More than 2,000 venues in Phuket are required to file Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and Environmental Impact Assessment report (EIA) monitoring reports each year, explained MNRE Phuket Director Wattanapong Suksai.
Most locations are required to file IEE and EIA monitoring reports annually, but some must file such reports twice a year, he added.
However, so far the MNRE Phuket office has received ‘only’ hundreds of reports, he said.
The MNRE Phuket office sent notices on Jan 6 to inform operators of the deadline to file their report, Mr Wattanapong said.
The MNRE Phuket office will not take legal action against any operators who file their reports before Mar 2, he noted.
Under Section 101/2 of the Environment Act 1992, revised in 2018, failing to submit the annual and IEE and EIA monitoring reports can incur a maximum fine of B1mn, Mr Wattanapong warned.
All 19 municipalities of local administration organisations on the island have been instructed to inform the MNRE Phuket office of any operators who fail to submit their reports, he said.
“Implementation of the EIA and IEE measures is very important for Phuket, which is a world-class tourist city, in order to take care of the environment, especially regarding the problem of wastewater,” Mr Wattanapong said.
“We will follow up if a project is a source of pollution, including hotels, condos and others. If they do not take care of this matter, wastewater problems will surely follow from the increasing number of tourists coming [to Phuket],” he added.
“As far as we know, Phuket now has more than 40,000 tourists coming in every day and it is estimated that in 2023 there will be at least 12 million tourists. If establishments do not take care of wastewater, I believe this problem will inevitably follow,” Mr Wattanapong said.
“After this [deadline], we will take serious action against establishments that do not comply with the law because notifications have been sent several times, and the last date for submission of the monitoring report is January 31, 2023.
Pressure is rising on the MNRE Phuket office to take action against those who fail to submit their reports, Mr Wattanapong noted.
“Although in the past in Phuket there has never been a fine for those who do not submit an annual monitoring report, in the Bangkok area more than 1,800 places have been fined,” he said.
megamind | 07 February 2023 - 04:52:16