Contractor in Pillar Point sewage-plant leak may get million-dollar fine
The contractor that runs Tuen Mun's Pillar Point sewage treatment plant could be fined millions of dollars if it is found guilty of discharging 95,000 cubic metres of raw sewage into the sea after a malfunction last month.
The contractor that runs Tuen Mun's Pillar Point sewage treatment plant could be fined millions of dollars if it is found guilty of discharging 95,000 cubic metres of raw sewage into the sea after a malfunction last month.
The Drainage Services Department said this yesterday as four lawmakers visited the facility to find out why the plant's four silt-screening units - which filter solid waste larger than 4mm from sewage - all broke down at about the same time on August 25.
The malfunction led to the closure of 14 beaches that day.
Anthony Tsang Kwok-leung, the department's chief engineer overseeing the harbour area treatment scheme, said he could not say how much the contractor might be fined until a task force found the problem's root cause.
"After that, the task force will look at the liability issues … Once that is established, we will then … take action against the contractor," Tsang said.
The task force will also advise on how to prevent a repeat of the incident. It is expected to complete its investigation in two to three months.
The four silt-screening units broke down less than 100 days after the plant was upgraded so it could disinfect sewage using ultraviolet light.
