13                         ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING and AUDIT REQUIREMENTs

13.1                   Introduction

13.1.1             This chapter summarizes the findings in the EIA and evaluates the need for environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) in construction and operational phases. The aim of this EM&A is to continuously monitor the changes of environmental parameters and the effectiveness of mitigation. This helps early identification of unacceptable environmental deterioration and allows formulation of rectification works at an early stage.

13.1.2             Methodology and requirement of monitoring work are detailed in a standalone Environmental Monitoring and Audit Manual (EM&A Manual).

13.2                   Air Quality Impact

13.2.1             With implementation of dust suppression measures, no unacceptable construction air quality impact is anticipated. Regular air quality monitoring should be carried out at representative ASRs to ensure that relevant air quality standard can be met.

13.2.2             Weekly site audit should be carried out to check the implementation status of the recommended mitigation measures for air quality impact throughout the construction period.

13.2.3             Based on the modeling results, the operation of the Project is unlikely to cause exceedance of the air quality objectives at the identified ASRs for all modeled parameters except the annual average NO2. The exceedance is mainly due to high background level and offsite air pollutant sources. No monitoring or audit is proposed.

13.3                   Hazard to Life

13.3.1             As no adverse hazard to life impact is anticipated in this Project, no environmental monitoring or audit is proposed.

13.4                   Noise Impact

13.4.1             Regular noise monitoring shall be carried out at representative NSRs during the construction phase to ensure that relevant noise criteria can be met and the noise mitigation measures are effective. Weekly site audit should be carried out to check the implementation status of the recommended mitigation measures for noise impact throughout the construction period.

13.4.2             During operational phase, real time noise monitoring at selected locations shall be conducted during the event in the Main Stadium in the first 3 years of operation. After the 3-year monitoring period, a review of the findings of the monitoring will be conducted to determine whether further monitoring will be required. The corresponding actions shall follow the Event and Action Plan in the EM&A Manual. The organizer should also provide a manned complaint hotline to respond to complaints from the nearby NSRs immediately.

13.5                   Water Quality Impact Assessment

13.5.1             During the construction phase, no off-site marine water quality impact would be expected from the Project and there would not be any marine-based works for the proposed works Subject to the requirements in the effluent discharge licence to be issued under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, regular water quality monitoring may be carried out at representative water discharge locations to ensure that relevant water quality standard can be met, but this is not considered necessary as no adverse construction water quality impact is expected if the mitigation measures are implemented properly.

13.5.2             Weekly site audit should be carried out to check the implementation status of the recommended mitigation measures for water quality impact throughout the construction period.

13.5.3             The sewerage and stormwater system has been designed and constructed to separate the sewage and uncontaminated surface runoff completely. Provisions shall be made to collect the contaminated surface runoff such as the use of interception system and oil and petrol interceptors. As the Project area shall be serviced by public sewers, no unacceptable water quality impact is anticipated.

13.5.4             In case when natural turf is adopted at the Main Stadium or the Public Sports Ground, the operator shall control pesticides as per Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133) and prepare a Stormwater Re-use Management Plan to ascertain that stormwater is properly re-used. The stormwater Re-use Management Plan will set out the proposed surface run-off monitoring locations, monitoring frequency and parameters, as well as the Event and Action Plan and mitigation measure, etc.

13.6                   Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Implications

13.6.1             Based on the estimated sewage flow of the Project, and the sewerage and sewage treatment capacity in Kai Tak Development area, no adverse sewerage impact will be caused by the Project. No monitoring or audit is proposed.

13.7                   Waste Management Implications

13.7.1             Construction waste includes Construction and Demolition (C&D) materials from excavation, site formation and demolition, bentonite from piling works, chemical waste from plant maintenance and general refuse. Chemical waste will be generated from maintenance of equipment. No adverse construction waste impact is expected if the mitigation measures are implemented properly.

13.7.2             The Contractor should formulate waste management measures on waste minimization, storage, handling and disposal in a Waste Management Plan as part of the Environmental Management Plan in accordance with the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau Technical Circular (Works) No. 19/2005. Weekly site audit should be carried out to check the implementation status of the recommended waste management measures throughout the construction period.

13.7.3             During the operational phase of the Project, no adverse waste impact is expected if the mitigation measures are implemented properly. No monitoring or audit is required.

13.8                   Land Contamination Assessment

13.8.1             The land contamination issues in the Project Site have been reviewed and assessed. Basically, the land contamination identified in the North Apron had been cleaned up and the site is considered clean for the intended use. Also, there will be no use with potential land contamination in the Project site. Environmental monitoring in relation to land remediation is not required.

13.9                   Terrestrial Ecological Impact Assessment

13.9.1             No site of conservation importance was identified in the Study Area. All identified habitats were considered to have either Low or Very Low ecological value. All habitats and fauna species, including all recorded species of conservation importance, are expected to be impacted indirectly by water quality, noise and/or dust impacts during the construction phase. Nevertheless, with proper implementation of mitigation measures, all indirect impact would only be insignificant to minor. Implementation status and the effectiveness of these measures shall be audited through regular site inspection during the construction phase.

13.9.2             In the operational phase, indirect impact would only be induced by crowd noise and traffic noise during major events. However, this will occur infrequently and therefore the impact is considered acceptable. With proper implementation of mitigation measures, residual impact is considered acceptable. No specific monitoring and audit programme is required for terrestrial ecology during the operation phase of the Project.

13.10               Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment

13.10.1         Environmental management and audit for landscape and visual resources is recommended during the design, construction and operation phases of the Project.

Design Phase

13.10.2         The landscape measures and lighting mitigation measures proposed to mitigate the landscape, visual and glare impacts of the scheme should be embodied into the detailed landscape and engineering design specifications, drawings and contract documents. The design phase EM&A requirements for landscape and visual resources comprise the audit of detailed landscape works specifications to be prepared during the detailed design stage together with ensuring that the design is sensitive to landscape and visual impacts and that landscape resources are retained as far as practicable. In the event of a non-conformity, the Event and Action Plan provided in the EM&A Manual shall be followed.

Construction & Operational Phases

13.10.3         Prior to commencement of the main construction contract, a specialist landscape contractor should be employed by the Project Proponent in order to facilitate the advance preparation and relocation of any trees in conflict with the proposed works. A specialist landscape sub-contractor should be employed by the works contractor for the implementation of further soft landscape works and subsequent maintenance operations during the establishment period.

13.10.4         All measures undertaken by the works and landscape contractors shall be audited by a Registered Landscape Architect, as a member of the Environmental Team (ET), on a regular basis to ensure compliance with the intended aims of the measures. In the event of a non-conformity, the Event and Action Plan provided in the EM&A Manual shall be followed.

13.11               Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment

13.11.1         No EM&A requirements are required during the construction and operation phases of the proposed works as there are no adverse impacts on known sites of archaeological interest, potential areas of archaeological interest or built heritage.