environmental control for hong kong

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Environmental Control for Hong Kong

by E N V I R O N M E N T A L R E S O U R C E S Ltd.

Just over two years ago, a London based firm of consultants was engaged by the Government of Hong Kong to advise on a new system of environmental control for the Territory "covering all aspects of pollution on land and sea, in the air and from excessive noise, having regard to the different ap- proaches being applied in the UK, USA, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Europe and elsewhere in the world where pollution control legislation and practice have been established". The work was undertaken by a small team of consultants within the finn*. In this article the authors explain the approach to the task, some of the problems faced, and some of the recommendations made.

Background

Hong Kong is one of the few remaining dependencies of the United Kingdom. In practice the Governor, by and with the advice of the Legislative Council, makes laws for peace, order and good government of the Terri- tory. An Executive Council supported by a civil service, administers the affairs of the Territory.

Hong Kong covers an area of about 400 square miles, in which approxi- mately 4.5M people live. Much of the population is concentrated in the northern half of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsula; the density is more than 300 people per acre in Central Kowloon, which may be com- pared with the 100 people per acre in London and 80 per acre in Tokyo. In contrast, parts of the hinterland north of Kowloon, known as the New Terri-

*The project team included Florence Fisher, project administrator; Dr. Robin Bidwell, project director; James McLoughlin, legal co-ordinator; John M. Sidwick, technical co-ordinator.

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tories, are uninhabited mountainous areas of great natural beauty.

By the end of 1974 there were between 25,000 and 30,000 manufacturing establishme}ats in the Territory employing about 600,000 people, but 64% of them employed less than ten workers. For the last ten years or so, the clothing industry has employed the most workers, followed by the textile industry. Together they employ 50% of the working population. In recent years the manufacture of scientific and electronic equipment, and metal- working and engineering have all increased in importance. The industrial base, however, is not wide and at present virtually no industry produces dangerous wastes, Although industry has been concentrated in Kowloon, in adjacent parts of the New Territories and on Hong Kong Island, industrial estates have been planned for and are being developed in areas farther north.

In the lower lying parts of the New Territories there is intensive arable farming, the traditional rice crop now being replaced by fields of vegetables and some orchards. It is possible to grow several crops of market produce each year on each piece of ground.

Animal protein supplies for the Territory come mainly from pigs, chickens and fish. Most of the farms are in the New Territories, where there are difficulties in disposing safely of manure. Of the fish consumed in Hong Kong, 90% are caught by local fishing fleets. There are also fresh water fish farms in the New Territories.

The New Territories provide the main source of water supply and the catchment areas constitute about one third of the total land area of the Terri- tory. This' acts as a restraint on industrial and urban encroachment, but also creates a conflict with recreation use. Hong Kong's many beaches are

popular, and there is a growing use of the high amenity areas of the New Territories for various forms of recreation.

From a place which in pre-war years earned its wealth principally as a trading post, Hong Kong has developed into a manufacturing centre, producing more sophisticated products with plans to introduce industries using more advanced technology - with all the con- sequent hazards. The development has been accompanied by a mushroom growth of tall buildings, a growth in population from just over half a million in 1945 to the 4.5M of 1977, and a proliferation of all the polluting para- phernalia of prosperity.

This surge of success in post-war years has brought Hong Kong the kinds of environmental pollution common to industrial and urban societies; but because of unusually crowded conditions, and in some cases because of exceptional developments in patterns of working and living, the pollution can reach uncommonly high levels, and create problems of control which are particularly intransigent. Some of those special pollution problems are worthy of note.

1. Urban areas

In urban areas housing is provided by both the Government and private enterprise. This is very high density housing in large blocks of fiats. Some of the older blocks built by private enterprise lack adequate facilities for the collection of household refuse, and, many flats, having passed into private ownership, lack adequate management. There is a provision in Hong Kong law for tenants to form management cor- porations, but this is voluntary and progress is slow. Further complications arise when several flats or whole floors

Environmental Policy and Law, 3 (1977)

are converted to manufacturing uses. Manufacture is now being removed to other premises, many to "flatted factories", but progress is difficult to maintain without harsh and damaging measures.

Even with a vigorous housing programme, an enormous accommodation problem remains, which people solve for themselves by squatting in makeshift settlements and living in small boats moored in harbours and typhoon shelters. To the boat-dwellers, waste disposal is no problem - but it leaves a problem for the authorities responsible for maintaining the harbours and shelters.

