Agreement No. CE 20/2004(EP) North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill Extension

 

Monthly Environmental Monitoring and Audit Report (No. 21) – August 2024

2024-09-12

ET Certification

IEC Verification


Contents

 

Executive Summary. 1

1.  Introduction. 3

2.  Project Information. 5

3.  Air Quality Monitoring. 10

4   Noise Monitoring. 18

5   Water Quality Monitoring. 23

6   Waste Management 32

7   Landfill Gas Monitoring. 33

8   Landscape and Visual 37

9   Cultural Heritage. 38

10 Ecological Monitoring. 39

11 Site Inspection and Audit 40

12 Environmental Non-conformance. 43

13 Implementation Status on Environmental Mitigation Measures. 46

14 Future Key Issues. 47

15 Conclusion. 48

 

Figure

Figure 1

Location of the Project Site

Figure 2

Impact Air Quality, Noise & Surface Water Monitoring Locations

Figure 3

Landfill Gas Monitoring Locations

Appendix

Appendix A

Construction Programme & Construction Site Activities

Appendix B

Project Organization Chart & Management Structure

Appendix C

Detail Status of FEP & EP Submission

Appendix D

Monitoring Schedule for Reporting Month & Next Month

Appendix E

Calibration Certificates

Appendix F

Monitoring Results

Appendix G

Graphical Presentations

Appendix H

Notification of Environmental Quality Limits Exceedance

Appendix I

Wind Data

Appendix J

Waste Flow Table

Appendix K

Joint Environmental Site Inspection Records

Appendix L

Environmental Mitigation Implementation Schedule (EMIS)

Appendix M

Mitigation Measures of Cultural Landscape Features

Appendix N

Cumulative Complaint / Enquiry Log, Summaries of Complaints and Enquiries


Executive Summary

ES1.             Aurecon Hong Kong Limited (Aurecon) was appointed to undertake the role of Environmental Team (ET) and carry out Environmental Monitoring and Audit for the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill Extension.

 

ES2.             The construction phase and EM&A programme of the Project commenced on 1 December 2022.

 

ES3.             This 21st Monthly EM&A Report presents the EM&A works conducted from 1 to 31 August 2024 in accordance with the EM&A Manual.

Summary of Construction Works undertaken during Report Period

ES4.             The major construction works undertaken during the reporting period include:

 

ES Table1           Major Construction Works undertaken during the Reporting Period

-           Material loading and unloading, backfilling of material and site traffic at Portion A, SBA to alternative disposal ground

-           Construction of site buildings at Portion D

-           Site clearance at Portion A, B2/E1, E3-1 & E4

-           Installation of permanent fencing at Portion A, B1 & E4

-           Site formation at Portion A, B2/E1, E3-1 & E4

-           Tree felling at whole site

-           Shotcreting (Permanent and Temporary) at whole site

-           Soil nail installation at Portion A, B2/E1 & E4

Environmental Monitoring and Audit Progress

ES5.             A summary of the monitoring activities in this reporting period is listed below:

 

ES Table2           Summary of the Monitoring Activities during the Reporting Period

Items

Times

Date

-      Air Quality Monitoring during normal weekdays at each monitoring station

5 times

3, 9, 15, 21 & 27 August 2024

-      Construction Noise Monitoring during normal weekdays at each monitoring station

4 times

9, 15, 21 & 27 August 2024

-      Surface Water Quality Monitoring during normal weekdays at each monitoring station

1 time

9 August 2024

-      Landfill Gas Monitoring during normal weekdays for Construction Works

27 times

1 to 3, 5 to 10, 12 to 17, 19 to 24, 26 to 31 August 2024

-      Joint Environmental Site Inspection

4 times

5, 12, 19 & 27 August 2024


Environmental Exceedance

 

Air Quality, Noise, Surface Water Quality Monitoring & Landfill Gas Monitoring

 

ES6.             No exceedance of the Action and Limit Levels were recorded at designated monitoring stations during the reporting period.

 

Environmental Non-Conformance/Complaint/Summons and Prosecution

 

ES7.             No non-compliance event, complaint and summons/prosecutions were recorded during the reporting period.

Reporting Change

ES8.             There was no reporting change in the reporting period.

