Ecol 3027 Pollution & EIA

1. Ecol 3027 Pollution & EIA • Waste management assessment • Fisheries impact assessment • Landscape & visual impact assessment • Heritage impact assessment • Strategic Environmental Assessment • EIA : Problems in general

2. Waste management assessments Waste Disposal Ordinance Cap. 354 Types: • Construction & demolition waste • Municipal waste • Chemical waste * • Special waste* • Clinical waste, livestock waste, animal carcasses, low level radioactive waste… • 5. Others* • PFA, incinerator ash, dredged mud * with special requirements for disposal

4. Dredged Mud Management in HK

5. Solid Waste Transfer & Disposal in HK

6. Refuse Transfer Station

7. Hong Kong Landfills

8. Waste management assessment (TM Annex 7 & 15) General principles 3Rs • C & D waste: • Avoid or minimize waste generation • Reduce cross contamination & promote waste segregation • Reuse and recycle (can consider other sites) • Materials choice(both construction & operation): • Use recycled materials • Operational waste: • Arrange and facilitate waste recycling • Certain waste with special disposal requirements: • e.g. chemicalwaste, livestock waste, others…

9. Example: Disneyland • 6. WASTE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS • 6.1 Introduction • 6.2 Legislation and Guidelines • 6.3 Baseline Condition • 6.4 Assessment Methodology • 6.5 Identification of Potential Environmental Impacts • 6.6 Prediction and Evaluation of Environmental Impacts • 6.7 Mitigation Measures • 6.8 Evaluation of Residual Environmental Impacts • 6.9 Environmental Monitoring and Audit • 6.10 Conclusion and Recommendations • 6.11 Impacts Summary

10. Example: Disneyland Baseline Tsuen Wan and Outlying Islands Waste Arising District • North Lantau Transfer Station (NLTS) • Design capacity: 1,200 tpd No public filling area at the moment Siu Ho Wan Public Filling Barging Point will be operated by 2004 - next to the NLTS

11. Example: Disneyland Identified impacts: waste types • Dredged/excavated marine sediment • Construction and demolition waste • Excavated material • Chemical waste • General refuse

12. Example: Disneyland Impact prediction 1. Dredged and excavated sediment

13. Example: Disneyland Impact prediction gross floor areas (GFA) Construction and Demolition Material (C&DM) 2. C & D waste

14. Example: Disneyland Impact prediction • 3. Excavated material • recycled e.g. reclamation, landscaping • 4. Chemical waste • construction phase\ small amount • operational phase\ far more • 5. General refuse: construction phase • food wastes, aluminium cans and waste paper from site offices, canteen, work area

15. Example: Disneyland Impact prediction 5. General refuse: operational phase

16. Example: Disneyland Impact assessment • Dredged and excavated sediment • All Class C sediment will be disposal of at East Sha Chau Contaminated Mud Pits • Uncontaminated sediment will be disposed of in Fill Management Committee (FMC) allocated dumping site • No significant impact envisaged • 2. C & D waste • Small amount of C & D waste • Public fill re-used on site and no surplus is expected • No significant impact envisaged

17. Example: Disneyland Impact assessment • 3. Excavated material • Small amount • Re-used on site and no surplus is expected • No significant impact envisaged • 4. Chemical waste • Small amount in construction, more in operation • Disposed of according to relevant Code of Practices • No significant impact envisaged

18. Example: Disneyland Impact assessment • 5. Municipal waste • Small amount in construction phase • Operational phase generate 38 – 175 tpd from 04-24, 23-26% will be recycled, others disposed of in landfills through NLTS • No significant impact envisaged

19. Example: Disneyland Mitigation measures 3Rs • Waste management plans • construction and operational phases • minimisation, recovery/ recycling, collection, transportation and disposal 2. Waste minimization programme 3. Waste recovery/ recycling programme

20. Fisheries Impact Assessment (Annex 9, 17) Aims to protect: • Fisheries production • capture fisheries & aquaculture production • Nursery and spawning ground of commercially important species • 3. Fisheries operation, fishing activities

21. Guidelines What kind of projects will require FIA? • Designated projects that: • will physically affect fisheries production or destroy fisheries production sites • will directly or indirectly discharges any pollutants that will affect fisheries production

22. Assessment approach • Setting baseline • existing and new data • Impact prediction • Impact evaluation • Mitigation • avoid, minimize, compensate • Monitoring

23. Example: Disney Baseline

24. Example: Disney Impact prediction • Fishing zones: • low direct impact (0.1% lost in value) • low indirect impact (SS) (within WQOs) • Ma Wan FCZ: • SS increase by 4.2 mg L-1 (worse case scenario), < WQO. • Impact assessment & mitigation • No significant impacts!! No special mitigation!!

