Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Deputy Minister Thomas Shun-Kuei Chan (詹順貴) yesterday opened the first public hearing on proposed amendments to environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulations by apologizing for storming out of the meeting earlier this week.
The first hearing was supposed to convene on Tuesday, but it broke up due to conflict between Chan and Taiwan Water Conservation Alliance director Jennifer Nien (粘麗玉).
The hearing was held to discuss proposed amendments to the Standards for Determining Specific Items and Scope of Environmental Impact Assessments for Development Activities (開發行為應實施環境影響評估細目及範圍認定標準) and Environmental Impact Assessment Enforcement Rules (環境影響評估法施行細則).
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
While Chan apologized to Nien and other attendees for losing his temper on Tuesday, yesterday’s meeting hit some bumps over differences in opinion, mainly over the division of responsibility between the central and local governments.
One of the proposed amendments states that some urban developments that are not situated in environmentally sensitive areas — excluding those located on hillsides — would not need an environmental impact assessment.
The change would avoid wasting administrative resources, as some environmental reviews could be conducted by local governments, Chan said.
However, Taipei Department of Environmental Protection Administration Deputy Commissioner Tsai Ling-yi (蔡玲儀) said that the EPA should not allow urban developments to proceed without conducting an EIA.
Tsai said the EPA should amend the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) first, rather than subsidiary regulations like they were discussing.
Chan said that some rules need to be urgently revised, because it would be impossible for the legislature to pass a revised EIA act within a short time.
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan researcher Pan Cheng-cheng (潘正正) agreed, saying the proposed change has a certain degree of urgency.
For example, Article 38-1 states that the supervising authorities can issue development permits to businesses, Pan said.
Pan said that she supports the EPA’s proposal to abolish the article, because some supervising authorities might be working to benefit developers, but added that she disagrees with other parts of the amendments.
The meeting’s afternoon session focused on mining regulations.
Miners should apply for new EIAs if they want to extend their mining permits, the EPA’s proposal said.
Chinese National Federation of Industries standing director Sam Ho (何語) objected, saying it would undermine the cement industry and harm the domestic economy.
The Mining Act (礦業法) does not contain such a stipulation and EIA rules should not contradict the act, a representative of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會) said, in support of Ho.
The next hearings are scheduled to be held on July 14 in Taipei and July 16 in Taichung.
The schedule for the public hearings in southern Taiwan will be announced at a later date, the EPA said.
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