Pursuant to Section 9 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, NEA has sent a notice to Indonesian firm PT Bumi Andalas Permai, which suspected of starting fires in South Sumatra.
Channel NewsAsia 12 Oct 15;
SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued its sixth Preventive Measures Notice to a company in Indonesia.
In a media release on Monday (Oct 12), the agency said it has requested PT Bumi Andalas Permai to extinguish or prevent the spread of any fire on land owned or occupied by them. It also requested the Indonesian firm to discontinue or refrain from commencing any burning activities on these lands.
Under the notice, PT Bumi Andalas Permai has to submit its plan of action, if any, to extinguish the fire or to prevent recurrence.
To date, NEA has sent Preventive Measures Notices to a total of six companies, of which the fifth was sent on Sep 30. It said that it has also received a response from PT Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa, one of the companies that NEA had earlier sent a Preventive Measures Notice to.
NEA said it is “currently reviewing the information provided” and reminders have been sent to the other companies to respond to the earlier notices.
The agency has also received information from Asia Pulp & Paper Company Ltd (APP) in Singapore, following its earlier request for information pursuant to Section 10 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. A review of the information provided by APP is currently being made, it said.
SLIGHT DETERIORATION IN AIR QUALITY IN SINGAPORE
Meanwhile, the air quality in Singapore took a turn for the worse on Monday due to haze from the surrounding region. It also caused a slight reduction in visibility in some parts of the island, said NEA.
As of 7pm, the 3-hour PSI stood at 111, while the 24-hour PSI was in the Moderate to Unhealthy range at 98 to 116.
According to NEA’s weather forecast for Tuesday, occasional slight haze can still be expected and visibility could be reduced, particularly in the early morning.
The 24-hr PSI for the next 24 hours is expected to be between the high end of the Moderate range and the low end of the Unhealthy range, it said.
Only 1 Indonesian firm has responded to NEA's haze notices
AsiaOne 12 Oct 15;
SINGAPORE - The National Environment Agency (NEA) said today (Oct 12) that it has sent a Preventive Measures Notice to another Indonesian company suspected of links to the fires causing the haze.
In its notice to PT Bumi Andalas Permai, NEA requested the company to deploy fire-fighting personnel to extinguish or prevent the spread of fires on land owned or occupied by the company, to stop all burning activities, and to "submit to NEA any plan of action to extinguish any fire on such land or to prevent its recurrence".
This is the sixth Indonesian company to be served the notice.
NEA said on Sept 25 that it had written to four companies in Indonesia under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA), and said on Sept 30 that it had written to a fifth company.
However, only one company has responded to NEA's notice.
In its update today, NEA said that it has received a response from PT Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa, which is among the first four companies to receive notices, and are reviewing the information provided.
It also said that it has sent reminders to the other companies to respond to its notices.
NEA also revealed that it has received information from Asia Pulp & Paper Company (APP) in Singapore after previously requesting for information, and has "sought further information from APP".
MORE OF THE SAME EXPECTED TOMORROW
NEA said that air quality deteriorated today and the haze also caused "a slight reduction in visibility in some parts of the island".
The winds are forecast to remain weak and blow from the east or southeast tomorrow. NEA said that "occasional slight haze can still be expected, and visibility could be reduced, particularly in the early morning".
the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is expected to be between the high-end of the 'moderate' range (51-100) and the low end of the 'unhealthy' range (101-200) for the next 24 hours.
