industry although Section 15(a) of SPAN Act mentions about national policy objectives for the sewerage industry. The establishment of a fair and efficient tariff mechanism as mentioned in Section 15(e) would be an important catalyst for the industry.
of Environmental Quality prior to project implementation:
The national policy objectives pertaining to sewerage services must be well-defined to ensure that the sewerage industry would progress in the right track in line with the national policy. The national policy should provide solutions through a national sewerage development plan focussing on issues related to sewerage catchment and local sewerage plans, facilities and infrastructure together with the operation and management of the industry.
b) Site suitability evaluation (for nonprescribed activities);
The draft copy of the National Sewerage Policy was obtained from Indah Water Konsortium. However, it is still in the draft stage and need to be quickly revised and endorsed by the relevant authorities for implementation. • Environmental Quality Act, 1974 EQA, 1974 is a legislation that is related to the prevention, abatement, control of pollution and enhancement of the environment in Malaysia. The Act restricts the discharge of wastes into the environment in contravention of the acceptable conditions. To date, 38 sets of Regulations and Orders have been introduced and enforced. The Director General of Environment has been appointed by the Minister to administer this Act and any regulations and orders made thereunder. Under the Environmental Quality Act (EQA), 1974 and the Regulations thereunder, any industrial activity is required to obtain the following approvals from the Director General
24
Study on the Current Issues and Needs for Water Supply and Wastewater Management in Malaysia
a) Environmental Impact Assessment reports - under Section 34A of the EQA, 1974 (for prescribed activities);
c) Written permission to construct under Section 19 of the EQA, 1974 (for prescribed premises scheduled wastes treatment and disposal facilities, crude palm oil mills and raw natural rubber processing mills); d) Written approval for installation of incinerator, fuel burning equipment and chimney – under Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulation, 1978, EQA, 1974; and e) License to use and occupy prescribed premises and prescribed conveyances under Section 18 of the EQA, 1974. • Integration of water and sewerage services There has been a lot of discussion on this subject but there has not been much progress. The issue needs to be addressed in a holistic manner taking recognition of the difficulty of collecting revenue for sewerage if it continues to be in isolation. Water companies are not keen to share their profit and taking sewerage as part of their responsibilities without seeing to the profitability of sewerage services. Hence, integration efforts should also look at the tariffs in the sewerage services.