An Enhanced System for Online Applications for Construction Noise Permits and Noise Emission Labels

With the advancement of web-based technologies, many public services are nowadays made available via internet-based online platforms. Along this trend, the Environmental Protection Department (the "EPD") in Hong Kong has been operating an electronic application system for over a decade, allowing applicants to apply for different licences, permits or labels under various pollution control legislation and pay for the respective application fees. The Noise Control Ordinance (Cap. 400) provides for the legislative control on construction noise as well as noise emission performance for certain noisy products through the construction noise permitting and noise emission labelling systems respectively. For a vibrant metropolitan city like Hong Kong, time is always a crucial concern of all involved parties and therefore speedy processing of applications of Construction Noise Permits ("CNPs") or Noise Emission Labels ("NELs") at all stages from application, validation, assessment etc. is important to enable certain fast-track projects be executed as quickly as possible. It is therefore desirable that a web-based online platform be made available to facilitate applicants/contractors to prepare good quality submissions, and to help them achieve integrity in submitting applications with all necessary technical information, and to complete the whole application process in a correct and efficient manner. The EPD has recently enhanced its electronic application system and now the system could offer a package of facilitation that incorporates a Construction Noise Self-Assessment Tool, the PDF based application forms for CNP and NEL that offer convenient data input, built-in validation feature, and a more user friendly platform for online payments of application fees and contractors' subsequent follow-ups, etc. This paper will briefly describe the legislative control of construction noise through the CNP/NEL systems in Hong Kong, and the user friendly features of the enhanced electronic platform for facilitating efficient and effective processing of CNP and NEL applications.