Future Key Issues

ES9.             Works to be undertaken in the next month include:

 

ES Table3           Major Construction Works undertaken during the Next Reporting Period

 

-           Material loading and unloading, backfilling of material and site traffic at Portion A, SBA to alternative disposal ground

-           Construction of site buildings at Portion D

-           Site clearance at Portion A, B2/E1, E3-1 & E4

-           Installation of permanent fencing at Portion A, B1 & E4

-           Site formation at Portion A, B2/E1, E3-1 & E4

-           Tree felling at whole site

-           Shotcreting (Permanent and Temporary) at whole site

-           Soil nail installation at Portion A, B2/E1 & E4

 

ES10.          Potential environmental impacts arising from the above construction activities are mainly associated with air quality, construction noise, water quality, waste management, landfill gas monitoring, landscape and visual, cultural heritage and ecology.

1                    Introduction

1.1                Background

1.1.1             The North East New Territories Landfill Extension (the NENTX Project) is located adjacent to the existing North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill at Ta Kwu Ling. The extension site is located in a valley covering mainly the existing NENT Landfill Stockpile and Borrow Area that was formed to the east of the existing landfill as part of the original site development of the landfill, and layout plan shown in Figure 1.

1.1.2             The NENTX is a designated project. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report (AEIAR-111/2007) and an Environmental Monitoring and Audit Manual were approved on 20 September 2007. The project is governed by an Environmental Permit (EP) (EP-292/2007) which was granted on 26 November 2007. A further of EP (FEP) was applied and the FEP (FEP-01/292/2007) was subsequently granted on 28 April 2022. Another further of EP (FEP-02/292/2007) was subsequently granted on 23 August 2023.

1.1.3             In accordance with the requirements specified in Section 2.7 to 2.11 and Section 12.3 of the approved Environmental Monitoring and Audit (EM&A) Manual and Environmental Permit and Further Environmental Permit (EP and FEP) Condition 3.3, Monthly EM&A report should be submitted to the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP), within 2 weeks after the end of the reporting month. The submissions shall be certified by the Environmental Team (ET) Leader and verified by the Independent Environmental Checker (IEC).

1.1.4             The construction phase and EM&A programme of the Project commenced on 1 December 2022.

1.2                Nature, Scale and Scope of the captioned Designated Project

1.2.1           The Nature, Scale and Scope of the captioned Designated Project is presented in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1     Nature, Scale and Scope of the captioned Designated Project

Item(s)

Content

Nature of Designated Project

Construction and operation of a landfill for waste as defined in the “Waste Disposal Ordinance” (Cap. 354)

Scale and Scope of Designated Project

The Project mainly consists of the followings: -

Construction and operation of a landfill extension of about 70 hectares with a target void space of at least 19 million cubic metres on the eastern side of the existing NENT Landfill, including the followings: -

  i.       Site formation and preparation;

 ii.       Installation of liner system;

iii.       Installation of leachate collection, treatment and disposal facilities;

iv.       Installation of gas collection, utilization and management facilities;

 v.       Utilities provisions and drainage diversion;

vi.       Landfilling operation;

vii.       Restoration and aftercare in subsequent stages; and

viii.       Measures to mitigate environmental impacts as well as environmental monitoring and auditing to be implemented.

1.3                Purpose of this Report

1.3.1             This is the 21st Monthly EM&A Report which summarises the impact monitoring results and audit findings for the EM&A programme during the reporting period from 01 to 31 August 2024.

1.4                Structure of the Report

1.4.1             The structure of the report is as follows:

Section 1 – Introduction

-       details the background, purpose and structure of the report.

Section 2Project Information

-       summarises background and scope of the Project, site description, project organization and contact details, construction programme, the construction works undertaken and the status of Environmental Permit(s)/License(s) during the reporting period.

Section 3 – Air Quality Monitoring

-       Construction Dust

Section 4 – Noise Monitoring

Section 5 – Water Quality Monitoring

-       Groundwater Monitoring

-       Surface Water Monitoring

Section 6 – Waste Management

Section 7 – Landfill Gas Monitoring

Section 8 – Landscape and Visual

Section 9 – Cultural Heritage

Section 10 – Ecological Monitoring

Section 11 – Site Inspection and Audit

Section 12 – Environmental Non-Conformance

Section 13 – Implementation Status on Environmental Mitigation Measures

Section 14 – Future Key Issues

Section 15 – Conclusion


2                    Project Information

2.1                Construction Activities

2.1.1             Construction programme and a summary of the major construction activities undertaken in this reporting period is shown in Appendix A.

2.2                Project Organization & Management Structure

2.2.1             The Project Organization Chart & Management Structure are shown in Appendix B. The key personnel contact information is summarized in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1       Contact Information of Key Personnel

Party

Name

Contact Number

Contractor

(Veolia Hong Kong Holding Ltd.)

Mr. Matt Choy

2902 5296

Independent Environmental Checker (IEC)

(Meinhardt Infrastructure and Environment Ltd.)

Ms. Claudine Lee

2859 5409

Environmental Team Leader (ETL)

(Aurecon Hong Kong Limited)

Mr. Fredrick Leong

3664 6888

2.3                Status of Submission required under the FEP & EP during reporting period

2.3.1             The status of statutory environmental compliance with the EP conditions under the EIAO, submission status under the FEP & EP during reporting period are presented in Table 2-2. The detail status of statutory environmental compliance with the EP conditions under the EIAO, submission status under the FEP & EP for NENTX project are shown in Appendix C.


Table 2-2          Status of Submissions required under the FEP & EP during Reporting Period

FEP Condition

EP Condition

Submission / Measures

Status

2.1

2.3

Management Organization of Main Construction Companies

Submitted

2.2

2.4

Setting up of Community Liaison Group (CLG)

Community Liaison Group was set up.

2.3

2.5

Submission of EM&A Manual

Submitted

2.4

2.6

Submission of Preservation of Cultural Landscape Features

Submitted

2.5

2.7

Submission of Vegetation Survey (Transplantation Proposal)

Submitted

2.6

2.8

Submission of translocation proposal

Submitted

2.7

2.9

Submission of Transplantation Report and Post-Transplantation Monitoring

Submitted

2.8

2.10

Submission of Translocation Report and Post-Translocation Monitoring

Submitted

2.9

2.11

Submission of Detailed Landfill Gas Hazard Assessment Report

Submitted

2.10

2.12

Submission of Waste Management Plan

Submitted

3.2

3.2

Submission of Baseline Monitoring Report

Submitted

3.3

3.3

Submission of Monthly EM&A Report

Submitted

2.4                Status of Environmental Approval Document

2.4.1             A summary of the relevant valid permits, licences, and/or notifications on environmental protection for this Project since the granting of the FEP & EP is presented in Table 2-3.

Table 2-3  Summary of the Relevant Valid Permits, Licences, and/or Notifications on Environmental Protection

Permit / Licenses / Notification

Reference

Expiry Date

Remark

Environmental Permit (EP)

EP-292/2007

Throughout the Contract

Permit granted on 26 November 2007

Further Environmental Permit (FEP)

FEP-02/292/2007

Throughout the Contract

Permit granted on23 August 2023

Notification of Construction Works as required under Air Pollution Control (Construction Dust) Regulation

479809

Throughout the Construction Phase

Notified on 13 May 2022

Registration of Waste Producer under Waste Disposal Ordinance

7043692

Throughout the Contract

Registered on 13 April 2022

Construction Noise Permit

GW-RN0702-24

18 September 2024

Permit granted on 17 June 2024

Registration as Chemical Waste Producer

5213-642-P1034-18

Throughout the Contract

Registered on 11 July 2022

Effluent Discharge License under Water Pollution Control Ordinance

WT00042301-2022

31 October 2027

Permit granted on 18 October 2022

Variation of Licence (Permit granted on 7 February 2023)

 

2.5                Environmental Monitoring and Audit Progress

2.5.1             A summary of the monitoring activities in this reporting period is presented in Table2-4.

Table 2-4     Summary of the Monitoring Activities in this Reporting Period

Items

Times

Date

-      Air Quality Monitoring during normal weekdays at each monitoring station

5 times

3, 9, 15, 21 & 27 August 2024

-      Construction Noise Monitoring during normal weekdays at each monitoring station

