A whistle-blower who informed on a company that discharged contaminated water into a river via a secret pipe is to be awarded NT$3 million (US$93,107), the largest reward ever offered in the nation for a report on water pollution.
The Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau on Tuesday said that it would give an unidentified informant 60 percent of a NT$5 million fine levied on a food factory found to have illegally discharged wastewater into the city’s Houjin River (後勁溪).
The bureau in April raided the factory in the city’s Renwu District (仁武) and discovered a hidden drainage pipe that was used to discharge unprocessed wastewater into a ditch that led to the river.
The bureau demolished the pipe, but the factory was found pumping contaminated water into the ditch two days after the raid.
The bureau on Tuesday gave the factory’s operator the NT$5 million fine, saying its actions were a major violation of the Water Pollution Control Act (水污染防治法).
“The factory discharged more than 100 tonnes of water used to mix flour and boil dough every day. Although the wastewater did not contain high concentrations of heavy metals, it did not meet effluent discharge standards,” bureau Environmental Inspection Division Director Ma Chen-yao (馬振耀) said.
The raid was organized after a former employee reported the illegal activity at the factory to the bureau.
The reward is about 12 times the informant’s annual income, the bureau said.
A city water pollution by-law stipulates that informants with solid evidence can be awarded up to 20 percent of fines levied against firms, with the reward tripled if the informant is a current or former employee.
“The food factory whistle-blower is the first informant to be rewarded following implementation of the bylaw in December last year, which encourages people to be actively involved in pollution prevention and environmental protection,” the bureau said.
While the factory was equipped with an effluent treatment system, it did not use it, reportedly to save on electricity and treatment costs.
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