The Taichung High Administrative Court yesterday ruled in favor of the shutdown of three coal-fired boilers at Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp’s Changhua plant by the Changhua County Government, rejecting a provisional injunction request filed by the company.
The company in June applied for a license renewal to continue operating the boilers, but the county government said that the company should apply for a new permit instead, as the amount of coal and steam used during the manufacturing process has increased over the past 50 years.
The company on Sept. 30 filed a provisional injunction against the county government’s order for the general shutdown of the facility, asking to “maintain the current situation.”
Chief Judge Lin Chiu-hua (林秋華) said the company cited the loss of jobs at the plant, “heavy” losses incurred by the company, potential damage to machinery and potential payouts to clients as reasons for the injunction, but offered no evidence to back the claims.
The court said in the ruling that it rejected the injunction, as the reasons given by the firm only constituted “potential liabilities.”
The cessation of operations did not force the closure of the factory or cause public safety incidents, it added.
The company should have given itself more time to process the paperwork — which was due on Sept. 28 — for the renewal and the loss in profits incurred during the time could not be considered “heavy,” the court said, adding that alternative forms of power and fuel were available to the company, invalidating its claims of “grave public danger” pending a shutdown.
The company yesterday expressed regret about the ruling, but said the outcome was not unexpected, adding that it would endeavor to protect its rights in whatever way legally possible.
Meanwhile, Changhua County Environmental Protection Bureau Director-General Jiang Pei-ken (江培根) said that Formosa Chemicals had chosen to not turn in the necessary documents after the application, adding that it was evident that the company would be denied its license application.
As a result of the ruling, Jiang said the bureau would be fining the company NT$200,000 for continuing to operate the boilers after Sept. 28.
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