Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1.1
Background
1.2
Scope of Report
1.3
Organization Structure
2.1
Dolphin Monitoring
2.2
Environmental Licenses and Permits
2.3
Summary of Exceedances of the
Environmental Quality Performance Limit
2.4
Summary of Complaints,
Notification of Summons and Successful Prosecutions
3.1
Monitoring Schedule for the Coming
Month
4
Conclusions
and recommendations
4.1
Conclusions
Under Agreement No. HMWSD 1/2021
(EP), ERM-Hong Kong,
Limited (ERM) has been appointed as the Environmental Team (ET) by
the Highways Department (HyD) to undertaken
the implementation of post-construction monitoring for the Chinese White
Dolphin (CWD) in accordance with Environmental Permit No. EP-354/2009/D for
the Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link Project (TM-CLK
Link Project). AECOM
Asia Company Limited was appointed by HyD as the
Supervising Officer while Ramboll Hong
Kong Ltd. was employed by HyD as the Independent
Environmental Checker (IEC) and Environmental Project Office (ENPO).
The post-construction monitoring
for the CWD commenced on June 2020 and will be completed in May 2022.
This
is the Eighth Monthly EM&A report presenting the monitoring works carried
out during the period from 1 to 30 April 2022 for the Agreement No. HMWSD
1/2021 (EP) Post-Construction Monitoring of Chinese White Dolphin
(Line-transect Vessel Surveys) for Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link in Northeast and Northwest Lantau Survey Area –
Investigation (the “Contract”)
in accordance with the Updated EM&A Manual of the TM-CLK Link Contract.
In order to fulfil the
EP’s and EM&A Manual’s requirements for TM-CLKL Project, Agreement No.
HMWSD 1/2021 (EP) took over the responsibility for implementation of
operational phase dolphin monitoring from Contract No. HY/2012/08 from 1
September 2021 to 31 May 2022.
A
summary of monitoring and audit activities conducted in the reporting period is
listed below:
Operational
Phase Dolphin
Monitoring 2
sessions
Summary
of Breaches of Action/Limit Levels
No
Action and Limit Level exceedance was recorded.
Environmental
Complaints, Non-compliance & Summons
No non-compliance with EIA recommendations, EP
conditions and other requirements associated with the construction of this
Contract was recorded in this reporting period.
No environmental complaint was
received in this reporting period.
No
environmental summons was received in this reporting period.
Reporting Change
There was no reporting
change in the reporting period.
According
to the findings of the Northwest New Territories (NWNT) Traffic and
Infrastructure Review conducted by the Transport Department, Tuen Mun Road, Ting Kau Bridge, Lantau Link and North Lantau Highway would be
operating beyond capacity after 2016. This forecast has been based on the
estimated increase in cross boundary traffic, developments in the Northwest New
Territories (NWNT), and possible developments in North Lantau, including the
Airport developments, the Lantau Logistics Park (LLP) and the Hong Kong –
Zhuhai – Macao Bridge (HZMB). In order to cope with the anticipated
traffic demand, two new road sections between NWNT and North Lantau – Tuen Mun – Chek
Lap Kok Link (TM-CLKL) and Tuen
Mun Western Bypass (TMWB) are proposed.
An
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of TM-CLKL (the Project) was prepared in
accordance with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-175/2007) and the Technical
Memorandum of the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM).
The EIA Report was submitted under the Environmental Impact Assessment
Ordinance (EIAO) in August 2009. Subsequent to the approval of the EIA Report
(EIAO Register Number AEIAR-146/2009), an Environmental Permit (EP-354/2009)
for TM-CLKL was granted by the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) on 4
November 2009, and EP variation (VEP) (EP-354/2009/A) was issued on 8 December
2010. Subsequent applications for variation of environmental permits
(VEPs), EP-354/2009/B, EP-354/2009/C and EP-354/2009/D, were
granted on 28 January 2014, 10 December 2014 and 13 March 2015, respectively.
Under Agreement No. HMWSD 1/2021
(EP), ERM-Hong Kong,
Limited (ERM) has been appointed as the Environmental Team (ET) by
the Highways Department (HyD) to undertaken
the implementation of post-construction monitoring for the Chinese White
Dolphin (CWD) in accordance with Environmental Permit No. EP-354/2009/D for
the Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link Project (TM-CLK
Link Project). AECOM
Asia Company Limited was appointed by HyD as the
Supervising Officer while Ramboll Hong
Kong Ltd. was employed by HyD as the Independent
Environmental Checker (IEC) and Environmental Project Office (ENPO).
The post-construction monitoring
for the CWD commenced on June 2020 and will be completed in May 2022.
