16.1.1
An EIA report has been prepared for the proposed Kai Tak Multi-purpose
Sports Complex. This report has provided an in-depth assessment of the
potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation
of the Project, based on the best available information at this stage of the
EIA.
16.1.2
The assessment has been conducted, in accordance with the EIA Study
Brief (No. ESB-274/2014) under the EIAO for the Project, covering the following
environmental issues: -
·
Air quality impact
·
Hazard to life
·
Noise impact
·
Water quality impact
·
Sewerage and sewage treatment implications
·
Waste management implications
·
Land contamination
·
Terrestrial ecological impact
·
Landscape and visual impact
·
Impact on cultural heritage
16.1.3
A summary of environmental impacts identified in this EIA and the
proposed mitigation measures, if any, are described in the following sections.
16.2
Air Quality
Impact Assessment
Construction
Phase
16.2.1
Potential
air quality impacts from the construction works of the Project would mainly be
related to construction dust from site clearance, excavation, foundation and
site formation works. Construction
dust impact arising from this Project with consideration of concurrent projects
has been assessed for both the unmitigated and mitigated scenarios. With
proper implementation of the recommended mitigation measures in Sections 3.7.19 to 3.7.22, it has been concluded that
all dust concentrations at ASRs would comply
with the TSP criterion as well as the relevant AQO for RSP and FSP. Hence, no
adverse residual air quality impacts are anticipated during the construction phase.
Operation
Phase
16.2.2
Air emission sources during the operational
phase include open road traffic emissions, marine emissions from the Kai Tak
Cruise Terminal, emissions from To Kwa Wan Typhoon Shelter, industrial
emissions from nearby chimneys within 1km of the Project site, and the
background pollutant concentration predicted by PATH.
16.2.3
The
Project itself is not an air pollution source. The only air emission source due
to the Project is the induced traffic along the traffic routes. Based on the modelling results, it is predicted that the cumulative 10-min. SO2,
hourly SO2, daily average RSP, annual average RSP, daily average
FSP, annual average FSP, and hourly NO2 at all the identified ASRs
would comply with the AQOs for both “Without Project” and “With Project”
Scenarios.
16.2.4
Exceedance
of the annual average NO2 criterion was identified at some selected
ASRs in localized areas along major roads such as Prince Edward Road East and
Kowloon City Road (near the Kai Tak Tunnel West Portal). The AQO exceedance of
the annual NO2 under the “With Project” scenario is dominated by the
background air pollution level.
16.2.5
Various options of mitigation measures have been
explored and practical measures have been recommended to be implemented and are
shown in Section 3.8.47.
16.2.6 Residual environmental impacts have been evaluated in accordance with Section 4.4.3 of EIAO-TM. Assessment results show that the exceedance of annual average NO2 is mainly caused by the relatively high concentrations of background air pollution in Kowloon City and To Kwa Wan Districts, and the impact magnitude for changes in ambient pollutant concentrations due to the Project is considered minimal in the assessment area. With the implementation of the air quality improvement schemes currently being undertaken by the Government, continuous air quality improvement in the territory is expected. The small affected population in Year 2023 will further be reduced to a limited size in Year 2036. Based on the assessment results, similar population would be affected even without the Project.
16.2.7 Through the evaluation of the residual environmental impacts in Sections 3.8.50 to 3.8.58, it is considered that the Project will not cause long term serious environmental implications.
16.2.8 In conclusion, the Project would not impose adverse air quality impact on the assessment area and the residual impacts are insignificant.
16.3
Hazard to Life Assessment
16.3.1
Hazard to Life Assessment in KTD area was fully
addressed in the approved Kai Tak Development EIA Report (Register No.:
AEIAR-130/2009). Based on the latest available information, no new PHI is
proposed in KTD area and all existing/planned hazardous sources within or in
vicinity of KTD were considered in the approved KTD EIA report. The
Project site is outside all the Consultation Zones / study areas of the
identified hazardous sources. Hence the finding of the hazard to life
assessment related to the Project in the approved EIA report for the KTD remain
valid, i.e. adverse potential hazard to life impact arising from the
construction and operation on the Project is not anticipated.
16.3.2
No further hazard to life assessment is required.
Construction
Phase
16.4.1
Construction noise would be generated from the use
of powered mechanical equipment (PME). With the implementation of mitigation
measures such as adoption of good site practice and use of quieter PME and
mobile noise barriers, the mitigated construction noise from the Project at all
the representative noise sensitive receivers (NSR) would comply with the
criterion.
Operation
Phase
16.4.2
During the operational phase of the Project,
potential traffic noise impact on surrounding NSRs caused by the traffic
induced has been predicted and evaluated. The assessment results indicated that
insignificant additional traffic noise impact would be caused by the traffic
induced by the Project or the overall traffic noise levels would comply with
the noise criterion, except for some planned NSRs. For the planned NSRs where a
significant additional traffic noise impact caused by the Project is
anticipated, it has been shown that the potential traffic noise impact caused
by the Project would not create unacceptable constraints to the proposed
development, whilst the future developers of these developments sites would
carry out environmental assessments (EA) for the proposed developments at the
detailed designed stage. The EA would include the required mitigation measures
for traffic noise impact in order to ensure that all NSRs at the subject sites
would not be exposed to road traffic noise levels above criteria as stipulated
in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG).
