Contents

                                                                                                   

13       Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirements. 13-1

13.1   Introduction. 13-1

13.2   Project Organisation. 13-1

13.3   EM&A Manual 13-1

13.4   Environmental Mitigation Implementation Schedule. 13-2

13.5   EM&A Programme. 13-2

 

 

APPENDICES

 

Appendix 13.1

Environmental Mitigation Implementation Schedule


13                       Environmental Monitoring and Audit Requirements

13.1                 Introduction

13.1.1            This section summarizes the requirements on environmental monitoring and audits for the construction and operation of the Designated Project (DP) based on the assessment results of various environmental issues. Details of the Environmental Monitoring and Auditing (EM&A) programme can be referred to the separate EM&A manual.

13.2                 Project Organisation

13.2.1            A project organisation consisting of the Engineer’s Representative (ER), Independent Environmental Checker (IEC), Environmental Team (ET), Project Proponent (Civil Engineering and Development Department) and Contractor should be established to take on the responsibilities for environmental protection for the Project. The ET and IEC will be appointed by the Project Proponent to conduct independent auditing on the overall EM&A programme including environmental and operation monitoring, implementation of mitigation measures, Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) submissions, and any other submission required under the Environmental Permit (EP). The organisation, responsibilities of respective parties and lines of communication with respect to environmental protection works are given in the EM&A Manual.

13.3                 EM&A Manual

13.3.1            EM&A is an important aspect in the EIA process which specifies the timeframe and responsibilities for the implementation of environmental mitigation measures. The requirements on environmental monitoring (including baseline and impact monitoring) are given in the EM&A Manual.

13.3.2            A project specific EM&A Manual to the Project has been prepared as part of the EIAO submission with reference to the latest design information available and Environmental Protection Department’s (EPD) generic EM&A Manual. The project specific EM&A Manual highlights the following issues:

·       Responsibilities of the Contractor, the Engineer or ER, ET, and the IEC under the context of EM&A;

·       Project organisation for the EM&A works;

·       The basis for, and description of the broad approach underlying the EM&A programme;

·       Details of the methodologies to be adopted, including all laboratories and analytical procedures, and details on quality assurance and quality control programme;

·       The rationale on which the environmental monitoring data will be evaluated and interpreted;

·       Definition of Action and Limit Levels;

·       Establishment of Event and Action Plans;

·       Requirements for reviewing pollution sources and working procedures required in the event of non-compliance with the environmental criteria and complaints; and

·       Requirements for presentation of environmental monitoring and audit data and appropriate reporting procedures.

13.3.3            The Contractor shall be requested to review the mitigation measures and Environmental Mitigation Implementation Schedule (EMIS) with respect to the design developments and construction methodology. In the case where the Contractor needs to update the mitigation measures and the EMIS, an updated EM&A Manual shall be submitted to the EPD for approval. The Contractor shall seek EPD’s prior approval on these amendments before construction commences.

13.4                 Environmental Mitigation Implementation Schedule

13.4.1            A EMIS has been prepared and included in Appendix 13.1 and in the EM&A Manual to summarise all the proposed mitigation measures to be implemented during the design, construction and operation phases of the Project. The implementation responsibilities have also been identified in the EMIS. The EM&A Manual also presents the requirements for environmental monitoring and auditing (e.g. monitoring and audit frequency), throughout the construction and operation phases.

13.4.2            The Contractor should review the mitigation measures and EMIS with respect to the design developments and construction methodology as appropriate. In case the Contractor needs to update the mitigation measures and EMIS, the EM&A Manual should be updated accordingly.

13.5                 EM&A Programme

13.5.1            The Contractor will be requested to implement and operate a monitoring programme throughout the entire construction and operation period of the Project. This mechanism will include a system to report the monitoring results on the Project Proponent’s website within a period of time, to be agreed by EPD, after the relevant monitoring data are collected.  In cases where exceedance is found, the Contractor and ET should take immediate actions to implement remediation measures following the procedures specified in the EM&A Manual.

13.5.2            Detailed requirements of the EM&A programme have been described in the EM&A Manual. Measurements and activities that shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements in the EM&A Manual are summarised as follows:

·       Baseline monitoring (construction dust, airborne noise, water, etc.);

·       Impact monitoring (construction dust, airborne noise, water, etc.); 

·       Remedial actions in accordance with the Event and Action Plan within the timeframe in case the specified criteria in the EM&A Manual were exceeded;

·       Commissioning tests for the operation of the Project (fixed noise impact);

·       Logging and keeping records of monitoring results; and

·       Preparation and submission of Baseline, Monthly and Final EM&A Reports.

