seminar on review of eia practices in hk 15.3.2014 speakers presentation1

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工程界社促會Association of Engineering Professionals in Society

Seminar on Review of EIA Practices of Major Construction Works

in Hong Kong

15 March 2014

Background

Study Methodology

Overview of EIA Practices in Hong Kong

Review of the Operation of EIAO in Hong Kong

Review of the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE)

Recommendations

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Funded by the Hong Kong Construction Association’s Public Policy Research Fund Association’s Public Policy Research Fund -2011

Collaborative Study with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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AES Task Force Team and Hong Kong Polytechnic University Study Team

HK PolyU Research Team :Ir Dr Linda FANProf L Y SHENDr NI MengDr Maggie Liyanning TANG

AES Task Force Team :Ir Victor LO King-yinIr PK LEEIr Prof Louis LOCKIr Roger NGIr Herman AU

Project Director : Ir Dr Raymond HO Chung‐tai

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Ir Herman AUIr FAN Ying MingIr Albert CHEUNGMr Kenny KWANMr Conan SHENMs Molly FUMs Joyce LEE

AES Task Force Team and Hong Kong Polytechnic University Study Teamy y y

Sub‐Task AES ConvenorInterview Ir PK LEE Questionnaire (and analysis) Ir Dr Louis LOCK Forum Ir Herman AU Overseas Visit Ir Roger NG

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Overseas Visit Ir Roger NG Reporting Ir Albert CHEUNG

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Project Operation Plan

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Interviews with Practitioners, Academic andProfessional InstitutionsProfessional Institutions

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Interviews with Practitioners

(1) Government Bureau(1) Government Bureau

‐ Development Bureau

‐ EPD, HyD, DSD, CEDD

(2) Consultant

‐ Cinotech, AECOM

Mott MacDonald

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Mott MacDonald,

Environ, HKPC

(3) Contractor

‐ Chun Wo

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Interviews with Academic andProfessional Institutions

HKU

CityU

HKIE – Environmental

Division

HKIEIA

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HKIEIA

HKIP

Interviews with Practitioners, Academic andProfessional Institutions

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Presentation Forum and Panel Discussion

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Questionnaire Survey at the Forum

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Meetings with Green Groups

World Wild Fund – Hong Kong

World Green Organization

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EIA System in Hong Kong

1. Legislative Framework1. Legislative Framework2. Enforcement Agency

3. Roles and Responsibilities of Parties Involved

4. Approach to Environmental Protection

5. Statutory Requirements

6. Procedures for EIA Operationp7. Public Participation

8. Public Access to Information

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1. Legislative Framework1. Legislative Framework

EIA Ordinance (EIAO), Cap 499

Subsidiary legislation includes the following :

Environmental Impact Assessment

(Appeal Board) Regulations

Environmental Impact Assessment (Fees)

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p ( )

Regulations

Technical Memorandum (TM)

on Environmental Impact Assessment

Process

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2. Enforcement Agency2. Enforcement Agency

Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is the designated agency to enforce the EIAO.

An Independent Appeal Board will handle the appeals against decisions of the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP)

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Environmental Protection (DEP).

The appeal board’s decisions have a binding effect on the Director.


3. Roles and Responsibilities of Parties Involved3. Roles and Responsibilities of Parties Involved

EPD manages the EIA process. It screens the proposed activities that require EIA reports, decides the scope of EIA reports, and examines and approves EIA reports. EPD decides whether or not a proposed activity should be allowed to proceed and monitors the environmental impacts of the proposed activity.

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the environmental impacts of the proposed activity. EPD also co‐ordinates all of the consultation works related to the proposed activity. The applicant is required to inform the public of the proposed activity and to prepare relevant reports at the scoping and reviewing stages of the EIA process.

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4. Approach to Environmental Protection4. Approach to Environmental Protection

Three‐level approach :

First level is the control of overall emissions by imposing various emission/discharge limits and licenses under various environmental legislation

Second level is the avoidance and minimisation of environmental i t th h l i d d i id ti f d i t d

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impacts through planning and design considerations of designated projects under the EIAO

Third level is the mitigation of residual impacts for designated projects under the EIAO.


