Sanyi Bypass called into question – Case returned for further review

On the afternoon of April 16, hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the Environmental Protection Agency to protest over the Sanyi Bypass development project, which they say will hasten the extinction of Taiwan’s leopard cats. Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) said that the narrowest sections of Provincial Highway No. 13 were only 10 meters wide and that the new bypass would alleviate holiday traffic congestion. The EPA asked that a replacement proposal be considered and returned the case for further review. 

In 2002, the Directorate General of Highways (MOTC) proposed ‘Sanyi Provincial Highway No. 13 Bypass,’ and in the following year received conditional EPA approval; the start of construction work, however, was postponed for years. According to Article 16-1 of EPA law: “Developments must provide an EPA analysis of the current situation and safety countermeasures three years prior to the commencement of work.” 

At the first environmental assessment meeting convened in 2011, EPA board member Pei-Fen Lee (李培芬) pointed out that according to a report at NPUST’s Wildlife Conservation Research Institute by Professor Kurtis Pei (裴家騏), the Sanyi Bypass would slice through the habitat of leopard cats. However, as there was no mention of this information at the environmental impact assessment meeting, she asked that the proposal be reinvestigated - this was the first time that Sanyi Bypass took notice of the leopard cat issue.

EPA board member Hsueh-Wen Chang (張學文) pointed out that in a 10-year study of leopard cats by electoral candidate Chen Mei-ting (陳美汀) Ph.D., from NPUST’s Wildlife Conservation Research Institute, of thirteen cameras placed in areas around Miaoli, seven had recorded traces of leopard cats, and six of those were located in Sanyi. 

According to officials responsible for the proposed development project, 60% of the Sanyi Bypass is composed of either elevated sections or tunnels, and incorporates culverts as well as embankments. They hope that the design will coax leopard cats to follow embankments and find culverts, thereby safely crossing the road and avoiding a sorry fate beneath the wheels of oncoming traffic. Opponents of the project, however, believe that such thinking is a baseless fallacy, similar to the statement "White dolphin’s will turn,” by Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) regarding a Kuokuang Petrochemical development project.

Miaoli Biological Society chairman Hung Wei-feng (洪維鋒) indicated that officials from the development project cited precipitation data from 2002, with maximum daily rainfall of 114mm. However, as a result of climate change, Typhoon Morakot saw 290mm fall in a single day, and in 2012, Typhoon Saola dumped 390mm of rainfall in a single day. The proposed Sanyi Bypass route will cut through HuoYen Mountain, loosening the soil structure, and raising the possibility of landslides following erosion by heavy rainfall.  
Sanyi residents have similar misgivings about the project. They indicated that with the area’s low-lying topography, Sanyi roads are already liable to flooding and small-scale landslides. Should the Sanyi Bypass go ahead, landslides are bound to become more serious. 

Taiwanese legislative member Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) indicated that should the Sanyi Bypass circumvent Mudiao Road, tourists entering Sanyi will force their way in from the main road, and that the project will have little effect on traffic congestion. Due to huge doubts regarding the necessity or feasibility of the Sanyi Bypass, the project should be returned to EIA specialists for further review.

Sanyi Bypass called into question – Case returned for further review
URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/238775

(以下為中文對照)

三義外環道必要性受質疑 全案退回再審

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4月16日下午，環保署前聚集逾百名公民，抗議三義外環道開發會加速台灣原生種石虎滅絕。苗栗縣長劉政鴻則表示，台13線三義路段最窄只有十米寬，新闢三義外環道能紓解假日壅塞人潮。環評大會則要求開發單位考量替代方案，全案退回專案小組再審。

公路總局於2002年提出「台13線三義外環道新闢工程案」，並於隔年有條件通過環評。但公路總局延宕多年未施工。依照《環評法》第16-1條：「開發單位逾三年始實施開發行為時，應提出環境現況差異分析及對策檢討報告」。2011年召開初次環差審查會議，環委李培芬指出，根據屏科大野生動物保育研究所教授裴家騏研究報告，三義外環道位經石虎棲息地，但環差生態調查內容卻隻字未提，她要求重新調查。這也是三義外環道開發案首次注意到石虎議題。

環委張學文指出，研究石虎十年的屏科大野生動物保育研究所博士候選人陳美汀，在苗栗放置13台自動照相機，其中7台照到石虎蹤影，有6台都位於三義。證明三義確為石虎重要棲息地。

按照開發單位規劃，6成的三義外環道將以高架、隧道方式建造，並設置箱涵、路堤設置阻隔設施，希望石虎能沿著這條廊道「過馬路」，避免被來往車輛撞死傷。這樣的思維無異於國光石化開發案，副總統吳敦義曾說：「白海豚會轉彎」般毫無根據的謬論。

苗栗縣環境監督聯盟召集人洪維鋒則指出，開發單位在環差書中，引用的降雨量是2002年的資料，單日降雨量最多僅114mm，但近年氣候變遷影響，八八風災單日就達到290mm，2012年8月的蘇拉颱風更高達390mm。三義外環道途經火炎山，該處土質鬆動，大雨一沖刷可能造成嚴重土石流。

三義居民葉旗豪也有同樣疑慮。他指出，三義是低窪地形，每逢豪雨，三義路段就會淹水，甚至小型土石流。外環道一開挖，土石流情形只會更嚴重。

立委田秋堇則指出，三義外環道繞過三義木雕街，屆時用路人根本不會是想進來三義玩的遊客。而遊客還是會擠進大街，對於壅塞情形無助益。

由於在場環委皆對三義外環道必要性與可行性存疑，全案決議退回審查小組，擇期再審。