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 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 30th April 2008
Table 2.3 Summary
of Environmental Licensing, Notification and Permit Status
LIST OF ANNEXES
Annex A Project Location
Annex B Water Quality Monitoring Stations,
Water Quality and EcologicalSensitive Receivers
Annex C Cumulative Complaints Statistics
Annex D Implementation Programme of
Mitigation Measures
Annex E 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 eighteenth
monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) report presents the
EM&A works carried out during the period from 1st April to 30th
April 2008 in accordance with the EM&A
Manual.
Breaches of all Action and Limit Levels
No water quality
monitoring was conducted (due to no dredging work) during the reporting period
that required comparison against Action and Limit Levels.
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.
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.
The decision by
the EPD to grant the above Environmental Permit was, however, 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 EP-262/2007/A and issued by the EPD on 30
November 2007.
It should be
noted that at the time of reporting, a further Variation to the Environmental
Permit has been approved, primarily to allow for dredging works to continue
during March 2008. As such, EP-262/2007/A has been amended to EP-262/2007/B and issued by the EPD on
27 February 2008.
The construction works and EM&A requirements were
resumed on 9th July 2007 following the latest requirements of the EP-262/2007/B 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 eighteenth EM&A Report which
summarizes the monitoring results and audit findings for the EM&A programme
during the reporting period from 1st
April to 30th April 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 30th April 2008. The cumulative dredging volume during the
reporting period was presented in Figure 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) |
Submarine |
None |
Table 2.2 Cumulative
Quantity of Excavated Materials up to 30th April 2008
Type of Excavated
Materials |
Cumulative Bulk Volume (m3) |
Contaminated
Mud |
105,974 |
Uncontaminated
Mud |
97,815 |
No water quality monitoring was conducted during the
reporting periods, hence presentation of the monitoring schedule is not
applicable.
A summary of the relevant permits, licences, and/or
notifications on environmental protection for this Project since July 2007 is
presented in Table 2.3.
Table
2.3 Summary of Environmental
Licensing, Notification and Permit Status
Permit/ Licenses/ Notification |
Reference |
Validity
Period |
Remarks |
Environmental
Permit |
EP-262/2007/B |
Throughout
Project |
Issued
on 27 February 2008 (EP-262/2007/A 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 |
|
GW-RW0094-08 |
1
March to 31 March 2008 |
For
marine dredging operation including grab dredger, tug boat, split hopper
barge and motor sampan |
Marine
Dumping Permit |
EP/MD/08-064 |
13
December 2007 to 29 February 2008 |
For
Type 1 – Open Sea 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 |
|
EP/MD/08-090 |
3
March to 31 March 2008 |
For
Type 1d & Type 2 marine disposal |
|
EP/MD/08-091 |
3
March to 31 March 2008 |
For
Type 1 – Open Sea 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. 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).
No meetings of the CLG were held during this
reporting month.
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 C.
No summons was
received in this reporting period. A
summary of legal proceeding since project commencement is presented in Annex C.
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 3, 11, 17 and 25 April 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:
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.
·
During the site inspection on 25 April 2008, an open stockpile of sand
was spotted adjacent to the wall of the operation building under
construction. The Contractor was
recommended to cover up unused piles with impervious sheets whenever possible
to avoid wind erosion.
·
During the site inspection on 11 April 2008, a worker was observed
cutting a wooden beam with an improper equipment, resulting in the generation
of excessive dust and smoke. The
Contractor was recommended to use suitable tools for respective work tasks in
order to minimize air quality impacts.
Noise
·
No noisy activities that generated excessive noise were observed during
the audit.
·
All air compressors inspected 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 observed during the audits.
Waste Management
·
During the site
inspection on 25 April 2008, construction and general wastes were mixed and
piled on the ground outside the operation building. The Contractor was recommended to segregate
wastes in an orderly manner and to provide suitable waste skips for temporary
waste storage in accordance to the waste management plan developed from the
approved EIA.
·
During the site inspection
on 3 April 2008, the general waste skip outside the operation building was
observed to be full. The Contractor was
reminded to clear wastes regularly. Ad hoc collection should be arranged
when large quantities of wastes were generated in between regular collections
to avoid overfilling waste skips.
·
Oil stains were
observed near the main chemical waste storage in the surcharge area and on the
access road in between the surcharge area and the tank farms during the site
inspection on 25 April. The Contractor
was recommended to implement clean up practices when oil spills were identified
on site.
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
D.
Air and Noise monitoring
is not required for the project.
No dredging activities were scheduled from 1 April 2008 onwards. Water quality monitoring was therefore not
required for the reporting month.
No POPs monitoring
was undertaken since there was no dredging operation during the reporting
month. POPs results of previous
monitoring month (24 March 2008) were received during the reporting month and
all POPs parameters (ie total PCBs, total DDTs and total PAHs) were below
detection limits, except the total PAHs of Control Station C1 during mid-flood
tidal condition. As C1 is a Control
Station, such levels were not considered to be attributable to works. Monitoring results and QA/QC reports for POPs testing are presented
in Annex E.
A marine archaeological Watching Brief of two
sub-surface anomalies was implemented from 21st to 28th
February 2008. No archaeological sites
or relics were found and it was considered by the licensed Marine Archaeologist
that the anomalies have no cultural heritage significance. No additional mitigation measures were thus
required to be implemented by the PAFF project in regard to the anomalies SS1
and SS2.
The details and
findings of this watching process are presented in the Watching Brief Report, currently under review by the Independent
Environmental Checker prior to submission to EPD and AMO for review.
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
with EM&A Manual, dolphin
monitoring has been undertaken during dredging activities since 17 December
2007 until 31 March 2008. Dolphin visual
monitoring was suspended from 1 April 2008 as no dredging works were scheduled
for the reporting period. No monitoring
findings are therefore available for the month of April.
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 6 December 2007 and was
submitted to the EPD on 10 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 was submitted to the EPD on 20th
February 2008 with no further comments received and later placed under the EIAO
register.
It should be noted that dredging activities have been
suspended from 1st April onwards and are tentatively scheduled to
resume in September 2008. No dredging operation
will be undertaken in the next reporting period. As such, the key issue to be considered in
the next one month will be:
·
Dust
release and suppression.
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.