Air Quality Impact

13.5.3            Construction dust monitoring, regular audits and site inspections should be carried out during construction phase to ensure that dust level will comply with the relevant criteria and the dust suppression measures as recommended in this EIA report and the EM&A Manual are properly implemented by the Contractor.

13.5.4            Monitoring and audit are not required for operation phase.

Noise Impact

13.5.5            Construction noise monitoring and regular site audit should be carried out during construction phase to ensure the construction noise level will comply with the relevant standard and the proposed mitigation measures as recommended in this EIA Report and the EM&A Manual are properly implemented by the Contractor.

13.5.6            Road traffic noise levels should be monitored at representative NSRs, which are in the vicinity of the recommended direct mitigation measures. The purpose of the monitoring is to oversee the environmental performance of the development project by comparing the road traffic noise impact predictions with the actual impacts.

13.5.7            Monitoring of operation noise from the planned fixed noise sources (i.e. PTI) during the testing and commissioning stage is recommended to verify the compliance with the EIAO-TM criteria.

Water Quality Impact

13.5.8            Regular audits and site inspections should be carried out during construction phase to ensure that the water quality will comply with the relevant criteria and the mitigation measures recommended in this EIA Report and EM&A Manual are properly implemented by the Contractor.

13.5.9            Based on the findings from the water quality impact assessment, no unacceptable impacts are expected during the operational phase. No monitoring programme specific to the operation phase is required.

Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Implications

13.5.10         The sewage generated during the construction stage from the on-site workforce will be collected in chemical toilets and disposed of off-site. Therefore, no sewerage impacts are expected from the site during the construction phase. As such, environmental monitoring and audit of the sewerage system is considered not required.

13.5.11         No sewerage impact is expected from the site during the operation phase, therefore environmental monitoring and audit of the sewerage system is considered not required.

Waste Management Implications

13.5.12         The quantity and timing for the generation of various waste streams during the construction phase have been estimated. Measures including the opportunity for on-site sorting, reusing excavated materials and maximizing waste reduction are devised in the construction methodology to minimise the surplus materials to be disposed off-site. Proper disposal of chemical and clinical wastes should be via a licensed waste collector.

13.5.13         Regular audits and site inspections should be carried out to ensure the good site practices and mitigation measures recommended are properly implemented by the Contractor. Wastes generated during the construction activities should be audited regularly by the ET to determine if waste is being managed in accordance with approved procedures and the site WMP. The audit should look at all aspects of on-site waste management practices including waste generation, storage, recycling, transport and disposal.

13.5.14         Apart from site inspection, documents including licences, permits, disposal and recycling records should be reviewed and audited for compliance with the legislations and contract requirements. In addition, the routine site inspections should check whether the implementation of the recommended good site practices, waste reduction measures, and other waste management mitigation measures are in place.

13.5.15         With the appropriate handling, storage and removal of waste arisings during the construction and operation of the Project, the potential to cause adverse environmental impacts would be minimized.

Land Contamination Impact

13.5.16         The land contamination assessment examined the potential contaminative land use within the assessment area and their potential impacts to future land use. Potentially contaminated uses have been identified within the Project Site. Given the identified potentially contaminated sites are still in operation and the development will only commence in stages, site investigation is unlikely to be carried out at this stage and shall only begin after the land has been reverted to Government.  Upon the land has been reverted to Government and site clearance, a re-appraisal and a supplementary CAP, incorporation of findings covering the entire assessment area and updated sampling and testing strategy, shall be prepared and submitted to EPD for approval. Site investigation and lab analyses shall commence after the approval of the supplementary CAP by EPD.

13.5.17         Following the completion of SI works, the SI results shall be presented in the Contamination Assessment Report (CAR) for submission to EPD. If remediation is required, Remediation Action Plan (RAP) shall be prepared with the purpose to set remediation goals and specify remediation monitoring and measurements to monitor remediation progress. The RAP shall be submitted to EPD for approval before the commencement of remediation works.

13.5.18         Remediation works, if necessary, would be carried out at the contaminated sites identified in the future RAP as detailed in Section 8 of the EIA Report prior to commencement of construction. Mitigation measures as outlined in the future RAP approved by EPD shall be implemented throughout the remediation works. The EM&A requirements shall be carried out in the form of regular site inspection to ensure the recommended mitigation measures are properly implemented and findings of the audit shall be reported in the EM&A reports.

