Opponents of the planned waste incinerator may have been handed crucial ammunition by the discovery of possible irregularities in the way the environmental impact assessment for the project was handled.
Environment advisers say the Environmental Protection Department could face a judicial review over the alleged mishandling, and have raised the possibility of conflict of interest by the department chief.
The issue involves the failure of department director Anissa Wong Sean-yee to spell out clearly how many incinerators the government wanted when she initiated the statutory environmental impact assessment (EIA) process three years ago.
The public was initially consulted on alternative sites at Tsang Tsui in Tuen Mun and on Shek Kwu Chau off Lantau. But when the assessment study report was released it included a third option of building one at both places which had been added later at the department's request.
It turned out the government had asked the study consultant to look at the third option after the initial public consultation ended in 2008.
Members of the Advisory Council on the Environment have complained privately about what they see as officials' abuse of the assessment process and intense debate is likely when they meet today to discuss whether to endorse the study report.
Former environment adviser Dr Ng Cho-nam said that while it was not uncommon to enrich an assessment study with additional data, it should not fundamentally alter the original objectives of the study.
