Suhua Highway Improvement Project Passes EIA: The Problems Are Just Beginning

Suhua Highway Improvement Project Passes EIA:
The Problems Are Just Beginning
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 3, 2010

The EPA recently convened a meeting of experts on the Su-Hua Highway Improvement Plan (henceforth referred to as the Suhua Improvement). Nearly ten thousand residents from Hualien and Taitung traveled to Taipei to protest. Under pressure a resolution was "conditionally passed." The EPA promised to convene a meeting in three to five days. Chances of passage are high. Construction may begin by the end of the year.

Advocates began promoting the Suhua Improvement in November 2009. The environmental impact statement was submitted to the EPA for EIA review toward the end of September. The first meeting of the Suhua Improvement ad hoc group was held on October 18. EIA members had already raised concerns about road safety and the quality of highway maintenance. They even held a second ad hoc group meeting on the very same day. They set a record for the swiftest passage of an EIA in history.

There is nothing wrong with responding to public demands. But the Suhua Improvement is 38.4 km long. It includes 23.8 km of tunnels and 8.6 km of bridges. Eight tunnels make up 62% of the total length. The longest tunnel is 7.9 km. The shortest is 0.3 km. The Suhua Improvement crosses 11 faultlines and 17 fracture zones. The project involves a high degree of difficulty. The slightest mistake is likely to lead to the same problems encountered during the excavation of the Hsuehshan Tunnel. Therefore representatives of environmental groups do not oppose the construction of the Suhua Improvement. But they are concerned that the improvements may be incomplete. The EPA plans to convene an EIA within three to five days. Can it really gather all the relevant information in such a short time? One wonders. We must point out that the concerns of environmental groups are not unfounded. No matter how urgent the Suhua Improvement might be, the required procedure must be observed. Haste makes waste. Especially since the region is geologically unstable. This makes caution even more essential.

Yesterday the Supreme Administrative Court revoked the EIA for the Taichung Science Park. One of the reasons it cited for the revocation was that the public must not be deprived of its right to participate during the EIA. Therefore the EIA will undergo a second phase review, during which the public will be allowed to participate more fully. If the wishes of the Supreme Administrative Court are honored, will passage of the first stage lead to a reiteration of the Hsuehshan Tunnel fiasco? This is something the EPA must consider.

Even assuming the Suhua Improvement begins smoothly at the end of the year, the construction period will last five to six years. During this period, how will residents of Hualien reach the outside world? That too will test the wisdom of the transportion sector.

The recent Su-Hua Highway landslide caused traffic considerable inconvenience. The government should be consider other transportation systems in its effort to improve access to the Hualien and Taitung region. It should not focus on the Suhua Improvement alone. It must develop a variety of transportation systems, including highway, rail, maritime, and air transportion. When highways once again experience landslides, rail or maritime transport will provide emergency alternatives. The government must avoid focusing exclusively on the construction of any particular transportion system. This will help reduce the overhead cost of ensuring traffic safety.

Highway accidents on Taiwan kill 3600 people each year. But few die from railway accidents. Railways are clearly much safer than highways. Therefore, besides improving the safety of the Suhua Highway, the most important issue is how to increase railway transportation capacity. For example, the purchase of Taroko railway cars increased the number of runs to Hualien and Taitung. This quickly resolved the long term problem of inconvenient access to eastern Taiwan. We may even wish to consider developing railway freight operations to the region.

In the past, Hualien/Taitung Railway System Improvement Projects were the responsibilty of the Taiwan Railways Administration. The TRA is an isolated operating unit. It must be self-financing. Under such constraints, improvements to the Hualien Railway can be made only as part of routine operations. The transportion of locally grown fruits and vegetables to the north is impossible due to the lack of refrigerator cars. Therefore, we propose that the government approach the problem at the national level. It should make the Ministry of Transportation directly responsible for the system. The RDEC should be made responsible for supervision and evaluation. Only then can it effectively promote the Hualien/Taitung Railway System, maritime transportation, and a wide variety of transportation systems.

