Transboundary HazePollution Act 2014

Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act concerning conduct which causes or contributes to haze pollution in Singapore, and to provide for related matters. [25 September 2014] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “Agency” means the National Environment Agency established under section 3 of the National Environment Agency Act 2002; “air quality index”, for any area, means a number that describes, through such periodic recording and methodology as the Agency approves, the presence and movement of pollutants and particles in the air environment outdoors in that area relative to the health, wellbeing, needs and purposes of human beings; “authorised officer” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999; “conduct” means any act or omission, any series of acts or omissions, or both; “conduct which causes or contributes to any haze pollution in Singapore” includes lighting fires outdoors for or in connection with any farming operation or forestry operation and leaving unattended such fires; “Director-General” means the Director-General of Environmental Protection appointed under section 3(1) of the Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999; “document” includes — (a) any map, plan, graph or drawing; (b) any photograph; (c) any label, marking or other writing which identifies or describes anything of which it forms a part, or to which it is attached by any means; (d) any disc, tape or other article or any material from which sounds, images, writings or messages are capable of being produced or reproduced (with or without the aid of another article or device); and (e) any paper or other material on which there are marks, impressions, figures, letters, symbols or perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them; “engage in conduct” means engage, whether directly or indirectly, in conduct either alone or together with any other person or persons; “entity” means any sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or other body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate; “farming operations” means activities carried out for the purpose of — (a) establishing a plantation or farm (such as the clearing of land, or the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers); or (b) securing — (i) the production on the land (whether by sowing seed or otherwise), on an ongoing basis, of food or other produce; or (ii) the commercial breeding of livestock or poultry on land, and includes the provision of roads and trails, and the maintenance of existing railways, to enable or assist in the operations and activities mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) or both; “forestry operations” means — (a) logging operations; (b) activities relating to the management of land for timber production such as thinning and other silvicultural activities; (c) harvesting or collecting vegetation (whether living or dead and whether fallen or standing), indigenous animal life or other forest products that are of economic value; or (d) the provision of roads and trails, and the maintenance of existing railways, to enable or assist in any, or any combination, of the operations and activities referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c); “grave natural disaster or phenomenon” means a natural disaster or other natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible character, the effects of which could not have been prevented by human action or avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight; “haze pollution in Singapore” means pollution of the environment in Singapore comprising any poor air quality episode involving smoke from any land or forest fire wholly outside Singapore; “land or forest fire” includes coal seam fire, peat fire or plantation fire; “logging operations” means the cutting and removal of timber from land for the purpose of timber production; “occupier”, in relation to any land situated in a foreign State or territory outside Singapore, includes, if there is no person in actual occupation of the land, the person charged by the owner of the land, or by the law of the foreign State or territory, with the management of that land; “owner”, in relation to any land situated in a foreign State or territory outside Singapore, includes any person — (a) who holds a valid lease, licence, permit, concession or other similar authorisation from a government of the foreign State or territory as regards the land for the person to carry out farming operations or forestry operations in respect of that land; or (b) who has an agreement or arrangement with another person who has a customary right under the law of the foreign State or territory as regards the land, and the agreement or arrangement relates to any farming operations or forestry operations to be carried out by any person in respect of that land; “pollution” means wide-scale direct or indirect alteration of the environment — (a) to its detriment or degradation, or potential detriment or degradation; or (b) to the detriment or potential detriment of its use or other environmental value; “preventive measures notice” means a notice issued by the Director‑General under section 9(1); “smoke” includes soot, ash, grit and gritty particles emitted in smoke; “the environment” means — (a) any land, air or water; (b) any living thing; and (c) any man-made or modified structures and areas, and includes interactions between all or any of the components mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c). (2) For the purposes of this Act, a poor air quality episode occurs when — (a) the air quality index for any part of Singapore reaches the prescribed number on the index or higher; and (b) for the next 24 hours or longer, the air quality index for the same part or any other part of Singapore remains at or reaches that number so prescribed or higher. (3) Any reference in this Act to a person (called in this subsection the primary person) engaging in conduct that condones the conduct of or by another person (called in this subsection the secondary person) which causes or contributes to any haze pollution in Singapore is a reference to — (a) the primary person failing to prevent such conduct of the secondary person as is within the primary person’s contemplation or that is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the primary person’s own conduct; or (b) if the secondary person’s conduct has already occurred — (i) the primary person failing to stop the secondary person’s conduct from continuing; or (ii) the primary person failing to substantially reduce the detriment or potential detriment to the environment in Singapore or its use or other environmental value, or the degradation or potential degradation to the environment in Singapore, due to the secondary person’s conduct. Participation of entity in management of another entity 3. For the purposes of this Act, an entity (called in this section the first entity) participates in the management of another entity (called in this section the second entity) if, and only if — (a) the first entity actually participates in the management or operational affairs of the second entity; (b) the first entity exercises decision‑making control over any business decision by the second entity to engage in conduct or to engage in conduct that condones any conduct by another entity or individual, on any land outside Singapore (being land owned or occupied by the second entity), which causes or contributes to any haze pollution in Singapore; or (c) the first entity exercises control at a level comparable to that exercised by a manager of the second entity, such that the first entity assumes or manifests responsibility — (i) for the overall management of the second entity encompassing the day‑to‑day decision‑making with respect to any business decision to engage in conduct or to engage in conduct that condones any conduct by another entity or individual, on any land outside Singapore (being land owned or occupied by the second entity), which causes or contributes to any haze pollution in Singapore; or (ii) for all or a substantial part of the operational functions (as distinguished from financial or administrative functions) of the second entity. Extraterritorial application 4. This Act extends to and in relation to any conduct or thing outside Singapore which causes or contributes to any haze pollution in Singapore.