4 times

9, 15, 21 & 27 August 2024

-      Surface Water Quality Monitoring during normal weekdays at each monitoring station

1 time

9 August 2024

-      Landfill Gas Monitoring during normal weekdays for Construction Works

27 times

1 to 3, 5 to 10, 12 to 17, 19 to 24, 26 to 31 August 2024

-      Joint Environmental Site Inspection

4 times

5, 12, 19 & 27 August 2024

 

Air Quality

 

5 sets of 1-hr & 24-hr TSP construction dust measurement were carried out at each monitoring stations during normal weekdays of the reporting period. No Action / Limit Level exceedance for 1-hr & 24-hr TSP impact monitoring was recorded during the period.

 

Noise

 

4 sets of 30-minute construction noise measurement were carried out at each monitoring stations during normal weekdays of the reporting period. No exceedance of Action and Limit Levels of construction noise was recorded during the reporting period.

 

Groundwater

 

Site clearance of future landfilling area is in progress. The installation of groundwater monitoring boreholes will be installed after the site formation work of the landfilling area. The target commencement period of groundwater monitoring will be in 2026. No groundwater monitoring is required before the completion of site formation work of the landfilling area.

 

Surface Water Quality

 

1 set of surface water quality measurement were carried out at each monitoring stations during normal weekdays of the reporting period. No exceedance of Action and Limit Levels of surface water quality at each monitoring stations was recorded during the reporting period.

 

Landfill Gas

 

27 sets of landfill gas measurement were carried out at the designated monitoring locations during normal weekdays of the reporting period. No exceedance of Action and Limit Levels of landfill gas was recorded during the reporting period.


 

Landscape and Visual

 

All the specified and affected LCAs, LRs and VSRs have been monitored during the reporting period. No exceedance of Action and Limit Levels of landscape and visual was recorded during the reporting period.

 

Cultural Heritage

 

Implementation of the mitigation measures during construction phase of the Project has been monitored through the regular site inspection/audit.

 

Ecology

 

Implementation of the mitigation measures during construction phase of the Project has been monitored through the regular site inspection/audit.

 

Environmental Site Inspection

 

4 weekly environmental site inspections were carried out during the reporting period. A joint environmental site inspection was carried out by the representatives of the Employer's Representative (ER), the Contractor, IEC and the ET on 19 August 2024. The Contractor has generally implemented part of the mitigation measures as recommended. No site inspection was conducted by Environmental Protection Department-Regional Office (North) (EPD-RNG) during the reporting period.

3                Air Quality Monitoring

3.1            Construction Dust

3.1.1       Monitoring Requirement

3.1.1.1      In accordance with the EM&A Manual, 1-hr & 24-hr Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) levels should be measured at the designated air quality monitoring stations in every 6 days to ensure that any deteriorating air quality could be readily detected, and timely action shall be undertaken to rectify such situation. For 1-hr TSP monitoring, the sampling frequency of at least three times in every six-days should be undertaken when the highest dust impact occurs. The specific time to start and stop the 24- hr TSP monitoring shall be clearly defined for each location.

3.1.2       Monitoring Parameters, Frequency and Location

3.1.2.1      According to the EM&A Manual, three monitoring stations namely AM(D)1, AM(D)2 and AM(D)3 are selected for the impact monitoring.

 

3.1.2.2      A baseline monitoring plan has been submitted to IEC and EPD on 31 May 2022 including the proposal with justification of change of monitoring locations. Due to limited access to the original monitoring locations at AM(D)1, AM(D)2 and AM(D)3, the adjusted stations at AM1, AM2 and AM3 were agreed with IEC prior to the baseline and impact monitoring. The locations of adjusted dust monitoring locations are shown in Figure 2.

 

3.1.2.3      The detailed monitoring schedule is shown in Appendix D. The locations of dust monitoring stations are shown in Table 3-1. The monitoring parameters, frequency and duration are shown in Table 3-2.