5. Statutory Requirements5. Statutory RequirementsSection 5 :

Apply for an EIA study briefSection 6 :

EIA reportSection 8 :

Approval of EIA reportSection 10 :

Application for EP

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Application for EPSection 10 :Application for variation of an EP

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6. Procedures for EIA Operation6. Procedures for EIA Operation

EIA Process – Six Main Steps

- Screening

- Scoping

- Reporting

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- Reviewing

- Decision-making- Monitoring


7. Public Participation7. Public Participation

ACE ‐ the Government's principal advisory body

Two public involvement stages :• First stage: within 14 days for both the public and ACE to comment on the scope of the EIA reports during the submission of the project

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profile for application of an EIA SB for the EIA study;

• Second stage: within 30 days for the public and 60 days for the ACE to comment on the EIA reports when they are published.

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8. Public Access to Information8. Public Access to Information

EIAO Register Office Resource Centres EPD Websites Guidance Notes Cyber Help Bench

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Cyber Help Bench

EIA Process – the Six Main Steps

- Screening- Scoping- Reporting- Reviewing- Decision-making- Decision-making- Monitoring

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- Screening

procedure to determine which proposed activity should be subject to EIA

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- Scoping

procedure to decide the coverage of and requirements for an EIA report

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- Reporting

procedure to document, inter alia, findings of the environmental impacts of the proposed activity and the mitigation measures for the adverse environmental

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impacts


- Reviewing

procedure to determine whether or not the EIA report provides a satisfactory assessment of the proposed activity and meets all the necessary requirements

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meets all the necessary requirements

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- Decision-making

procedure to formally approve, or approve with conditions, or reject the proposed activity

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- Monitoring (Follow up)

procedure to audit and monitor the environmental impact of the proposed activities together the effectiveness of the mitigation

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effectiveness of the mitigation measures if any

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Hong Kong’s EIA System Comparing with Others

- Australia

- Canada

- Mainland China

- Singapore

- Taiwan

- United Kingdom

- USA

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Hong Kong’s EIA System Comparing with Others

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1 Designated Projetcs

2 Statutory Time Frame under EIAO

3 AO R d i S3 EIAO Report and Executive Summary

4 Guidance on Criteria and Approaches in Technical Memoradum

5 Practicality of Permit Conditions

6 Envirnmental Monitoring and Audit

7 Role of Environmental Proetction Department

8 Cross-boundary Projects

9 l i l 9 Ecological Impact

10 New Air Quality Objectives

11 Public Participation

12 Public Access to Information

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1. Designated Projects

General view – EIAO Schedules 2 & 3 General view EIAO Schedules 2 & 3 satisfactory

Particular comments: Review description/scope of designated

projects Review on classification - some small scale

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projects so designated may turn out to have insignificant environmental impacts due to the advancement of technology.

2. Statutory Time Frame under EIAO

General view General view Time frame sufficient for various stakeholders EIA system with its statutory time limits was

efficient

Particular comments: Need to have statutory time frame to avoid

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delay to a project Time limit of 30 days for the public to

comment on EIA report appears too short Time limit of 45 days for EPD to issue the SB

seems too long

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3. EIA Report and Executive Summary

General view General view Executive Summaries in Chinese and English -

sufficient for public to understand EIA reports EIA reports generally not presented in layman’s

terms

Particular comments: Explanations on technical terms

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Explanations on technical terms Executive Summaries sometimes simplified too

much Unclear meaning of “baseline” Large file size for executive summaries – time

consuming for downloading

4. Guidance on Criteria and Approaches in TM

General view - sufficient guidance available General view sufficient guidance available from the TM

Some suggestions: EPD should provide more practical guidance

on approaches for avoiding, minimising and mitigating adverse environmental impacts of j t d l l d f k

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a project, and lessons learned from some key projects on the EPD website

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5. Practicality of Permit Conditions

General view – conditions in EPs considered General view conditions in EPs considered effective to bind proponents to carry out the agreed mitigation measures to avoid or mitigate environmental impacts

Some suggestions: EP conditions should take account of the

implementation of a project under a number

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implementation of a project under a number of phases or contracts

Project proponent allowed to see the draft EP and exchange views prior to the formal issue of the EP

6. Environmental Monitoring and Audit

General view - the web-based cyber General view the web based cyber environmental monitoring and auditing system in Hong Kong highly commendable

Some suggestions: Project proponent should formulate the EM&A

plans and engage an independent body to conduct the EM&A

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the EM&A For private projects, IEC should be employed by

the project proponent instead of the contractor in a similar way as required in Government projects.

