An amendment to the standards used in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of a development project drew a mixed reaction at a public hearing yesterday, with environmental activists saying that the amendment has been designed to solve controversial cases.
The amendment being proposed by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) would allow developers to build roads, residential communities, hotels, recreational parks or factories that could cause pollution in water catchment areas near reservoirs.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), officials from the Greater Tainan Government and representatives from the gravel industry all supported the amendment, saying that the catchment areas near reservoirs are too big. It would hurt the economy if no development in this massive area is allowed, they said.
However, environmental activists strongly opposed the amendment.
Wu Li-huei (吳麗慧), a representative of the Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union (TWRPU), asked whether the amendment was meant to offer an easy way out for several controversial development cases, such as the Miramar Resort Hotel (美麗灣渡假村) project.
TWRPU director Jennifer Nien (粘麗玉) said the amendment would open the way for development projects to take place in the high mountains, on farm land, wet lands, national parks and wildlife protection zones without the scrutiny of an EIA committee.
Currently, the nation has 96 reservoirs with more than 100,000 hectares of catchment area. For years, local governments and legislators from Greater Tainan, Yunlin and Chiayi have tried to persuade the EPA to relax the regulations on the use of such land.
Because of the pressure, the EPA decided to hold a public hearing to listen to the opinions of different parties.
Should the amendment be passed, any construction project involving a development area of less than 500m2 or accumulative area of less 2,500m2 would be able to proceed without having to conduct an environmental impact assessment.
Environmental groups opposed to the amendment said it would damage the water quality in the nation’s reservoirs.
Aside from the changes to the regulations in reservoir catchment areas, the amendment would also relax urban renewal regulations for old communities.
While some supported that amendment, they said that the lack of an EIA review would generate more disputes of the rights to properties.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS