Contents
1.1 Purpose of the Report
2.1 Project Area
2.2 Environmental Sensitive Receivers
2.3 Major Construction Activities
2.4 Monitoring Schedule of The Reporting Month
2.5 Status of Environmental Approval Documents
2.6 Community Liaison Group Meeting
2.7 Summary of Non-Compliance With The Environmental
Quality Performance Limits
3 Environmental Issues and Actions
3.1 Previous Environmental Deficiencies and Follow-up
Actions
3.2 Implementation Status on Environmental Protection
Requirements
3.3 Environmental Monitoring
4.1 Key Issues for the Next One Month
4.2 Impact Prediction for the Next One Month
4.3 Works and Monitoring Schedule for the Next One Month
LIST OF
TABLES
Table 2.1 Summary of Works Undertaken During the Reporting Period
Table 2.2 Summary of Environmental Licensing, Notification and Permit
Status
LIST OF ANNEXES
Annex B Water Quality Monitoring Stations, Water
Quality and Ecological Sensitive Receivers
Annex C Implementation Programme of Mitigation Measures
Annex D Cumulative Complaints Statistics
The construction
works for the Permanent Aviation Fuel Facility resumed on 9th July
2007. This thirteenth monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A)
report presents the EM&A works carried out during the period from 1st November to 30th November 2007 in
accordance with the EM&A Manual.
Breaches of all Action and Limit Levels
No breaches of
action or limit levels occurred during the reporting month as no monitoring was
undertaken.
Complaint Log
No environmental
complaints were received during the reporting period.
Notifications of any Summons
and Successful Prosecutions
No environmental summon or prosecutions were received in this reporting
period.
Reporting Changes
There were no reporting changes in the reporting period.
Future Key Issues
·
Dust
release and suppression;
·
Commencement
of dredging activities; and
·
Water
quality monitoring and dolphin monitoring to be conducted during the dredging
activities.
Leighton
Contractors (
The construction
works for PAFF commenced in November 2005 based upon the previous EIA (EIAO Register Number AEIAR-062-2002)
conducted and the Environmental Permit EP-139/2002
granted on the 28th August 2002.
Due to minor changes to the detailed layout of the site and the site
boundary, application for Variation to the Environmental Permit (VEP) (VEP-133/2004) was submitted to the
Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approval. The variation to the EP (EP-139/2002/A) was granted by the EPD in February 2004.
However, the
decision by the EPD to grant the above Environmental Permit was subject to a
Judicial Review. The Judicial Review
sided in the favour of the DEP, as did the subsequent Judgement from the Court
of Appeal from the High Court for Judicial Review in March 2005. However, the DEP’s
decision to grant the EP was quashed by the Judgement of the Court of Final
Appeal of July 2006.
The construction
works were stopped following the Judgement of the Court of Final Appeal of July
2006. As such, in order to continue with
the construction of the project, the project went through the statutory
procedures under the EIAO again with a new design in order to obtain an
environmental permit. The revised EIA
was submitted in 2007 and the environmental permit (EP-262/2007) was granted in May 2007. EP-262/2007
has been amended to EP262/2007/A and
issued by the EPD on 30 November 2007.
The construction
works and EM&A requirements were resumed on 9th July 2007
following the latest requirements of the EP-262/2007
and EM&A Manual. Details regarding
the EM&A requirements and changes should refer to the updated EM&A
Manual. For the marine works, all piling
activities were completed before the previous suspension of construction works
in 2006.
This is the thirteenth
EM&A Report which summarizes the monitoring results and audit findings for
the EM&A programme during the reporting period from 1st November to 30th
November 2007.
The project area
is in Area 38 of Tuen Mun
and the pipelines are located in
No air and noise
sensitive receivers were identified close to the project area. However, water sensitive receivers and
ecological sensitive receivers were identified in the EIA study, and are shown
in Annex B.