In order to fulfil the
EP’s and EM&A Manual’s requirements for TM-CLKL Project, Agreement No.
HMWSD 1/2021 (EP) took over the responsibility for implementation of
operational phase dolphin monitoring from Contract No. HY/2012/08 from 1
September 2021 to 31 May 2022.
The
organization structure of the Contract is shown in Appendix A. The
key personnel contact names and contact details are summarized in Table 1.1
below.
Table
1.1 Contact Information of Key
Personnel
Party |
Position |
Name |
Telephone |
Fax |
Highways
Department |
Engr 24/SD |
Ken
T.M. Cheng |
2762 4062 |
3188 6614 |
SOR
(AECOM
Asia Company Limited) |
Senior
Resident Engineer |
K P Wong |
2293 6403 |
2293 6300 |
ENPO
/ IEC (Ramboll Hong Kong Ltd.) |
ENPO
Leader |
Y.H.
Hui |
3465 2850 |
3465
2899 |
IEC |
Brian
Tam |
9700 6767 |
3465
2899 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ET
(ERM-HK) |
ET
Leader |
Jasmine
Ng |
2271
3311 |
2723
5660 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
EM&A programme required environmental monitoring
for marine ecology. The EM&A requirements and related findings for
the component are summarized in the following sections
Operational
Phase dolphin monitoring is required to be conducted by a qualified dolphin
specialist team to evaluate whether there have been any effects on the
dolphins. According to the EM&A Manual,
Operational Phase Monitoring on dolphin monitoring shall be undertaken
based upon the frequency of forty-eight, one-day survey events at a
frequency of 2 per month over a period of 24 months following cessation of the
construction.
In
order to fulfil the EM&A requirements and make good use of available
resources, Agreement No. HMWSD 1/2021 (EP) has taken over the
responsibility for implementation of dolphin monitoring from HZMB HKLR
Contract No. HY/2011/03 since October 2019 and Contract No. HY/2012/08
since September 2021.
Table
2.1 summarises the equipment used for the operational
phase dolphin monitoring.
Table
2.1 Dolphin Monitoring
Equipment
Equipment |
Model |
Global
Positioning System (GPS) |
Garmin 18X-PC Geo
One Phottix |
Camera |
Nikon
D90 300m 2.8D fixed focus Nikon
D90 20-300m zoom lens |
Laser
Binocular |
Infinitor LRF
1000 |
Marine
Binocular |
Bushell 7 x
50 marine binocular with compass and reticules |
Vessel
for Monitoring |
65
foot single engine motor vessel with viewing platform 4.5m above water level |
Dolphin
monitoring should cover all transect lines in Northeast Lantau (NEL) and the
Northwest Lantau (NWL) survey areas twice per month throughout the entire
construction period and operational phase. The monitoring data should be
compatible with, and should be made available for, long-term studies of small
cetacean ecology in Hong Kong. In order to provide a suitable long-term
dataset for comparison, identical methodology and line transects employed in
baseline dolphin monitoring was followed in the impact dolphin monitoring and
operational phase dolphin monitoring.
The
operational phase dolphin monitoring was carried out in the NEL and NWL along
the line transect as depicted in Figure 2.1.
The co-ordinates of all transect lines are shown in Table 2.2 below.
Table
2.2 Operational Phase Dolphin
Monitoring Line Transect Co-ordinates
Line No. |
Easting |
Northing |
Line No. |
Easting |
Northing |
||
1 |
Start Point |
804671 |
815456 |
13 |
Start Point |
816506 |
819480 |
1 |
End Point |
804671 |
831404 |
13 |
End Point |
816506 |
824859 |
2 |
Start Point |
805476 |
820800* |
14 |
Start Point |
817537 |
820220 |
2 |
End Point |
805476 |
826654 |
14 |
End Point |
817537 |
824613 |
3 |
Start Point |
806464 |
821150* |
15 |
Start Point |
818568 |
820735 |
3 |
End Point |
806464 |
822911 |
15 |
End Point |
818568 |
824433 |
4 |
Start Point |
807518 |
821500* |
16 |
Start Point |
819532 |
821420 |
4 |
End Point |
807518 |
829230 |
16 |
End Point |
819532 |
824209 |
5 |
Start Point |
808504 |
821850* |
17 |
Start Point |
820451 |
822125 |
5 |
End Point |
808504 |
828602 |
17 |
End Point |
820451 |
823671 |
6 |
Start Point |
809490 |
822150* |
18 |
Start Point |
821504 |
822371 |
6 |
End Point |
809490 |
825352 |
18 |
End Point |
821504 |
823761 |
7 |
Start Point |
810499 |
822000* |
19 |
Start Point |
822513 |
823268 |
7 |
End Point |
810499 |
824613 |
19 |
End Point |
822513 |
824321 |
8 |
Start Point |
811508 |
821123 |
20 |
Start Point |
823477 |
823402 |
8 |
End Point |
811508 |
824254 |
20 |
End Point |
823477 |
824613 |
9 |
Start Point |
812516 |
821303 |
21 |
Start Point |
805476 |
827081 |
9 |
End Point |
812516 |
824254 |
21 |
End Point |
805476 |
830562 |
10 |
Start Point |
813525 |
821176 |
22 |
Start Point |
806464 |
824033 |
10 |
End Point |
813525 |
824657 |
22 |
End Point |
806464 |
829598 |
11 |
Start Point |
814556 |
818853 |
23 |
Start Point |
814559 |
821739 |
11 |
End Point |
814556 |
820992 |
23 |
End Point |
814559 |
824768 |
12 |
Start Point |
815542 |
818807 |
24* |
Start Point |
805476* |
815900* |
12 |
End Point |
815542 |
824882 |
24* |
End Point |
805476* |
819100* |
Dolphin
monitoring was carried out on 12, 13, 21 and 25 April 2022. The dolphin
monitoring schedule for the reporting month is shown in Appendix B.
