Debated in Parliament on 5 Jul 2023.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in light of recent cases of companies being fined for illegally dumping toxic and hazardous substances into public sewers (a) how are fines for first-time and repeated offenders determined for such offences; (b) whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the adequacy of existing penalties to provide greater deterrence against such offences; and (c) how are workers who maintain the public sewerage system protected from the effects of toxic and hazardous substances in the aftermath of such dumping acts.
The penalties for the illegal disposal of hazardous substances into the public sewerage system are set out under the Sewerage and Drainage Act and Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent) Regulations. Penalties are set to be commensurate with the impact of the discharge on the public sewerage system and NEWater production. Repeat offenders will face harsher penalties. The penalties are reviewed and updated regularly.
All workers maintaining the sewerage system are required to don Personal Protective Equipment when performing their work. Companies which do not comply will be impacted when tendering for future Public Utilities Board (PUB) projects, including possible debarment. In addition, PUB has put in place an island-wide network of real-time sensors in the public sewerage system to detect hazardous concentrations of toxic substances in used water. This provides PUB with the triggers to respond quickly to incidents and ensure the safety of workers.
Mr Dennis Tan.
Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I thank the Minister for the answers, and I have one supplementary question.
Given the severity of such incidents, could the Minister describe the mitigation measures which are usually involved in such incidents so that the stakeholders and the public will appreciate the extent of the recovery efforts involved and the costs of such efforts?
Deputy Speaker, may I seek clarification from the Member? Is the Member asking for more education engagement or the stiffening of the penalties?
Thank you, Minister, for the clarification. No, not at all. Actually, can I just repeat what I am asking? Because given the severity of such incidents, I am asking the Minister whether she can share typically what are the mitigation measures involved when such incidents take place so that the members of the public as well as the stakeholders will appreciate the extent of the mitigation and recovery efforts that will be undertaken each time such incidents take place and, if possible, also the cost of such recovery efforts.
I understand that the Member is asking us to share information on mitigation measures and also on the costs involved in mitigation measures. We will definitely take up that suggestion because it is important for not just PUB but the community and the public also to protect our sewerage system and also potentially NEWater production system. So, we will definitely take up that suggestion.
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