ENVIRONMENTAL

LAW

Chapter 10
Outline

¢ Distribution of legislative power in

Malaysia
¢ Challenges in jurisdiction of
environmental issues
¢ Environmental Quality Act 174

¢ Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA)
Federal constitution in
Malaysia
¢ Article 74 together with the Ninth
Schedule of the Constitution deal with
the distribution of legislative power:
¢ Federal List

¢ State List

¢ Concurrent List
Federal List

¢ Covers 27 headings including:

¢ External affairs, defence, internal
security, civil and criminal law
procedure, finance, commerce,
industry, communication and
transport, surveys, education and
publications.
State List

¢ Covers 13 headings including:

¢ Islamic law

¢ Land

¢ Agriculture

¢ Forestry

¢ Local Government

¢ Water
Concurrent List

¢ Covers 12 subjects including:

¢ Social welfare

¢ Public health

¢ Drainage and irrigation

¢ Housing

¢ Power, electricity, agriculture and

forestry (concurrent subjects in Sabah
and Sarawak)
Challenges in jurisdiction of
environmental issues.
¢ Environmental protection is not
emphasize exclusively-not mentioned
as a subject in any three Legislative
List.
¢ However, environmental problems
related to various subjects in the
Federal, State and Concurrent List.
¢ Arguments on the distribution of
responsibility for combating air and
water pollution
¢
¢ Existence of both federal and state
environmental legislation results in
unnecessary overlaps and duplications.
¢ i.e Federal and state govern. Set various
env. Standard for air and water quality, in
the case Bakun Dam project, DOE director
vs Anor/ Kajing Tubek, the court was asked
to decide which of the two sets of env.
Laws sholud be followed:
¢ EIA Order 1987 law under EQA 1974 or

¢ Natural resources and Environmental Order

1994 Sarawak law under Natural Resource
Ordinance 1949
Environmental Quality Act 1974
(EQA)
¢ EQA forms the legal basis for the environmental
regulations in Malaysia
¢ Objectives: prevention, abatement and control
pollution and enhancement of environment
through curative measures (enforcement
monitoring) and preventive measures (EIA,
integrated project planning)
¢ EQA came into force on 15 April 1975
¢ EQA is applicable to the whole of Malaysia (It is a
Federal Law and Act of Parliament)
¢ EQA 1974 provides several aspects (Part II:
administration, Part III: licenses, Part IV: Prohibition
and control of Pollution, Part V Appeal and Appeal
Board)
¢ Has a clear/specific aspects regarding
environmental pollution
¢ Part IV : Prohibition and control of Pollution
¢ Section 22: Restrictions on pollution of atmosphere
¢ Section 23: Restrictions on noise pollution
¢ Section 24: Restrictions on pollution of the soil
¢ Section 25: Restrictions on pollution of inland
waters
¢ Section 29A: Prohibitions on open burning
¢ EQA provides administration aspects;
¢ Establishment of the Environment Quality
Council (16 members)
¢ Director General of environment appointed to
coordinate all activities relating prevention and
control of pollution and to enhance quality of
environment
¢ Provides Regulations and Orders of
Environmental Quality:
l Air pollution
l Water pollution
l Noise pollution
l Waste treatment and disposal
l EIA: Section 34A
¢ Eg. Environmental Quality (Prescribed
Activities) (Environmental Impact
Assessment) Order 1987
¢ Environmental Quality (Clean Air)
Regulations 1978
¢ Procedures/guidelines: env. guidelines for
planner and project developers
¢ The Act has been amended twice
¢ 1985- A636
¢ 1996- A953
¢ 1985 Amendment:
¢ Malaysia committed to the concept of sustainable
development
¢ Concerned with the EIA/insertion of Section 34A
regarding report on impact on the environment
results from prescribed activities.
¢ In mid-1980s motor vehicles created air pollution
¢ Insertion to section 48 of the principal Act /
regarding power to test and prohibit the use of
vehicle
• The 1996 amendment:
• Concerned with the better management and more
effective control of hazardous waste and products
that are considered environmentally unfriendly

• Insertion a provision for prescribed substances

• Weaknesses in implementing organizational
policies
• Insertion of environmental audit
• To promote research in relation to any aspects of
pollution
• Establishment of research cess and end
environmental fund
• EQA 1974: fines imposed by courts too small
• Increased penalties for non-compliance
 The Needs of EQA, 1974
¢ Environmental related legislation has a limited
scoped
¢ Were not specifically designed to address
environmental problems
¢ but rather to promote sound practices in specific
sectors in line with government policies
¢ Cannot cope with the increasingly complex
environmental pollution that we face today
¢ Largely sectoral in character, focusing on
specific areas of activity
¢ Ex. Mining enactment 1929, forest
enactment etc
¢ Difficult to enforce: no references and
guidelines
¢ Separate legislation between Federal and
States: difficult to monitor env. problems
¢ Enforcement agency is not stated
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT (EIA)
 Introduction..

¢ Essentially a planning tool for

preventing environmental problems
due to an action
¢ EIA required under section 34A of the
EQA 1974 (Amend 1985)
¢ Came into force on 1 April 1988
 What is EIA?

¢ EIA is a study to identify, predict,

evaluate and communicate
information about the impacts on the
environment of a proposed project
and to detail out the mitigating
measures prior to project approval
and implementation
 EIA

¢ Management tool to avoid environmental

problems due to any taken action
¢ To reduce high cost in development project
due to environmental damage
¢ Giving early information on environmental
impacts and then proposed suitable
mitigation measures
¢ Giving important information in order to
make best decision in development
 Prescribed activities subject
to EIA

¢ All activities under Environmental Quality

(Prescribed Activities) (Environmental
Impact Assessment) Order 1987
¢ 19 categories of industry required to
submit EIA reports
 EIA Procedure

¢ Involved three stages:

1. Preliminary Assessment
2. Detailed Assessment
3. Review of Detailed Assessment
 Preliminary Assessment
¢ Identify the status of the project during early project
planning
¢ Identify alternative projects, further consideration of
benefits and disbenefits of projects. Mitigation
measures of the negative impacts on environment
should be identify and included in project planning
¢ Identify important residual impact of environment
¢ Preliminary Assessment report will be reviewed by
Department of Environment
 Detailed Assessment
¢ Subject to the projects which have importance
residual effects identified during previous
preliminary assessment
¢ Report includes details study of impacts of the
activities and proposed a significant mitigation
measures
¢ Determine the environmental cost and benefit from
the projects to the society
¢ Detailed report reviewed by EIA technical
committee/review panel
¢ Review panel appointed for specific
projects
¢ If accepted, detailed assessment
review documented and send to
approving authority
¢ If report is not accepted more
information is required from project
initiator
¢ Review panel will review report once
again
 Review of Detailed Assessment
Report
¢ Detailed assessment report reviewed by Review
Panels
¢ Review panels appointed are specialist in a specific
environmental field to be studied
¢ Opinions from these specialist are needed by
approving authority
¢ The report will be studied and decision will be made
within 3 months
¢ Public participation is needed during detailed
assessment and review of detailed assessment
Outline of EIA Procedure