This second quarterly Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) report presents the EM&A works carried out during the period from 15th February 2005 to 14th May 2006 in accordance with the EM&A Manual.
Dolphin Visual Monitoring was conducted during the piling activities until the 29th March 2006 when the piling activities were completed. No dolphins were found entering the 500m exclusion zone during piling activities over the reporting period.
Weekly site inspections were conducted during the reporting period and no non-compliance was found. Recommendations have been made to the contractor for observations on the environmental deficiencies on site.
No breaches of action/limit levels was occurred and no environmental summon or prosecution was received in this reporting period.
Air and noise monitoring are not required for the Project. No water quality monitoring was conducted as no dredging work was implemented.
Leighton Contractors (
The project area is in Area 38 of Tuen Mun and the pipelines are
located in
No air and noise sensitive receivers were identified in the EIA close to the project area. However, water sensitive receivers and ecological sensitive receivers were identified in the EIA study, and are shown in Annex A.
The project organization chart and contact details are shown in Annex C.
The work programme for the Project is presented in Annex D. A summary of the major construction activities undertaken in this reporting period is shown in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 Summary of Works Undertaken from 15 February 2006 and 14 May 2006
|
Area |
Works Undertaken |
|
Tuen Mun Area 38 |
Marine Piling Works (ended on 29 Mar 06) Piles Internal Works Site Preparation Works Surcharges & Fuel Tanks Construction Workshop and Operational Building Construction Trees Transplantation, Landscaping Bund and Hydroseeding Site & Permanent Drainage Construction |
A summary of the relevant permits, licences, notifications and reports submitted for this Project as of 14th May 2006 is presented in Annex E.
Air and noise monitoring are not required for this Project.
Auditing the contractor’s Waste Management Plan (WMP) is part of the EM&A requirements. The revised WMP (Rev 2) was submitted to EPD on the 13th May 2006. The WMP provided details on the waste management issues associated with the construction phase of the project, and included recommendations on the procedures for handling of C&D materials, excavated materials, chemical waste and general refuse.
Major solid wastes generated on site during the reporting period were C&D materials (mainly sand for surcharges) and general refuses. The Contractor indicated that the C&D materials would be reused on site. Bins and recycling facilities were provided on site for general refuse and the C&D wastes were disposed at WENT. Trip tickets were available for inspection.
During site inspections in March and April 2006, some rubbish e.g. empty lunch boxes was found near the pier on site. The Contractor was advised to remove the rubbish regularly and to inform the staff that rubbish should be placed in the refuse bins provided. Extra bins should be provided on site if considered necessary. No rubbish was found during May’s site inspections.
The main type of liquid waste was wasted oil (lubricant oil). Two chemical waste stores were provided on site. The stores were enclosed with 3 sides and a roof top, and labelled. Curtains were provided to cover up the front side of the stores to avoid direct sunlight and rain getting inside the stores. Drip trays were provided for the chemical waste containers and overall, the containers were labelled properly.
During site inspections, some chemical waste containers were found without labels. Water was found accumulated in the drip trays of the chemical stores during and after rainy days. The Contractor was reminded to label all chemical waste containers properly, and to remove all water in the drip trays. If the water in the drip tray appeared contaminated, such should be treated as chemical waste.
Chemical waste was produced during the reporting period, the chemical waste drums were collected in April 2006. Trip ticket was inspected.
Water quality monitoring will be evaluated against Action and Limit Levels which are presented in Annex F. Water quality monitoring is only required during the dredging phase of the project and the monitoring locations are presented in Annex A. Since no dredging activity has been conducted during the reporting period, water quality monitoring was not required.
The Contractor applied for a wastewater discharge licence (industrial trade effluent) on 23 January 06 and the licence was issued on 15 March 2006. The license required the Contractor to conduct grab sampling at the discharge point(s) quarterly on suspended solids (SS). The discharge limit for SS is 30 mg/L. The licence also set out the limitations for Flow rate (maximum 30 m3/day)m pH (between 6 and 9) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (80 mg/L).
The capacity of the sedimentation tank and site drainage system was found inadequate for treating the wastewater (mainly SS) generated on site after heavy rainstorm, during the site inspection on the 27th April 2006. The Contractor was reminded not to discharge any wastewater with high content of SS, and recommended the Contractor to re-construct the site drainage and wastewater treatment system with larger capacity.
A new site drainage and wastewater treatment system was built at the beginning of May 2006, with a much higher capacity than the previous system.
Visual dolphin monitoring for the 500m exclusion zone was conducted during the piling works. The action plan for dolphin pre/post-construction phase monitoring is presented in Annex F. Bubble jackets were used surrounding the pile and barge to reduce the noise impact generated from the marine piling activities.
Visual dolphin monitoring was completed on the 29 March 2006 as the piling activities were completed. No dolphin entered the exclusion zone during piling activities.
The watching brief (dive investigation) for marine archaeology is only required during the dredging phase of the pipe trench. Since no dredging activity has been conducted during the reporting period, dive investigation 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 Contractor submitted the final version of Landscaping Plan dated 12th May 2006, the Plan will be reviewed by the ET and IEC.
During the reporting period, tree transplantations were conducted at the site boundary areas and landscaping bunds were also conducted. Hydroseeding was also applied to the landscaping bunds and the large stockpile during the reporting period. Our weekly inspection included audits on landscape and visual issues to ensure that the site was in orderly acceptable manner. The action plans for design and operational phases are presented in Annex F.
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 submitted the Environmental Design Audit for Tank Farm and Fuel Pipelines dated 24th April 2006, the design audits will be reviewed by the ET and IEC. In addition, weekly site inspection also covered the waste management aspects which included measures to prevent land contamination by chemical wastes.
Weekly site inspections were conducted during the construction phase of the project covering the aspects of air and noise, water quality, waste management and landscape & visual. Overall the site was in good orderly manner and no non-compliance was found. Table 2.2 summarised the environmental deficiencies found on site during the reporting period.
Table 2.2 Environmental Deficiencies (Observations) from the Site Inspections during the Reporting Period
|
Reporting Month |
Observation |
Follow-up Action |
|
|
|
|
|
March 2006 |
Some exposed earth was not covered. |
The exposed earth was removed. |
|
March 2006 |
Water was accumulated near the site hoarding and fence
boundary. |
Water was removed. |
|
March 2006 |
Rubbish (empty lunch boxes) was found scattered in the
site. |
Rubbish was disposed in the bins provided. |
|
April 2006 |
Two large stockpiles were not covered. |
Covers were provided for the large stockpiles. |
|
April 2006 |
Water was accumulated near the site hoarding and fence
boundary. |
Water was removed. |
|
April 2006 |
A hole filled with stagnant water was found next to the
installed sedimentation tank near the site entrance. |
The Contractor indicated that the hole was originally for
the sedimentation purpose. Mosquito
oil was spread to the stagnant water. |
|
April 2006 |
Rubbish (empty lunch boxes, bottles and cans) was found
scattered in the areas near seawall and pier. |
The site workers were reminded to dispose rubbish properly
and rubbish was removed. |
|
April 2006 |
A small emptied engine oil container was found dumping on
the site near the site boundary. |
The container was removed. |
|
April 2006 |
Chemical waste drums were found without labels. |
Labels were provided for the drums. |
|
April 2006 |
Water was found accumulated in the drip tray in the
chemical waste stores. |
Water was removed.
Contaminated mixture was treated as chemical waste. |
|
May 2006 |
Dust emission was observed during loading activities and
vehicle movement within the site. |
Dust emission activities were sprayed with water and water
tanker was used more regularly on site.
Hydroseeding was also applied to the large
stockpiles. |
|
May 2006 |
The capacity of the original site drainage and wastewater
treatment system was found inadequate after a heavy rainstorm. |
A new wastewater treatment system was constructed/installed. |
|
May 2006 |
Water was accumulated throughout the sites after rainstorm. |
Water was removed. |
|
May 2006 |
Chemical waste drums were found without labels. |
Labels were provided for the drums. |
|
May 2006 |
Water was found accumulated in the drip tray in the
chemical waste stores. |
Water was removed.
Contaminated mixture was treated as chemical waste. |
|
May 2006 |
Chemical waste was found in a non-sealed container on top
of a chemical waste drum in the chemical waste store next to the site office. |
The chemical waste was removed and stored in the chemical
waste drum. |
|
|
|
|
The construction impacts predicted in the EIA and the monthly reports were similar with the actual impacts occurred in the reporting period. The results from the underwater noise monitoring complied with the EP conditions. As water quality monitoring was not conducted during the reporting period due to no dredging work, it is unable to conduct prediction review on the water quality.
· Noise from operating machinery and equipment;
· Dust release and suppression;
· Wastewater discharge within construction site.
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 G.
No environmental non-compliance or exceedance was found during the reporting period.
No environmental complaint was received during the reporting period.
No summons was received in this reporting period.
The EM&A works were conducted throughout the construction period and the relevant monitoring were conducted in accordance with the EP’s requirements. Mitigation measures were used to minimise the environmental impacts on site including those on the piling barge. Some environmental deficiencies were observed during site inspections and the Contractor provided mitigation measures to solve the issues. Overall, the site was in an orderly manner.
Recommendations to the environmental deficiencies found on site during site inspections included:
· To cover up dusty stockpiles and locate them away from the windy locations as possible
· To label all chemical waste containers and store them in enclosed cabin with good ventilation
· To clear the stagnant water on site or fill the ponds with sand
· To provide more effective site drainage and wastewater treatment systems to treat the wastewater on site before discharge