16.4.3
The potential noise impact arising from the operation
of the Main Stadium, including sports and musical events, as well as the
potential noise impact from human activities in public places has been assessed
and found to comply with the noise criterion in the daytime/evening period with
the acoustic design in place. Also, the potential noise impact for sports
events in the Public Sports Ground has been evaluated and similarly found to
comply with the noise criterion in the daytime/evening period with the acoustic
design in place. Fixed plant noise would exceed the noise criterion; however,
with noise mitigation the mitigated fixed plant noise levels would comply with
the noise criterion at the worst-affected receivers.
16.4.4
Based on the mode of operation for the Project, no organized event shall be conducted simultaneously in
the Main Stadium and the Public Sports Ground. The mitigated cumulative noise
levels due to sports events in the Main Stadium and all the fixed plant, and
the mitigated cumulative noise levels due to sports events in the Public Sports
Ground and all the fixed plant would comply with the noise criteria at all
NSRs. No adverse cumulative operation noise impact is anticipated.
16.4.5
Music events held in the Main Stadium would
generate noise. With the implementation of the recommended
mitigation measures in Sections 5.6.1
to 5.6.4, the potential noise impact
arising from the musical events at the Main Stadium during daytime/evening
period (i.e. 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.) would comply with the noise criteria in Noise Control Guidelines for Music, Singing
and Instrument Performing Activities. Should the future operator plan to implement
any music events at the Main Stadium during night-time period
(i.e. 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.), the operator is obliged to comply with the
requirements under the NCO.
16.4.6
Noise from
human activities in public places would arise mainly from crowd dispersal after
events. In general, crowd dispersion is not a source of annoyance especially
during daytime/evening. The crowd from the
Main Stadium may disperse on the podium level during daytime/evening. It is
recommended that for dispersion after 10:30 p.m. the crowd after leaving the
Main Stadium should be directed immediately to the ground level of MPSC instead
of on the podium level for minimizing the exposed sections of the dispersal
routes. The future operator should arrange its staff to marshal the dispersion
of crowds after 10:30 p.m. in an orderly manner from the exits of the Main
Stadium all the way to the two nearby MTR stations. No adverse potential noise
impact arising from crowd dispersion within the Project site is expected.
16.5
Water Quality Impact Assessment
Construction
Phase
16.5.1 During the construction phase, potential water quality impact may arise from site run-off, sewage from workforce, accidental spillage of chemicals, and discharge of wastewater from various construction activities. With the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures including those stipulated in the EPD’s Practice Note for Professional Persons, Construction Site Drainage (ProPECC PN1/94), no adverse water quality impact on the water sensitive receivers from the construction works for the Project is anticipated.
Operation
Phase
16.5.2 During the operational phase, surface runoff from the Main Stadium and the Public Sports Ground may be contaminated by the residual fertilizers and pesticides from the maintenance of the natural turf. Mitigation measures have been proposed such as the adoption of artificial turf or hard surface as the default playing surface, which involve no pesticides nor fertilizers. If natural turf is used as the default playing surface, the use and application of fertilizers and pesticides will follow the normal practices. A staged intercepting system will be developed for storage of surface water for reuse and a Stormwater Re-use Management Plan will be prepared and implemented, so as to ensure no residual fertilizers and pesticides from the turf surface run-off are discharged. Hence, with the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, the operation of the Project will unlikely result in unacceptable stormwater discharge problem.
16.6
Sewerage and Sewage Treatment
Implications
Construction
Phase
16.6.1
During
the construction phase, the Project will not impact on the existing sewerage
system.
Operation
Phase
16.6.2
Sewage generated from the Project will be
collected at the To Kwa Wan Preliminary Treatment Works (TKWPTW) and
subsequently delivered to Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works via deep
tunnels for further treatment and disposal. The amount of sewage generated by
visitors, spectators, permanent and temporary employee of all facilities in
MPSC was estimated as per EPD Guidelines for Estimating Sewage Flows for Sewage
Infrastructure Planning (GESF) (2005). Since the capacity of the current design
capacity of the TKWPTW will be adequate to cater for the increased flow due to
the Project, no additional sewerage treatment facilities are required.
16.6.3
Two new
sewerages will be built to collect sewage generated from the Project and
discharge into the downstream sewers, which will be subsequently discharged
into the nearby sewage pumping stations for further disposal.
16.7
Waste Management Implications
Construction
Phase
16.7.1
Potential waste management implications from the generation of waste during
the construction phase
have
been evaluated. Mitigation measures are proposed for minimizing waste generation and off-site disposal. Precast and prefabricated
construction shall be adopted as far
as
practicable. Reuse and recycle of construction waste should be implemented as much as possible and construction and operation waste
should be minimized
during the design, construction and operation
phases.
16.7.2
It is estimated that
totally 657,519 m3 C&D material, including inert and non-inert would be generated from the Project.
