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The Environment
Layer Protection Ordinance, Dumping at Sea Ordinance, Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, Hazardous Chemicals Control Ordinance, Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance and Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance.
A set of environmental quality objectives are also in place to protect public health and preserve a natural ecosystem. The cost of imposing limits on polluting emissions is no higher than that needed to achieve conservation goals, which include maximising the environment's natural capacity to absorb and recycle waste.
The EPD works with the construction, catering, vehicle repair and property management sectors and other trades to promote good practices and compliance with environmental regulations. It runs a Compliance Assistance Centre, where businesses may obtain updated information and advice on environmental compliance, pollution prevention and environmental management.
In 2016, department inspectors made more than 84,000 visits to different locations to enforce controls on air, noise, waste and water pollution and to deal with complaints about pollution, resulting in 722 convictions and $6.7 million in fines.
Environmental Monitoring and Auditing
Development projects undergo an environmental monitoring and auditing process to validate assumptions made during the planning stage and monitor the effectiveness of mitigation measures, to ensure every project meets the environmental performance promised in its environmental impact assessment. In 2016, the EPD handled 99 monitoring and auditing programmes for major projects. As required by environmental permits, these projects must set up dedicated websites to publish the results and data obtained from the process.
Meteorological and Geophysical Services
Hong Kong Observatory
Established in 1883, the Hong Kong Observatory provides meteorological, climatological, radiation monitoring, oceanographic, geophysical, time and astronomical services.
Weather Forecasting and Information Services
The Observatory publicises weather information through the media, mobile application MyObservatory, Observatory website, Windows desktop application Weather Wizard, social media platforms and Dial-a-Weather telephone service. It produces regular weather television programmes and an educational series, Cool Met Stuff, for free for Hong Kong's major television networks and other media. In 2016, its online services, including MyObservatory, surpassed 100 billion page views and its YouTube channel accumulated more than 12.8 million views.
During the year, the Observatory launched an 'Announcement on Localised Heavy Rain' service to issue alerts about potential serious flooding due to heavy rain in individual districts, and revamped the 'Weather Information for Schools' webpage to provide more regional rainfall information. It enhanced the 'Automatic Regional Weather Forecast in Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta Region' service to give automated nine-day regional weather forecasts for more
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