THE ENVIRONMENT
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in a revised Town Planning Ordinance. To this end, the review of the existing ordinance continued during 1990.
Among the specific problems which have been identified in the New Territories is the proliferation of temporary land uses including open storage of containers and other polluting uses of land which was previously agricultural in nature. Studies are currently in hand on ways to curtail the unplanned proliferation of these uses in environmentally sensitive areas.
In the interests of preserving the important wildlife habitats in the Deep Bay area, a Deep Bay Environmental Management Group was formed in 1989 and an action programme drawn up. Many of the action items were put into effect and further refined during 1990. For example, a Hong Kong-Guangdong Liaison Group on transboundary pollution was established with the People's Republic of China. The group met in July 1990 and agreed on a policy approach to protect the Deep Bay area. As well, detailed engineering guidelines were drawn up to minimise the environmental impact of dredging, reclamation and drainage works in the area. In 1989, a buffer zone was established to restrict and control developments around sites of special scientific interest at Mai Po and inner Deep Bay. In 1990, the Planning Department established a Deep Bay task force to co-ordinate the formation and implementation of a development control strategy in the area.
At a more local level, the Environmental Protection Department continued to provide advice on all local and district planning matters. This is generally based on the guidelines and criteria contained in the Environment Chapter of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG).
During 1989, a comprehensive review of the Environment Chapter of HKPSG was initiated. The revised guidelines, which were endorsed by the government during 1990, incorporated updated procedures and take account of recent changes in environmental protection legislation.
A growing task in 1990 was commenting on redevelopment studies for the older urban areas, produced by consultants for the Land Development Corporation, to ensure the most satisfactory layout from an environmental standpoint given the multitude of other development objectives.
The EIA process was also applied during 1990 to other major development projects, including a number of extensive reclamation proposals for areas such as Green Island, the Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O new towns including the third industrial estate, the north-west New Territories sewerage scheme, the Tolo Harbour effluent export scheme and the eighth container terminal. Other individual projects for which EIA studies have continued include the South East New Territories Landfill, the Island East Refuse Transfer Station, an oil terminal relocation and a site search for both gas turbine and large terminal power station developments.
Risk Assessment is another important area of work in the field of environmental planning. A lack of proper understanding in the past has given rise to some situations under which potentially hazardous installations (PHIS) pose a risk to nearby residents. The government is now taking positive steps on the issue by allowing only compatible developments in the vicinity of PHIS.
The EPD, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and Fire Services Department work jointly with other relevant government bodies in a co-ordinated approach to examine