About 21% of C&D material would be re-used on site, 69% would be disposed of
off site to public fill and 10% of construction waste
would be disposed of to landfill. The inert materials that can be reused/recycled on site amounting to
141,945 m3. 447,464m3of the inert C&D materials would be transported to the public fill area by barge through trucks to the nearby barging point. The non-inert waste materials would be disposed of at the
designated landfills. The
waste materials accounting to 68,110 m3
would be transported by barge similar to
C&D materials.
Operation
Phase
16.7.3
The types of waste that would be generated during the operational phase have been assessed. Recommendations have been made to ensure proper treatment and disposal
of these wastes. The daily
waste generation after full house events in the Project is about 35 tonnes per day
(tpd) consisting of 27 tpd of domestic solid waste and 8 tpd of commercial
solid waste.
16.8
Land Contamination Assessment
16.8.1
The land contamination issues in the Project have been
reviewed and assessed. Basically, land contamination in the former Kai Tak Airport has been fully assessed in the
approved EIA Report “Kai Tak
Airport North Apron Decommissioning
(NAKTA) (Register
No.: AEIAR-002/1998)”. Land contamination identified in the
North Apron had been cleaned up and the site is considered clean for the intended use for this Project. No update of the land contamination assessment is considered necessary. Furthermore, no use of the land in the Project with potential for land
contamination is anticipated.
16.9
Terrestrial Ecological Impact Assessment
16.9.1
No
site of conservation importance was identified in the Study Area. About 16.1 ha
of construction sites, 5.0 ha of developed area and 6.9 ha of abandoned area in
the project site will be lost. These habitats have only very low ecological
value. Although 2 nos. of avifauna species of conservation importance and 1
uncommon avifauna species were recorded in the project footprint, only minor
impact is expected as no nursery ground, breeding, foraging or roosting
behavior was recorded in the Project footprint. Nevertheless, no site, flora or
other fauna species of conservation importance would be impacted directly
16.9.2
Surrounding
habitats and their communities may be subject to indirect impacts such as water
contamination, noise, dust, and/or glare induced by construction and operation
activities. Nevertheless, with proper implementation of water quality, noise,
dust and glare mitigation measures, all indirect impacts in construction and
operational phases would be acceptable as they would be insignificant or minor.
16.9.3
With
proper implementation of the proposed mitigation measures, residual impact is
considered acceptable. The overall impact on terrestrial ecology is considered
as acceptable.
16.10
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
16.10.1
Under the proposed MPSC
development, the cultural and historical features surrounding the project will
be preserved and a new landscape design within the MPSC study area implemented
that is considered appropriate to the planned context of the area and should
produce long term landscape and visual benefits.
16.10.2
The
current landscape resources and character within the site are of limited
quality and value. The project provides a clear opportunity for enhancement by
undertaking significant tree planting and public space creation. Approximately
160 trees will be lost during the construction of the project, but none of them
are of any importance or with high amenity value. It is anticipated that the
project will carry out planting of about
340 new trees.
16.10.4
Glare
impact on Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs) located near the MPSC and
associated above ground structure have been reviewed. The predicted glare
rating for all of the VSRs within the study boundary are below the Glare Rating
Limit adopted. No significant discomfort glare condition is anticipated.
16.10.5
It
is not anticipated that there will be any adverse residual impacts generated by
the Project, whilst significant greening of the site, coupled with careful
visual integration into the urban context through control of scale, massing and
building disposition will provide a long term beneficial visual outlook.
16.11
Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment
16.11.1
Relevant
cultural heritage impact assessments in previously approved EIA reports have been reviewed (Kai Tak Development (Register No.: AEIAR-130/2009) and Shatin to Central Link (SCL) – Tai Wai to
Hung Hom Section (Register No.: AEIAR-167/2012)). Based on the site location and the survey plan in Year
1904, the Project site was formerly a sea area. It is unlikely ancestors have
congregated at the Project Site. Hence, the project site has no archaeological
value. Built Heritage Impact
Assessment is not required as there is no built heritage within the Study Area
of the Project and associated works.
16.11.2
The Project will not interfere with
Lung Tsun Stone Bridge Site of Archaeological Interest. The southern portion of the former Sacred Hill and the southern portion
of the archaeological survey-cum-excavation area of SCL – Tai Wai to Hung Hom
Section for Sacred Hill (North) fall within the CHIA Study Area. Since no archaeological deposit
was discovered from the southern portion of the archaeological
survey-cum-excavation at Sacred Hill (North) and these two areas fall outside
the project site, there is no cultural heritage impact arising from this
Project and no mitigation measure is required.
16.12
Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirement
16.12.1
It is recommended that an EM&A programme should be implemented during
the construction and operation phases (i.e. regarding musical event noise,
stormwater reuse, and landscaping) to monitor the environmental impacts on the
neighboring sensitive receivers. A standalone EM&A
Manual has been prepared
to specify the monitoring requirements for the implementation of the
environmental mitigation measures identified in the EIA process.
16.12.2
The
Environmental Mitigation Implementation Schedule (EMIS) in Chapter
14 has also been included in the Appendix A of the EM&A Manual detailing
the proposed mitigation measures, the implementation locations, timeframe, and
implementation agent.