Public Notification and Objection to the Grant of a Licence
15. For any application for a licence, renewal or variation of a licence for making a discharge into the waters of Hong Kong, the applicant should publicly notify the application by a notice published in an English and a Chinese newspaper at his own expense. The only exceptions are:
- the application for a licence to discharge domestic sewage from a separate household; and
- the application for renewal of a licence in respect of a discharge from the applicant's establishment that consumes 10 cubic metres or less of water a day and the rate of flow of the discharge applied for is not greater than that.
16. During the period of 30 days after the notice is published, any person may object to the granting of the application on the ground that it would tend to inhibit the attainment or maintenance of the relevant water quality objectives. If a person wishes to make an objection, he should give notice of the objection to DEP in writing by registered post within the time limit.
17. For new application, DEP may grant a licence to the applicant not earlier than 40 days after the notice is published in newspapers if he receives no objection. For renewal or variation application, DEP may grant a licence to the applicant not earlier than 30 days after the notice is published in newspapers if he receives no objection.
