After an on-site inspection of the industrial complex at Mailiao of Yunlin County, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has decided to temporarily shelve penalties on 14 enterprises in the petrochemical complex in southwestern Taiwan, pending the water-saving measures to be adopted by the companies. EPA has that the Formosa and other companies deserve a review of their latest proposal for limiting water consumption volume as had been promised earlier. The companies are seeking a new extension on the deadline to improve the situation by the end of the year, as current measures to reduce the volume of water they use everyday, have been ineffective in the wake of increased industrial production at their facilities.
EPA officials denied that they averted an earlier plan to fine the industrial conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) and over a dozen other enterprises, after President Chen Shui-bian's personal meeting with FPG chairman Wang Yung-ching. Environmentalists are concerned that the handling of the water dispute by the government reflects its attitude and policies concerning environmental protection. The exoneration of companies at the petrochemical complex for failing to abide by the rules will be unfair for other smaller companies that have been fined by the EPA for the same reasons.
Other projects still under scrutiny but which may eventually gain the green light from the government include a new petrochemical complex planned by government and private enterprises, a thermal power plant on the coast of Changhua County, and the Suao-Hualien freeway on the eastern coast of Taiwan.
07-Jul-07 
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