Despite significant changes in the original construction plans for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, there is no need for a second environmental impact assessment (EIA), government officials told the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
Speaking in response to legislators' questions, Hu Chin-piao (
In 1995, the Control Yuan censured the council, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and several other government bodies for failing to conduct a second EIA after significant changes were made to the nuclear power plant's designs.
Chief among the alterations was a change in the plant's power output -- from 1,000 megawatts to 1,350 megawatts per reactor.
Hu claims the Atomic Energy Council never received notice of the Control Yuan's censure. The Control Yuan also handed out a second round of censures in 1999.
In March 1999, the Atomic Energy Council under the KMT government -- and led by Hu -- issued the plant its construction license, without dealing with the censure first.
Also appearing before the legislature yesterday was EPA head Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who said he lacked the power to order Taipower to redo its EIA for the plant.
Hau said that the EIA Act passed in 1994 gave him the authority to review reports on significant changes in the power plant's design, but the boosting of the nuclear facility's wattage by 35 percent wasn't one of them.
"The EPA will act in accordance with the law on the EIA issue," Hau said.
In addition, Hau said, the EPA could not ask Taipower to conduct a new EIA for review because Taipower's supervisor is the Atomic Energy Council, not the Environmental Protection Administration.
In addition to the change in power output for the plant's two reactors, there have been several alterations that could warrant conducting a second EIA.
Except for the power output increase, Taipower has been conducting environment impact analyses on changes, sending the results to the EPA for review.
According to the administration, one of these reports includes an environmental impact assessment for a final repository for low-level radioactive waste. The repository is to be located on Wuchiu (烏坵), an island between Kinmen and Matsu.
EPA officials say they are unlikely to keep the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant from going forward because of the lack of a new EIA.
But environmentalists say Taipower has made too many changes to the project's original plan -- including adding a temporary repository for radioactive waste at the plant's site -- without conducting the required EIAs.
Activists say that a highly controversial, "out-of-date" project that was designed a decade ago should be more closely scrutinized.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from