No. S 469
Environmental Public Health Act
(Chapter 95)
Environmental Public Health (Registration of Environmental Control Officers) Regulations 1999
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 113(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act, the Minister for the Environment hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Public Health (Registration of Environmental Control Officers) Regulations 1999 and shall come into operation on 1st November 1999.
Definitions
2.  In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —
“code of practice” means the code of practice issued by the Commissioner applicable to every Environmental Control Officer;
“employ” means to engage or use the service of any person, whether under a contract of service or otherwise, with or without salary;
“works”, in relation to a construction site, means —
(a)the erection, construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of buildings, structures or roads;
(b)the breaking-up of or opening of, or boring under, any road or adjacent land in connection with the construction, inspection, maintenance or removal of works;
(c)demolition or dredging works; or
(d)any other work of engineering construction.
Environmental Control Officers to be registered
3.—(1)  A person shall be entitled to be registered as an Environmental Control Officer under these Regulations if the Commissioner is satisfied that the person possesses the qualifications prescribed in the Environmental Public Health (Qualifications of Environmental Control Officers) Notification 1999 (G.N. No. S 474/99).
(2)  A person who desires to be registered as an Environmental Control Officer may apply to the Commissioner in such form and manner as the Commissioner may require.
(3)  Every application under paragraph (2) shall be accompanied by a fee of $120.
(4)  The Commissioner may refuse to register a person as an Environmental Control Officer if the Commissioner is satisfied that —
(a)that person has been convicted of any offence involving fraud or moral turpitude; or
(b)it is in the public interest to do so.
(5)  Upon registration of a person as an Environmental Control Officer, the Commissioner shall issue to the Environmental Control Officer a certificate of registration in the name of that Environmental Control Officer.
Duration and renewal of certificate of registration
4.  A certificate of registration issued to an Environmental Control Officer under regulation 3(5) shall be valid for a period of 2 years from the date of registration of the Environmental Control Officer and may be renewed before its expiry.
No person shall act as Environmental Control Officer unless registered
5.—(1)  No person shall act or carry out work as an Environmental Control Officer unless that person has a certificate of registration issued under regulation 3(5) in his name and such certificate has not expired or been suspended or cancelled.
(2)  No person shall employ any person to act or carry out work as an Environmental Control Officer unless he knows or has reason to believe that the latter-mentioned person has a certificate of registration issued under regulation 3(5) in his name and such certificate has not expired or been suspended or cancelled.
Suspension and cancellation of certificate of registration
6.—(1)  The Commissioner may suspend or cancel the registration of an Environmental Control Officer if he is satisfied that —
(a)the Environmental Control Officer has obtained the registration by fraud or misrepresentation;
(b)the Environmental Control Officer has failed to discharge any of his duties set out in these Regulations or in the code of practice;
(c)the Environmental Control Officer has failed to attend or successfully complete any training course referred to in regulation 9; or
(d)it is in the public interest to do so.
(2)  The Commissioner shall, before suspending or cancelling the registration of any Environmental Control Officer, give to that Environmental Control Officer notice in writing of his intention and shall call upon that Environmental Control Officer to show cause within such time as may be specified in the notice as to why the registration should not be suspended or cancelled.
(3)  If an Environmental Control Officer to whom a notice has been given under paragraph (2) —
(a)fails to show cause within the period stated in the notice for him to show cause; or
(b)fails to show sufficient cause,
the Commissioner may suspend or cancel the registration of the Environmental Control Officer and shall notify him in writing.
(4)  The suspension or cancellation of the registration of an Environmental Control Officer shall be effective on the date specified in the notification of suspension or cancellation referred to in paragraph (3) or, if an appeal against the suspension or cancellation of registration has been made to the Minister under regulation 7, on the date the Minister dismisses the appeal.
(5)  An Environmental Control Officer whose registration has been suspended or cancelled under paragraph (3) shall surrender the certificate of registration issued to him under regulation 3(5) within 14 days of —
(a)the effective date of suspension or cancellation of his registration referred to in paragraph (4); or
(b)where an appeal has been made to the Minister under regulation 7, the date his appeal is dismissed by the Minister.
