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July 19th, 2016:

More runways are only the start: race to reclaim land in the Pearl River Delta is worrying

Jul 19th, 2016
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Johnny Wei says for a start, Hong Kong officials must work with their Shenzhen counterparts to coordinate plans for airport expansion in both cities, so as to minimise pressure on the marine environment

Hong Kong is not alone in wanting a three-runway system. Its neighbour Shenzhen is now preparing for an airport expansion, and this is posing a challenge for our cross-border coordination in at least one key aspect – the environment.

After several years of turnover growth, the Shenzhen Airport Group has just completed its second and last round of consultation for an environmental impact assessment for reclamation of 439 hectares of land, for the purpose of building a third runway. This reclamation is smaller in scale than the one proposed by Hong Kong for its own third runway (650 hectares). Regardless, the two reclamation projects are too close – only 32km apart – and are likely to threaten the habitat of the Chinese white dolphins, as well as compromise the water quality and long-term carrying capacity of the Pearl River Delta estuary.

As close observers of marine construction projects and their cumulative impact, we are alarmed by this unprecedented estuary-wide “reclamation contest”. Shenzhen airport’s ambition accounts for only a quarter of the near-term reclamation, or equivalent to a mere 8 per cent of the sea-to-land conversion blueprint of the special economic zone. Other cities including Zhuhai ( 珠海 ), Huizhou (惠州) and Guangzhou all have their own greedy plan of “asking for land” from the waters.

We’re not even counting the massive reclamation for the bridge connecting Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau, or the 350 hectares reserved for Macau’s new town development.

The question is: where is the limit of reclamation?

Several procedures must be completed before Shenzhen airport can break ground for its expansion. These include disclosure of the environmental impact assessment report, a public hearing, submission for state-level approval and an assessment of social stability risk.

We don’t know how long these proceedings will take, nor how much of Hongkongers’ concerns will be taken into account. There’s a good chance Shenzhen’s third-runway construction will overlap with Hong Kong’s, and this will exert greater pressure on seawater quality.

We don’t deny an airport plays a significant role for a city. The question is: where is the limit of reclamation and who may be qualified to set it?

A lack of coordinated environmental planning has long plagued the Pearl River Delta. The ties between the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments are mostly limited to economic collaboration, with little effort spent on cross-border environmental improvement.

We urge Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department to establish a communication channel with the Shenzhen Oceanic Administration and its Human Settlements and Environment Commission to obtain information on the anticipated expansion period of Shenzhen airport and its study of cumulative impacts. The two governments must work out a schedule that can protect the environment.

Pollution has no respect for borders, as shown by the recent rubbish surge in Lantau waters

Hong Kong should share with the Shenzhen authorities the lessons it learned about the negative impact of reclamation, and the use of its Protection of the Harbour Ordinance in limiting damage. Hong Kong went on a reclamation spree in the 1980s and 1990s. Shenzhen, where housing prices are at historical highs, now intends to boost its land supply in a similar approach but has little knowledge about the long-term costly payback.

Hong Kong must not shirk its regional responsibilities and must take part in delta initiatives such as the strategic environmental impact assessment inaugurated by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection last October. The assessment, led by Beijing with the involvement of Guangdong, was created to evaluate the overall carrying capacity of our delta and develop planning strategies for estuary conservation and pollution control.

Pollution has no respect for borders, as shown by the recent rubbish surge in Lantau waters. Unless it takes the initiative with the mainland, Hong Kong has no hope of improving its environmental quality.

Johnny Wei is co-founder of the CrossBorder Environment Concern Association

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Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1991672/more-runways-are-only-start-race-reclaim-land-pearl-river

Methane Pollution Is About To See A Serious Cut From This Stinky Source

Jul 19th, 2016
by Editor.
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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/07/19/3799601/epa-landfills-methane-emissions-regulation/

Last Friday, the EPA announced new rules that will cut landfills’ methane emissions by one third.

The latest regulation is an update to rules last updated over 20 years ago. They are expected to reduce methane emissions by around 334,000 tons a year in 2025. That is equivalent to reducing 8.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Methane is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential over 25 times that of carbon dioxide, according to the EPA. But over a 20 year period, it can be 86 times more potent. Methane is the second-most common greenhouse gas emitted by human activities, and nearly 20 percent of those emissions come from landfills.

The methane regulations update the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and, in a separate action, revise the Emissions Guidelines from 1996. These actions further implement President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and its “Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions.”

“The final NSPS and emission guidelines continue to cover MSW Landfill emissions (commonly known as landfill gas) as the regulated or designated pollutant,” the EPA told ThinkProgress in an email. “Non-methane organic compounds (NMOC) are measured as a surrogate for the listed pollutant.”

The EPA finalized details dealing with landfill gas treatment, owner and operator compliance, startup, shutdown, and malfunction issues.

Under the NSPS rule, new landfills — after July 17, 2014 — will have to install a gas collection control system if NMOCs exceed 34 metric tons per year. That number is one third less than the previous threshold of 50.

The control system may either route it to a non-enclosed flare, an enclosed combustion device, or a treatment system which can ultimately sell the methane as a source of energy. An estimated 128 landfills will be subjected to this rule, and of these, 115 will be required to install the controls in 2025. The remaining 13 will report their emissions.

The threshold also applies to landfills existing prior to July 17, 2014. An estimated 1,014 active existing landfills will be affected, with 731 controlling landfill gas in 2025. However, this is only 93 more than under the previous rules. Another 77 will be required to report their emissions, and over 200 landfills are either closed or expected to close within 13 months after the rule is published in the Federal Register.

The net cost of the emission guidelines — or the costs after subtracting the benefits — will be around $54 million in 2025. The climate benefits outweigh the total costs by a factor of eight. For every dollar spent to comply with guidelines, the expected benefit is over eight dollars. That adds up to $444 million in 2025.

The benefits from the rule that affects new landfills will be over 10 dollars for every dollar spent to comply. The costs are an estimated $6 million in 2025, while the benefits are $68.3 million.

Between both new rules, the EPA expects a total benefit of $512 million.

The climate benefits that were included in the calculations include human health impacts, property damages from flood risk, and the value of ecosystem services, and others, according to the final rules fact sheet.

The Obama administration has been ramping up its efforts to reduce methane emissions. In May, the EPA finalized new methane regulations for the oil and gas industry. Since then, North Dakota filed a lawsuit against the EPA over the rule.

Food waste is partly to blame for the methane pollution from landfills. The EPA’s rule noted that there is not enough information on how the regulations would affect how much waste is diverted to recycling, waste-to-energy facilities, or composting. While lowering methane emissions has clear climate benefits, avoiding wasted food and other organics would also contribute to reducing methane emissions. Around 40 percent of food grown in the United States ends up wasted.

“EPA acknowledged alternative approaches (such as diversion, composting, recycling, and waste-to-energy) at proposal and in its final rules as well as the Regulatory Impact Analysis (and other supplemental documents) for these actions,” the EPA added in an email to ThinkProgress. “EPA does not believe that its final actions preclude these activities.”

“Further the final rules specifically acknowledge that the use of alternative approaches, such as diversion, may increase as a result of the agency’s allowance of a site-specific approach to determining gas collection and control system installation.”

In addition to efforts to decrease methane emissions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and EPA announced last September a goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030.

Sydney Pereira is an intern with ThinkProgress.