The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) came under fire in the legislature on Thursday for failing to fine violators of the Indoor Air Quality Act (室內空氣品質管理法).
Legislators said that since the law took effect in 2012, the EPA has not issued any fines and the lengthy grace period to promote the policy has resulted in low efficiency in deterring potential violators.
EPA officials were in the legislature to present the targets of the agency’s phase-two enforcement of the policy, which would include museums, art galleries and financial facilities, as well as venues for art performances and karaoke.
The agency also presented a report on the implementation of phase-one regulations, which require that personnel be deployed in stores, public transportation stations and medical facilities, and that plans on how to manage indoor air pollutants, including carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, germs and particulates, should be put into place.
The EPA said that of the 466 outfits regulated in phase one, which began in July last year, 36 establishments — including 19 in Taipei — ignored orders to put an employee in charge of managing indoor air quality.
Asked how many violators had been fined since the act came into effect in November 2012, Department of Air Quality and Noise Control Chen Hsien-heng (陳咸亨) said that penalties would not be imposed until Nov. 1.
He said that a grace period allows violators to address poor air quality until the end of next month, after which a notification would be issued to proprietors, demanding that they make improvements no later than Oct. 1.
Violators that fail to meet the deadline will be fined between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000, Chen said.
His reply drew criticism from several lawmakers, who panned the long grace period and questioned the agency’s determination to improve air quality.
In response, EPA Minister Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥) said that violators would be given just one chance to improve, and those who do not comply would be fined.
He tried to dispel doubts that the agency is not serious about enforcing the act, saying: “We are not putting on a show. The act will be enforced.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Hui-cheng (江惠貞) said that restaurants and food courts in hospitals had been excluded from the list of facilities to be regulated, and demanded that they be included by amending the act.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that daycare centers and kindergartens should also be included to protect children’s health.
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