The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report (Register No.: AEIAR-185/2014) prepared for the “Expansion of Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-Runway System” (the project) has been approved by the Director of Environmental Protection, and an Environmental Permit (Permit No.: EP-489/2014) has been issued for the project under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance. Pursuant to Condition 2.1 of the Environmental Permit (EP), the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) is required to formulate and deposit a detailed Complaint Management Plan (CMP) which include a dedicated complaint hotline and an email channel for timely response to complaints; and AAHK shall set up Community and Professional Liaison Groups to facilitate communications, enquiries and complaints handling on all environmental issues related to the project, in order to enhance transparency and communication with the public. The requirement related to complaints handling involves providing the means to ensure timely investigation and response to environmental complaints.

The first submission of the CMP, in compliance with Condition 2.1 of the EP, was made to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) on 18 September 2015, then publicised on the project’s dedicated website in November 2015. This latest submission presents an updated mailing address for receiving written comments, enquiries and suggestions.

Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited (MMHK) was appointed by AAHK to provide environmental consultancy services which include the establishment of a CMP detailing the process and actions to be taken in the event of environmental complaints associated with the project.

1.2 Project Description

This project is for expansion of the existing airport into a three-runway system with associated facilities and infrastructure. The project comprises the following key components:

● Construction of a third runway, related taxiway systems and navigation aids, and airfield facilities;

● Construction of the third runway aprons and passenger concourses;

● Land formation of about 650 ha to the north of the existing Airport island including a portion over the contaminated mud pits;

● Expansion of part of the midfield freighter apron on the existing Airport island;

● Expansion of the existing passenger Terminal 2 on the existing Airport island;

● Extension of the automated people mover from the existing Airport island to the passenger concourses of the third runway;

● Extension of the baggage handling system from the existing Airport island to the aprons of the third runway;

● Improvement of the road network in the passenger and cargo areas and new landside transportation facilities including new car parks on the existing Airport island;

● Reuse of treated sewage effluent from a treatment plant;

● Modifications to existing marine facilities including the underwater aviation fuel pipelines and 11kV submarine cable between Hong Kong International Airport and the off-airport fuel receiving facilities, sea rescue facilities and aids to navigation; and

● Any other modifications, reconfiguration, and/or improvement of the existing facilities on the existing Airport island as a result of the third runway.

1.3 Purpose of the CMP

As specified in Condition 2.1 of the EP:

“The Permit Holder shall also, no later than 3 months before the commencement of construction of the Project, formulate and deposit a detailed Complaint Management Plan (The Plan) with the Director. The Plan shall include a dedicated complaint hotline and an email channel for timely response to complaints.”

This CMP sets out the complaint management process for the project.

1.4 Responsibilities

The key parties involved in the CMP and their overall roles and responsibilities are presented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Key Parties Involved in the CMP

Party	Roles and Responsibilities
Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) / Project Manager (PM)	The AAHK, as the project proponent, bears the overall responsibility for the project, and has to assure that the CMP is issued and followed by all the relevant parties of the project.
Environmental Team (ET)	The ET is responsible for setting up and managing the dedicated complaint hotline and email channel. The ET is also responsible for managing the complaints process, carrying out complaint investigation and recording the findings as part of the EM&A process.
Independent Environmental Checker (IEC)	The IEC is responsible for auditing the complaints handling, investigation and reporting process by the ET and the effectiveness of mitigation measures implemented by the Contractor.
The Contractors	The Contractors have the primary responsibility for implementing the required mitigation measures and ensuring their works comply with all environmental legislation and the EP requirements as well as any additional conditions specified in their works contracts. The Contractors are responsible for providing all necessary input / information to the ET as part of the complaint investigation process. The Contractors are also required to implement all mitigation measures, corrective actions or any additional measures required to address environmental complaints.

1.5 Structure of the CMP

Following this introductory section, the report is structured as follows:

Section 2 The Complaint Management Process

Section 3 Stage 1 – Receiving the Complaint

Section 4 Stage 2 – Assessing the Complaint

Section 5 Stage 3 – Investigating the Complaint

Section 6 Stage 4 – Resolving the Complaint

2 The Complaint Management Process

2.1 Overall Process

As part of the EM&A requirements of the project, the overall environmental complaint handling process is shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: Overall Complaint Handling Process Flow Chart

Details of each of the stages in the handling process are described in the following sections. A detailed environmental complaint handling flow chart is shown in Appendix A.