Industrial expansion continues and is encouraged, as it is the principal source of Hong Kong's continuing and growing prosperity. At several places in the New Territories, industrial estates are planned, and some are under construction. But growing industry and increasing population cannot be contained in a restricted area, so that areas of high amenity set aside for various forms of recreation are under threat. A Country Parks Authority has now been formed, but underlying the conflict is a question which eventually must be answered - is Hong Kong going to achieve and maintain a balance of material prosperity and high amenity, or is industrial and urban expansion to continue encroaching on its dramatical- ly beautiful countryside? This is one of the questions, common to many com- munities, that Hong Kong throws into high relief.


Courtesy S, Egan

2. Noise

Traffic density in Hong Kong also creates problems of unusual severity. The number of motor vehicles has risen to about 200,000, but these are concentrated almost entirely in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Dr Ko of Hong Kong University has found at one place a median noise level of 76 dBA during the day, with a maximum level of 82.5 dBA during the evening rush hour. Tight confines make it difficult to devise traffic schemes which will reduce traffic nuisance, but the Government is now undertaking a "mass transit" scheme in the form of a railway, mainly underground.

Added to this traffic noise is the intermittent aircraft noise. There are currently about 150 aircraft operations per day from Kai Tak Airport, with about 63% of flights landing or taking off over the sea. The remainder pass over a heavily populated part of Kowloon. Apart from emergencies no night operations are permitted. This still leaves a considerable day time nuisance. Sound proofing is expensive and the Hong Kong climate demands accompanying air-conditioning or at least efficient ventilation.

In addition there is noise from construction work in the urban areas. For the deep piles needed under the high buildings now being erected, pile drivers are frequently used. Such work may be done at night only with special permission, but the day time nuisance in the crowded commercial areas of Hong Kong is considerable.

3. Rural areas

The rural areas also have their problems. The disposal of chicken droppings is one, but steps have been taken towards a solution, principally by estab- lishing a pilot plant for drying droppings which can then be used as fertiliser. The logistics and economics of using this recycling technique on a large scale, however, present some difficulties, as many chicken farms have no access to wheeled vehicles, and cheaper imported fertilisers are available to farmers. There are questions whether Govern- ment subsidies for recycling would be cheaper than disposal of the droppings as waste; and whether reliance on home grown fowl is so widespread or of such importance to the community that public funds should be used to bear part of the cost of recycling or disposal.

Pig manure presents a yet more serious problem. The pig population in 1974 was about 345,000 and each pig produces a total pollution load of 0.114 Kg BOD per day from faeces, and 0.024 Kg BOD from urine. The usual practice of Hong Kong pig farmers is to swill out their sties, with the result that 80% of the pollution load reaches watercourses. In the dry season, most of the solid waste lies in and near the river in gleaming mounds, to be washed down to coastal waters with the onset of rains. In one of the coastal areas affected there are fairly extensive oyster beds, and there is reason to suspect that pig manure is the cause of recent outbreaks of hepatitis. The mounds create other difficulties for farmers who depend on the streams for irrigation. In some places pipes have had to be used to bypass the affected parts of the stream in order to give a reasonably continuous supply of clear water for the farmers downstream.

There is no easy solution. Biological treatment processes used elsewhere respond differently in the Hong Kong climate, but more pertinently, the amount of manure produced by large numbers of pigs in a small crowded territory is overwhelming for farmers who have little space and less capital. Dumping at sea may be a feasible, if not entirely satisfactory, solution, but again the logistics are difficult. The farmers have been advised to "muck out" dry, but this is slower and more expensive than the wet method, and if used 0.15 tonnes (dry weight) of manure per day per thousand pigs would have to be removed to collection points. In many

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cases it would have to be done without the aid of wheeled vehicles, and would add a labour cost which farmers say they cannot afford.

Pig farmers do not have a large margin of profit, and cannot be expected to pay for expensive recycling or disposal methods. The reserve of protein they maintain in the Territory would be short lived, but nevertheless is considered by many to be of strategic importance. There is here reason for providing Government subsidy for disposal, and perhaps some recycling.

Present administration and pollution control laws

There has recently been a re-struc- turing of the administration in Hong Kong which introduced a two-tier system. Below the Governor, the Chief Secretary and the Financial Secretary is a first tier of policy branches, such as the Environment Branch, the Home Affairs Branch, and the Economic Services Branch, each of which has a duty to formulate policy and to secure efficient implementation. The second tier is a series of Departments, such as the Public Works Department and the Urban Services Department, which carry out the executive work. Each branch is responsible for a group of related programmes, which may be implemented by various departments. Conversely each department is responsible to different Policy Branches for different parts of its work.

The responsibilities of the Environ- ment Branch may be divided broadly into "development", including building control, "environment", including pollution control and related services such as sewerage and the disposal of wastes, "land administration" and

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"transport". The executive work of pollution control is done mainly by the Public Works Department and Urban Services Department, but other duties are performed and services provided by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Transport Department, Police, Labour Department and Marine Depart- ment. The New Territories and Housing Branches also play an important role.

The laws of Hong Kong consist of the common law of England, some United Kingdom statutes whose applica- tion extends to Hong Kong, a series of ordinances passed by the Hong Kong Legislative Council, and the usual sub- sidiary legislation in the forms of regulations and bylaws. Some of the local ordinances and regulations are modelled on United Kingdom legislation.

As in many countries in which there has not been a recent overhaul of environmental controls, much of the pollution control legislation is piece- meal designed to deal with local and recurrent nuisances. One notable exception is the Clean Air Ordinance. This legislation deals with smoke, noxious vapours,, grit, dust and fumes and has been successfully applied by a small team headed by an Air Pollution Control Officer.

The development of land is con- trolled in unusual ways. All land is held on lease from the Crown. Many old leases were granted with few or no restrictions on development, and a number of them, particularly on Hong Kong Island, remain unexpired today. The modem practice, however, is to grant leases with clauses determining not only what can be built on the land, but also what must be built there, thereby exercising a positive as well as a negative control over building. Leases granted in more recent years have also included

Courtesy S. Egan

clauses preventing or containing the growth of pollution from the land, such as prohibiting the installation of any plant or equipment which might result in the discharge of any noxious, harm- ful or corrosive matter.

A second form of control is exercised through the Buildings Ordinance and its subordinate regulations. These govern the design and construction of buildings, including such things as flues, chimneys and the provision for drainage. Plans have to be approved, and work may not be started without the consent of the Building Authority.

Finally there is some control through the Town Planning Ordinance. Under it the Town Planning Board produces draft plans for the layout of existing and potential urban areas, to be sub- mitted to the Governor in Council for approval. There is also an outline plan for the whole of the Territory with which the draft plans must conform. The Board itself has no direct control over development, but the Crown takes care to draft leases in conformity with the plans, and the Building Authority may refuse permission to erect a building conflicting with the layout in plans. Moreover the Crown may resume possession of any land which interferes with the layout of an area. The powers derived from the Ordinance only apply in urban areas and potential urban areas, and do not extend to controls over land use.

Recommendations for change

The sensitivity of Hong Kong industry to controls which might unfairly disturb the balance of compe- tition between firms in the Territory, or affect their ability to compete with others abroad was a constraint on recommendations for change. Further- more, it was determined that any authorities and any system of control proposed must fit into the existing scheme of administration. Therefore, a Central Unit for Environmental Protection within the Environment Branch to advise the Secretary of the Environment was recommended. The Secretary, after consulting with the Director of the Central Unit, would formulate policy for the protection of the environment and develop a plan for its implementation. The task would include developing quality objectives for parts of the environment, super- vising the enforcement of pollution control laws, developing a coordinated programme of monitoring, promoting


research, development and the adoption of less polluting processes and products, as well as more effective ways of treating wastes. The Central Unit would advise the Secretary on the different forms of pollution and on the probable environmental effect of any Govern- ment project or proposals.

The Public Works Department which already has close contact with sources of pollution would control on a day-to day basis industrial discharges to sewers and rivers. The Department of Agricul- ture and Fisheries would control discharges to rural area rivers, and both the Transport Department and the Police would control traffic pollution.

Land-use planning controls were considered a first step in pollution control. Therefore it was recommended that any applicant for planning permission would have to file a "waste generation state- ment" indicating how much and what kind of waste the project would gener- ate. A limited power to demand environmental impact assessment statements was also suggested.

