The Environmental Impact Assessments Act (
EPA officials said the recently-revised regulations, which took effect on Monday, might lead to a win-win situation for both economic development and environmental protection.
Liu Chug-chun (
"In the past, it was unnecessary to perform impact assessments for projects involving small-scale waste-treatment facilities. However, such facilities often attract a lot of opposition," Liu said.
Furthermore, to ensure land preservation in mountainous areas, any proposal for building a forest recreation center with a total area of more than 5 hectares will not be approved without an impact assessment being conducted. Previously, forest recreation centers smaller than 10 hectares did not require such assessments.
Liu said the new standard is the result of an agreement reached between the EPA and the Tourism Bureau.
"Environmental impact assessments for developments in mountainous areas will help to prevent water sources from being contaminated," he said.
Impact assessments will also be required for cable-car construction projects. In recent years, environmental groups and mountain-climbers have objected to proposals to build cable cars in scenic spots. The government has already approved cable-car projects for Yangmingshan and Sun Moon Lake, without carrying out impact assessments.
Liu said that river-dredging and flood-control projects would also be affected by the new revisions.
"Previously, flood control construction projects that did not affect more than 10km of a river's course did not require impact assessments. However, the limit has now been set at 5km in order to mitigate possible environmental problems," Liu said.
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