Complaints should be recorded in the EM&A report with follow-up actions

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7. Role of EPD

Some comments: Some comments: EPD is both the regulator and project proponent

for certain designated projects. Measures are required to ensure that the professional judgment of EIA approval will not be negatively influenced due to any potential conflict of interest.

EPD often carries out an in-depth and robust

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checking on the draft EIA report Project proponent to conduct public consultation

after placing the advertisement on public inspection. Role of EPD should be a supervisor during this process rather than the one responsible for answering the questions.

8. Cross-boundary Projects

Some comments: Some comments: Sometimes necessary to take into account

cross-boundary projects, particularly the development projects undertaken in China Mainland which may have impact on the Hong Kong

Recommend to develop a mechanism for

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Recommend to develop a mechanism for exchanging information, collecting data on major development projects (particularly cross-boundary projects) in China Mainland close to Hong Kong and analysing the impact to Hong Kong.

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9. Ecological Impact

Some comments: Some comments: Recommend establishment of a database for

the baseline ecological data and a monitoring programme in the long term so that relevant stakeholders will be able to make use of the database for evaluation of potential impacts of a designated project on the ecological

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of a designated project on the ecological environment.

Recommend the Government and academic institutions to work together to strengthen the training and development of specialist ecologists.

10. New Air Quality Objectives

Some comments: Some comments: There is a possibility that the existing

environmental conditions at some places in Hong Kong might have already exceeded the new AQO. Given the tightened AQO, it is recommended to

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tightened AQO, it is recommended to review the feasibility of undertaking new infrastructure projects at these places.

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11. Public Participation

General view – EIA practitioners do not consider General view EIA practitioners do not consider that there is a lack of public participation whilst academic and professional institutions consider that there is insufficient public participation

Suggestion - To enhance public participation by project proponents by reaching out to relevant stakeholders and the public to engage them for

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stakeholders and the public to engage them for offering comments on the project at the earliest possible stage of the EIA process and by including the feedback from the consultation in the preparation of the EIA report.

12. Public Access to Information

General view – The statutory EIA process is General view The statutory EIA process is considered adequate and transparent and that the EPD website is very useful for facilitating public access to and retrieval of information on various applications, EIA reports, EPs, EM&A data and guidance documents.

Suggestion - To provide additional information

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Suggestion - To provide additional information in the EPD website, including a summary of comments received from the public, a summary of environmental monitoring and audit reports and new applicable technology for monitoring and audit.

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The Case of “Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge”

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Judicial Review

22 January 2010 ‐ The applicant (Chu Yee Wah a 22 January 2010 The applicant (Chu Yee Wah, a Tung Chung resident) applied for a JR on the decisions of the Respondent (DEP) made on 23 October 2009 and 4 November 2009 respectively pursuant to sections 8(3) and 10(3) of the EIAO in granting approval of the EIA reports relating to 2 out of the 3 designated projects of HKZMB and inout of the 3 designated projects of HKZMB and in granting the EPs for the construction and operation.

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Judicial Review

18 April 2011 ‐ The Court of First Instance (CFI) 18 April 2011 The Court of First Instance (CFI) quashed the decision of DEP in approving the relevant EIA reports as well as the related permits, on the basis of the absence of quantitative ‘standalone” process. The CFI rejected the applicant’s contentions on other

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Judicial Review

27 September 2011 – The judgment of CA of the 27 September, 2011 The judgment of CA of the High states that the current TM under the EIAO and the EIA SB on the HKZMB has requirements for the project proponent “to minimise pollution". The three CA judges unanimously ruled that the EIAO did not have requirements for a standalone assessment of the project in EIA reports and theassessment of the project in EIA reports and the HKZMB could achieve the objective of minimising pollution in accordance with the requirements laid down in the current TM and EIA SB. Therefore, the CA reversed the ruling of the CFI.

