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By Lin Ching-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Taipei-based Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) yesterday opposed amendments to the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防治法) proposed by the opposition parties, saying the changes would empower local governments to impose restrictions on power plants and manufacturing plants that might force them to close.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) and the Taiwan People’s Party caucus earlier this month proposed separate motions targeting articles 27, 28 and 30 of the act.
The legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee is slated to review the proposals on Wednesday next week.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
Article 27 was designed as a mechanism to encourage operators to voluntarily improve pollution by shifting from old to new production processes. However, the draft amendment would allow local governments to require operators to reduce total emissions, effectively turning it into mandatory reductions, the CNFI said.
This raises concerns over an expansion of local discretionary power and might violate the principle of legitimate expectations, it said, adding that, without unified central oversight, it could lead to inconsistent standards across regions.
Regarding Article 28, the regulations only govern fuel composition and co-firing ratios. Under a proposed amendment, local governments would be able to ban or restrict the use of fuels such as coal, fuel oil or solid recovered fuels.
The CNFI expressed concern that it could affect the operation of power plants and destabilize energy supply, adding that it might prevent factories and boiler operators from continuing operations due to fuel restrictions.
For Article 30, the proposed amendments added a provision allowing “class three restriction zone” to shorten the permit renewal period to less than two years, a move the CNFI said would create unnecessary administrative burden.
According to the CNFI, more than half of Taiwan’s west coast is considered a class three restriction zone, meaning that should the amendments be approved, power plants and high-tech plants in the region would only receive licenses to operate for a few months before needing to apply for renewals.
In addition, the draft changes would authorize authorities to modify original permit conditions upon renewal. This is effectively equivalent to allowing local governments to adjust coal usage, operating hours or emission levels. Companies that fail to comply could risk losing their permits, posing a significant impact on operations, it said.
About 8,000 medium and large enterprises nationwide rely on operating permits to function, covering key industries such as semiconductors, petrochemicals, steel and cement, it said.
If permit backlogs at the local level lead to production suspensions, it could trigger supply chain disruptions and significant economic losses, the CNFI said, adding that for continuous-process equipment, it might also cause irreversible damage.