25. Landscape and visual impact assessment (TM Annex 10, 19) Assessment approach: • Define scope of assessment • Baseline study (special landscape features) • distinctive landscape features • valued landscape • other conservation interests • specific landscape elements

26. Guidelines Assessment approach: • Define scope of assessment • Baseline study (special landscape features) • Review planning & development framework (TPO) • Impact identification and prediction • Impact mitigation

27. Assessment criteria • Beneficial • Acceptable • Acceptable with mitigation • Unacceptable • undetermined No objective criteria!!

28. Mitigation measures Best be done in strategic assessment stage • Project level mitigations include: • Avoidance: alternative design • Reduction: alternative design; screening; colour treatment (e.g. Mai Po) • Compensation: landscaping; creation of distinctive landscape character.

29. Heritage impact assessment (TM Annex 10, 19) Assessment approach • Baseline study • Identify sites and detailed information • 2. Impact prediction and assessment • Preservation in total and enhancement • e.g. Kau Sai Chau Golf Course • Preservation in part (justifications) • Total destruction (justifications) • Reference to guidelines on landscape & visual impact assessment

30. Assessment criteria • Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance, Cap. 53 • No quantitative standard • Sites of unique archaeological, historical or architectural value • Impacts kept to absolute minimum

31. Mitigation • Avoidance • Alternative designs, materials for better integration • Total destruction: rescue plane.g. Tin Hau temple, Chek Lap Kok; Happy Valley Banyan Tree • Reference also to Annex 18 Landscape • Mitigation plan with funding proposal must be provided for total or partial destruction mitigation

32. Example: Disney

33. References TM Annex 7, 9, 10, 15,17,18, 19 • Waste Management in Hong Kong (Optional) • http://www.info.gov.hk/wfbu/index.htm Disney EIA (Optional) http://www.info.gov.hk/epd/eia/register/report/eiareport/eia_0412000/index.html

34. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) SEA = EIA of Policies, Plans and Programmes Policy = an inspiration and guidance for action Plan = a set of coordinated and timed objectives for the implementation of the policy Programme = a set of projects in a given area Above and before project level

35. Strategic PlanningStrategic planning is another area where environmental impacts are assessed. The EPD oversees Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) with the aim of promoting the full consideration and integration of environmental implications at the early planning stage of major strategic policies. This will help to avoid environmental problems and to identify environmentally-friendly options, rather than mitigating environmental impacts at a later stage which are often not effective nor cost-effective. EPD Website

36. Why do we need SEA? • Project EIA has many limitations: • usually too late • reactive, not anticipatory • inadequate in assessing cumulative impact • unable to account for changes in policies, plans and programmes • limited by time availability and spatial scale • Environmental problems best resolved/avoided at the planning stage • Can speed up project level EIAs • Achieve sustainable development

37. SEA is currently or potentially applied to: • International treaties e.g. signing the CBD* • Privatization e.g. Housing Department • Transnational corporations e.g. traditional Chinese medicine • Institutional/ Government restructure • National budgets e.g. military expenses • Legislative proposals e.g. Town PlanningOrdinance • Land-use Planning e.g. regional planning studies in HK • Transboundary impacts e.g. pollution in Deep Bay • Global issues e.g. Green House Effect; EU examples • *CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity

38. Tiering • Environmental impacts considered at the most appropriate levels: • Policy  Plan  Project • Each level refers to the level above • Problems • Extremely complex • Policy, plans & programmes can be very vague • Policy, plans & programmes are more political •  legal or standardized system very difficult

