The top 10 environmental stories of last year, as voted by reporters covering environmental issues, will become important references for the implementation of environmental policy this year, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials said yesterday.
The top 10 stories were announced yesterday at a press conference jointly arranged by the Association of Environmental Reporters (
The Kaoping River pollution case, in which a waste handling firm was caught red-handed dumping toxic chemical solvents into the southern Taiwan river on July 14, was ranked as the most important environmental story last year.
The case triggered an in-depth investigation carried out by prosecutors and resulted in the indictments of 22 people a month later. Twelve have been charged with attempted homicide and prosecutors have requested that five be given life sentences. Two firms involved also received corporate indictments. The prosecutor requested that the source of the toxic solvents, Eternal Chemical Company (
EPA deputy administrator James Lee (李界木) said yesterday that results of the survey reflected several important issues which the administration would address further.
"In the past, the EPA focused more on the management of household waste than on that of industrial waste. Now we have the determination to manage industrial waste more effectively this year by working with other related government agencies, such as the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs," Lee said.
Taipei City's new pay-per-bag waste collection scheme, which began last July, revealed a number of problems inherent in the municipality's waste recycling policy, and came second in the top 10 list.
"The media can monitor the government's performance. The survey reflects the fact that Taipei City still has lots to do on the waste recycling issue," DPP legislator Lin Chung-mo (
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung's (
Liu Te-chan (
Environmental officials said important issues such as local opposition to incinerators and landfills did not figure on the list of top 10 stories, but said that the EPA considered these issues extremely important.
"Taking the opposition to the Meinung Waste Incinerator (
Controversy over the incinerator in Kaohsiung County was sparked early last year after Meinung residents heard rumors that the facility was operating illegally. An operator at the plant revealed that the incinerator sometimes burned waste at a temperature lower than the minimum deemed safe to do so.
Scientists have found that unregulated combustion creates hazardous pollutants, among them dioxin.
Lee said that the EPA would not support building small-scale waste incinerators in the future because of local opposition, but said people needed to be weaned from a "not-in-my-backyard" attitude.
Lee further said comprehensive plans would help ensure a better environment in the future.
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