Coastal Protection and Other Amendments Bill

In the Public Utilities Act 2001 (called in this Act the PU Act), in section 2 —

replace the definitions of “coastal hazard”, “coastal management” and “coastal zone” with —“ “coastal flooding” means flooding of land by seawater, as more particularly described in section 2A of the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act 1999;“coastal management” means the adaptation of Singapore to current and future impacts of coastal flooding, taking into account the effects of climate change, and includes the carrying out of coastal protection works;“coastal protection measure” means any structure or geographical or nature‑based feature, together with any ancillary structure, plant, equipment, or geographical or nature‑based feature, that may function as protection against coastal flooding, as more particularly described in section 2B of the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act 1999;“coastal protection works” means any of the following activities:

(whether by construction or otherwise) putting in place, expanding or altering (including by adding, demolishing or removing) any or any part of a coastal protection measure;

constructing or acquiring any electrical installation or substation necessary to support the function of any coastal protection measure, and connecting any part of a coastal protection measure to an electricity source;

maintaining, repairing, inspecting or monitoring any or any part of a coastal protection measure;

any activity to support any of the activities in paragraph (a) (including improving ground conditions and undertaking any study or survey for or to facilitate the designing of any or any part of a coastal protection measure);”; and

delete the definition of “foreshore”.

In the PU Act, in section 6(1) —

in paragraph (eb), after “coastal management”, insert “, whether as agent of the Government or otherwise”;

in paragraph (ec), delete “relating to the coastal zone so as”;

in paragraph (ec), replace “safeguard against coastal hazards” with “protect against coastal flooding”;

in paragraph (f)(iii), replace “and drainage reserves” with “, drainage reserves and structures for flood prevention or alleviation”;

in paragraph (f), delete sub‑paragraph (v);

delete paragraph (fa);

in paragraph (g), replace “coastal protection systems” with “coastal protection measures”; and

in paragraph (ja), after “Board”, insert “, and in and around coastal protection measures”.

In the PU Act, after section 7, insert —“Recovery of financial support7AA.—

Where any person fails to comply with any condition to which any financial support given by the Board pursuant to paragraph 4A of the Second Schedule is subject, the Board may recover from the recipient of the financial support, the financial support or the amount of the financial support to which the condition relates (as applicable) (called in this section the claim amount) as a debt due to the Board.

The Board may at any time give written notice to the recipient to pay the claim amount to the Board, in the manner specified in the notice and within 30 days after the date of service of the notice or any later time that the Board may allow in a particular case (called in this section the payment period).

If any part of the claim amount is not paid by the recipient within the payment period, the recipient must pay to the Board, in addition to the claim amount not paid, interest at the prescribed rate on the outstanding claim amount for the period calculated from the end of the payment period to the date the claim amount is paid to the Board in full (called in this section the interest).

The Board may remit or refund the whole or any part of the claim amount or interest.”.

In the PU Act, in section 7A —

renumber the section as subsection (1) of that section; and

after subsection (1), insert —“(2) Without affecting subsection (1), the Board may, in carrying out any function or duty or exercising any power relating to any stormwater drainage system within the meaning of the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act 1999, have regard to the effect of the ingress of seawater on the system.

Without affecting subsection (1), the Board may, in carrying out any function or duty or exercising any power relating to coastal management or any coastal protection measure, have regard to —

the effect of stormwater on the functioning or effectiveness of any coastal protection measure;

the prevention or alleviation of flooding by stormwater;

any function or duty of any public authority; and

the need to prevent any bodily injury or loss of life, or any loss of, or damage to, any immovable or movable property, or to preserve the functionality of any premises,but is not required to have regard to any diminution in value of any premises, or any increase in costs or expenses to the owner of any premises, in connection with such coastal management or any coastal protection measure.”.

In the PU Act, in section 18A —

in subsection (1)(a), replace “coastal management” wherever it appears with “coastal administration”; and

after subsection (3), insert —“(4) In this section —“coastal administration” includes the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and management of the coastal zone to mitigate current and future risks from coastal hazards, taking into account the effects of climate change;“coastal hazard” means any of the following:

beach or foreshore erosion;

coastal slope instability;

coastal inundation;

tidal inundation;

erosion and inundation of the coastal zone caused by tidal waters and the action of waves, including the interaction of those waters with catchment floodwater;“coastal zone” means any of the following in Singapore:

littoral beaches, foreshores, tidal wetlands, estuaries, coastal swamps, mangrove areas, littoral forests or minor coastal streams, whether or not of a saline, freshwater or brackish nature;

all other areas at risk of being affected by coastal hazards, taking into account the effects of climate change;“foreshore” means the land lying between the high‑water mark and low-water mark of the sea as is ordinarily covered and uncovered by the flow and ebb of the tide at spring tides.”.

