Environmental Public Health (General Waste Disposal Facility) Regulations 2017

No. S 380

Environmental Public Health Act

(CHAPTER 95)

Environmental Public Health
(General Waste Disposal Facility)
Regulations 2017

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 111 of the Environmental Public Health Act, the National Environment Agency, with the approval of the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations are the Environmental Public Health (General Waste Disposal Facility) Regulations 2017 and come into operation on 1 August 2017.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“air pollution” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Environmental Protection and Management Act (Cap. 94A);

“general waste” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations (Rg 12);

“general waste disposal facility” means a disposal facility that receives, stores, sorts, treats or processes general waste;

“licence” means a waste disposal licence granted by the Director‑General under section 23(1) of the Act and “licensee” is to be construed accordingly;

“vector” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Control of Vectors and Pesticides Act (Cap. 59).

Licence application

3. An application for a licence in respect of a general waste disposal facility must be made to the Director‑General in such form as the Director‑General requires.

Fees

4. The fees payable by a licensee in respect of a licence are specified in the Schedule.

Surrender of licence

5.—(1) Where a licence is suspended or cancelled under section 99(13) of the Act, the licensee must surrender the licence to an authorised public officer —

(a)	in the case where the licensee has appealed to the Minister against the suspension or cancellation, within 14 days after the appeal is determined by the Minister or withdrawn by the licensee, whichever is the earlier; and
(b)	in any other case, within 14 days after the suspension or cancellation.

(2) In this regulation, “authorised public officer” means a public officer authorised in writing by the Director‑General for the purposes of this regulation.

Protection of public health and environment

6.—(1) A licensee —

(a)	must ensure that the maintenance and operation of the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility do not endanger public health and the environment;
(b)	must take effective measures to safeguard public health; and
(c)	must take effective measures to control public access to the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility.

(2) A licensee must install, operate and maintain pollution control equipment, or take effective measures, to minimise or mitigate —

(a)	effluent, smell, noise or air pollution;
(b)	the propagation or harbouring of any vector; and
(c)	any other nuisance,

arising from the maintenance and operation of the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility.

Approved types of general waste

7.—(1) A licensee must ensure that the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility only receives, stores, sorts, treats or processes the types of general waste specified by the Director‑General in the licence.

(2) If the Director‑General has any reason to believe that a licensee has failed to comply with paragraph (1), the Director‑General may, by written notice, require the licensee to, at the licensee’s own cost, submit samples of waste deposited in the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility to an approved laboratory for analysis.

(3) The licensee must submit the approved laboratory’s report of the analysis to the Director‑General within 30 days after the date the licensee receives the written notice under paragraph (2) or such longer period as the Director‑General may specify in writing.

(4) The licensee must keep the report for 24 months after the report is made.

(5) In this regulation, “approved laboratory” means any laboratory approved by the Director‑General for the purposes of this regulation.

Storage of general waste within approved storage limit

8.—(1) A licensee must ensure that the quantity of general waste stored within the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility is within the approved storage limit specified by the Director‑General in the licence.

(2) If, in the opinion of the Director‑General, the quantity of general waste stored in the licensed general waste disposal facility exceeds the approved storage limit, the Director‑General may, by written notice, require the licensee to, at the licensee’s own cost, do all or any of the following:

(a)	dispose the excess general waste at such other disposal facility, and within such period, specified in the notice;
(b)	stop receiving general waste at the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility until the excess general waste has been disposed of;
(c)	restrict, in the manner specified in the written notice, the quantity of general waste received at the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility until the excess general waste has been disposed of.

(3) The Director‑General may, by written notice, require the licensee to furnish evidence that the licensee has complied with the notice under paragraph (2).

Contingency plans

9.—(1) A licensee must establish contingency plans for the disposal of stored waste at any other approved general waste disposal facility during any disruption of the operation of the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility.

(2) The licensee must submit the contingency plans to the Director‑General within 14 days after the Director‑General, by written notice, requests for the plans.

(3) In this regulation, “approved general waste disposal facility” means a general waste disposal facility approved by the Director‑General for the purposes of this regulation.

Daily register

10.—(1) A licensee must, in respect of the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility, establish and maintain, in such manner as the Director‑General requires, a daily register that records the following information for each day:

(a)	the source, type and quantity of all general waste received at the licensed general waste disposal facility on that day;
(b)	the type and quantity of all products (including recyclables, steam and electricity) recovered or produced in the licensed general waste disposal facility on that day;
(c)	the type and quantity of all general waste stored in the licensed general waste disposal facility on that day;
(d)	the type and quantity of all residual waste that was recovered or produced in the licensed general waste disposal facility and then disposed of on that day;
(e)	the method by which the residual waste mentioned in sub‑paragraph (d) was disposed of.

(2) The licensee must submit every record in the daily register to the Director‑General within 14 days after the Director‑General, by written notice, requests for the record.

(3) The licensee must keep every record in the daily register for a period of 24 months after the record is made.

(4) The Director‑General may, at any time by a written notice, require a licensee to engage, at the licensee’s own cost, an independent qualified auditor to audit the records and to prepare an audit report.

(5) The licensee must submit a copy of the audit report to the Director‑General within 30 days after the date the licensee receives the written notice under paragraph (4) or such longer period as the Director‑General may specify in writing.

(6) A licensee’s obligations under this regulation continues despite any suspension, cancellation, expiry or renewal of a licence.

(7) In this regulation, “independent qualified auditor” means a person who has such qualification or accreditation as the Director‑General may specify for the purposes of this regulation.

Notice requiring assessment of preventive and corrective measures

11.—(1) This regulation applies where, in the opinion of the Director‑General, any activity in a licensed general waste disposal facility —

(a)	threatens or is likely to threaten the health of any person; or
(b)	causes or is likely to cause pollution to the environment.

(2) The Director‑General may, by written notice, require the licensee of a licensed general waste disposal facility mentioned in paragraph (1) to do all of the following within the period specified in the notice:

(a)	prepare effective preventive or corrective measures needed to address the situation;
(b)	submit to the Director‑General plans for the implementation of the preventive or corrective measures;
(c)	furnish to the Director‑General evidence of any improvement to the situation after implementing the preventive or corrective measures.

(3) The plans mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) must include an analysis of the effectiveness, potential impact and time required for the implementation of the preventive or corrective measures.

Notice requiring removal of general waste

12.—(1) If, in the opinion of the Director‑General, any general waste stored in any licensed general waste disposal facility threatens or is likely to threaten —

(a)	the health of any person; or
(b)	to cause pollution to the environment,

the Director‑General may, by written notice, require the licensee to dispose, at the licensee’s own cost and within the period specified in the notice, such general waste at a disposal facility specified in the notice.

(2) The Director‑General may, by written notice, require the licensee to furnish, within the period specified in the notice, evidence that the licensee has complied with the notice under paragraph (1).

Compliance

13.—(1) A licensee must comply with any written notice given by the Director‑General under these Regulations.

(2) A licensee must secure the compliance, in relation to the licensee’s licensed general waste disposal facility, by any of its employees, agents or contractors with any provision of the Act or these Regulations or any written notice made by the Director‑General under these Regulations.

Penalty

14. Any licensee that contravenes or fails to comply with regulation 5(1), 6(1) or (2), 7(1), (3) or (4), 8(1), 9(1) or (2), 10(1), (2), (3) or (5) or 13(1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $500 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.

Made on 16 June 2017.

LIAK TENG LIT

Chairman,
National Environment Agency,
Singapore.

[NEA/LD/39/6 Vol. 1; AG/LEGIS/SL/95/2015/6 Vol. 1]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 111(4) of the Environmental Public Health Act).

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