A summary of the major
works undertaken in this reporting period is shown in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 Summary
of Works Undertaken During the Reporting Period
|
Area |
Works
undertaken |
|
Tuen Mun Area 38 |
Tank Farm and Bund Wall Construction Permanent Drainage Construction Operational & Fire Services Buildings
Construction Jetty Works (Non-piling) |
No monitoring was conducted during the reporting
period. Water monitoring during dredging
activities are expected to commence in December 2007.
A summary of the
relevant permits, licences, and/or notifications on environmental protection
for this Project since July 2007 is presented in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Summary
of Environmental Licensing, Notification and Permit Status
|
Permit/ Licenses/ Notification |
Reference |
Validity
Period |
Remarks |
|
Environmental
Permit |
EP-262/2007/A |
Throughout
Project |
Issued
on 30 November 2007 (EP-262/2007
issued on 31 May 2007, EP-139/2002
originally granted on 28 August 2002 and EP-139/2002/A
granted on 24 February 2004 were superseded) |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chemical
Waste Producer Registration |
WPN 5111-421-L2174-25 |
Throughout
Project |
Issued
on 10 November 2005 |
|
Notification
of Construction Works under Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust)
Regulation |
H2104/U1D/5542/DG/DH/PL |
Throughout
Project |
Notification
on 6 July 2007 |
|
Construction
Noise Permit |
GW-RW0372-07 |
25
July 2007 to 24
January 2008 |
For
air compressors, breakers, excavators, wheeled loaders, mobile cranes,
concrete lorry mixers, hand-held pokers, bar benders/cutters, wood saws,
grinders, submarine water pump, lorries with crane, dump trucks, rollers,
ventilation fans and generators |
|
|
GW-RW0427-07 |
28
August 2007 to 27 February 2008 |
For
concrete pump derrick barges, hand-held grinders, generators, air compressors,
boring machines, water pumps, tug boat, grout mixers and grout pumps |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wastewater
Discharge License |
EP760/421/011399/l |
15 March 2006 to 31 March 2011 |
Issued
on 15 March 2006 |
According to the EP requirements, a Community Liaison
Group (CLG) shall be established within three months after commencement of
construction of the Project. The major
duty of CLG is to advise on and monitor the proper design, construction and
operation of the Project. The CLG
comprises representatives from Airport Authority, members of Tuen Mun community and
academics. During the reporting month,
the CLG held a meeting cum site visit on 5 October 2007.
The details of
PAFF CLG (including Membership and its Terms of Reference) and the meeting
minutes can be found on the Project website (www.paffhk.com).
No environmental non-compliance
was found during the reporting period.
No environmental complaints were received during the reporting
period. A summary of environmental
complaints since project commencement is presented in Annex D.
No summons were
received in this reporting period. A
summary of legal proceeding since project commencement is presented in Annex D.
As no
environmental complaint was received over the last reporting period, no follow-up
action was required.
Weekly
site inspections were carried out by the ET on 1st, 8th,
15th, 22nd and 30th November 2007. Overall, the site was in good orderly manner
and no non-compliance was found. Environmental
deficiencies and follow-up actions/mitigation measures were identified during
the inspections, as follows:
Air Quality
·
Water tankers
were used regularly to wet the road surface to minimize dust emission.
·
Site entrance was
paved and wheel-washing facility was provided to avoid dust deposit on the
public road.
·
Main access road
within the site (between site office and exit) was paved to avoid dust
emission. Other sections of the major
access road in the construction area were paved with stones.
Noise
·
No noisy
activities were conducted during the audit.
·
All air
compressors on site were operated with a valid noise label.
Water Quality
·
Site toilets were
provided on site. A soil soakaway system with holding tanks was installed to treat
the sewage from the toilets. No effluent
discharge out of the site was made.
·
The site canteen
is no longer in operation and hence no waste water is generated.
Waste Management
·
During the site inspection on 8th and 22nd
November 2007, general refuse was observed to be full outside the site office
and operation building. The Contractor
was recommended to remove the refuse at the area. Corrective action was taken by the Contractor
in the reporting period.
