Increasing Penalties for Pollution of Water Resources with Toxic Industrial Waste

Mr Yee Chia Hsing asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider increasing the penalties for pollution of our water resources with toxic industrial waste, especially for recalcitrant offenders.

My Ministry takes any pollution of our water resources very seriously as it directly affects the environment as well as the quality of our water sources. Two-thirds of Singapore are water catchment areas and raw water collected there is meant to be treated into potable water. Meanwhile, the used water collected in our public sewerage system is largely treated and reclaimed for NEWater.

To safeguard our water resources and the environment, both the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) require Written Approvals or Written Permissions to be obtained prior to the discharge of trade effluent into public sewerage systems, or into watercourses and onto land, respectively. As part of the Written Approvals or Written Permissions, companies must comply with the relevant provisions under the Sewerage and Drainage Act (SDA) or Environment Protection and Management Act (EPMA) and their respective regulations when they discharge their trade effluent. These include the requirement to install pre-treatment facilities, to provide sampling test points as well as to comply strictly with the discharge limits for specified substances.

Under SDA and EPMA, where trade effluent is discharged into the public sewers without a Written Approval or into drains or land without a Written Permission, the offender could be fined up to $20,000 with a further fine not exceeding $1,000 per day if the offence continues after conviction. Similar penalties apply if the discharge is not in accordance with the conditions of the Written Approval or Permission. Under SDA, if the trade effluent discharged into the public sewers contains dangerous or hazardous substances, a fine of up to $50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both can be imposed on first-time offenders. For repeat offenders, the maximum fine will be doubled to $100,000. The maximum penalties are further increased to $200,000 or to a jail term not exceeding two years should the illegal discharge cause injury or death to any person or disrupt the water reclamation processes. Similarly, under EPMA, any person who discharges any toxic or hazardous substance into inland water so as to be likely to cause pollution of the environment would be liable to a fine of up to $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term up to 12 months or to both. EPMA also provides for heavier penalties for repeat offenders.

Both PUB and NEA also have the powers to require an offender to immediately cease any process or work that produces toxic, dangerous or hazardous substance or trade effluent that contains such substances. The offender may also be ordered by the Court to restore the public sewerage system to its original condition, or ordered by NEA to remove and clean up the toxic substance from the drain or land.

We take a serious view of keeping the watercourses and sewers free from pollution and will not hesitate to take enforcement action. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of our regulatory regimes in safeguarding our water resources and review the penalties, if necessary.