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 Marine
Sediments up to 31st July 2008
Table 2.3 Summary of Environmental Licensing,
Notification and Permit Status
LIST
OF ANNEXES
Annex B Water Quality and Ecological Sensitive
Receivers
Annex C Cumulative Complaints Statistics
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The construction works for the Permanent
Aviation Fuel Facility resumed on 9th July 2007. This twenty-first
monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) report presents the EM&A
work carried out during the period from 1st
July to 31st July 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. A further Variation to
the Environmental Permit has been approved to allow dredging works to continue
until 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 twenty
first EM&A Report which summarizes the monitoring results and audit
findings for the EM&A programme during the reporting period from 1st July to 31st July 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 31st
July 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, Roof Truss 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 Marine
Sediments up to 31st July 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 period, 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
(renewal application was in progress) |
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
(renewal application was in progress) |
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) can be found on the Project
website (http://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 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
4, 10, 18, and 24 July 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.
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.
·
During the site inspections on 4 and 10 July 2008, stagnant water pools
were observed within the site boundary.
On 4 July 2008, a drip tray underneath a power generator near the water
pressure pump was found to be full of water, thereby preventing any further
water to be collected as per the intent.
The Contractor was recommended to arrange ad hoc water clearances after the rainy periods.
Waste Management
·
During the site
inspection on 4 July 2008, the chemical waste storage area was observed to be
full. The Contractor was reminded to
arrange chemical waste collections and clear observable oil sheens as soon as
possible.
·
During the site
inspection on 10 July and 24 July 2008, it was observed that general waste
skips in the oil pumping facilty works area and near
the operation building were full respectively.
The Contractor was recommended to arrange waste clearance as soon as
possible.
·
During the site
inspections on 10 July and 24 July 2008, an oil pump and a pile handling system
under maintenance were observed to be leaking lubricants onto the ground in the
workshop respectively. The Contractor
was recommended to provide spillage preventive measures and to inspect
condition of equipment as soon as possible.
·
During the site
inspection on 18 July and 24 July 2008, oil sheens were observed on the floor
around a diesel storage tank and behind the offices in the workshop
respectively. The Contractor was
recommended to clear spillages and to provide suitable spillage control
measures as soon as possible.
·
During the site
inspection on 18 July 2008, an oil container was observed to be placed on the
ground next to the chemical waste storage outside the new operation
building. The Contractor was recommended
to provide drip trays for temporary storage of oil products or to relocate
chemical waste containers in the chemical waste cabinet after usage.
Landscape and Visual
·
The transplanted
trees at the new site were in good and healthy condition; and,
·
The berm was habilitated by vegetation.
With the exception of the above observations, 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.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
monitoring was not required since there was no dredging operation during the
reporting month.
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 Watching
Brief Report, verified by the Independent Environmental Checker, was
submitted to the EPD and AMO on 9th May 2008.
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.
Dolphin visual monitoring was not required as no
dredging works were scheduled for the reporting period.
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. No further actions
regarding the EM&A manual were required during the reporting month.
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.