The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced measures to revise the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) to improve a system criticized as being inefficient and a means to “greenwash” government policy.
While only 4 percent of development proposals were rejected by environmental impact assessments (EIA) over the past 21 years, it could take years for major development projects to undergo an EIA, and the EPA proposed to streamline the system so a standard EIA could be finalized in no more than three meetings, EPA Deputy Minister Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said.
The proposed system would alter the role of environmental consulting firms — which help developers draft EIA reports for review — to a third-party contractor, severing ties between consultants and developers. Developers would have to explain why their project should be approved when they submit a plan to the EPA.
The move is aimed at building a US-style EIA system, in which a review is conducted by government agencies authorized to approve a project, instead of the EPA conducting reviews, Chan said.
Chan said that while he was a member of the EPA’s Environmental Impact Assessment Committee, he was misled by the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau to believe that a park expansion project at Changhua County’s Erlin Township (二林) was welcomed by local residents, adding that public participation at an early stage of the review process is vital.
“Field investigations organized by the bureau did not cover Siangsihliao [相思寮, a rural community in Erlin], where a farmland expropriation controversy broke out,” Chan said. “It was a painful lesson for me. Hence, the EIA system will be revised to allow local residents to lead field investigations and express opinions at an early stage.”
Asked by reporters how the proposed system could avoid political influence, Chan said he never received orders from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) or Premier Lin Chuan (林全) to approve developments or speed up the EIA process in favor of developers.
“The EIA system is not a rubber stamp of government policy,” he said. “Public opinion and government policy are two ends of a scale and negotiations are necessary.”
“Before I was sworn in, I told Tsai which of the five innovative industries [which she pledged to develop] needed to undergo EIA reviews,” he said. “Less controversial projects can undergo reviews first.”
A series of strategic environmental assessments would evaluate national development policies, such as tourism development, while it is expected that development at national scenic areas would be further restricted, he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS