Environment Protection Enactment 2002

the external physical surroundings and conditions influencing development and growth of people, animals or plants and includes social, living or working conditions;

all natural and physical resources;

ecosystems and their constituent parts including people and communities; and

amenity, aesthetic and cultural values;

“environmental authority” means any department of the State or Federal

Government, local authority or officer duly appointed by the Director under this

Enactment to exercise the powers conferred or perform the duties imposed upon such environmental authority by this Enactment or to perform such duties or functions as may be directed by the Director for the implementation, execution or enforcement of any order or decision of the Director made under this Enactment;

“environmental hazard zone” means the environmental hazard zone area declared as such by the Minister under section 18;

“environmental impact assessment report” means a report or series of reports which provide a detailed assessment in quantitative terms wherever possible, and in qualitative terms of –

the likely environmental impacts of a development activity;

the measures required to prevent, mitigate or abate any adverse environmental impacts, or to protect the environment; and

3

the monitoring programme required to ensure compliance with mitigation measures and to monitor residual impacts;

“environmental protection area” means an area established as such by the Minister under section 11;

“Government” means the State Government of Sabah or the Federal Government;

“land” shall have the same meaning assigned to it under the Land Ordinance (Cap.

68) [Cap. 68];

“Magistrate” shall have the same meaning assigned to it under the Interpretation and General Clauses Enactment 1963 [Enactment No. 34 of 1963];

“Minister” means the Minister for the time being responsible for environmental protection;

“mitigation declaration” means an agreement signed by a person before commencement of any development activity prescribed under section 12;

“natural resources” includes air, biological diversity of resources, forest and forest produce, gas, minerals, oil, land, rocks, soils, animals, birds, plants, marine and aquatic life and waters;

“occupier” shall have the same meaning assigned to it under the Forest Enactment 1968 [Enactment No. 2 of 1968];

“owner” shall have the same meaning assigned to it under the Land Ordinance

(Cap. 68) [Cap. 68];

“penalty” means a fine, imprisonment or other form of punishment;

“Permanent Secretary” means the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry which is for the time being responsible for the environmental protection;

“person” shall have the same meaning assigned to it under the Interpretation and

General Clauses Enactment 1963 [Enactment No. 34 of 1963];

“pollutant” means any substance whether liquid, solid or gaseous, or micro-organisms, which directly or indirectly –

4

alters the quality of any environment or any part of any environment so as to adversely affect the environment;

is hazardous or potentially hazardous or prejudicial to health and safety;

change the temperature or the physical, biological or chemical characteristic and quality of the environment so as to diversely affect the environment; or

creates obnoxious odours, noise or radioactivity;

“pollution” means any direct or indirect alteration of the environment or any part thereof by discharging, emitting, or depositing wastes or pollutants thereby causing hazard to the environment or causing a condition which is hazardous or potentially hazardous to public health and safety or welfare, or to animals, birds, fish, aquatic life or plants;

“prescribed activities” means any activity as prescribed by the Director under section 12;

“produce” means timber, earth, minerals, sand, sandstones, rocks, limestone, silica, marble and other natural resources;

“proposal for mitigation measures” means a proposal or series of proposals which provide a description of –

the known environmental impacts of a development activity;

the measures required to prevent, mitigate or abate any adverse environmental impacts, or to protect the environment; and

the monitoring programme required to ensure compliance with mitigation measures and to monitor residual impacts;

“relevant authority” means any Government authorities or agencies responsible for approving development activities;

“rules” includes regulations and by-laws;

“significant” means the adverse effect of any activity which has or is likely to have on the environment due to the –

5

magnitude of the effect in relation to the spatial boundaries;

permanence of the effect;

irreversibility of the effect;

cumulativeness over time of the effect; or

risks of the effect in relation to health and safety;

“vegetation” includes forest;

“water” includes river water, lake water, underground water, coastal water and storm water.

There shall be established for the purpose of this Enactment a body which shall be known as the “Environment Protection Council” (hereinafter referred to as “the

Council”) whose function shall be to advise the State Government on matters pertaining to the implementation of this Enactment.

The Council shall consist of the following members –

The Director shall have no right to vote at any meeting.

The Minister may in respect of each member appointed, under paragraph

When attending meetings of the Council, an alternate member appointed under subsection (4) shall for all purposes be deemed to be a member of the Council.

An alternate member shall, unless the alternate member sooner resigns or the appointment is sooner revoked, cease to be an alternate member when the member in respect of whom he is an alternate member ceases to be a member of the Council.

Duration of office and eligibility for reappointment

The following persons shall be disqualified from being appointed or being members of the Council –

7

An appointed member of the Council shall be deemed to have vacated office

–

The Council shall meet once every four months of the year and shall, in addition, meet as and when convened by the Chairman.

The Council meeting shall have a quorum of at least nine members.

The Council decision shall be by majority votes.

If there is an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to his deliberative vote.

Subject to this Enactment, the Council shall determine its own procedure.

The Council shall keep minutes of all proceedings of the Council.

8

The Chairman may invite or request a person, who is not a member of the

Council, to attend any meeting of the Council for the purpose of advising it on matter under discussion but the person so attending shall have no right to vote at the meeting.

Chairman to preside meetings

The Director may formulate any programme in respect of any measure for environmental protection in the following area –

It shall be the duty of the Director or the environmental authority, as the case may be, to formulate an environmental protection action plan in respect of any area designated for environmental protection within such time as the Director may specify.

The environmental protection action plan shall incorporate a system of integrated management of environmental protection, taking into consideration the

9

significance of the problem and economic, social and environmental conditions which shall include –

Any person who contravenes subsection (1), -

The Director may, at any time after receiving the report or the proposal, require the person to submit any other report or proposal to him in addition to the report or the proposal submitted under subsection (1).

If the person fails to provide the report or the proposal required under subsection (2), his application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn without prejudice to the making of a fresh application.

The report and the proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the procedures and guidelines under section 15.

Master environmental impact assessment report

Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.

Approval of report or proposal for prescribed activities

the report or the proposal has complied with the procedures and guidelines;

the measures required to prevent, mitigate or abate the adverse environmental impacts or to protect the environment are adequate;

and

the impacts are not detrimental to the environment, he may approve the report or the proposal.

If the Director, upon examining the environmental impact assessment report or the proposal for mitigation measures and after making such inquires as he considers necessary, is of the opinion that –

The Director may add to, vary or revoke the terms and conditions of the agreement or the declaration.

Any person who fails to comply with the terms and conditions of –

12

without the approval under subsection 12C(1);

who has failed to comply with any terms and conditions of the agreement of the environmental conditions or the mitigation declaration;

if it is found that the environmental impact assessment report or the proposal for mitigation measures has been approved as a result of a fraud, mistake or misrepresentation in any material particular; or

who has contravened any of the provisions of this Enactment.

The stop work order may be issued for the purpose of preventing the prescribed activities from continuing –

Any person who contravenes this section shall, -

The Director shall, from time to time, prepare procedures and guidelines for the preparation of environmental impact assessment and proposal for mitigation measures, and the issuance of agreement of environmental conditions and mitigation declaration.

The Director may add to or vary the procedures and guidelines as he deems necessary.

Imposition of processing fees

The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, prescribe the types and sizes of any activity causing pollution or likely to cause pollution to be controlled by way of licensing.

No person shall operate any activity prescribed under subsection (1) without a licence issued for that purpose and no person shall be issued with a licence unless the prescribed fee has been paid.

The Director may revoke any licence issued to any person if the Director has reasonable cause to believe that the licensee has contravened any of the terms and conditions in the licence.

The Director shall issue a notice to the licensee, prior to revocation of any licence.

Any person who contravenes subsection (2) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

Environmental hazard zone

The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare any area as an environmental hazard zone if such an area is polluted and may cause significant risk to human health and safety or the environment.

When an area is declared as an environmental hazard zone, the Director may impose such restrictions on the use of the area as the Director deems necessary to reduce environmental hazard in the area and its surroundings.

The Minister may revoke any declaration in whole or in part in respect of any area so declared as an environmental hazard zone if the restrictions and precautions are no longer applicable to such area.

Imposition of product fee, etc.

any use of land, cultivation of land or the methods used thereof;

earthworks or land reclamation;

cutting of trees, clearing or destruction of vegetation or setting fire in any land;

excavation or dredging in water courses or altering the source and course of banks or streams;

any discharge of any pollutant into water, watercourses, lakes or foreshore, and the storage of such pollutant;

any activity relating to the production, storing, treating, transporting or disposal of waste;

any activity relating to any sewage line, waste water treatment plant, incineration plant and waste landfill and on the design, operation and maintenance of such line or plant;

any livestock activity and the disposal of animal or other organic waste;

any activity relating to the excavation or altering of any geographical or geological feature.

There shall be established a fund to be known as the “Environmental

Protection Fund” (hereinafter referred to as the “Fund”) of the Department.

16

The Fund shall be administered by a committee to be known as the

“Environment Protection Fund Committee” consisting of –

There shall be paid into the Fund –

All moneys paid into the Fund shall be deposited in any bank duly licensed under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989.

Purposes of the Fund

the preparation and implementation of the environmental protection action plans;

expenditures incurred in the establishment, protection, conservation and management of the environmental protection areas;

research and development relating to environmental protection measures;

investigative works on environmental hazard and pollution; or

17

any work necessitated by the presence of or the likelihood of the occurrence of environmental hazard and pollution.

There shall be a Director of the Environment Protection Department who shall be appointed from amongst members of the State Public Service and whose functions and duties shall be to –

There shall be such number of other officers as may be necessary or expedient for the due administration of this Enactment appointed by the State Public

Service Commission.

The Director may, in his absence, delegate the exercise of any of the powers of the Director under this Enactment to any officer of the Department.

The Minister may give any specific or general direction to the Director not inconsistent with this Enactment.

Obligation to carry out any function, etc. within reasonable time

The Director may appoint any officer of the Department or any public officer as environmental enforcement officer as may be necessary for the purpose of this

Enactment and regulations made under this Enactment.

In exercising any of the powers of enforcement under this Enactment, an environmental enforcement officer shall on demand, produce to the person against whom the power is being exercised, the authority issued to him by the Director

No person shall impersonate an environmental enforcement officer.

Any person who impersonate as an environmental enforcement officer commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

Furnishing of information to the Director

any use of land or vegetation;

any damming, diversion, taking or use of any water;

any construction, drainage, excavation, reclamation, in or of any foreshore or seabed;

any equipment, control equipment or industrial plant or any produce found on such place or premise;

any pollutant found in such place or premise;

any emission, discharged or deposit of any pollutant in or on such place or premise; or

any book, record or document relating to the use of any equipment, control equipment or industrial plant or any produce.

No person shall use any land in a manner which has or is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the environment.

In this section, the word “use” in relation to any land means –

reclaim or drain any foreshore or seabed in a manner which has or is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the environment;

alter, erect, demolish, place, reconstruct or remove any structure or any part of a structure that is fixed in, on, under or over any foreshore or seabed in a manner which has or is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the environment;

damage, destroy or disturb any foreshore or seabed by excavating, drilling or tunnelling in a manner that has or is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the foreshore or seabed other than for the purpose of lawfully harvesting any plant or animal pursuant to any written law; or

deposit in, on or under any foreshore or seabed any pollutant in a manner that has or is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the foreshore or seabed.

Restrictions on activities affecting bed of lake or river

alter, demolish, erect, extend, place, reconstruct or remove any structure or any part of a structure in, on, under or over the bed;

disturb by excavating, drilling or tunnelling the bed;

introduce or plant any plant or any part of a plant (whether exotic or indigenous) in, on or under the bed;

deposit any pollutant in, on or under the bed;

reclaim or drain the bed;