Following is a question by the Dr Hon Law Chi-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 14)
Question:
An environmental group revealed early last month that tonnes of boulders were illegally excavated from the riverbed of the Tung Chung River, of which the Government owns the land title, and the boulders were then sold to a government contractor for construction of an artificial lake, resulting in serious ecological damage to the river. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective dates on which the Civil Engineering Department ("CED") and the consultancy firm it hired to supervise the project learnt that the boulders came from the Tung Chung River; given that the construction contract had stipulated that the boulders should come from lawful sources, of the reasons why CED did not immediately ban such boulders from being transported into the construction site; whether there has been dereliction of duty on the part of the staff of CED and the consultancy firm; if so, how they will be penalised;
(b) of the respective dates at which other government departments, including the Islands District Office, Lands Department, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Territory Development Department, came to notice the above activities and the follow-up actions taken by these departments; given that it was reported that the illegal excavation has been conducted for a long time on the government land without their noticing it, whether it has assessed if there are loopholes in the monitoring system concerned; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, how it will plug these loopholes; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the justifications for that;
(c) of the number of complaints received in the past three years about illegal excavation of natural materials for works and, among them, the number of cases in which the offenders were prosecuted and convicted;
(d) whether it has reviewed if the penalties on acts of eco-vandalism stipulated in the existing legislation in respect of rivers lying respectively on Government and private land have adequate deterrent effects; if it has, of the results; if not, the reasons for that;
(e) whether any immediate measures other than legislative means will be put in place to deter acts of eco-vandalism in rivers; if so, of the details of such measures; and
(f) whether it will consider giving up the use of natural boulders in the above construction project for the artificial lake or similar government projects; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Regarding the removal of pebbles and boulders from the Tung Chung Stream (the Stream), the Government has summarised the details of the incident in an information leaflet (see Annex), which has been uploaded to the web-site of the Civil Engineering Department (CED) (http://www.cedd.gov.hk/).
On 18 September 2003, CED's consultant inspected jointly with the contractor the pebbles stockpiled near Hau Wong Temple at Tung Chung and was advised that the materials belonged to a construction company carrying out "flood protection" works for the Stream. On 25 September 2003, CED received from its consultant an application for sourcing stone materials submitted by the contractor, which claimed that the source of the pebbles was a stream on a piece of private land at Tung Chung. On 9 October 2003, CED, its consultant and the contractor went to the said stream to inspect the stockpile.
Being sceptical about the legality of the source of the materials proposed by the contractor, CED and its consultant have not approved the use of such materials. However, since the contractor has produced a letter from the Tung Chung Rural Committee (TCRC), claiming that the materials came from the flood protection project for the Stream now underway, the consultant considers that before establishing the "non-legality" of the source, there are difficulties in invoking the terms and conditions of the contract to stop the contractor from transporting such materials to the construction site at its own risk and bearing all consequences and liabilities. The Administration has now set up a working group to review the incident so as to confirm whether CED, its consultant and the contractor should be held responsible for it. Investigations are still in progress.
(b) On 29 October 2003, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) received a complaint from the public about the suspected damage to the Stream. AFCD conducted a site visit the following day and found that illegal excavation and construction of an access road on government land might be involved. The Islands District Lands Office (DLO/Is) and the Islands District Office (DO/Is) were immediately notified in writing. On 31 October 2003, AFCD conducted another site visit and, on the same day, requested in writing DLO/Is and other relevant departments to take follow-up action within their respective ambit, including requesting the Police to investigate the case so as to confirm whether any government property had been stolen. AFCD conducted further site visits subsequently and was advised on 5 November 2003 by DLO/Is that the illegal works in question had already stopped.
On 30 October 2003, DO/Is learnt from a memorandum issued by AFCD that excavation works were being carried out at the Stream. On 3 November 2003, DO/Is received a letter from TCRC that sought its support for clearing the Stream for flood protection purpose. DO/Is immediately referred the request to the relevant departments for follow-up action and continued to liaise and discuss with DLO/Is about further action to take.
On 30 October 2003, DLO/Is learnt from a memorandum issued by AFCD about the excavation works. Upon verification of the land status and land use, DLO/Is had taken immediate action, including erecting warning signs and stone posts along the affected stream to stop any further illegal excavation. The Lands Department (LandsD) and the Police are investigating the illegal excavation of the Stream to determine whether anyone has contravened the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28) and their criminal liabilities, if any. Upon completion of the investigation, a report will be submitted to the Department of Justice for legal advice in order to confirm whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute any person. In addition, LandsD has requested TCRC to carry out reinstatement works.
An enquiry group comprising representatives of the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau and other relevant departments has been set up to oversee the reinstatement of the affected section of the Stream, including examining the reinstatement proposal submitted by TCRC and monitoring the reinstatement works to be carried out. The target is to have the Stream reinstated before the next rainy season.
Besides regularly inspecting the government land in the Islands District, DLO/Is also relies on the assistance from other relevant departments and the public to spot and report this kind of irregularities. LandsD is conducting a comprehensive review of the general procedures for the regulation of land use and will consider giving this area of work a higher priority in resource allocation.
[Note: The excavation incident at the Stream does not fall within the purview of the Territory Development Department.]
(c) In the past three years, we have never received any complaint about illegal excavation of natural materials for construction works.
(d) At present, Hong Kong does not have any ordinance specifically designed for the protection of natural rivers. Since most rivers are on government land, they are therefore within the jurisdiction of the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28). In general, any person who carries out excavation works without first obtaining an excavation permit from the relevant District Lands Officer shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine of $5,000 and 6 months' imprisonment. Moreover, some natural rivers (on both government and private land) have been included in the protected areas (such as country parks, conservation areas and sites of special scientific interest) and are thus protected by the Country Parks Ordinance, the Town Planning Ordinance and the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance. The departments concerned will review the penalties from time to time and will step up inspection and prosecution as appropriate against illegal acts in order to intensify the deterrent effect of the penalties.
(e) AFCD will step up inspection on ecologically important sites. Regarding rivers and places of ecological importance such as Tai Ho Stream and Sha Lo Tung, AFCD has already designated them as sites of special scientific interest in order to better protect them. AFCD is conducting a baseline study to collect ecological data of Hong Kong and will propose the designation of other rivers of ecological importance as sites of special scientific interest or conservation areas in order to enhance the protection of their ecology.
The Government will step up law enforcement by taking appropriate prosecution action against acts of eco-vandalism in rivers and requiring offenders to carry out environmental restoration works to deter them from committing such acts. The departments concerned will also enhance their publicity and education efforts to boost the public's awareness of the importance of environmental protection.
(f) Natural pebbles, instead of artificial ones, are used in the construction of the artificial lake so that the lake will look more natural and will be fully compatible with the surrounding landscape. The by-products generated during planned river training or protection projects could also be reused in this manner.
CED has instructed its consultant to adopt the following special measures when considering new sources of pebbles proposed by the contractors to ensure the legality of the sources and to prevent any damage to the natural environment:
i. confirm the legality of excavation with the local issuing authorities of rock excavation permits and export licences and require the verification of such permits and licences by local notaries public; and
ii. confirm the legality of excavation with the relevant government authorities in charge of environmental control, quarrying and forestry to ensure that the requirements laid down by the environmental protection authorities are complied with.
Ends/Wednesday, January 14, 2004
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