to construction workers and to on-site Project workers of the proposed Project comply with the EIAO-TM in terms of both individual risk and societal risk. The cumulative risk due to DG of the proposed Project and all neighbouring DG installations predicted to comply with the EIAO-TM.
11.15.1. A summary of key assessment assumptions, limitation of assessment methodologies and related prior agreements with relevant Government departments is presented in Appendix 11.1.