ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY

LAW FOR ENGINEERS

(ENVIRONMENTAL LAW)

DR. FATEHAH MOHD OMAR

1 MARCH 2017 – HOUR 1
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
ACT (Act 127)
General Content

REVIEW
QUICKIE QUIZ
 A B C
What are the Explain the Give the
functions of a types of definition of
Director pollution that the
General for are enacted Environmental
under the
Department Environmental Quality Act
Of Quality Act 1974
Environment? 1974? (Act 127)?
 AIR POLLUTION
LIST OF SECTIONS & REGULATIONS
Power to specify conditions of emission,
Section 21 discharge, etc.

Section 22 Restrictions on pollution of the atmosphere.

Section 29A Prohibition on open burning.

Section 29AA Exclusion from “open burning”.

Owner or occupier of premises liable for

Section 29B
open burning.
 AIR POLLUTION
LIST OF SECTIONS & REGULATIONS

Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014

Environmental Quality (Declared Activities) (Open

Burning) Order 2003
 WATER POLLUTION
LIST OF SECTIONS & REGULATIONS
Power to specify conditions of emission,
Section 21 discharge, etc.

Section 25 Restrictions on pollution of inland waters.

Prohibition of discharge of oil into

Section 27 Malaysian waters.
Prohibition of discharge of wastes into
Section 29 Malaysian waters.
 WATER POLLUTION
LIST OF SECTIONS & REGULATIONS
Environmental Quality (Delegation of Powers on Marine Pollution
Control) Order 1994

Environmental Quality (Control of Pollution From Solid Waste

Transfer Station and Landfill) Regulations 2009

Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009

Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009

 SOIL POLLUTION
LIST OF SECTIONS & REGULATIONS
Power to specify conditions of emission,
Section 21 discharge, etc.

Section 24 Restrictions on pollution of the soil

Environmental Quality (Control of Pollution From Solid

Waste Transfer Station and Landfill) Regulations 2009
Environmental Quality (Delegation of Powers)
(Investigation on Erosion and Sediment Control) Order
2012
 DEVELOPMENT
LIST OF SECTIONS & REGULATIONS
Report on impact on environment resulting
Section 34A
from prescribed activities.

Section 34AA Prohibition order for prescribed activities.

Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities)

(Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 2015
 Power to specify conditions of emission,
Section 21 discharge, etc.

The Minister, after consultation with the Council, may by regulations

specify the acceptable conditions for the emission, discharge or
deposit of environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or
wastes or the emission of noise into any area, segment or element
of the environment and may set aside any area, segment or
element of the environment within which the emission, discharge or
deposit is prohibited or restricted.
Section 22 Restrictions on pollution of the atmosphere.

(1) No person shall, unless licensed, emit or discharge any

environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or wastes into
the atmosphere in contravention of the acceptable conditions
specified under section 21.

(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a person shall be

deemed to emit or discharge wastes into the atmosphere if -
Section 22 Restrictions on pollution of the atmosphere.
(a)He places any matter in a place where it may be released into
the atmosphere;
(b)He causes or permits the discharge of odours which by virture of
their nature, concentration, volume or extent are obnoxious or
offensive;
(c)He burns any wastes of the trade, process or industry; or
(d)He uses any fuel burning equipment not equipped with any
device or control equipment required to be fitted to such
equipment.
Section 22 Restrictions on pollution of the atmosphere.

(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of

an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one
hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding five years or to both and to a further fine not exceeding
one thousand ringgit a day for evey day that the offence is
continued after a notice by the DG requiring him to cease the act
specified therein has been served upon him.
Section 23 Restrictions on noise pollution.

(1) No person shall, unless licensed, emit or cause or permit to be emitted

any noise greated in volume, intensity or quality in contravention of the
acceptable conditions specified under section 21.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence
and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or
to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both and to a
further fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit a day for every day that the
offence is continued after a notice by the DG requiring him to cease the act
specified therein has been served upon him.
Section 24 Restrictions on pollution of the soil

(1)No person shall, unless licensed, pollute or cause or

permit to be polluted any soil or surface of any land in
contravention of the acceptable conditions specified
under section 21.
(2)Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (1), a
person shall be deemed to pollute any soil or surface of
any land if -
Section 24 Restrictions on pollution of the soil

(a) He places in or on any soil or in any place where it may gain

access to any soil any matter whether liquid, solid or gaseous; or
(b) he establishes on any land a refuse dump, garbage tip, soil
and rock disposal site, sludge deposit site, waste-injection well or
otherwise used land for the disposal of or repository for solid or
liquid wastes so as to be obnoxious or offensive to human beings
or interference with underground water or be detrimental to any
beneficial use of the soil or the surface of the land.
Section 24 Restrictions on pollution of the soil

(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an

offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred
thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five
years or to both and to a further fine not exceeding one thousand
ringgit a day for every day that the offence is continued after a
notice by the DG requiring him to cease the act specified therein
has been served upon him.
Section 25 Restrictions on pollution of inland waters.

