The Ministry of Environment has revised regulations that would gradually increase water pollution control fees for common hazardous substances and extend their coverage to include zinc, tin and ammonia nitrogen.
Water pollution control fees have not been adjusted since the Regulations Governing the Collection of Enterprise and Sewage Systems Water Pollution Control Fees (事業及污水下水道系統水污染防治費收費辦法) were implemented 10 years ago, the Department of Water Quality Protection said in a news release.
However, operators might not be sufficiently motivated to minimize pollution if government-
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment
imposed pollution control fees are lower than their pollution control costs, it said.
As such, the ministry decided to adjust the fees in accordance with the “polluter pays” principle that hold heavy polluters accountable, it said.
From next year, a phased increase of water pollution control fees is to be imposed on heavy metals, including lead, nickel, copper, mercury and its compounds, cadmium, chromium and its compounds, arsenic, zinc and tin, as well as cyanide and ammonia nitrogen, the department said.
Ammonia nitrogen was included in line with the Effluent Standards (放流水標準), as the substance is harmful to aquatic life and could lead to eutrophication, while zinc and tin were included as they are bioaccumulative, it added.
The fee adjustment is expected to affect 2,200 sewage system owners operating at industrial or science parks, power station owners and companies in the semiconductor, printed circuit board and electroplating industries, the department said.
To ease the impact of the fee adjustment on payers, operators would be granted a 50 percent discount next year, with the discount rate reduced annually until the full amount begins to be levied in 2031, it said.
For example, water pollution control fees levied on lead, nickel and copper would next year be raised to NT$1,000 per kilogram each from the current NT$625 and rise incrementally to NT$2,000 per kilogram six years later.
As the increase would be less than NT$20,000 for 90 percent of payers in the first year when the amendments take effect next year, the actual impact would be limited, the department said.
The amendments would also establish a wastewater treatment facility investment tax credit in line with the global initiative to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero, it said.
Companies investing in wastewater treatment facilities that help turn waste into resources can apply to the ministry or local environmental protection departments for reduced water pollution control fees, it said.
For example, pulp and paper manufacturing companies can apply anaerobic fermentation to wastewater for biogas power generation, while semiconductor companies can recycle high-concentration ammonia nitrogen from wastewater to productive resources, it said.
Deductible amounts would be capped at 60 percent of the payment for each period, with the deduction effective for a maximum of three years, the department said, adding that the goal is to facilitate industries’ green transition.
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