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MODUS OPERANDI OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF
THE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Purpose
This paper sets out the modus operandi of the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) Subcommittee of the Advisory Council on the Environment
(ACE) so as to facilitate smooth proceedings of subcommittee meetings.
The current modus operandi was last updated and endorsed by ACE in July 2009.
Background
2. ACE is the Government’s principal advisory body on matters relating to
environmental protection and nature conservation. The terms of reference of
ACE are –
- to keep under review the
state of the environment in Hong Kong;
and
- to advise the Government, through the Secretary for
Environment and Ecology, on appropriate measures which might
be taken to combat pollution of all kinds, and to protect and
sustain the environment
3. The EIA Subcommittee is set up under ACE to study EIA reports of
major development projects. It also comments on strategic environmental
assessment reports of major planning projects. The terms of reference of the
EIA Subcommittee are –
- to receive and study EIA
reports of major development projects; and
- to report on its
deliberations and findings and make recommendations to ACE.
EIA
Process
4. ACE and the EIA Subcommittee are involved in three main stages of
the EIA process, namely commenting on the project profiles for designated
projects, selection of EIA reports for submission to ACE and commenting on
selected EIA reports. In accordance with ETWB Technical Circular (Works)
No. 13/2003, the statutory gazetting of a project under the relevant ordinances
can be done in parallel with the EIA process. Separately, consultation with
District Councils and other relevant parties may proceed in advance of or in
parallel with the submission of EIA reports to the EIA Subcommittee.
Project
Profile
5.Under section 5 of the EIA Ordinance, ACE and members of the public
may comment on the project profile of a designated project within 14 days of it
being advertised. It is hence not necessary for the EIA Subcommittee to present
to the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) the collective view of the EIA
Subcommittee on project profiles. To ensure that comments on project profiles,
if any, are given to DEP within the statutory time limit, individual ACE Members
would write to DEP directly. Where necessary, the ACE Member may copy
his/her comments to the Chairman and Members for information.
Selection
of EIA reports
6. Project proponents of designated projects will have to present their EIA
reports to ACE if they are required to submit the reports to the Council.
Members of the EIA Subcommittee will be asked to select those projects which
they consider should require a presentation to the EIA Subcommittee by the
project proponent. The selection outcome is for internal planning of the
schedule of the EIA Subcommittee and will not be divulged to the project
proponent. Only those projects selected by half or more of EIA Subcommittee
Members will be selected. The project proponent concerned will be notified of
the selection outcome only after DEP has decided that the EIA report is ready for
public inspection and submission to ACE for advice.
7. During the project selection process, if individual EIA Subcommittee
Member has special concerns/comments on a certain project, he/she could draw
the EIA Subcommittee Chairman’s attention to his/her concerns/comments and
the Chairman would consider the need to review the decision on selection of the
EIA report for submission to ACE.
8. For projects not selected, the project proponent will be required to send
the Executive Summary of the EIA report to the EIA Subcommittee. Members
would pass their comments, if any, to DEP directly within the prescribed public
inspection period and if necessary, copy his/her comments to the Chairman and
Members of the EIA Subcommittee for information. At the ACE meeting
immediately following the issue of the Executive Summaries of the EIA reports,
the EIA Subcommittee Chairman will report to ACE about the submission of
these Executive Summaries for information of Members and record as projects
not selected for discussion.
Meeting
Arrangements
9. The EIA Subcommittee will basically meet on a monthly basis.
Meetings will be held when there is submission of EIA report(s) or issue(s) to be
discussed.
10. To facilitate focused discussion, the EIA Subcommittee will generally
consider no more than two EIA reports in each meeting. EPD will prepare a
paper on each EIA report to be submitted to the EIA Subcommittee highlighting
the key environmental issues and major findings of the EIA study. Upon expiry
of the report inspection period by the general public, EPD will summarize all
public comments received during the period for consideration of the EIA
Subcommittee. The project proponent, where applicable, will provide the EIA
Subcommittee with a report on the site selection process of the project, setting
out the alternative sites that have been considered and the reasons of the selection
of the particular site when such information is not provided in the EIA report.
The paper, the EIA report and the site report, if any, will normally be issued to
EIA Subcommittee Members two weeks before the scheduled meeting. The
summary of public comments will also be given to Members before the meeting.
Members will be asked to indicate whether it is necessary for the project
proponent to attend the meeting or the report could be considered by circulation.
Project proponents will be informed accordingly before the scheduled meeting.
11.
Summary of the public comments will also be provided to non-EIA
Subcommittee Members for reference to facilitate their discussion of the EIA
Subcommittee’s recommendations at the next ACE meeting before the Council
tenders its comments to DEP on the EIA report as provided for under the EIA
Ordinance.
12.
Members of the EIA Subcommittee may raise questions in writing on
an EIA report before the scheduled meeting and the project proponent should
provide written response to the Secretariat at least three working days before the
meeting.
13. Each discussion item on an EIA report would include a Presentation
Session by the project proponent, a Question-and-Answer Session and Internal
Discussion Sessions. The Presentation Session and the Question-and-Answer
Session are open up for broadcasting and members of the public can view the
sessions real time in the public viewing room. The EIA Subcommittee would
allocate as much time to the Question-and-Answer Session as possible.
14. The presentation by the project proponent should cover, inter alia, the
major conclusions and recommendations of the EIA study. In addition, the
project proponent should provide a concise and objective account of the main
concerns of the general public and interest groups made known during the EIA
study and the public inspection stages, and explain how these concerns are
addressed in the EIA study.
Criteria for
Assessing EIA Reports
15. EIA reports will be assessed by the EIA Subcommittee according to the
requirements of the Technical Memorandum on the EIA Process and the study
brief of the individual projects issued by DEP.
Recommendations to the Full Council
16. The EIA Subcommittee can make one of the following
recommendations to the full Council –
(i) endorse the EIA report without
condition; or
(ii) endorse the EIA report with
condition(s); or
(iii) reject the EIA report and inform
the proponent the right to go to the full Council.
17. If the EIA Subcommittee cannot
reach a consensus (i.e. if two or more Members do not agree with the
conclusion of the EIA Subcommittee) during the meeting, it may –
(i) ask for a second submission to the EIA Subcommittee; or
(ii) defer the decision to the full
Council and highlight issues or reasons for not reaching a consensus for
the full Council’s deliberation
18. Other than the scenario in paragraph 17 above or the EIA Subcommittee
Chairman considers it appropriate, the recommendations of the EIA
Subcommittee will not be discussed in detail in the full Council.
Other Rules that apply to EIA Subcommittee Meetings
19. Apart from the procedures mentioned above, the
following rules also apply to EIA Subcommittee meetings –
(i) the quorum for
EIA Subcommittee meetings should be half of the number of EIA
Subcommittee Members, including the Chairman;
(ii) ACE Members
who are not EIA Subcommittee Members may attend EIA Subcommittee meetings
and participate in the discussion of the meetings but they shall not vote
when votes are taken;
(iii) Council Members and EIA Subcommittee Members should
declare direct and indirect interest before deliberating on agenda
items so that the EIA Subcommittee Chairman could decide
whether they should take part in the discussion or in the case of
EIA Subcommittee Members to vote;
(iv) the confirmed minutes of the EIA Subcommittee (with Members’
names deleted) are uploaded on the ACE’s website for public
inspection;
(v) the Presentation Session and Question-and-Answer Session of a
discussion item on an EIA report at the EIA Subcommittee
meeting requiring the attendance of the project proponent team
will be opened to the public. The opening up of these sessions
is an administrative arrangement only. The open meeting
arrangements are not applicable to internal discussion sessions of
a discussion item on an EIA report and all other sessions of the
meetings of the EIA Subcommittee.
(vi) special meetings may be called to consider urgent items. The
EIA Subcommittee will consider each case individually should
there be requests for direct submissions to the full Council;
(vii) there will not be a limit on the number of professionals/experts to
be invited to each EIA Subcommittee meeting for items requiring
their assistance. In these cases and where votes are taken, these
professionals/experts shall not vote; and
(viii) to facilitate effective deliberation at meetings of the EIA
Subcommittee, the EIA Subcommittee may appoint Members to
advise the EIA Subcommittee on specific subject areas of EIA
reports. The appointed Members would consider the assigned
subjects of an EIA report, and seek advice from the relevant
authorities designated under the EIAO as necessary before EIA
Subcommittee meetings.
20. The revised modus operandi of the EIA Subcommittee has taken effect
in April 2013 upon endorsement of ACE.
[Note: Government official title in paragraph 2 is updated as a result of the organisational
changes in the Government with effect from 1 July 2022.]
EIA Subcommittee Secretariat
April 2013
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