Thu, Mar 03, 2011 page2

• EPA set to appeal science park development ruling

  HALTING EXPANSION: The Taipei High Administrative Court said the Central Taiwan Science Park had yet to undergo a second assessment for a development project

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff Reporter
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  The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said it would appeal a ruling yesterday by the Taipei High Administrative Court to stop a third-phase development project at the Central Taiwan Science Park.

  This latest development came in the wake of a series of reversals since 2008, when the court annulled an approval by the agency’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee for the project. In September last year, the committee reapproved the project, a move that residents and environmentalists said they would seek to reverse.

  In yesterday’s ruling, the court ordered that the science park halt execution of the project on the grounds that it had yet to undergo a second review by the EIA committee. It said failure to conduct such a review would put the health of area residents at risk.

  However, AU Optronics Corp (AUO), the nation’s second-largest LCD panel maker, and Sunner Technology, both of which had established centers in the park, would not be required to cease operations because the court overruled an appeal to stop issuing construction licenses and other development permits to those companies.

  “Members of the EIA committee were authorized by the law to convene and make professional and purposeful conclusions [on the project],” the EPA said in a statement.

  “The court appears to have overreached its authority in this case and as such we will appeal,” it said, adding that it stood by the decision made by the committee.

  The EPA said the court believed the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration had failed to submit the results of the health risk assessment and that this had led to a flawed conclusion by the EIA committee in 2006.

  For the latest review, members of the committee had reviewed the results of the health risk assessment, the EPA said.

  The health risk assessment showed the lifetime cancer risks from the project was 2.74 per 10 million, it said. In contrast, wastewater discharged into the downstream of the Da-an River (大安溪) along the border of Miaoli County and Greater Taichung produced a cancer risk of 1.16 per 10 million in adults and 5.13 per 100 million in children. Both risks were therefore smaller than the US standard, which is 1 per million, the EPA said.

  “The EIA committee’s decision in September thoroughly took into consideration the results of the health risk assessment, which dismissed the concerns,” it said.

  On whether the case should be reviewed again by the committee, the EPA said under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), committee members could determine the necessity of this procedure by gauging whether the actions taken by the developer had lowered the project’s impact on the environment.

  Commenting on the matter, the National Science Council, which oversees the park, said it would handle the case with caution after it receives the official copy of the ruling.

  In the meantime, it would halt public construction projects in progress, the council said.

  Hsinchu-based AUO said it did not expect any imminent changes because of the ruling, adding that progress in ramping up production at its second 8.5-generation plant at the park was on track.

  The plant is set to begin mass-producing in the first half of this year, it said.

  ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LISA WANG
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