April 25, 2007
A cabinet-level economic panel is calling on the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to simplify environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures to prevent delays in major construction programs and other investment projects.
The inter-ministry panel's call was meant to address concerns that several major construction programs -- including a steel plant project by the Formosa Plastics Group and two petrochemical plants by the China Petroleum Corporation -- have been delayed by lengthy procedures used to carry out EIAs.
The EPA has been asked to submit a report to the panel based on a review of the laws and regulations tied to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, said Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairwoman Ho Mei-yueh, a member of the panel.
For the report, the panel has asked the EPA to propose new EIA procedures that would speed up the process for major investment projects of an urgent nature, but remain in keeping with EPA standards, said Ho.
Not all [EIA] cases under review should have to undergo the same procedures -- not all cases are the same, said Ho.
In addition, the panel has requested that all EIA inspection criteria and standards should be determined and finalized in advance by an environmental impact assessment committee, with no changes made thereafter, so as to reduce uncertainty among investors and businesses regarding EIA rules.
The panel furthermore recommended that cases in which a conclusion cannot be reached after a certain number of review sessions should be referred to the environmental impact assessment committee, said Ho.
(Central News Agency)
E-mail this page.
Invest in Taiwan
