Update on Nuisance Orders Issued under Sections 45(1) and 44(e) of Environmental Public Health Act
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the number and types of nuisance orders issued under sections 45(1) and 44(e) of the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA), as raised by Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien clarified that these orders address public nuisances affecting the general public rather than private property disputes. Since 2015, only 21 orders were issued, primarily for trade fair waste and construction dust, a significant decrease from the 1,700 orders issued previously. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien explained that construction dust is now handled under section 18 of the EPHA to allow for more expeditious enforcement. This policy change removes the requirement to prove that the public at large is affected or to establish a specific site's liability before taking action.
Transcript
100 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how many nuisance orders have been issued to date under section 45(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act; (b) what is the complete list of nuisances for which nuisance orders have been issued; and (c) how many nuisance orders are issued specifically for nuisances falling under section 44(e) of the Environmental Public Health Act.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Sections 44 and 45 of the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) come under Part V of the EPHA. As mentioned in this House recently, Part V of the EPHA on the abatement of public nuisances through the use of nuisance orders, addresses public nuisances that affect the public at large. It does not apply to private nuisances, which interfere with another person’s use or enjoyment of his property.
In the last six years, the number of nuisance orders issued stood at 21. Most were issued to address public nuisance arising from waste management issues at trade fairs and dust nuisance at construction sites.
Prior to 2015, more than 1,700 nuisance orders were issued, with the vast majority issued for dust issues at construction sites. Dust issues from construction sites have been addressed under section 18 of the EPHA since 2015. This allows us to act more expeditiously when the construction site fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent flying dust from affecting the well-being of persons using any public place, without the need to first establish that the public at large is affected by the dust nuisance and prove that it is due to a particular construction site.