An Environmental Protection Administration committee requested additional information yesterday from Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) before it could rule on expansion plans for an Yunlin County plant.
Expansion plans for the Sixth Naphtha Cracker in Mailiao Township (麥寮) underwent a fourth review yesterday.
The committee in charge of the environmental impact assessment for the plans said that a long list of supplementary information must be submitted before the panel could rule on the expansion.
After the committee announced its preliminary verdict, the company’s representatives declined to talk to reporters, saying only that they “wouldn’t know the answers to any of the questions” and immediately left the meeting.
The case under review was the fourth phase of the plant’s expansion. The plans have been stalled because of concerns over the massive volume of water the facility would consume. Three plants would be added at the location, which would increase water consumption by 1,644 tonnes per day.
The company said processed waste water and recycled cooling water from the plant could cover the additional water needs. Although more water would be needed per day, the company said 600 tonnes less waste water would be produced per day.
The committee, however, questioned the feasibility of the plan.
One of the committee members — all of whom are anonymous to ensure that they can review the case independently — said that “without an itemized balance sheet, the conservation would just be on paper. There is no way for the environmental impact assessment committee to inspect how the waste water is actually used.”
Furthermore, some of the water that would be recycled for the new facilities would come from one of the existing plants, which calls the water conservation plan into question, the same member said.
Another committee member said the expansion would add 344,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
“Although it is inevitable that, as time passes, a plant as large as the Sixth Naphtha Cracker will need to expand ... it is important to protect the environment as these changes are made and the environmental impact assessment committee’s responsibility is to ensure this protection,” the panel member said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS