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
2.8 Summary of Environmental Complaints
2.9 Summary of Environmental Summons
3 Environmental Issues and Actions
3.1 Previous Environmental Deficiencies and Follow-up
Actions
3.2 Description of Actions Taken in Event of
Non-Compliance and Deficiency Reporting
3.3 Implementation Status on Environmental Protection
Requirements
4.1 Air and Noise
4.2 Water Quality
4.3 POPs Monitoring
4.4 Waste Management
4.5 Cultural Heritage
4.6 Landscape and Visual
4.7 Land Contamination, Hazard to Life and Fuel Spill
Risk
4.8 Ecology
4.9 EM&A Manual
4.10 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring
5.1 Key Issues for the Next One Month
5.2 Impact Prediction for the Next One Month
5.3 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 Cumulative
Quantity of Excavated Materials up to 31 January 2008
Table 2.2 Summary
of Environmental Licensing, Notification and Permit Status
Table 4.1 Dolphin
Sighting Records during the Reporting Period
LIST OF ANNEXES
Annex A Project Location
Annex B Water Quality Monitoring Stations,
Water Quality and Ecological Sensitive Receivers
Annex C Monitoring Schedule for the
Reporting Period and Next Month
Annex D Cumulative Complaints Statistics
Annex E Implementation Programme of
Mitigation Measures
Annex F QA/QC Results of Laboratory
Testing for Suspended Solids
Annex G Impact Water Quality Monitoring
Results
Annex H Monitoring Results and QA/QC Reports
of Laboratory Testing for POPs
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
The construction
works for the Permanent Aviation Fuel Facility resumed on 9th July
2007. This fifteenth monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) report
presents the EM&A works carried out during the period from 1st January to 31st January 2008 in
accordance with the EM&A Manual.
Breaches of all Action and Limit Levels
Daily exceedance
(with exception of 16 and 24 January 2008) of Action Levels of Turbidity was
found and occasional exceedance of Action Limit Levels of Suspended Solids was
found on 11, 23 and 29 January 2008.
Following review of data in accordance with the procedures specified in
the EM&A Manual, these
exceedances were considered due to natural fluctuation from the
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
¡P
Dust
release and suppression;
¡P
Dredging
activities;
¡P
Water
quality monitoring and dolphin monitoring during the dredging activities; and,
¡P
Marine
Archaeological Inspection (MAI) during 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 fifteenth EM&A Report which
summarizes the monitoring results and audit findings for the EM&A programme
during the reporting period from 1st
January to 31st January
2008.
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 2.2 presented the cumulative quantity of excavated
materials up to 31 January 2008.
Inside the Sha Chau and
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) |
Submarine |
Dredging Operations |
Table 2.2 Cumulative
Quantity of Excavated Materials up to 31 January 2008
Type of Excavated Materials |
Cumulative Bulk Volume (m3) |
Contaminated Mud |
45,922 |
Uncontaminated Mud |
44,316 |
Daily water quality monitoring during dredging
activities commenced on 17 December 2007.
The monitoring schedule for January and February 2008 is presented in Annex
C.
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-RW0676-07 |
21
December 2007 to 19 June 2008 |
For
land-based works including 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-RW0677-07 |
21
December 2007 to 29 February 2008 |
For
marine dredging operation including grab dredger, tug boat, split hopper
barge and motor sampan |
|
GW-RW0678-07 |
21
December 2007 to 18 June 2008 |
For
marine jetty works including concrete pump derrick barges, hand-held
grinders, generators, air compressors, boring machines, water pumps, tug
boat, grout mixers and grout pumps |
Marine
Dumping Permit |
EP/MD/08-064 |
13
December 2007 to 29 February 2008 |
For
Type 1 marine disposal |
|
EP/MD/08-065 |
13
December 2007 to 12 January 2008 |
For
Type 1d & Type 2 marine disposal |
|
EP/MD/08-071 |
13
January 2008 to 12 February 2008 |
For
Type 1d & Type 2 marine disposal |
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 the 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, there was no meeting or site visit organised
by the CLG.
The details of
the CLG (including Membership and its Terms of Reference) and the meeting minutes
can be found on the Project website (http://www.paffhk.com).
Water quality
monitoring during dredging activities recorded daily exceedance of Action Levels
of Depth-averaged Turbidity with exception of 16 and 24 January 2008. There was exceedance of the Action
Levels of Depth-averaged Suspended Solids (SS) on the 11, 23 and 29 January
2008. A description of the actions
taken following these non-compliances is discussed in Section 3.2.
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 4, 11, 16 and 24 January 2008. 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:
¡P
Air Quality
¡P
Water tankers
were used regularly to wet the road surface to minimize dust emission.
¡P
Site entrance was
paved and wheel-washing facility was provided to avoid dust deposit on the
public road.
¡P
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.
¡P
Noise
¡P
No noisy
activities were conducted during the audit.
¡P
All air compressors
on site were operated with a valid noise label.
¡P
Water Quality
¡P
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.
¡P
The site canteen
is no longer in operation and hence no waste water is generated.
¡P
Waste Management
¡P
During the site inspection on 4 and 24
January 2008, water ponding was found near site entrance. The Contractor was recommended to clear
the ponding in accordance with the procedures presented in the EIA.
¡P
During the site inspection on 4 January,
excavated materials near the site entrance were not watered properly. The Contractor was recommended to water
excavated materials in accordance with the procedures presented in the EIA to
avoid fugitive dust generation.
¡P
During the site visit on 4, 11 and 16
January, chemical storage tanks on dredger GD4503 were not labeled and stored
properly. The Contractor was
recommended to ensure proper chemical management in accordance with the
procedures presented in the EIA.
¡P
Landscape and Visual
¡P
The transplanted trees at the new site were
in good and healthy condition; and,
¡P
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.
Water quality
monitoring during dredging activities recorded daily exceedance of Action
Levels of Depth-averaged Turbidity, with exception of 16 and 24 January
2008. There was exceedance of the
Action Levels of Depth-averaged Suspended Solids (SS) on the 11, 23 and 29
January 2008. Details of exceedance
were presented in the monitoring results Annex G. Descriptions of the actions taken
following identification of non-compliance are discussed in Section 3.
Although dredging
operations were undertaken during the reporting period, the exceedances
were unlikely to be caused by the Project and were considered to be an isolated
case due to the following reasons:
¡P
Exceedance
of Action Level of depth-averaged Turbidity was found on 17, 21, 22, 31
December 2007 and 4, 5 January 2008 (when no dredging was undertaken), whose
values were comparable to those of days with dredging operations
¡P
Depth-averaged
DO, bottom DO and depth-averaged SS did not show the same trend of exceedance
As per the
requirements of the EM&A Manual,
incidents were notified to the Franchisee¡¦s Site Representative, the Contractor
and the Independent Environmental Checker upon identification of an exceedance.
The temporal and
spatial trend of the results collected during the impact monitoring have been
plotted against those collected during the baseline monitoring and are
discussed below. Results are
illustrated in Figure G3 in Annex G.
During impact
monitoring on both ebb and flood tides, turbidity and SS levels at all stations
are generally comparable with those levels recorded during the baseline
monitoring. It is more likely that
the waters upstream of the works site are influenced by other factors, such as
natural fluctuations of turbidity and SS observed in the Pearl River
Estuary.
It is also
important to note that the construction works were not carried out continuously
over the weeks during the impact monitoring period. On some occasions, there were no marine
works undertaken on site during the monitoring period.
In accordance
with the required procedures specified in the EM&A Manual to be taken following the trigger of an Action
Level, discussions between the Environmental Team (ET) and the Independent Environmental
Checker (IEC) have resulted in a recommendation of an amendment to be made to
the Action Level for the monitoring of Turbidity for the Project.
It is noted that
for Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Suspended Solids (SS) a set Action and Limit
Levels (AL Levels) have been established taking into consideration both the
baseline data as well as the Environmental Protection Departments (EPD) routine
water quality monitoring data collected between 1998 and 2006. This value thus takes into account
historical fluctuations in ambient conditions and thereby could be considered
to be more representative of natural change. Presently, monitoring for Turbidity does
not take into account natural spatial and temporal patterns, but is rather
restricted to Action Levels that are determined by the water quality data
collected at upstream control station on the day of monitoring. It is therefore recommended that the
Action Level of Turbidity be amended to follow the same principle as that
currently applied to DO and SS.
Further to the
communications with the IEC and the EPD, amendment of AL Levels of Turbidity
was approved and will be presented in the revised Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Report.
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
E.
Air and Noise
monitoring is not required for the project.
In accordance to
the EM&A Manual, during dredging activities, water quality monitoring
commenced on 17 December 2007. QA/QC reports for Suspended Solids testing
are presented in Annex F. Monitoring data and graphical
presentations of the results are included in Annex G.
Results of the
monitoring demonstrated that all measured dissolved oxygen levels of all Impact
Stations were compliant with the Action and Limit (AL) Levels specified in the EM&A Manual. Concentrations of Suspended Solids (SS)
were generally below AL Levels, however, exceedances were noted for 11, 23 and
29 January 2008. Turbidity levels
were, however, above Action Levels on a daily basis (except on 16 and 24
January 2008) during the reporting month.
A review of the above exceedances concluded that these were not
attributable to Project works and were likely due to natural variation (see Section 3.2 for further details).
Biweekly monitoring of water samples was conducted for POPs
analysis. At the time of this
report, results were available for 26 December 2007 and 9 January 2008. All POPs parameters (ie total PCBs,
total DDTs and total PAHs) were below detection limits. Monitoring results and QA/QC reports
for POPs testing are presented in Annex
H.
The remaining
results of January¡¦s monitoring will be presented in the next Monthly Monitoring Report once they
become available.
Since dredging
activity has not reached the sediment removal of 3km (for SS) and 2km (SS2)
level 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.
In accordance to EM&A Manual, dolphin monitoring has been
undertaken during dredging activities since 17 December 2007.
During the
reporting period, one dolphin sightings were recorded outside the exclusion
zone on 2 January 2008, with three dolphin sightings recorded within the
exclusion zone on 24, 27 and 31 January 2008. Appropriate action was taken in
accordance with the EM&A Manual. Sighting results are presented in Table
4.1.
Table 4.1 Dolphin
Sighting Records during the Reporting Period
Date |
Time |
Dredger Identity |
Sighting Distance from Dredger (m) |
Group Size |
Beaufort |
Boat Association |
Behaviour |
02/01/2008 |
1249 |
GD 4503 |
290 |
1 |
3 |
None |
Travelling |
14/01/2008 |
1620 |
GD 4503 |
90 |
1 |
NA* |
NA* |
NA* |
24/01/2008 |
1400 |
GD 4503 |
183 |
1 |
2 |
None |
Travelling |
27/01/2008 |
08115 |
GD 654 |
56 |
3 |
3 |
None |
Travelling |
31/01/2008 |
1620 |
GD 4503 |
150 |
1 |
2 |
None |
Travelling |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*Remark: One dolphin
carcass sighting was recorded. |
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 updated EM&A Manual was revised
accordingly to the comments received from the EPD on 6th December
2007 and was submitted to the EPD on 10th December 2007. Comments were received from the EPD on
22 January 2008. The ET will update the EM&A
Manual accordingly within the next reporting period.
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 Final Baseline Monitoring Report was submitted to the EPD on 21 November and comments were received from
the EPD on 6th December.
A revised Final Baseline
Monitoring Report will be submitted to the EPD within the next reporting
period.
Key issues to be considered
in the next one month will include:
¡P
Dust
release and suppression;
¡P
Operation
of dredging activities;
¡P
Water
quality monitoring and dolphin monitoring during the dredging activities; and
¡P
Marine
Archaeological Inspection (MAI) 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.
Based on the
water quality monitoring results recorded to date, it may be expected that
further exceedances in Turbidity and possibly Suspended Solids may be
recorded. However, as with those
recorded so far, it is not expected that such exceedances would be attributable
to Project Works. It is noted that
actions are underway to potentially revise the Action Limit Levels for
Turbidity which may commence in the next reporting period.
Work programme for
the next one month includes jetty platform works (non-piling), site works
(construction works for tank farm, operational and fire services buildings,
drainages, bund wall, security wall etc) and dredging operation. Weekly site inspections will be undertaken. Water quality, dolphin monitoring and
marine archaeological monitoring will be undertaken in accordance with the EM&A Manual.