| Agency Name: | Environmental Protection Department |
| Nativename A: | 環境保護署 |
| Headquarters: | 15 to 16/F Central Government Offices, 4-6 Tim Mei Avenue, Admiralty, Hong Kong |
| Employees: | 1,620 (March 2008) http://www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/head044.pdf |
| Budget: | 3,349.4m HKD (2008-09) http://www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/head044.pdf |
| Chief1 Name: | Miss Janice Tse Siu-wa, JP |
| Chief1 Position: | Permanent Secretary for the Environment / Director of Environmental Protection |
| Parent Agency: | Environment and Ecology Bureau |
| Website: | www.epd.gov.hk |
| Order: | ts |
| T: | 環境保護署 |
| S: | 环境保护署 |
| Y: | Wàahn gíng bóu wuh chyúh |
| J: | Waan4 ging2 bou2 wu6 cyu5 |
| P: | Huánjìngbǎohù Shǔ |
| Hide: | yes |
Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is a department of Hong Kong Government concerning the issues of environmental protection in Hong Kong.The EPD is responsible for developing policies covering environmental protection, nature conservation; enforcing environmental legislation; monitoring environmental quality; providing collection, transfer, treatment and disposal facilities for many types of waste; advising on the environmental implications of town planning and new policies; handling pollution complaints and incidents; and raising awareness and support in the community for environmental initiatives.[1]
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) was created in 1986 to co-ordinate and carry out pollution prevention and control activities.[2]
Staff and resources from six government departments were deployed to the EPD. The EPD replaced the Environmental Protection Agency (which had been created in 1981 to replace the Environmental Protection Unit, created in 1977) as the main government body charged with tackling pollution. Between 1986 and 31 March 2005 it functioned mainly as an executive department enforcing environmental laws and implementing environmental policies, the latter having been determined by the relevant policy bureau, most recently the then Environment, Transport and Works Bureau.
On 1 April 2005, the environmental policy-making function carried out by the then Bureau was subsumed within the EPD, with the head of the Environment Branch of the policy bureau taking up the dual role of Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Director of Environmental Protection, placing the EPD in the position of both determining and implementing environmental policy. Subsequent to the re-organisation of government bureaux on 1 July 2007, a new Environment Bureau was formed to oversee the formulation and implementation of environmental policies.
In a re-organisation from 1 July 2007, EPD adopted a structure based on three operational divisions, four policy divisions, a cross-boundary division, and a corporate affairs division.
The department employs about 1,600 staff, about one-quarter of whom are professional staff, half are technical-grade staff and the remainder are administrative and support staff.
As at October 2021, the post of Director of the department and Permanent Secretary for the Environment in the Environment Bureau is vacant.[3] Until 17 January 2022, the government announced the appointment of Janice Tse, the former Director of Home Affairs, as the new Director of the department and Permanent Secretary for the Environment.[4]
In July 2022, as the Environment Bureau reorganized into Environment and Ecology Bureau, the title "Permanent Secretary for the Environment" has changed to "Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Ecology".
Air quality monitoring by the department is reported by 13 general stations and three roadside stations. On 8 March 2012, the department started reporting data on fine suspended particulates in the air on an hourly basis, that are a leading component of smog. It began regular monitoring of PM2.5 levels, which measure 2.5 micrometres in diameter or less, at three stations since 2005, but the data were never publicised.[5]
The department also works with local organisations for advocacy work, including with the Geography Society of PLK Vicwood KT Chong Sixth Form College between 2008 and 2009.