THE ENVIRONMENT
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Hong Kong Industries, the Building Contractors Association, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Association, and others. Whenever possible, changes are made to make the legislation more workable, without detracting from its intended purpose. Any residual problems are then put to EPCOM for its advice, before the proposals are finalised for submission to formal legislative procedures.
Environmental Management
An important feature of the new environmental protection legislation will be the adoption of an environmental management approach. This will achieve the desired degree of environ- mental protection at a much lower cost than if the common approach of using blanket controls was followed. Environmental management entails imposing limits on polluting emissions so that a given environmental quality can be achieved. This means the emissions permitted will be considered in relation to the surrounding environment, with the aim of matching them to the ability of various areas to absorb or disperse them safely.
The environmental management approach will require a detailed knowledge of the envi- ronment in different parts of Hong Kong. Acquiring this knowledge, upon which pollution controls will be based, will take time. For this reason, the new environmental protection ordinances are in a form which will enable specific regulations to be incorporated in subsidiary legislation at a later date. When regulations have been formulated they will be subject to the various consultative procedures. There will be a specific provision in the ordinances that the Secretary for the Environment must seek the views of EPCOM on all proposed regulations.
Noise Pollution
From July 1, 1979, the use of all mechanically-powered equipment in the carrying out of any construction work was prohibited between 7 pm and 7 am every day, and all day on Sundays and public holidays. This can be waived, under exceptional circumstances, if an exemption order is granted by the Governor in Council or a permit is obtained from the Director of Public Works under the Summary Offences (Permitted Work) Regulations. A monitoring and liaison group was set up with representatives of the government and the Building Contractors Association; this helped considerably in the introduction of the new provision.
Under the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, the Urban Services Department continued to control noise nuisances caused by air-conditioning and ventilating systems. A total of 240 complaints were received and investigated and these led to the issue of 36 abatement notices. All these notices were complied with and no prosecutions were necessary.
Water Pollution
Severe pollution problems in Hong Kong's waters have been avoided to a large extent because of the effectiveness of coastal currents. The large majority of effluents are discharged into Victoria Harbour through short outfalls after preliminary screening only.
However with the rapid population growth, the establishment of new towns in areas of restricted water circulation, such as Tolo Harbour in the New Territories, and the expansion of the industrial base, the Public Works Department has developed a new approach to maintain and improve conditions. The new towns of Sha Tin, Tai Po and Tuen Mun will each have an advanced sewage treatment works. The treatment works will be capable of producing good quality effluent suited to the pollution absorption capacity of the sur- rounding waters. In areas where bathing and recreation are important, sewage will be