The legislature yesterday enacted the Geology Act (地質法) to regulate development projects in vulnerable areas, a move prompted by a massive landslide on the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) in April that killed four people.
Lawmakers across party lines hailed the passage of the act, which was initiated 14 years ago.
Under the act, the Ministry of Economic Affair is required to conduct a nationwide geological survey and establish a database of geological information, which is to be reviewed every five years.
The act states that the ministry shall declare sites with unique geological features or which are vulnerable to geological disasters triggered by torrential rain as “geologically sensitive zones.”
Developers are obliged to carry out geological research and conduct safety assessments of projects that fall within geologically sensitive zones.
The safety assessment must be authenticated by technicians in civil engineering, hydraulic engineering and soil and water conservation, the act said.
After the act takes effect, the ministry is to set up a committee responsible for the demarcation, alteration and annulment of geologically sensitive zones. No less than half of the committee members should be civil experts and academics, the act said.
The act empowers the ministry to inspect areas affected by geological disasters that could endanger public safety and to conduct geological research and disaster assessments without hindrance or interference from owners, users or administrators of the areas.
The legislature also attached a non-binding resolution to the act, demanding the ministry-run Central Geology Survey, the only government agency responsible for geological surveys and geo-science research, to produce a report within three months on whether the country’s major constructions and public facilities are located in geologically sensitive areas.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said she hoped the act would serve to “prevent inappropriate development.”
The passage of the act can safeguard the “people’s right to know” and their “freedom from danger,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsiao Ching-tien (蕭景田) said.
“Although some people and construction companies might lose money because of the disclosure of geologically sensitive areas, how can loss of money compare to the loss of lives?” Hsiao asked.
On April 25, a 200,000m3 landslide covered a more than 300m stretch of the freeway, burying three cars and destroying a bridge.
Experts concluded that the landslide occurred because of the geological nature of the sharp incline near the road. The hill had a dip slope on the side of the freeway. The other side of such formations is steep and irregular, while the dip slope side tilts downward, making it easier for rocks to slide down.
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