Mengkibol assemblyperson Tan Hong Pin has urged the Department of Environment (DOE) to be vigilant against developers who split up large projects into a number of smaller ones.

“This is done to avoid having to prepare an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, or the environmental impact (of each project) would appear to be less severe.

“Therefore the EIA would be approved. This is a loophole,” he told reporters today following a meeting with Department of Environment director-general Halimah Hassan.

Tan ( right ) said these are among the suggestions raised to the department at the meeting, and are based on recurring themes he observed in recent projects.

In addition, he said EIA reports are currently commissioned and funded by the companies proposing the development projects, hence creating a conflict of interest for the consultants and more favourable EIA reports.

He suggested that EIA reports should be funded through a fund managed by the government instead.

DOE appears lackadaisical

Tan also urged the department to be more transparent in its EIA process by announcing a project's approval on the same day the department makes the decision, as well as disclosing any conditions tied to the approval.

 

The reason for approving or rejecting projects, as well as reasons for imposing conditions, should also be explained, he said.

 

In a memorandum he handed over to Halimah, Tan also chastised the department for approving two reclamation projects in the Straits of Johor - the Forest City and the Tanjung Piai Maritime Industrial Park - and for considering a third project, the Teluk Ramunia Maritime Industrial Park.

 

“I am disappointed because the DOE appears lackadaisical in exercising its powers under the Environmental Quality Act 1976 in curbing greedy developers who want to reclaim coastal areas. This should not happen,” he said.

 

On a related matter, he urged the department to step up its air quality monitoring efforts, including  by adding PM2.5 detectors to its existing monitoring stations to better monitor haze hazards.

 

The PM2.5 detectors measure the concentration of particulate matter in the air up to 2.5 micrometres in size whereas the DOE’s existing PM10 detectors only measure particles up to 10 micrometres in size. The smaller particles carry more severe health risks.

 

Another of Tan’s suggestions is for the department to provide a mobile app for reporting polluters, as well as posting information about pollution complaints on its website and the action taken.