(1)No person shall, unless licensed, emit, discharge or deposit

any environmentally hazardous substances, pollutants or
wastes into any inland waters in contravention of the
acceptable conditions specified under section 21.
(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a person
shall be deemed to emit, discharge or deposit wastes into
inland waters, if -
Section 25 Restrictions on pollution of inland waters.
(a)He places any wastes in or on any waters or in a place where it
may gain access to any waters;
(b)He places any waste in a position where it falls, descends, drains,
evaporates, is washed, is blown or percolates or is like to fall,
descend, drain, evaporate or be washed, be blown or
percolated into any waters, or knowingly or through his
negligence, whether directly or indirectly, causes or permits any
wastes to be placed in such a position; or
Section 25 Restrictions on pollution of inland waters.
(c)He causes the temperature of the receiving waters to be raised or
lowered by more than the prescribed limits.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred
thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five
years or to both and to a further fine not exceeding one thousand
ringgit a day for every day that the offence is continued after a
notice by the Director General requiring him to cease the act
specified therein has been served upon him.
 Prohibition of discharge of oil into
Section 27 Malaysian waters.

(1) No person shall, unless licensed, discharge or spill any oil or

mixture containing oil into Malaysian waters in contravention fo
the acceptable conditions specified under section 21.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred
thousand ringgit or to imprisonment not exceeding five years or
to both.
 Prohibition of discharge of wastes into
Section 29 Malaysian waters.

(1) No person shall, unless licensed, discharge environmentally

hazardous substances, pollutants or wastes into Malaysian
waters in contravention fo the acceptable conditions specified
under section 21.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred
thousand ringgit or to imprisonment not exceeding five years or
to both.
Section 29A Prohibition on open burning.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act,

no person shall allow or cause open burning on any premises.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not
exceeding five hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment not
exceeding five years or to both.
Section 29A Prohibition on open burning.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) –

“open burning” means any fire, combustion in smouldering that
occurs in the open air and which is not directed there through a
chimney or stack;
“premises” includes any land.
Section 29AA Exclusion from “open burning”.
(1) The Minister may declare that any fire is not open burning as defined in
section 29A so long as such activity is carried out in accordance under
conditions that have been specified in the order.
(2) Notwithstanding that any form of fire or smoke under subsection (1), no
person shall allow or cause such fire, combustion or smouldering to occur in
any area if the DG notifies-
(a) that the air quality in the area has reached an unhealthy level; and
(b) that the fire, combustion or smouldering for the purpose of any activity
other than those specified in the notification would be hazardous to the
environment.
 Owner or occupier of premises liable for
Section 29B
open burning.

(1) If open burning occurs on any premises –

(a) The owner; or
(b) The occupier.
Of the premises who has control over such premises shall be deemed
to have contravened subsection 29A(1) unless the contrary is proved.
NEWS ARTICLES @ CASE STUDIES
NEWS ARTICLES #1
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTED
• Illegal stalls operating.
• Generating solid waste (plastics,
organic food residue,
• Oil and grease
• Affluent discharge (washings from
dishes, cooking).
• Rivers polluted (Section 25)
• Offensive smell (Section 21)
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTED
• Illegal stalls operating.
• Generating solid waste (plastics, organic food residue,
• Oil and grease
• Affluent discharge (washings from dishes, cooking). SUNGAI MAS
• Rivers polluted (Section 25) &
• Offensive smell (Section XX) SUNGAI BATU
FERINGGHI
IMPACT
• Driving away tourists both local and foreign POLLUTED!
• spread of bacteria
• loss of natural esthetic view

ACTION
• Tearing structures of illegal stalls.
• Slapping fines not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit for polluting
the rivers/streams (Section 25).
NEWS ARTICLES #2
 ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED
• Closure of municipal wastewater treatment plant.
• Release of bad odor.
• Continuous incoming untreated influent.

IMPACT
• Discomfort of nearby residents.
• Elevation of E.coli – hazardous to health.
• Increase of ammonia.
• Adjacent water bodies (streams/rivers) will be
affected.

• Section 21 (Power to specify conditions of emission, discharge, etc)

• Section 25 (Prohibition of Pollution Inland Waters)
• Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009
NEWS ARTICLES #3
 ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED
• 16 cases recorded.
• 7 cases in Hulu Langat.
• 4 cases from
Lembangan Langat.
• Sungai Semantan
(Pahang-Selangor)
• Daerah Sepang, oil palm
spillage from lorry
transportations.
• Pollutant release from
factories.

• Section 21 (Power to specify conditions of emission, discharge, etc)

• Section 25 (Prohibition of Pollution Inland Waters)
• Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009
 GROUP DISCUSSION & PRESENTATION
Form HOMEGROUPS of 5 members (Submit On Paper)

Each HOMEGROUP will be given a news article (A, B, C,

etc).

[1] Discuss at least 3 problems in the issue highlighted.

[2] Relate the SECTIONS and REGULATIONS with the

issue. Give your justification/reason.

[3] As an engineer, how would you COUNTER the

problem?