In the PU Act, in the Second Schedule —

replace paragraph 1 with —“1. To undertake —

any building works (including the construction, improvement, raising and repair of any street); and

any other activities,for purposes of flood prevention or alleviation, whether the flooding is by stormwater, seawater or both.”; and

after paragraph 4, insert —“4A. To provide financial support to any person in connection with the carrying out of any matter pursuant to this Act or the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act 1999, subject to any condition as the Board thinks fit.”.

In the Sewerage and Drainage Act 1999 (called in this Act the SD Act), in the long title, after “land drainage systems”, insert “and coastal protection measures”.

In the SD Act, in section 1, replace “and Drainage” with “, Drainage and Coastal Protection”.

In the SD Act, in section 2(1) —

before the definition of “authorised officer”, insert —“ “absolute protection boundary” means any boundary demarcating any region that must be protected from permanent coastal flooding and transient coastal flooding;”;

after the definition of “building”, insert —“ “coastal flooding” has the meaning given by section 2A(1);“coastal management” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Public Utilities Act 2001;“Coastal Protection Interpretation Plan” or “CPIP” means the Coastal Protection Interpretation Plan under section 30C, as amended from time to time;“coastal protection measure” means any structure or geographical or nature‑based feature, together with any ancillary structure, plant, equipment, or geographical or nature‑based feature, that may function as protection against coastal flooding, as more particularly described in section 2B;“coastal protection safety corridor” means a coastal protection safety corridor prescribed under section 30B(1)(c);“coastal protection works” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Public Utilities Act 2001;”;

after the definition of “competent authority”, insert —“ “CPM standards”, in relation to a coastal protection measure or a part of a coastal protection measure, means the standards in any code of practice under section 32 for the coastal protection measure or part, as amended from time to time;“designated details”, in relation to a coastal protection measure or a part of a coastal protection measure for a prescribed place, means the description, details or delineation of the coastal protection measure or part —

included in the CPIP for the prescribed place under section 30D(1); or

notified to the owner of the prescribed place under section 30D(3),as the case may be;”;

in the definition of “flood protection measure”, in paragraph (a), after “stormwater”, insert “or seawater or both”;

in the definition of “flood protection measure”, in paragraph (b), replace “that has” with “or seawater or both, that has or have”;

in the definition of “flood protection measure”, in paragraph (c), replace “stormwater into” with “stormwater or seawater or both into”;

after the definition of “Magistrate’s Court limit”, insert —“ “nearshore or offshore structure” means a structure —

any part of which is seawards of any part of a protection boundary or (where there is no protection boundary) any part of an absolute protection boundary; and

any part of which is fixed into or attached to the seabed or to land,but does not include any such structure prescribed in regulations made under section 74;”;

after the definition of “owner”, insert —“ “permanent coastal flooding” means coastal flooding of the type described in section 2A(1)(a);”;

in the definition of “premises”, after “tenure”, insert “(including in perpetuity)”;

after the definition of “premises”, insert —“ “protection boundary” means a boundary that —

is seawards of an absolute protection boundary and which, together with the absolute protection boundary, demarcates a transiently floodable area (coastal); or

on its own demarcates any region as a transiently floodable area (coastal);”;

after the definition of “sewerage works”, insert —“ “specified drain” means a drain that would, but for any dam or tidal or flood gates, open to the sea;“specified reservoir” means a reservoir that would, but for any dam or tidal or flood gates, open to the sea;”;

after the definition of “trade effluent”, insert —“ “transient coastal flooding” means coastal flooding of the type described in section 2A(1)(b);“transiently floodable area (coastal)” means an area demarcated by —

a part of an absolute protection boundary and a protection boundary; or

only a protection boundary,that may experience transient coastal flooding but not permanent coastal flooding;”; and

in the definition of “works”, replace “and sanitary works” with “, sanitary works and coastal protection works”.

In the SD Act, after section 2, insert —“Meaning of “coastal flooding”2A.—

In this Act, “coastal flooding” means the flooding of land by seawater and may be —

permanent — as a result of land being lower than the long‑term prevailing mean sea level; or

transient — as a result of events such as high tides, wave action or overtopping, storm surges and seawater backflow through drains (including where the seawater interacts with any other source of water).

In this Act, where a reference is made to any coastal protection measure for any prescribed place in relation to its function as protection against coastal flooding, the coastal flooding referred to is as described in section 30E(2).Meaning of “coastal protection measure”, etc.2B.—

In this Act, a coastal protection measure is any or any combination of the following:

any structure (for example, seawalls, revetments, embankments, weirs, dykes, dams, navigational locks, barrages, barriers, sheet piles, promenades, buildings, walls and streets);

any geographical or nature‑based feature (for example, high ground, knolls, beaches and mangroves), whether naturally occurring, naturally occurring with modifications or enhancements made, or manmade,that, whether as existing or when put in place, and whether on its own or in connection with any other coastal protection measure, may function as protection against coastal flooding as described in section 30E(2).

