Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台塑化纖) yesterday said it plans to file an administrative appeal for a fine of NT$1.24 billion (US$41.19 million) from the Changhua County Government over environmental disputes in relation to emissions from its cogeneration system.
Operations at the company’s Changhua plant did not violate any law, Formosa Chemicals vice chairman Hong Fu-yuan (洪福源) said in a statement.
The facility’s cogeneration system adheres to an even higher emission standards than the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), Hong said.
The ruling would have a “chilling effect” on the whole industry and affect local companies’ willingness to invest more, he added.
Formosa Chemicals on Thursday received an official notice about the fine from the Changhua County Government, the statement said.
The fine was calculated on the basis of the company having generated unjust enrichment by burning unqualified coal over the past nine years, which breached the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, the Changhua County Environmental Bureau said.
The company, a listed arm of the industrial conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), appears to be involved in a lengthy legal battle with the county government.
The Changhua plant was shut down in September last year after the county government turned down Formosa Chemicals’ permit renewal applications for the facility’s three boilers.
The rejection came as the company refused to resubmit an application and apply for a new permit to meet the county government’s requirements for the use of coal with high bituminous content, the Changhua County Environmental Bureau said.
The company said it has since last year transferred employees at the Changhua plant to the group’s other plants in Yunlin County, without disclosing cumulative losses from the shutdown.
Formosa Chemicals shares fell 0.85 percent to close at NT$92.9 yesterday after the statement was released.
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