Once construction begins on the Shuhua Improvement, completion will take at least five or six years. During the interim the railway system will be out of operation. Hualien will find it difficult to connect with the outside world. The government agencies responsible will need to prepare for the worst. Now that the Suhua Improvement has passed EIA, its problems are just beginning.

蘇花改過了環評 陷入交通黑暗期
2010-11-03 中國時報

環保署日前召開「蘇花公路改善計畫（簡稱蘇花改）」專家小組環評會議，在近萬名花東鄉親北上包圍的壓力下，決議「有條件通過」。環保署預計三至五天內召開大會，預料過關機會極大，年底便可正式動工。

「蘇花改」從二○○九年十一月開始推動，環境影響說明書在今年九月底，送進環保署環評審查程序，並在十月十八日召開「蘇花改」第一次專案小組會議，當時環評委員就已經提出用路安全、公路品質維護等多項意見，並在一日進行第二次專案小組會議，可望創下重大開發案環評最快闖關的歷史紀錄。

回應民意的要求固然無可厚非，但蘇花改工程全長三十八點四公里，涉及隧道二十三點八公里，橋樑長達八點六公里，八座隧道占總長六二％，最長的七．九公里，最短的○．三公里，經過十一條斷層和十七個環境破碎帶，其工程困難度相當高，稍一不慎，就有可能重蹈開發雪山隧道開挖時所遭遇到的困難。因此，針對專案小組的決議，環保團體代表就認為，他們並不反對蘇花改的興建，只擔心改善不完全，環保署計畫三到五天內要召開環評會議，這麼短的時間內能否補齊所有相關資料，讓人疑慮。我們要指出的是，環保團體的擔憂並非無的放矢，即使蘇花改再怎麼急迫，相關的程序仍不可忽略，有時候可能還會「吃緊弄破碗」，尤其該地區位處地質敏感區，更是應該小心。

此外，根據最高行政法院日前撤銷中科環評的理由之一就是，最高行政法院認為一個重大開發計畫，不應剝奪環評中民眾參與的權利，應該進行第二階段環評，讓民眾意見有更完整參與。換句話說，如果依照最高行政法院判決意旨，此次開發案在第一階段就通過，是否會重蹈中科遭最高行政法院撤銷之路，也是環保署應該面對及妥為因應的課題。

值得注意的是，即使蘇花改在年底順利動工，其施工期長達五、六年，在這段期間，如何解決花蓮人對外聯絡交通的問題，也考驗交通部門的智慧。

從這次蘇花公路坍方的確造成花東交通的不便經驗，政府其實更該關注交通的多元系統，以改善花東交通問題，而非只有一個蘇花改。簡單的說，就是要發展公路、鐵路、海運與空運的多元系統，當公路在某時間坍方時，鐵路或海運等交通運輸就可交互運用應急，不僅可避免太過關注於某項交通建設的投資，也能降低為維持交通安全所付出的成本。

就安全而言，台灣一年在道路交通事故上死了三千六百多人，但鐵路意外死亡的人卻相當少，鐵路顯然比公路安全許多。因此除了改善蘇花公路的安全外，最重要的課題是如何增加鐵路運能；例如增購太魯閣號火車車廂、增加到花東的班次，快速且逐步解決長期以來花東地區對外交通不便的問題，甚至發展火車貨運業務都是要考量的。

過去，花東鐵路改善都是由台鐵公司負責，而台鐵公司是一個事業單位，必須自負盈虧，在這樣的限制條件下，改善花蓮鐵路也就只能當做一般事務來進行，甚至花蓮當地的新鮮蔬果食品要運送到北部，也因台鐵缺乏冷凍貨廂而無法成行。因此我們主張，政府應該提昇至國家層級，直接由交通部負責，行政院研考會負責管考，這樣才有可能快速推動花東鐵路、海運的交通運輸等相關工作，建立多元交通系統。

由於蘇花改動工後，至少五、六年後才能完工，而短時間內鐵路也還無法立即配合，花蓮對外交通狀況將會面臨嚴峻的挑戰，相關單位要先做好最壞的心理準備，過了蘇花改環評，問題才剛開始。