A group of environmental activists yesterday criticized Nantou County Commissioner Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) for suspending the enforcement of the Geology Act (地質法) in the county.
Promulgated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs last year, the act, which took effect last month, stipulates that a pre-construction geological survey and safety assessment must be conducted for every development project in designated groundwater recharge areas, including the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) alluvial fan, the Pingtung, Yilan and Chianan plains, as well as the Taipei and Taichung basins.
The act further stipulates that developers should cover any survey and assessment costs.
Lin has been quoted as saying that the act is a waste of time and money, as it requires a geological survey for all development projects in geologically sensitive areas.
He said areas in Nantou County designated as groundwater recharge areas, including Nantou City, as well as Caotun (草屯) and Mingjian (名間) townships, are not geologically unstable.
Lin said the designation of these areas as “geologically sensitive” would only create an additional cost of between NT$50,000 and NT$100,000 for each development case.
He asked the ministry to bear the cost of surveys and assessments and ordered the county government to halt enforcing the act.
Environmental activists decried Lin’s move, saying the act was a piece of progressive legislation and it was a matter of course that developers, instead of taxpayers, should cover the expense of geological surveys and assessments.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) called on the ministry to maintain its position ahead of a public hearing of the act, saying: “The ministry cannot relax the laws just because local governments demand it, which would only obscure the legislative intention of the Geology Act.”
Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union director Jennifer Nien (粘麗玉) said groundwater is an important source of drinking water and the legislation was aimed to prevent groundwater depletion, adding that the Nantou County Government should not act at its own discretion and disregard the law.
Former Taichung Urban Development Bureau commissioner and architect Ho Chao-hsi (何肇喜) said the legislation was enacted to protect groundwater from being drained and requires developers to reserve a portion of a construction area to be left undeveloped so as not to obstruct water infiltration into groundwater sources.
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