·
Disposal of stockpiled construction waste
to public fill bank was not undertaken during the reporting period. The Contractor was recommended to regularly
spray the excavated materials at the stockpiling area with water to avoid
fugitive dust generation.
Landscape and Visual
·
The transplanted trees at the new site were
in good and healthy condition; and,
·
The berm was
habilitated by vegetation.
Overall, the site
was in a good orderly manner. The ET
will keep track on the EM&A programme to ensure compliance of environmental
requirements and the proper implementation of all necessary mitigation
measures.
The
implementation status of environmental mitigation measures and requirements as stated
in the EIA Report, Environmental Permits and EM&A Manual during the
reporting period is summarized in Annex C.
Air and Noise
monitoring is not required for the project.
Water quality monitoring
was not required during this reporting period as no dredging activity had taken
place.
As no dredging activity
has been conducted during the reporting period, marine archaeological
monitoring was not required.
According to the
EIA report and EM&A Manual, mitigation measures and site inspection are
required during the landscaping/planting works.
The berm/landscaping bund was habilitated by
vegetation which was grown during the project suspension period. The transplanted trees were in good and
healthy condition.
The weekly site
inspections included audits on landscape and visual issues to ensure that the
site was in orderly acceptable manner.
According to the
EIA report and EM&A Manual, mitigation measures and design phase audit are required
to minimise the risk of fuel spill and hazards. The Contractor will submit the
updated design audit plan according to the EP requirements.
Pursuant to Condition 3.5 of the EP, the Contractor
submitted three design drawings which address the specific sub-clauses on Condition 3.5a of the EP concerning the
containment systems of aviation fuel storage tank farm. The ET and the IEC have provided
certification and verification to the drawings respectively and the drawings
were submitted to the EPD on 7 November 2007.
Weekly site
inspection covered the waste management aspects which included measures to
prevent land contamination by chemical wastes.
No dolphin monitoring
was conducted as there were no dredging activities during the reporting
period. Dredging activities will be
operated by two dredgers working simultaneously. The tentative start date will be mid December
2007. Three dolphin observers have been
commissioned to undertake the dolphin monitoring in accordance with the
EM&A Manual. All observers were
verified by the IEC on 13th November 2007.
The EM&A
Manual for the Project has been updated by the ET to include the detailed arrangements
of setting up a Community Liaison Group, carrying out design audit, and
monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants during construction of the
Project. The EM&A Manual was
submitted to the EPD during the previous reporting period. The ET will keep track on comments received
from the EPD, if any, and update the EM&A Manual accordingly.
Baseline water
quality monitoring was conducted between 24 October and 30 October 2007 at six designated
monitoring stations (three impact stations and three control stations)
established for the Project in accordance with the EM&A Manual. The
monitoring was carried out on a daily basis, at mid-flood and mid-ebb tides, at
three depths (surface, middle and bottom), for 1 week prior to the commencement
of construction of the sub-sea pipelines of the Project. No major marine activities in relation to the
Project were undertaken during the baseline monitoring.
Through communications with the EPD, an Interim Baseline Monitoring Report
presenting the results of suspended solid and all in situ analysis were submitted to the EPD in 7th
November. A Final Baseline Monitoring
Report including POPs results was provided in 21st
November.
The ET will keep
track on comments received from the EPD, if any, and update the Report
accordingly.
Key issues to be
considered in the next one month will include:
·
Dust
release and suppression;
·
Commencement
of dredging activities; and
·
Water
quality monitoring and dolphin monitoring to be conducted during the dredging
activities.
Provided that environmental
mitigation measures including good on-site practises are properly implemented,
it is not expected that unacceptable adverse impacts will arise.
Work programme
for the next one month includes jetty platform works (non-piling) and site
works (construction works for tank farm, operational and fire services
buildings, drainages, bund wall, security wall etc). Weekly site inspections will be undertaken. Dredging work is scheduled to commence in mid
December. Water quality, dolphin
monitoring and marine archaeological monitoring will be undertaken in
accordance with the EM&A Manual.