The heavy cargo pier of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be torn down to halt beach erosion caused by the groin effect in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), environmental advocates said on Thursday, adding that Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) concealed monitoring data from supervision committee members.
Advocates said that photos of coastal erosion on Yanliao (鹽寮) and Fulong (福隆) beaches look like bites taken out of a cake after the plant and its heavy cargo pier were built north of the beaches in 2000s.
Local beaches in the district have long drawn tourists with events such as music festivals or sand sculpture exhibitions, as well as a habitat for Asiatic sand sedges, a plant species classified as critically endangered in Taiwan.
Photo: Taipei Times
The coastal erosion has raised serious concerns for local residents and environmentalists.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs set up a committee to investigate the issue, with environmental groups and local representatives invited to monitor improvement measures by Taipower.
The depth of beach sand decreased sharply from up to 20m in 1995 to around 10m last year, meaning about half of the sand was gone, Fourth Nuclear Plant Dismantling Advocacy Group secretary-general Yang Mu-huo (楊木火) said.
Taipower’s department in charge of nuclear development might have concealed relevant information like this, Yang said.
Yang Kuei-yin (楊貴英) said the groin effect caused by the pier has led to coastal erosion over the past 30 years and is threatening the survival of the Asiatic sand sedges.
The beaches developed for recreation are disappearing, she said, calling for action to ensure the economic livelihood of local residents and sustainable development of the northeastern coast.
Green Party Taiwan social movement division director Lee Chun-hsiang (李春祥) said the thickness and total area of nearby beaches are shrinking, adding that people crossing the Fulong Rainbow Bridge used to step onto sand at the Fulong Beach Resort.
“Now they step in the water upon getting off the bridge,” he said.
Decreasing beach areas can easily be seen via drone photography, but shrinking sand volume must be identified through on-site inspections, Lee said.
Yang Mu-huo said the ministry published a report last month on the investigation in the name of the National Taiwan University, adding the report was sent by Taipower to committee members.
Civil engineering professor Han Jen-yu (韓仁毓), head of the third-party investigation team in cooperation with the supervision committee, never received the report, Yang Mu-huo said, quoting Han as saying the report cannot be published under the university’s name without authorization.
Much of the information included in the report was incorrect, Yang Mu-huo said, urging the ministry to publish a correction within a week of receiving notice of the alleged interference.
The environmental advocates would file a criminal report with prosecutors against Taipower for forgery of documents, if no correction is made by the ministry a week later, he added.
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