Appeals
7.  An Environmental Control Officer who is aggrieved by —
(a)the refusal of the Commissioner to register or renew any registration under regulation 3(4) or 4, as the case may be; or
(b)the decision of the Commissioner to suspend or cancel any registration under regulation 6(3),
may, within 14 days of the date of receipt of the notification of the Commissioner’s decision, appeal in writing to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
Register
8.  The Commissioner shall maintain, in such form as he thinks fit, a register of all registered Environmental Control Officers.
Training
9.  An Environmental Control Officer shall attend any training course, seminar, conference or meeting conducted by the Ministry of the Environment or other agencies or bodies as the Commissioner may require in writing.
Submission of site environmental control programme and site environmental control report
10.—(1)  An Environmental Control Officer shall prepare and submit to the occupier of the construction site for which he is employed —
(a)before the works in relation to the construction site commence, a site environmental control programme; and
(b)every 2 weeks after the works in relation to the construction site have commenced, a site environmental control report.
(2)  The site environmental control programme and site environmental control report referred to in paragraph (1) shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may be specified in the code of practice applicable to Environmental Control Officers.
(3)  The occupier of the construction site referred to in paragraph (1) shall submit the site environmental control programme received by him under paragraph (1)(a) to the Commissioner before any works in relation to the construction site commence on the construction site and take such actions or measures as may be recommended in the site environmental control programme.
(4)  The occupier of the construction site referred to in paragraph (1) shall countersign the site environmental control report submitted to him under paragraph (1)(b) and shall —
(a)make the site environmental control report available for inspection by the Commissioner or any public health officer at any time;
(b)take such actions or measures as may be recommended in the site environmental control report; and
(c)furnish the site environmental control report to the Commissioner as the Commissioner may require in writing.
(5)  The Commissioner may, upon application by an occupier of a construction site, allow the site environmental control report to be submitted less frequently and at such intervals as the Commissioner may determine, if the Commissioner considers that the standard of environmental control in a construction site is satisfactory.
Written directive of Commissioner
11.  The Commissioner may issue a written directive to any Environmental Control Officer as the Commissioner thinks fit to require the Environmental Control Officer to take any measure for the purposes of complying with section 62(3) of the Act.
Notification of termination of employment of Environmental Control Officer
12.  The occupier of a construction site shall —
(a)notify the Commissioner in writing within 14 days of the termination of employment of an Environmental Control Officer who was employed for the construction site;
(b)employ another Environmental Control Officer for the construction site within 14 days or such period as may be specified in writing by the Commissioner upon termination of employment or suspension or cancellation of registration of the Environmental Control Officer employed by him for the construction site; and
(c)employ a temporary Environmental Control Officer for the construction site when the Environmental Control Officer employed by him for the construction site is on leave or absent for more than 5 days.
Provision of facilities, etc.
13.  The occupier of a construction site shall provide the Environmental Control Officer he employs for that construction site all facilities, equipment and information as may be necessary to enable the Environmental Control Officer to carry out the works on the construction site as an Environmental Control Officer.
Reimbursement of Environmental Control Officer
14.  The occupier of a construction site shall —
(a)permit the Environmental Control Officer employed by him for the construction site to attend any training course, seminar, conference or meeting;
(b)reimburse in full the expenses incurred by the Environmental Control Officer, if the Environmental Control Officer is employed on a full-time basis, in attending any training course, seminar, conference or meeting;
(c)contribute a proportionate share towards the reimbursement of the expenses incurred by the Environmental Control Officer, if the Environmental Control Officer is employed on a part-time basis, in attending any training course, seminar, conference or meeting; and
(d)not make any deduction from the remuneration of the Environmental Control Officer for being absent from the construction site for the purpose of attending any training course, seminar, conference or meeting,
required by the Commissioner under regulation 9.
Penalty
15.  Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with —
(a)regulation 6(5), 13 or 14 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(i)for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $1,000; and
(ii)for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $2,000;
(b)regulation 5, 10(3) or (4) or 12 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(i)for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and
(ii)for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

Made this 26th day of October 1999.

TAN GEE PAW
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of the Environment,
Singapore.
[ENV/LD/39/3.1.3; AG/LEG/SL/95/97/1 Vol. 1]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 113(4) of the Environmental Public Health Act).