39. The SEA process • - similar to project EIA but at a broader scale • screening • scoping • baseline description • impact prediction and evaluation • impact mitigation • public consultation • reporting • decision • monitoring and audit

40. Source: Au, 2000

41. Source: Au, 2000

42. 港聞A18 明報 丁思毅2003-10-25 綠綠無窮 建築廢料欠出路 擬南區海底安置 灣仔及中環填海工程的法律訴訟，令原來用作填海的拆建物料，面臨無處棄置的局面，現有的堆填地點，估計將於明年底或2005年初「爆滿」。 新上任的土木工程署長曹德江說，署方要努力為廢料尋出路，包括考慮可能受環保團體爭議的建議，將廢料填補港島南區東博寮海峽的「海底沙洞」。另外，港府亦計劃實施堆填區收費計劃。 香港世界自然基金會發言人說，建築廢料含有不少有毒物質，如漆油、鉛及金屬，若當局沒有小心分類，便堆放廢料到海底沙洞，擔心海底或變垃圾崗。此外，當局考慮的東博寮海峽海底沙洞，鄰近南丫島的海產育苗區，擔心工程可能影響附近的生態，令育苗區魚產減少。 立法會環境事務委員會將於12月20日會議上，討論拆建物料棄置問題。討論文件指出，填海工程多年來一直是處理大部分拆建物料的主要途徑，由於灣仔發展第2期和中環填海第3期工程計劃的法律訴訟，政府亦正檢討東南九龍發展計劃，拆建物料的「出路」將大減。 惟香港每年拆建物料不斷上升，文件指出，2002年已高達1580萬噸，預計今年將高達1960萬噸，足以把快活谷馬場填至26層。 填料庫3 年飽和 曹德江受訪時表示，處理建築廢料是他上任後兩大首要任務之一，須盡快找到其他解決方案，否則以現時可供棄置的填料庫容量，料未來2至3年飽和。曹稱，當年為竹篙灣迪士尼填海，在東博寮海峽海底掘了大量泥沙，該地點至今海底仍有一個大沙洞，估計可處理大量建築廢料，但要評估工程對環境影響再決定。 Example of SEA

43. Problems of EIAs

44. EIA – Problems in general • Lack of experience (especially true in HK) • Lack of training, professionals & professional recognition (HKIEIA) • Inconsistent application of EIA e.g. military actions • Assessment and post-approval monitoring isolated

45. EIA – Problems in general • Alternatives not seriously considered, too late at project level • Viewed as a procedure in development only • Cumulative impact often ignored • Inadequate socio-economical impact assessment

46. EIA – Problems in general • Publication consultation insufficient (HK is better now) • EIA reports very long, too descriptive but weak evaluation • Weak evaluation also by the authority especially in ecological IAs • Results always favour the applicants, why?

47. EIA – Problems in general • Environmental impact always understated • Mitigation measures are mostly cosmetic plans • Weak post-approval follow-up i.e. poor EA & M

48. EIA – Problems in general • highly political, more serious in democratic territories Environmental Protection & Cost Applicants Government Green groups Public Public Public

49. EIA – Problems in general • Effectiveness: • minor impacts – satisfactory • major impacts – not satisfactory • pollution impacts – satisfactory • ecological impacts – not satisfactory However, environmental awareness is raised!!!

50. References Partidário, M.R. (1999).Strategic Environmental Assessment: Principles and Potential. In: J. Petts (Editor), pp. 60-73. Handbook of Environmental Impact Assessment Volume 2 EIA in Practice: Impact and Limitations. Blackwell Science: Oxford. Thérivel, R. and Lexbrown A. (1999).Methods of Strategic Environmental Assessment.In: J. Petts (Editor), pp.441-464. Handbook of Environmental Impact Assessment Volume 2 EIA in Practice: Impact and Limitations. Blackwell Science: Oxford. Au, E.W.K. 2000.Environmental Planning and Impact Assessment of Major Development Projects in Hong Kong. In: Wong, W.S. & Chan, E.H.W. (Editors). Building Hong Kong: Environmental Considerations. Hong Kong University Press: Hong Kong., pp. 257-271. (Given to you in lecture 14)