The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday said it would abide by a court ruling on the Phase 3 Zone Development of the Central Taiwan Science Park, but warned of the negative consequences of that decision.
Yeh Jiunn-horng (葉俊宏), director-general of the EPA’s planning department, said the EPA would deliver the court ruling to the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration within seven days once it receives the official ruling.
Meanwhile, Yeh cited Article 14 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), which says that “the competent authority may not grant permission for development activity prior to the completion of an environment impact assessment review or the authorization of an environmental assessment report ... The permission granted in violation of this regulation shall be invalid.”
“The EPA has completed the review and made public the results of the review. While the court annulled the effectiveness of the results, Article 14 does not apply in this particular case because the developer followed regulations by conducting the environmental impact assessment,” he said, adding that the administration’s view on the article was seconded by the Ministry of Justice.
Yeh said environmentalists disagreed with the EPA’s interpretation of Article 14 and filed lawsuits to challenge the interpretation.
The court has yet to rule on the case and the EPA cannot ask investors at the Phase 3 zone to stop construction simply because of a pending lawsuit, he said. If the court disagrees with the EPA’s interpretation, Yeh said it would be “the source of many disasters to come,” as it would add uncertainty on the results of other environmental impact assessment reports.
“Like a housing project that passes an impact assessment and the developer begins construction,” Yeh said, “Three years later, the environmental impact assessment becomes invalid, the building becomes illegal and all the tenants have to move out. More cases like this will happen. I can assure you that the Central Taiwan Science Park would not be the only one.”
Yeh denied the EPA had deliberately delayed the review of the health risk assessment.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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