Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance

EIA Ordinance

SCHEDULE 1 INTERPRETATION

In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires---

"abattoir" means premises or a place habitually used for the slaughter of animals for human consumption;

"aircraft maintenance and repair plant" means a place, building or structure where aircraft or its parts are stored, repaired, washed or greased;

"Appeal Board" means the appeal board constituted under section 19;

"associated person" means---

  1. the spouse or minor child or minor step-child of the person;
  2. a corporation of which the person is a director;
  3. an employee or partner of the person;
  4. the trustee of a trust of which the person, his spouse, minor child or minor step-child, is a beneficiary or a discretionary object;
  5. another person who has agreed or arranged to act together with the person to acquire, hold or dispose of shares or other interests in a corporation or to act together in voting in the corporation;
  6. another person in accordance with whose directions the person is accustomed or obliged to act;
  7. another person accustomed or obliged to act in accordance with the directions of the person;
  8. a corporation in accordance with whose directions or the directions of its directors the person is accustomed or obliged to act;
  9. a corporation accustomed or obliged to act, or whose directors are accustomed or obliged to act, in accordance with the directions of the person;
  10. a corporation of which the person, either alone or together with his spouse, minor child or minor step-child, is directly or indirectly entitled to exercise or control the exercise of 35% or more of the voting power;
  11. a corporation of which the person, either alone or together with another, including a corporation in which the person is entitled to exercise or control the exercise of 35% or more of its voting power, is directly or indirectly entitled to exercise or control the exercise of 35% or more of the voting power.
  12. a corporation of which the person controls the composition of the board of directors of the corporation;
  13. if the person is a corporation---
    1. a director of the corporation;
    2. a corporation which is holding company of the corporation or a subsidary of the holding company;
    3. a subsidiary of the corporation;
    4. a director or employee of the subsidiary;
    5. a pension fund, provident fund or employee share scheme of the corporation or of a subsidiary of the corporation;
"bathing beach" means any bathing beach which is specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Public Health and Municipal Services (Cap. 132);

"bulk chemical storage facility" means a facility that is or may be used for storing materials of a hazardous nature for delivery to or by seagoing bulk chemical carriers and includes related product blending, drum and bottle storage and dispatch facilities;

"Chairman" means the Chairman of the Appeal Board panel appointed under section 18(2);

"chemical waste" means waste which is chemical waste within the meaning of Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation (Cap. 354 sub. leg.);

"coastal protection area" means a coastal protection area shown in a draft or approved plan prepared under section 3 of the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131);

"conservation area" means a conservation area shown in a draft or approved plan prepared under section 3 of the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131);

"container backup facilities" means facilities essential to the handling of containers which do not require (but may have) a waterfront location and includes container yards, empty container storage and repair depots, container freight stations and container vehicle parks;

"controls the composition of the board of directors of the corporation" means to able, either alone or with the consent or concurrence of another person, to appoint or remove a majority of the directors and a person is taken as having the power to appoint or remove a director if---

  1. a director cannot be appointed without the person exercising a power in favour of the prospective director; or
  2. a person's appointment as a director follows necessarily from his being a director or other officer of the person;
"corporation" means any company or other body corporate incorporated in Hong Kong or elsewhere, but does not include---
  1. any body corporate that is incorporated in Hong Kong and is a public authority or an organ or agency or the Government;
  2. any corporation sole;
  3. any credit union registered under the Credit Unions Ordinance (Cap. 119); or
  4. any corporation registered under the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344);

"country park" means a country park within the meaning of section 2 of the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap. 208);

"crematorium" means a crematorium within the meaning of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132);

"decommissioning" means ceasing production and demolishing an existing plant for the development or redevelopment of the site;

"Deputy Chairman" means a Deputy Chairman of the Appeal Board panel appointed under section 18(3);

"designated project" means a project listed in Schedule 2 or 3 or specified by the Secretary under section 4(4) as a designated project;

"Director" means the Director of Environmental Protection;

"education institution" means an institution, organization or place which provides, or where there is provided, for 10 or more persons during any one day, whether or not at the same time, kindergarten, primary, secondary or post secondary education or any other educational course;

"environment" ---

(a) means the components of the earth; and
(b) includes---
(i) land, water, air and all layers of the atmosphere;
(ii) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms; and
(iii) the interacting natural systems that include any of the things referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii);
"environmental impact" for a designated project, means---
(a) an on-site or off-site change that the project may cause in the environment;
(b) an effect of the change on---
(i) the well being of people, flora, fauna and ecosystems;
(ii) physical and cultural heritage;
(iii) a structure, site or other thing that is of historical or archaeological significance;
(c) an on-site or off-site effect on any of the things referred to in paragraph (b) from activities carried on for the project;
(d) a change to the project that the environment may cause,
whether the change or effect occurs within or outside the site of the project;

"environmental impact assessment report" means a report prepared under section 6;

"environmental impact assessment study brief " means a study brief issued under section 5(7)(a);

"environmental permit" means an environmental permit issued under section 10(5);