With respect to water pollution control it was recommended that this be exercised through a system of consents. An applicant wishing to discharge waste into a stream, a sewer or coastal water would need to obtain a consent to which conditions might be attached. The conditions might relate to quantity and character of the discharge, and to methods of pre-discharge treatment. The recommendation, however, s ta ted that prohibitions or restrictions should not be imposed on consents until a satisfactory way of disposing of the waste is available to the discharger.

With respect to air pollution from stationary sources the recommendation contemplates a series of controls based on existing legislation which limits smoke and associated emissions. As oil is practically the only fuel used in Hong Kong, it was recommended that sulphur dioxide emissions be kept within acceptable limits by controlling the sulphur content of the oils used. However, restrictions would only need to be imposed in the areas where they were required. As this might lead to a heavier cost burden on some users, an equalization tax was suggested for consideration. Regulations compelling the use of specific plant equipment or procedures were proposed for the control of grit and dust.

Special powers to control processes which might bring special dangers were also considered. It was recommended that such processes be given a special name of "scheduled processes" and that a regulation be made forbidding anyone to start a "scheduled process" unless the control authority had certi- fied that the premises were equipped to satisfy the standards imposed whether the standards were for the use of a certain type of equipment or for amount and quality of emissions. Finally, and applicable to all industrial processes, there would be powers to require specific work to be done or specific precautions to be taken in the event of danger to public health, and power to close down the process in case of immediate and serious danger to the public.

With respect to construction noise, continuation of existing controls was

recommended, but, as many different kinds of equipment were used, it was decided that standard regulation might be too rigid. Therefore a Code of Practice was suggested which would be administered by an "authorised person" who must be on site to act as a coordinator of any building or street works carried out in Hong Kong. "Registered contractors", who supervise any building work in Hong Kong could, under the Code, be required to adhere to its standards under threat of having their name removed from the register. It was also suggested that in any statutory proceeding for nuisance based on noise from construction work proof that the work was carried out in accordance with the code of practice should be a sufficient defense.

All the recommendations for change can be characterized as recommendations for flexible controls which would assign priority to the maintenance of economic viability in highly competitive markets.

"We have recommended that when the content of the new legislation is finally agreed in detail, a series of ordinances should be drafted, each dealing with one sector of the environment. Those ordinances can be applied for a period, then, with any amendments considered necessary or desirable, con- solidated into a single Protection of the Environment Ordinance. Throughout, it has been our aim to provide the structure within which the government can operate, taking the necessary decisions that will ensure that the Hong Kong community can enjoy a safe and healthy environment. " []

France: Nouveau Contrat Social

Le sixi~me colloque du Nouveau Contrat social pr6sid~ par Edgar Faure a eu lieu le 16 octobre h Epernay. Dans son discours le pr6sident de l'Assembl~e Nationale a fait plusieurs propositions. I1 souligna qu'il faut donner au nouveau Parlement de la Communaut~ europ6enne une com- p6tence qui lui serait propre et qui ne risquerait pas de s'immiscer dans les questions relatives ~ la politique ex- t6rieure ou ~ la d~fense, domaines r6serv6s aux souverainet~s des Etats. Cette comp6tence s'6tendrait logique- ment, entre autres choses, ~ une poll-


tique europ6enne de l'environnement puisque, toujours selon Faure, les pro- blOmes de l'environnement ne s'en- ferment pas ais~ment ~ l'int6rieur des fronti~res nationales. "La r~gle: les pollueurs seront les payeurs est diffi- cile fi appliquer dans un seul Etat".

Le pr6sident de l'Assembl6e Nationale a admis qu'il se rendait compte des difficult~s que pr~sente cette question. "La ferveur euro- p~enne est bien tomb~e" a-t-il dit, les plus z616s r~veront d'une nouvelle CED et d'une Europe unie dans la satellisation am6ricaine et les plus

r6fractaires trouveront qu'on leur de- mande encore trop et que m~me FEurope de l'6cologie et de l'entre- prise humaine est une menace pour la suprdmatie th~ologale de la pattie.

Le premier ministre, Raymond Barre, a montr~ certaines r~ticences mais a indiqu6 son int6rOt personnel pour les diff6rentes propositions, entre autres une proposition de loi-cadre relative

l'am6nagement de l'espace rural.

I1 sera int6ressant de suivre les futurs d6bats sur cette question im- portante pour la France et pour l'Europe. [] RGT

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environmental control for hong kong

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