Public invited to some ACE meetings

Press Release

Public invited to some ACE meetings

The following is issued on behalf of the Secretariat of the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) :

The ACE and its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Subcommittee will open up the following sessions of the ACE and EIA Subcommittee meetings to the public from mid-December:

(a) Presentation Session and Question-and-Answer Session of a discussion item on EIA report at the EIA Subcommittee meeting requiring the attendance of the project proponent team; and

(b) Presentation Session and Question-and-Answer Session of a discussion item of the ACE meeting when the ACE discusses the report submitted by the EIA Subcommittee on EIA report requiring the attendance of the project proponent team.

A spokesman for the ACE Secretariat said today (December 12) that the decision was made after taking into account the major public interest in EIA reports and the fact that the council was one of the statutory consultees on EIA reports under the EIA Ordinance. 

He said that the opening up of these sessions was an administrative arrangement and not a statutory requirement. 

Other than the above sessions, internal discussion sessions of a discussion item on EIA report and all other sessions of the meetings of the ACE and its Subcommittees (including EIA Subcommittee, Nature Conservation Subcommittee and Waste Management Subcommittee) will remain closed.  

People may observe the open sessions in the Public Viewing Room on 33/F, Revenue Tower, Wan Chai. 

Seating capacity is limited and seats will be allocated through advance booking on a first-come-first-served basis.  The meetings are conducted primarily in English.  No simultaneous interpretation service is available. 

People who are interested in observing the open sessions are advised to read carefully the guidelines and rules for observing the open sessions and logistical arrangements for seat reservation.  The set of guidelines and rules is available on the ACE’s website (http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/ace).  The agenda and discussion papers, except confidential items, of the meetings will also be available on the website before the meeting.

Ends/Wednesday, December 12, 2007