The structure or geographical or nature‑based feature in subsection (1) also includes any or any combination of any ancillary structure, plant or equipment (for example, pumping stations, drains, tanks, control and monitoring equipment, groynes and breakwaters, and electrical installations), or any geographical or nature‑based feature, that —

supports the proper functioning of that structure or geographical or nature‑based feature as protection against coastal flooding; or

prevents or alleviates flooding landward of that structure or geographical or nature‑based feature, whether by seawater or water from any other source,(collectively called in this section and Part 4A ancillaries).

The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, prescribe any ancillaries that would otherwise fall within subsection (2), to be excluded from that subsection.

Any structure or geographical or nature‑based feature, together with any ancillaries, continues to be a coastal protection measure even if the same or any part of the same may also function for some other purpose in addition to the respective functions in subsections (1) and (2)(a) and (b); but Part 4A only applies in relation to the functions in subsections (1) and (2)(a) and (b).

To avoid doubt, a coastal protection measure —

may also be a part of some other structure or geographical or nature‑based feature; and

includes any component that must be operated or deployed in order for the coastal protection measure to protect against coastal flooding (where applicable).

In this Act, deploying a component of a coastal protection measure includes installing the component in or at any part of the coastal protection measure.

In this Act, a coastal protection measure that is put in place includes a geographical or nature‑based feature that is modified or enhanced to satisfy the CPM standards for a coastal protection measure for a prescribed place.Meaning of “prescribed place”2C.—

In this Act, “prescribed place” means any of the following:

any premises, specified reservoir or specified drain, or any part of the sea, at which is prescribed any or any part of an absolute protection boundary;

without affecting paragraph (a), any premises within, or any part of which is within, a transiently floodable area (coastal);

any sheltered structure any part of which is within a transiently floodable area (coastal);

any nearshore or offshore structure.

Premises, specified reservoirs, specified drains, parts of the sea, or structures, only become prescribed places as follows:

for any premises, specified reservoir, specified drain or part of the sea under subsection (1)(a) — as from the effective date of the prescription under section 30B of the absolute protection boundary or part (as the case may be) at the premises, specified reservoir, specified drain or part of the sea;

for any premises under subsection (1)(b) — as from the effective date in subsection (3) of the transiently floodable area (coastal);

for any sheltered structure under subsection (1)(c) — as from the effective date in subsection (3) of the transiently floodable area (coastal);

for any nearshore or offshore structure under subsection (1)(d) — as from the effective date of the prescription under section 30B of the absolute protection boundary or part (as the case may be) that the nearshore or offshore structure is seaward of.

For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) and (c), the effective date of the transiently floodable area (coastal) is, as the case may be —

the effective date of the prescription under section 30B of the part of the absolute protection boundary, and the protection boundary, by which the transiently floodable area (coastal) is demarcated or, if the effective dates of prescription of the 2 are different, the later date; or

the effective date of the prescription under section 30B of the protection boundary by which the transiently floodable area (coastal) is demarcated.Meaning of “owner” in relation to prescribed place2D.—

The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, prescribe one or more of the following persons to be an owner of any prescribed place for the purposes of any provision in Part 4A (other than section 30Q):

a person within the definition of “owner” in section 2(1);

a lessee or tenant of the prescribed place, or of any part of the prescribed place in relation to that part of the prescribed place.

Different persons may be prescribed —

for different provisions in Part 4A; and

for different circumstances under the same provision in Part 4A.

Where such prescription is made for any provision in Part 4A —

only the person prescribed (or if more than one person is prescribed, each person prescribed) is an owner of the prescribed place or part for the purposes of —

that provision; and (ii)any other provision in this Act in its application to that provision; and

no other person within the definition of “owner” in section 2(1) is an owner of the prescribed place or part for the purposes of that provision.

Where no such prescription is made for a provision in Part 4A, “owner” for the purposes of that provision has the meaning given by section 2(1).”.

In the SD Act, in section 22B —

in the section heading, after “to be”, insert “put in place and”;

in subsection (1), after “the premises”, insert “in accordance with any code of practice under section 32 for flood protection measures”;

after subsection (3), insert —“(3A) The owner of any premises must put in place any flood protection measure in accordance with any code of practice under section 32 for flood protection measures.

Without affecting section 43(1A), where the owner mentioned in subsection (3A) has failed to put in place any flood protection measure in accordance with the code of practice, the Board may by written notice require the owner, at the owner’s own cost and expense, to do anything necessary to put in place the flood protection measure within the time specified in the notice.

Without affecting subsection (3B), where —

the owner mentioned in subsection (3A) has failed to put in place any flood protection measure in accordance with the code of practice; and

the Board has reason to believe that there is an impending high sea level event and action must be immediately taken at the premises to put in place a flood protection measure as protection against flooding by stormwater, seawater or both, at or through the premises,an authorised officer may immediately and without notice enter upon the premises and carry out or cause to be carried out any works, acts or things that are necessary to put in place the flood protection measure.”;

in subsection (4), replace “may be recovered from the owner mentioned in subsection (1)” with “or (3C) may be recovered from the owner of the premises concerned”; and

in subsection (5), after “subsection (1)”, insert “or (3A)”.