Project 2

Development of Lok Ma Chau Loop : Land Decontamination

Your team is hired to be the Consultant of this project and asked to provide the following service as listed in the scope of the study.

Background

The administrative boundary between HK and SZ, an area of about 87 ha, previously lying to the north of the river course, became situated to the south of the re-aligned river course and falls within the boundary of the HKSAR. The area, commonly known as the Lok Ma Chau Loop (the Loop), was once used as a dumping ground for mud extracted from the river training works. Some of the dumped mud is contaminated.

The Loop is located near several major cross-boundary transport nodes (as shown in figure (a)) including the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point, the MTR Lok Ma Chau Station of the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and the San Tin Interchange. To the north across SZ River is the Huanggang Control Point of SZ. To the southwest is the Mai Po Nature Reserve and to the east is Hoo Hok Wai, comprising fish ponds of high ecological value.

The development of the Loop, which is one of the ten major infrastructure projects announced by the Chief Executive in the 2007-08 Policy Address and confirmed to be developed in the 2023 Policy Address, is a mega-scale and complex project jointly undertaken by the HKSARG and SZMG. The Loop is planned for developing higher education as the leading land use, with some elements of hi-tech research and development facilities, as well as cultural and creative industries (as shown in figure (b).

In view of the land contamination history of the Loop, environmental investigations had been completed under the P&E Study. According to the environmental investigation findings, some isolated areas of the Loop contain a heavy metal, arsenic, with concentration slightly exceeding the limit  stipulated  in the “Guidance  Manual for Use  of Risk-based Remediation Goals for Contaminated Land Management” (2007) promulgated by the EPD. CAP, CAR and RAP of the Loop were completed and have formed part of the approved EIA Report. Before construction works can start on the development sites, the contaminated land within the Loop has to be treated in accordance with the CAR/RAP under the approved EIA Report.

Scopes ofthe Project

The proposed scope of the Project comprises the following principal works elements:

(a) The  Consultant  shall  provide a 2-page summary on the re-apprasial of  the  existing available information on site investigation (e.g., # of boreholes and groundwater sampling), interpretation of the findings and recommendations as well as identification of their possible problems and mistakes;

(b) Under the CAR/RAP Study, “solidification/stabilization (S/S)” treatment method had been proposed for the remediation of arsenic-contaminated soil. The Consultant shall review the proposed S/S technology and propose 2 more potential technologies for this remediation project with your justification based on technical feasibility (e.g., soil types, contaminant characteristics, hydrogeological conditions). In addition, the Consultant shall compare the three technologies regarding their expected efficiency for removing arsenic from soils, cost, expected remediation duration, and ease of  operation (with  the  list  of  your references as supporting evidence). A comparison table with discussion in text is required.

(c) Other than technical feasibility, the non-technical aspects such as “environmental impact” and “social” considerations should be evaluated based on the given references in the last page.   For   example,    (1)   Final   GSR   MOU   Report   EPA   2013,   (2) https://clu- in.org/greenremediation/greenercleanupmetrics; (3) SuRF_uk_framework_final_march_2010. After combining the technical feasibility and non-technical aspects for overall considerations, you should then propose the most promising technology for this project.

(d) In  accordance  with  the  literature  review, the  Consultant  shall propose a preliminary design of land decontamination technology based on your choice in part (c) for bench- scale treatability (e.g., objectives, cleanup target level, reagents to be used for tests with references supported, mix design and time, criteria to be met, etc.) and pilot-scale tests (e.g., purposes, criteria, equipment to be used, expected duration, etc.).

Guidelines for the Submission of Project/Report:

1.   Title – centred on page, font is 14 point, BOLD CAPITALS, followed by one line space.

2.  Name – centred on page, font is 12 point, [first name, initial, surname]; program admitted (e.g., JEVE, CIEM).

3.   Student ID, email address, – centred on page, font is 11 point.

4.   One line space prior to text commencement.

5.   The text must be justified,  single-spaced  12 point Times New Roman throughout, unless specified. Page number should be added.

6.   The length of the report must be within twelve A4 pages with 2.5cm margins on all sides. A report beyond this length will not be accepted.

7.   The report must contain sufficient information to provide readers with a clear understanding of your summary, review, comparison, logical discussion, and design (not just copying data without providing references and evidence).

8.   If needed, some data can be presented or summarized in Tables and Figures format for ease of understanding (attached as an Appendix). Maximum limit for appendix is 5 pages. The last page of appendix is to describe the contribution of each group member.

9.   References, which are listed at the end of the report, must be mentioned in the main text and counted towards the max 12 pages.

10. The project must be submitted via Canvas. Late submission will not be accepted.

References:

Remediation Technologies

Denmark: “Technology Programme for Soil and Groundwater Contamination 2000”

Australia: “Technology Guides (Soil)” and “Technology Guides (Groundwater)” (2019)

China: HJ25.6 “Technical Guideline for Groundwater Remediation and Risk Control of Contaminated Sites” (2019)

Green and Sustainable Remediation / Social Appraisals

USA: SRT, ITRC, USAFCEE, Superfund, OSRTI

UK: Defra, CL:AIRE, SuRF

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Australia: “Guideline on performing cost-benefit and sustainability analysis” and “Cost- benefit and sustainability analysis tool” (2019)