Agreement No. CE 4/2009 (EP)
Environmental Monitoring and Audit
for Contaminated Mud Pit at Sha Chau
(2009-2013) - Investigation
32nd MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR CONTAMINATED MUD PITS AT SHA
CHAU February 2012
1.1
Background
Since 1992, the East of Sha
Chau area has been the site of a series of dredged
contaminated mud pits (CMPs) designed to provide
confined marine disposal capacity for contaminated mud arising from the HKSAR’s dredging and reclamation projects. In February 2012, the following works were being
undertaken at the CMPs:
·
On 10
February 2012, CMP IVc reached its capacity for the
backfilling of contaminated mud. Capping
was being undertaken at CMP IVc after it reached its
capacity;
·
Disposal
of contaminated mud was taking place at CMP Va starting
10 February 2012; and
·
The
dredging of CMP Vc was in progress.
The environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) programme for the CMPs at the East of Sha Chau area (ESC) presently covers capping operations at CMP IVc, disposal operations at CMP Va
and dredging operations at CMP Vc.
1.2
Reporting
Period
This Monthly Progress Report
covers the monitoring period of February 2012.
1.3
Details
of Sampling and Laboratory Testing Activities
The following monitoring
activities have been undertaken for CMP IVc in February
2012:
·
Demersal Trawling was conducted on 16, 17 February; and
·
Water Quality Monitoring during Capping was conducted on 21 February.
The following monitoring
activities have been undertaken for CMP V in February 2012:
·
Water Column Profiling was conducted for CMP Va on 17 February;
·
Routine Water Quality Monitoring was conducted for CMP Va
on 21 February;
·
Impact Water Quality Monitoring during Dredging Operations was conducted for CMP Vc on 22 February;
·
Sediment Toxicity Test and Cumulative Impact Sediment Chemistry
were conducted for CMP Va on 24 February; and
·
Pit Specific Sediment Chemistry was conducted for CMP Va on
27 February.
A summary of field activities is presented
in Annex A.
A summary of monitoring data
submitted by the Contractor for this reporting month is presented in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Summary
of monitoring data submitted by the Contractor for the reporting month
|
Key Task |
Monitoring Component |
Date of Results Received from the Contractor |
|
CMP Vc |
|
|
|
Impact
Monitoring during Dredging Operations |
Water Quality |
29 February 2012 |
|
|
|
|
1.4
Details
of Outstanding Sampling and / or Analysis
No outstanding sampling and laboratory analysis remained from February
2012
1.5
Brief
Discussion of the Monitoring Results
1.5.1
CMP V
Impact Water Quality
Monitoring during Dredging Operations of CMP V – February 2012
Impact
Water Quality Monitoring during Dredging Operations of CMP V was conducted
on 22 February 2012 for CMP Vc. On the survey day, sampling was conducted
during both mid-ebb and mid-flood tides at two Reference (Upstream) stations
upstream and five Impact (Downstream) stations downstream of the dredging
operations at CMP Vc (Figure 1.1). Monitoring was also conducted at the Ma Wan
station. At each station, in-situ measurements of water quality
parameters as well as water samples were taken from three depths in the water
column (ie surface: 1 m below sea surface, mid-depth
and bottom: 1 m above the seabed).
Monitoring results are
presented in Table B1 of Annex B. Levels
of Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Turbidity and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) complied
with the Action and Limit Levels set in the Baseline
Monitoring Report ([1]). Overall,
the results indicated that the dredging operations at CMP Vc
did not appear to cause any unacceptable deterioration in water quality during
this reporting period.
Therefore, no further
mitigation measures, except for those recommended in the Environmental Permit (EP-312/2008), are considered required
for the dredging operations of CMP Vc.
1.6
Activities
Scheduled for the Next Month
The following monitoring programmes will be
conducted in the next monthly period of March 2012:
CMP V
·
Pit Specific Sediment Chemistry for CMP Va;
·
Water Column Profiling for CMP Va; and
· Impact
Water Quality Monitoring during Dredging Operations for CMP Vc.
The sampling schedule is presented in Annex A.
1.7
Study
Programme
A summary of the Study Programme is presented in Annex C.