Taipei Times
Date: Apr 07, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has approved an environmental impact assessment for a project to build a third runway at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

An EPA committee meeting on March 25 approved the assessment after the airport’s operator, Taoyuan International Airport Corp, promised to bolster disaster prevention and control measures, and hold one aircraft rescue or firefighting drill every year, as the planned runway is close to an oil storage facility operated by CPC Corp, Taiwan.

The airport company also promised to conserve more than 1,000 trees in the project area by transplanting them to a different location when construction starts and returning them to the site later.

However, several environmental protection groups issued a joint statement saying that the committee passed the project without conducting a thorough assessment of risks posed by the oil depot or relocation fees for land expropriation.    [FULL  STORY]