Officials avoid pollution issue, says green group chief
Campaigner says she has got no answers about cleanup laws
Environmental officials were yesterday accused of playing a 'nasty game' by using an on-going legal battle with a shipyard that the government is demolishing to make way for the Disney theme park as an excuse for not discussing land contamination policy issues.
Friends of the Earth director Mei Ng Fong Siu-mei said at a meeting of the Advisory Council on the Environment that she wanted to discuss the need for a law to make polluters pay for the contamination they caused, but found herself facing a brick wall.
Mrs Ng, who is a member of the council, raised the topic in the wake of the discovery of 30,000 cubic metres of dioxin-contaminated soil at Cheoy Lee shipyard in Penny's Bay, Lantau, which the government is demolishing to build access roads to the future Disneyland - expected to open in 2005-06.
The discovery led to a surge in the decommissioning cost of the shipyard from the original estimate of $22 million to $450 million, including $350 million in decontamination costs.
Mrs Ng's group has been pressing the government for an answer as to whether the former shipyard operator will be asked to share the cost, but officials keep saying they are still seeking advice on an outstanding legal case with Cheoy Lee.
Mrs Ng said she was disappointed to find that officials from the Environmental Protection Department yesterday refused to discuss either the matter or general land contamination policies, citing the same excuse.
'I'm very disappointed. This is a very nasty game. I hope the government will stop hiding or we may never be able to find out the truth even after the theme park is open,' Mrs Ng said.
Friends of the Earth last month filed a complaint with the Audit Commission, urging it to investigate whether the government had misused public money in the handling of the shipyard saga by failing to assess the contamination problem before selecting the site.