3 Stage 1 – Receiving the Complaint

3.1 Dedicated Complaint Hotline for the Project

The public can raise environmental complaints that are related to the project via telephone. The ET established a dedicated complaint hotline for receiving any public comments. The dedicated hotline number is provided below. This dedicated complaint hotline is also publicised on the dedicated project website.

Dedicated Hotline Number: +852 3908 0354

Dedicated Project Website Address: http://env.threerunwaysystem.com

The dedicated complaint hotline is managed by the ET. All calls will be received and recorded by the ET during operation hours. The operation hours of the hotline are from 08:30 to 17:30, Monday to Friday except public holiday during the construction period of the Three-Runway System. Any missed calls (such as when the line is busy or when the call is received outside the operating hours) will be directed to a voicemail system where callers can leave their contact details for the ET to return calls. The operation flow chart for the dedicated hotline is shown in Appendix B.

3.2 Dedicated Email Channel for the Project

The ET had set up a dedicated email channel, managed by the ET, for receiving written environmental comments raised by the public. The dedicated email address is provided below. Details of the dedicated email address, mailing address and fax number for written comments, enquiries and suggestions are also publicised on the dedicated project website.

Dedicated Email Address: env@3rsproject.com

Fax Number: +852 3747 6050

Mailing Address: Airport Authority Hong Kong, HKIA Tower, 1 Sky Plaza Road,

Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong

Attn: Environmental Team Leader Mr Terence Kong
c/o Mr Lawrence Tsui (Third Runway Division)

3.3 Environmental Complaint Received from EPD

Members of the public may choose to submit complaints on the project to EPD via EPD’s general environmental complaint channel. All complaints referred to AAHK from EPD will be recorded by the ET and a reply will be issued to EPD to confirm receipt of the complaint.

3.4 Environmental Complaint Received from Other Channels

Environmental complaints may also be received from other communication channels such as via the Community Liaison Group (CLG) and Professional Liaison Group (PLG), or referred from other sources such as the Hong Kong International Airport general enquiries / customer services desk. All written complaints received from such other channels will be passed directly to the ET. For any questions or comments received from CLG / PLG members during CLG / PLG meetings, these will be responded directly in the meetings or in subsequent CLG / PLG meetings. For any other non-written complaints, the complainant will be referred to the dedicated complaint hotline and / or email channel for registering their complaint.

3.5 Record-keeping

The ET maintains a record on all environmental complaints in the complaint log-book and register. A unique reference number shall be created to help track the complaint. The reference number shall be created according to the date (yyyy/mm/dd) and the complaint case number. An example of the complaint reference number is shown below:

Reference number for complaint received on 12 January 2015: 20150112/001

The ET keeps the log-book and register for IEC verification as requested by the IEC. The complaint log-book and register includes but is not limited to the following:

● Details of the complaint received;

● Details of the complainant (if known);

● Description of the complaint;

● The relevant parties for referring the complaint; and

● Details of the responses and actions required / taken.

4 Stage 2 – Assessing the Complaint

4.1 Screening and Referring the Complaint

Once a complaint is received, it must be logged, defined and categorised as soon as possible, before referring to the appropriate party. Table 4.1 lists the relevant parties for referring complaints and other enquiries and suggestions to.

Table 4.1: Guideline for Referring Complaints and other Enquiries & Suggestions

Type		Description	ET to refer cases to
Environmental-related	Complaints	Complaint about environmental issues/ compliance of the construction works or site activities (e.g. dust pollution, construction plant emissions, construction noise, effluent discharge, suspended solid, oil and chemical spillage)	Relevant Contractor(s) and notify IEC and AAHK / PM
Environmental-related	Enquiries and Suggestions	Enquiries / suggestions about environmental issues of the construction works or site activities	AAHK / PM
Non-environmental-related		Complaints, enquiries and suggestions about the project itself that is not environmental-related	AAHK / PM
Project unrelated		Complaint or enquiry not related to the project	AAHK / PM

4.2 Acknowledging Receipt of the Environmental Complaint

Where a return postal address, fax number and / or email address of the complainant is provided, the ET shall issue an interim reply within 3 working days to acknowledge receipt and notify the complainant of the referral of their complaint to other relevant parties where appropriate.