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Lessons Learnt1 The HKZMB Judicial Review case has 1. The HKZMB Judicial Review case has

concluded that it is not necessary to carry out a standalone analysis of background air quality.

2. Views collected: Important to clearly define the requirements p y q

of the EIA in Study Brief, making reference to the TM

Requirements for a standalone assessment should explicitly be specified in the study brief issued by EPD

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- Role of ACERole of ACE- Membership- Transparency

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Role of ACE

General view – ACE has a statutory General view ACE has a statutory responsibility under the EIAO to advise the DEP on EIA reports for DPs

Particular Suggestion - to empower ACE to support or turn down a project. However reaching a consensus on the suggestion among relevant stakeholders is expected to be difficult

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relevant stakeholders is expected to be difficult.

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Membership of of ACE

General view – It is important for ACE General view It is important for ACE members to have the appropriate technical background to enhance their degree of understanding of EIA reports

Suggestion - to appoint sufficient ACE members from EIA experts, academic i i i G G d h

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institutions, Green Groups and the engineering sector.

Transparency of of ACE

Suggestion - after each ACE meeting the Suggestion after each ACE meeting, the Chairman accompanied by the Secretary to meet the media and brief them on the subjects discussed at the meeting, main points raised and conclusion reached

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The Way Forward- To specify in the SB the requirement of providing To specify in the SB the requirement of providing

hyperlinks in the Executive Summaries for linking with the relevant part of the main report for ease of reference

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The Way Forward- To enhance the EPD website by providing To enhance the EPD website by providing

additional information, including more practical guidance on approaches for avoiding, minimising and mitigating adverse environmental impacts of a project, lessons learned from some key projects, a summary of comments received from the public, a summary of environmental monitoring and audit reports and new applicable technology for monitoring and auditing.

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The Way Forward- To develop a mechanism for exchanging To develop a mechanism for exchanging

information, collecting data on major development projects (particularly cross-boundary projects) in China Mainland close to Hong Kong and analysing their impact to Hong Kong.

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The Way Forward- To develop or establish a database for the To develop or establish a database for the

baseline ecological data and a monitoring programme in the long term so that relevant stakeholders will be able to make use of the database for evaluation of potential impacts of a designated project on the ecological environment.

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The Way Forward- To coordinate with academic institutions to To coordinate with academic institutions to

strengthen the training and development of local specialist ecologists.

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The Way Forward- To review the feasibility of undertaking new To review the feasibility of undertaking new

infrastructure projects at places where the existing environmental conditions have already exceeded the new AQO.

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The Way Forward- To review whether the requirement for a q

standalone assessment should explicitly be specified in the study brief issued by EPD.

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The Way Forward- To enhance public participation by the project To enhance public participation by the project

proponents by reaching out to relevant stakeholders and the public to engage them for offering comments on the project at the earliest possible stage of the EIA process and by including the feedback from the consultation in the preparation of the EIA report.

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The Way Forward- To arrange a press briefing with the media after To arrange a press briefing with the media after

each ACE meeting to report on the subjects discussed at the meeting, the main points raised and the conclusions reached.

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Hong Kong Construction Association (HKCA)Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU)Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU)Construction Industry Council (CIC)Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) -

Environmental DivisionHong Kong Institute of Environmental Impact

Assessment (HKIEIA)Assessment (HKIEIA)

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Government BureauDevelopment BureauDevelopment Bureau Environment Protection Department (EPD)Highways Department (HyD)Drainage Services Department (DSD)Civil Engineering and Development

Department (CEDD)Department (CEDD)

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Consultant and ContractorChun WoChun WoCinotectAECOMMott MacDonald Environ

P d i i C il ( PC)Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC)

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Other Academic and Professional Institution The University of Hong Kong (HKU) The University of Hong Kong (HKU)City University of Hong Kong (CityU)Hong Kong Institute of Planners (HKIP)

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工程界社促會Association of Engineering Professionals in Society

Seminar on Review of EIA Practices of Major Construction Works

in Hong Kong

15 March 2014

seminar on review of eia practices in hk 15.3.2014 speakers presentation1

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