Simplified EIA｜Simplified public housing in Yuen Long is planned to use 2014 EIA Environmental Protection Department: Do not make it special

The government proposed earlier to reduce the environmental impact assessment report by establishing a central environmental database and other means.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPD) today (19th) expects that a comprehensively improved EIA system will be implemented in the second quarter of next year. For example, the EIA of the Shatian T4 trunk road optimization plan will take 34 months, and it is estimated that the EIA system can be shortened by 17 months. It will only take about 17 months to complete, and the authorities emphasize that the statutory consultation and approval process time can remain unchanged.

One of the ways to compress the EIA is to increase the scope of direct application for environmental permits, including transport depots, tram depots and wholesale markets.

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency pointed out that the current Housing Bureau proposed to build a simple public housing next to the Fairview Garden in Yuen Long, and the land had an environmental impact assessment in 2014, which mentioned that a two- to three-story housing project could be developed, and the permit was approved. Public housing is no longer required to conduct EIA studies.

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Projects below 50 hectares do not need to carry out detailed EIA

The Environmental Protection Agency submitted a document to the Environmental Affairs Committee of the Legislative Council earlier, reporting on the progress of the review of the environmental impact assessment process, and put forward four major recommendations, including the establishment of a central database, updating the list of designated projects in the "Ordinance", updating the technical assessment requirements, and Make good use of the direct application for environmental permits.

In updating the list of designated engineering projects, the authorities proposed to relax the cumulative EIA project scale limit from more than 20 hectares to more than 50 hectares, that is, projects under 50 hectares do not need to conduct detailed EIA.

Assistant Director (Environmental Assessment) Tsang Sai-wing explained that the relevant proposals are based on the conclusions drawn from the past 20 years of environmental assessments. He believes that projects under 50 hectares are mostly residential and do not involve the cumulative impact assessment of large-scale infrastructure.

Zeng Shirong also pointed out that even if the project is not under the framework of the EIA, "it does not mean that no evaluation is required, and other approvals are required, such as the city planning regulations. There is no missing trick."

▼Site selection next to Fairview Garden, Yuen Long, a simple public housing estate▼

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If the development location is a country park or an ecologically sensitive site, a detailed environmental assessment is still required

When asked about the Fanling Golf Course public housing project with an area of ​​only 9 hectares, but it is extremely controversial, will similar projects be "leaked" in the future?

Xu Haoguang, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Department, said that the location of the Fanling Golf Course project is controversial, not the size of the project. The ecological survey of the EIA is correct and appropriate.” He also emphasized that if the development location is a country park or an ecologically sensitive site, a detailed EIA is still required: “It needs to be done in detail.”

The old EIA report can be used to directly apply for the environmental permit

In addition, the authorities also proposed to increase the scope of direct application for environmental permits.

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency pointed out that the current simple public housing built next to Fairview Garden in Yuen Long can also use the 2014 EIA report to directly apply for an environmental permit without the need for an EIA.

Asked whether the 2014 EIA report can be applied to the current environmental situation?

Zeng Shirong pointed out that when applying for a permit, project information must be submitted, including whether the project content and previous environmental impact assessments have been updated. The authorities will review whether the previous environmental impact assessments are still valid.

He also emphasized that when necessary, the project leader will be required to conduct on-site inspections and investigations to confirm whether the ecology has changed.

However, regarding the most recent EIA that can be used, he said that there is no real time requirement in the law.

Central Environmental Database opens today

As for the opening of the central environmental database, Xu Haoguang estimates that it is the most effective way to reduce the time of environmental assessment. Two-thirds of the saved time is expected to be due to the database.

The related system will be opened today, and the development cost is about 3 million yuan.

The department stated that the database uses a geographic information information and mapping system platform, including baseline survey data related to various environments and ecology in the EIA report.

As for the air quality, water quality, hydrology and traffic noise modeling tools required for EIA studies, as well as the simulation baseline data for the next few decades, they will also be gradually provided in the database to improve the accuracy and consistency of relevant impact assessments.

For example, the Environmental Protection Agency pointed out that there are environmental analysis tools in the database. For example, the project consulting company can compare the different alignments of two roads, the affected population and species, etc., and can also have a preliminary report to identify the design that has the least impact on the environment and the most beneficial design. However, the authorities emphasized that the relevant preliminary report is not a strong substitute for the EIA.

In addition, a compatible building information model is also set up in the database to compare the landscape changes before and after the engineering project with virtual reality: "The public can experience the landscape changes caused by the project more realistically."

Some environmental groups criticized the authorities for suggesting that the compression of EIA is only concerned with time. Xu Haoguang emphasized that the proposed update of the evaluation requirements of the technical memorandum includes the extension of the ecological survey time from the previous 4 to 9 months to 6 to 12 months, and also stipulates the method of investigation and frequency, etc., "If it is not done well, there may be a blacklist, complaint mechanism, etc."

The government considers streamlining the EIA process. Changchun News Agency: Fanling Golf Course and other environmentally-controversial projects may be omitted. Simplified EIAs｜Environmental group approval only relaxes but does not strengthen checks. Exemption of assessments under 50 hectares may be leaked. The government proposes four major measures to compress 24 large-scale EIA projects It can be completed in a month. Next year, the Interchange Committee will pass the Fanling Golf Course｜The EIA 10-hour "marathon" review of the EIA report failed to vote on the Fanling Golf Course again｜The EAC will continue to review the EIA report.