Anti-nuclear activists of Kungliao, Taipei County, are prepared to seek clarification from Premier Yu Shyi-kun as to why the Cabinet allowed Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) to build a wharf that led to "jetty effect" erosion of nearby Fulung Beach (
In mid-January, Yu established a task force composed of experts and officials from related Cabinet-level agencies to investigate whether erosion can be attributed to stresses on the environment caused by construction of the wharf, which was built to facilitate construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power plant.
Last month, the task force concluded that the "jetty effect" had occurred as a result of construction of the wharf. Civil engineers often manage currents and thereby control coastal erosion by taking advantage of the effect, but in this case it caused damage. The wharf, which was designed to accommodate heavy machines on their way to the plant under construction, is eroding Fulung Beach, the task force said.
The Atomic Energy Council, which is in charge of the investigation, said possible solutions to the environmental harm done include transferring sand to the beach and scrapping the wharf.
At a meeting held last Friday by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Taipower, the builder and future operator of the plant, ordered studies analyzing the environmental impact of transferring sea sand from the wharf to the beach. The sea sand pumped by Taipower is currently dumped near the wharf.
The idea, however, provoked representatives of Kungliao attending the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) meeting last Friday. Wu Shuen-liang (吳順良), a Kungliao Township representative, pounded on a pane of glass violently during the meeting and hurt himself, leaving bloodstains on the table.
The EPA eventually bowed to pressure by the residents and did not approve Taipower's proposal, citing a dearth of information pertaining to the environmental impact of the proposal.
"How could Taipower decide to carry out the project by itself without discussing it with other stakeholders?" said Wu Wen-tung (吳文通), head of the Kungliao-based Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association.
Wu said key stakeholders include the association, Kungliao Township Office, Taipei County Government and the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area Administration Tourism Bureau, which manages the beach.
According to the EPA, con-sruction was approved in 1997 to store about 210,000m3 of construction sand pumped from the sea nearby on land.
According to Wu, Taipower's research shows that it actually consumed more than 300,000m3 of sea sand to build caissons, while in left sea sand exceeding 500,000m3 on land.
Wu said yesterday that the EPA should not endorse Taipower's proposal because it would allow the company to pump more sand, now stuck by breakwaters built for the wharf.
"As long as the wharf exists, the jetty effect, will not stop," Wu said.
EPA officials said that the EPA said in 1997 that Taipower could use the sand for diverse purposes, ranging from building road bases to mixing it with soil in fish farms nearby.
Officials said that Taipower is not allowed to carry out the project of transferring sand to the beach without receiving the approval from the EPA, according to the EIA Act.
This week, Kungliao residents will seek for an answer from Premier Yu, who promised in January to scrap any construction that has caused coastal erosion.
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