No
Chinese White Dolphin was sighted in the two sets of surveys in April
2022.
No
dolphin sighting was made in the proximity of the TM-CLKL alignment.
Encounter
rates of Chinese White Dolphins are deduced from the survey effort and
on-effort sighting data made under favourable
conditions (Beaufort 3 or below) in April 2022 with the results present in Tables
2.3 and 2.4.
Table
2.3 Individual Survey Event
Encounter Rates
|
Encounter rate
(STG) (no.
of on-effort dolphin sightings per 100 km of survey effort) |
Encounter rate
(ANI) (no. of dolphins from all on-effort sightings per
100 km of survey effort) |
|
Primary Lines
Only |
Primary Lines
Only |
||
NEL |
Set 1: April 12th /
13th |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Set 2: April 21st /
25th |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
NWL |
Set 1: April 12th /
13th |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Set 2: April 21st /
25th |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Note: Dolphin Encounter Rates are deduced from
the Two Sets of Surveys (Two Surveys in Each Set ) in
April 2022 in Northeast (NEL) and Northwest Lantau (NWL)
Table
2.4 Monthly Average Encounter
Rates
|
Encounter rate
(STG) (no. of on-effort dolphin
sightings per 100 km of survey effort) |
Encounter rate
(ANI) (no. of
dolphins from all on-effort sightings per 100 km of survey effort) |
||
Primary
Lines Only |
Both Primary and
Secondary Lines |
Primary
Lines Only |
Both Primary and
Secondary Lines |
|
Northeast Lantau |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Northwest Lantau |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Note:
Overall dolphin encounter rates (sightings per 100 km of survey effort) from
all four surveys are conducted in April 2022 on primary lines only as well as
both primary lines and secondary lines in Northeast and Northwest Lantau.
The
status of environmental licensing and permit is summarized in Table 2.5 below.
Table
2.5 Summary of Environmental
Licensing and Permit Status
License/
Permit |
License or
Permit No. |
Date of Issue |
Date of
Expiry |
License/ Permit Holder |
Remarks |
Environmental
Permit |
EP-354/2009/DF |
13 March 2015 |
Throughout the
Contract |
HyD |
Application
for VEP on 3 March 2015 to supersede EP-354/2009/C |
Notes: |
|||||
HyD =
Highways Department VEP =
Variation of Environmental Permit |
No
Action and Limit Level exceedance of was recorded.
Cumulative
statistics are provided in Appendix
D.
No environmental complaint was
received in this reporting period.
No
environmental summons was received in this reporting period.
Statistics
on complaints, notifications of summons and successful prosecutions are
summarized in Appendix D.
The tentative schedule
for environmental monitoring in May 2022 is provided in Appendix B.
This Eighth EM&A Report presents the findings of the
monitoring works undertaken during the period from 1 to 30 April 2022, in
accordance with the Updated EM&A Manual and the requirements of
EP-354/2009/D.
Operational phase dolphin
monitoring was carried out in this reporting month.
No
Action and Limit Level exceedance was recorded.
No
Chinese White Dolphin was sighted in the two sets of surveys in April 2022.
No environmental complaint was
received in this reporting period.
No
environmental summons was received in this reporting period.
In order to fulfil the
EP’s and EM&A Manual’s requirements for TM-CLKL Project, Agreement No.
HMWSD 1/2021 (EP) took over the responsibility for implementation of operational
phase dolphin monitoring from Contract No. HY/2012/08 from 1 September
2021 to 31 May 2022.