Table 3-1          Locations of Dust Monitoring Stations

Monitoring Station

Representative For

Monitoring Parameters

AM1

Tung Lo Hang

1-hr and 24-hr TSP

AM2

Heung Yuen Wai

1-hr and 24-hr TSP

AM3

Wo Keng Shan Tsuen

1-hr and 24-hr TSP

Remarks:

The contractor passed correspondence including original monitoring locations specified on the Approved EM&A Manual to the village representatives on 26 April 2022. After a meeting with Ta Kwu Ling District Rural Committee (RC) Chairman, representative from the RC and a few villagers on 1 May 2022, all the Village Heads of Wo Keng Shan Tsuen, Heung Yuen Wai and Lin Ma Hang verbally refused to accept our proposal for installation of dust and / or noise monitoring equipment within or next to their villages, for the baseline & impact monitoring.

AM(D)1 Tung Lo Hang, AM(D)2 Heung Yuen Wai, AM(D)3 Wo Keng Shan Tsuen are the air monitoring stations for the construction phase EM&A programme as identified in the approved EM&A Manual for the Project. The access to Tung Lo Hang, Heung Yuen Wai and Wo Keng Shan Tsuen were denied.  A search for alternative air monitoring locations (AM1, AM2 & AM3) was carried out during the site visit.

The Baseline Monitoring Plan has been submitted to IEC and EPD including the proposal of change of monitoring locations on 31 May 2022. This arrangement was conducted between baseline and impact monitoring and has been agreed by the Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) and no comment received from EPD.

Due to the adjustment of the location of AM(D)1, AM(D)2 & AM(D)3to AM1, AM2 & AM3, the measured air quality levels at AM1, AM2 & AM3 would represent the air quality levels at AM(D)1, AM(D)2 & AM(D)3.

Table 3-2          Dust Impact Monitoring Parameters, Frequency and Duration

Monitoring Station

Parameter

Frequency and Duration

AM1, AM2, AM3

1-hr TSP

At least 3 times per 6 days

24-hr TSP

1 time per 6 days

3.1.3       Monitoring Equipment

3.1.3.1      High volume samplers (HVSs) were used for carrying out 24-hr TSP monitoring.   For 1-hr TSP monitoring, direct reading dust meters were used to measure 1-hr TSP levels.

 

3.1.3.2      Table 3-3 summarises the equipment that were used in the dust monitoring programme.  The calibration certificates are shown in Appendix E.

 

Table 3-3        Dust Monitoring Equipment

 

Equipment

Model

Expiry Date

Monitoring Station

High Volume Sampler (HVS)

TE-5170X (S/N: 1105)

21 Oct 2024

AM1

TE-5170X (S/N: 1106)

AM2

TE-5170X (S/N: 1856)

AM3

Direct Reading Dust Meter

Sibata LD-5R (S/N: 0Z4545)

27 Nov 2024

AM1 to AM3

Sibata LD-5R (S/N: 882106)

Sibata LD-5R (S/N: 942532)

Calibration Kit (for HVS)

TE-5025A (S/N: 3465)

15 Jan 2025

AM1 to AM3

Remarks:

The Expiry Date of Calibration Kit (for HVS) reflected that the calibration certificate fulfils the bi-monthly calibration interval requirement for the HVS.

3.1.4       Monitoring Methodology

1-hr TSP Monitoring

 

3.1.4.1      The 1-hr TSP impact monitoring was conducted using a portable direct reading dust meter.

Measuring Procedures

3.1.4.2      The measuring procedures of the 1-hr dust meter has been undertaken in accordance with the Manufacturer’s Instruction Manual as follows:

Procedure of starting monitoring

 

     Place the 1-hr dust meter at least 1.3m above ground;

     Turn on the “On/Off” button at the side of instrument. Program will be changed to “BG” mode and leave it for 1 minute.

     Pull out the Suction adaptor and turn the button at the side. Cover with hand at the suction adaptor measure the background for 10 seconds.

     Press “ UP” and “ DOWN” for choosing “SPAM Mode” for SPAM Measurement.

     Press “Up” and “Down” to select “Measurement Mode” with 60 minutes interval and unit in ug/m3.

     Press “Start/Stop” to start monitoring.

Procedure of setting measurement timer

 

     Press “Up” or “Down” to find “Setting LOG”.

     Select “Record Cycle” and change the record time subject to different project requirement. For example, setting the record cycle as 60 minutes for normal operation.

     Press “ESCAPE” back to the main page.