13.5.19         Given that any contaminated soil and/or groundwater would be remediated prior to the development, there is no land contamination issue anticipated during the operation phase. As such, EM&A during operation phase for land contamination is not considered necessary.

Ecological Impact

13.5.1            The ecological impact assessment examined the residual impacts of the proposed development. Among the habitat loss, the loss of woodland habitats would be mitigated by the compensatory woodland planting, and the affected plant species of conservation importance would be mitigated by preservation and transplantation. Besides, a management plan will be formulated to conserve as well as to further enhance the ecological values in Sub-Areas 2 to 4.

13.5.2            Monitoring on the compensatory planting woodland should be performed on regular basis after the first planting, to monitor the survival of trees and establishment of the woodland including wildlife use. Survival and establishment of planted woodland at the planting locations will be monitored quarterly for 3 years. The monitoring surveys shall be carried out by qualified botanist(s). Survey in each woodland planting location will commence three months after completion of planting. Selected individuals of each planted species will be tagged and percentage survival computed. Supplementary planting will be recommended when necessary. Wildlife use of the planted vegetation will be monitored.

13.5.3            Surveys will be conducted to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the preservation and transplantation programme. Survival and conditions of transplanted plant individuals as well as individuals to be preserved in-situ will be monitored. For transplanted individuals, the monitoring will be two years, and the frequency will be monthly for the first year, and then quarterly for the second year. For the in-situ preserved plant individuals, the monitoring will be conducted monthly throughout the construction period. The monitoring surveys shall be carried out by qualified botanist(s). The condition of the tree protection zone, if any, should be regularly checked.

13.5.4            A monitoring programme should be included in the management plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the management strategies. An ecological baseline information including habitat conditions including the swampy woodland and the conditions of the floral and faunal species of conservation importance shall be updated prior to the operation of Sub-Areas 2 to 4. During the operation of Sub-Areas 2 to 4, regular monitoring of the ecological conditions as well as the conditions of the species of conservation importance shall also be monitored.

Fisheries Impact

13.5.5            As no unacceptable adverse fisheries impacts are anticipated during construction or operational phases, no specific monitoring programme for fisheries is required. Regular audits should be undertaken to ensure the effectiveness of the mitigation measures and good site practices recommended during construction phase for further controlling the water quality impacts.

Landscape and Visual

13.5.6            The EIA has recommended landscape and visual mitigation measures to be implemented during construction and operation phases of the Project. The EM&A is required to ensure that the proposed mitigation measures are effectively implemented.

Construction Phase

·       Baseline monitoring is required to record the baseline conditions of the Site, in particular the changes of each landscape resource, landscape character area and the view conditions of each visually sensitive receiver; 

·       The design, implementation, maintenance and management of the landscape and visual mitigation measures shall be checked periodically to ensure that they are fully implemented. Any potential conflicts between the proposed landscape and visual measures and any other project works or operational requirements shall also be recorded for the Contractor to resolve in early stage, without compromising the intention of the mitigation measures;

·       To determine whether amendments in the design for the landscape and visual mitigation measures are required for those changes;

·       To recommend any necessary amendments to the design of the landscape and visual mitigation measures; and

·       The design, implementation and maintenance of mitigation measures will be checked monthly to ensure that they are fully implemented. Details of the programme and mitigation measures are provided in the EM&A Manual.

Operation Phase

·       All the landscape and visual mitigation measures shall be monitored during the first year of the operation phase to check the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. Details of the programme are provided in the EM&A Manual.

Cultural Heritage

                  Built Heritage

13.5.7            Grading assessment by Antiquities Authority Board (AAB) to determine grading for Fanling Golf Course, Hong Kong Golf Club, New Item.

13.5.8            Detailed visual impact assessment of proposed high-rise development in Sub-Area 1 and minor development in Sub-Area 2 to 4 should be carried out in Detailed Design Stage for Graded Historic Buildings, Fanling Lodge (Grade 1), Clubhouse of HKGC (Grade 2) and Half-way House of HKGC (Grade 3).

Archaeology

13.5.9            Detailed Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) of works locations and associated works in Sub-Area 1 and minor development in Sub-Area 2 to 4 should be carried out in Investigation Stage or as early as possible (prior to detailed design stage).