"existing uses" means those uses existed at the time when the application under sections 9 and 13 are made;

"expressway" means an expressway within the meaning of section 122 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374);

"fish culture zone" means a fish culture zone within the meaning of section 2 of the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353);

"health care institution" means hospitals, polyclinics and clinics;

"heavy railway" means railway for freight transport or for a passenger transit system with a capacity exceeding 40 000 passengers per hour per direction;

"industrial estate" means any industrial estate referred to in Schedule 1 to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation Ordinance (Cap. 565); ( Replaced 5 of 2001 s.40);

"light railway" means railway for a passenger transit system with a capacity not exceeding 40 000 passengers per hour per direction;

"major extensions or improvements to existing roads" means a physical addition, alteration or re-alignment to existing roads which results in an adverse environmental impact as defined in the technical memorandum;

"marine park" means a park within the meaning of the Marine Parks Ordinance (Cap. 476);

"marine reserve" means a reserve area that falls within the meaning of the Marine Parks Ordinance (Cap. 476);

"material change" means a physical addition or alteration to a designated project which results in an adverse environmental impact as defined in the technical memorandum;

"mid-stream operations" means the working of cargo by a ship while moored at a buoy or while at anchor;

"mitigation" for a designated project---

(a) means the elimination, reduction or control of the adverse environmental impact of the project;
(b) includes restitution by replacement, restoration, compensation or other means for damage to the environment caused by the impact;
"pier" means a structure built out over the water and supported by pillars or piles, used as a landing place for ferries, boats, ships and other vessels including structures accommodating hydrofoil and jetfoil vessels;

"planned use" means the land use proposed in the draft or approved plans prepared under the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) or any other land use plans published by the Government;

"primary distributor" means roads forming the major network of the urban area including roads having high capacity junctions, although they may be at grade or grade separated, with segregated pedestrian facilities wherever possible and frontage access limited if not entirely restricted, and with a 24 hour stopping restriction;

"project profile" means the description of the project that complies with the requirements of the technical memorandum;

"public cargo working area" means an area set out in the Port Control (Cargo Working Areas) Ordinance (Cap. 81) as a public cargo working area;

"quarantine station or segregation place for animals" means a place used for the quarantine of animals when they are imported into Hong Kong and detained there for such period as the veterinary officer may require;

"railway depot" means a facility for the storage, maintenance or repair of light or heavy railway rolling stock or equipment used for track maintenance, including areas where shunting facilities are used for operational purposes;

"railway marshalling yard" means a facility in a railway system mainly for sorting train wagons into different formations according to an order for operation purposes;

"religious institution" means a place or building, or a place of worship where in accordance with the practice of religious principles services are held or prayers said by congregations loyal to a belief and includes Chinese temples as set out in paragraph (b) of the definition of "Chinese temple" in section 2 of the Chinese Temples Ordinance (Cap. 153) and ancillary offices car parks and quarters that are essential to the operation of the particular organization;

"river trade limits" means the river trade limits defined in the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap. 313);

"river trade terminal" means a terminal for handling or storing cargo by vessels routinely operating within waters within river trade limits;

"road tunnel" means a private or public tunnel and its portal area within the meaning of the Road Tunnels (Government) Ordinance (Cap. 368);

"Secretary" means the Secretary for the Environment; (Replaced 78 of 1999 s. 7. Amended L.N. 106 of 2002; L.N. 130 of 2007)

"service reservoir"
means a place or structure where water from a water treatment works is stored for delivery to other service reservoirs for distribution to the consumers of a water supply district;

"ship building or ship repairing yard" means any place, structure or building in which ships, boats and other sailing vessels are constructed, repaired, renewed or broken down into parts;

"site of cultural heritage" means an antiquity or monument, whether being a place, building, site or structure or a relic, as defined in the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap. 53) and any place, building, site, or structure or a relic identified by the Antiquities and Monuments Office to be of archaeological, historical or palaeontological significance;

"site of special scientific interest" means an area of land or water of special scientific interest by reason of its flora, fauna or geographical features identified by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and listed in the register of sites of special scientific interest maintained by the Planning Department; (Amended L.N. 331 of 1999)

"special area" means a special area as defined in the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap. 208);

"special wastes" includes clinical waste, animal carcasses and security waste, including Government documents, including those to be treated by centralised incineration facility;

"technical memorandum" means a technical memorandum issued under section 16;

"tramway" means the roadway over which a tram passes and the roadway of any bridge forming part of or leading to the roadway as defined in the Tramway Ordinance (Cap. 107);

"transport depot" means a facility for the construction, repair or maintenance of transport vehicles and their parking when not in operation;

"trunk road" means a road connecting the main centres of population being a high capacity road with no frontage access or development, pedestrians segregation, widely spaced grade-separated junctions, and a 24 hour stopping restriction;

"typhoon shelter" means a typhoon shelter within the meaning of Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) (Typhoon Shelters) Regulation (Cap. 548 sub. leg. E); (Amended 24 of 2005 s.55)

"wild animal protection area" means an area designated as a restricted area under the Sixth Schedule to the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170).

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