5 Stage 3 – Investigating the Complaint

5.1 Conducting an Investigation

As illustrated in Figure 5.1, the starting point for complaint investigation is to collect all relevant information. Based on the details of the complaint received, the ET should collect the required information from the Contractor(s), including details related to the construction activities and site conditions that may have a bearing on the complaint, as well as the mitigation measures currently implemented on site. During the complaint investigation work, the Contractor and AAHK / PM should cooperate with the ET in providing all necessary information and assistance for completion of the investigation. The ET should also review the relevant environmental monitoring data of nearby monitoring stations to ascertain if there are any associated changes or environmental exceedances that may be linked to the complaint.

Based on the aforementioned information obtained, the ET shall assess whether the source of the problem is likely to be due to the construction activities of the project, and also ascertain which specific works sites and / or activities are the likely causes.

To verify the information obtained and whether the source of the problem is actually due to the construction activities of the project, the ET should conduct site visit with Contractor(s) and actively check for the source of the problem, and whether the relevant mitigation measures have been properly implemented by the Contractor. The ET should also check the effectiveness and adequacy of the existing mitigation measures implemented.

Figure 5.1: Investigation Stage Process Flow Chart

6 Stage 4 – Resolving the Complaint

6.1 Deciding on the Appropriate Action(s)

Based on the findings of the complaint investigation described in Section 5, appropriate action(s), if any, should be recommended by the ET / Contractor. The relevant action(s) would depend on the findings of the complaint investigation and might include the followings:

● Corrective actions on mitigation measures implemented by the Contractor(s)

● Recommendations for additional mitigation measures in consultation with the IEC and AAHK / PM

● Additional site visits and environmental monitoring to verify the updated situation and the effectiveness of the additional mitigation measures / corrective actions, if required

If mitigation measures are identified as required during in the investigation by the ET, the Contractor should promptly carry out the mitigation works. AAHK / PM should ensure that the measures have been carried out by the Contractor.

6.2 Preparing the Environmental Complaint Investigation Report

For every environmental complaint that is confirmed to be valid and due to the project’s activities, the ET shall compile an environmental complaint investigation report containing all the relevant information and responses from the relevant parties and the follow up actions taken.

The key areas to be covered in the environmental complaint investigation report includes but not limited to the followings:

● Details of the complaint received such as received channel, date, time etc.;

● Details of the complainant such as name, contact number, email etc. (if known);

● Description of the complaint such as date, time, location, complaint circumstances etc.;

● Details of the information from the relevant Contractor(s) and the investigation findings;

● Details of the mitigation measures, additional monitoring and follow up actions where applicable; and

● Recommendations to prevent re-occurrence of similar complaint.

If the complaint is referred from EPD, an interim report on the status of the complaint investigation and follow up actions shall be submitted to EPD by the ET. The final complaint investigation report shall be certified by the ET and verified by the IEC before submission to EPD by the ET for EPD’s record.

6.3 Independent / External Review

Independent audit of the complaint investigation process and the report will be conducted by the IEC. The IEC will also audit and verify the effectiveness of the existing and additional mitigation measures implemented to minimise re-occurrence of similar complaints.

6.4 Closing the Case

Upon final acceptance of the environmental complaint investigation report, the ET shall provide a written response to the complainant (except in cases where the complaint is referred from EPD), and update the record with details of the complaint investigation, follow up actions and other relevant information of the complaint in the complaint log-book. The time that would take to investigate a complaint depends on the circumstances involved and would be different for each individual case, still, the complainant would be contacted within 4 weeks from the receipt of the complaint and be provided with an update of the investigation, and would also be given the investigation results when available. For cases where the complaint is referred from EPD, the ET shall provide the final complaint investigation report (certified by the ET and verified by the IEC) to EPD for their reply to the complainant.

The ET shall also summarise the status of complaints received, including investigation findings and follow up actions taken, in the monthly EM&A reports, which are subject to review and verification by the IEC.

Appendices

Appendix A Environmental Complaint Handling Flow Chart

Appendix B Dedicated Complaint Hotline for the Project – Operation Flow Chart