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Water Pollution Control Fees in Taiwan
On July 1, 1998, water pollution control fees will go into effect in Taiwan. The fees will be imposed on households, industries (including livestock farmers), and public sewage treatment facilities based on a draft of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration's (TEPA) wastewater collection fee provision, and the draft of the amendment of partial provisions of water pollution prevention regulations which were reviewed and approved by The Executive Yuan on November 3, 1997.

For households, the fees will be NTD1.2 (USD0.07) per cubed meter for tap water users, and NTD12.9 (USD0.43) per person per month for non-tap water users. In addition, NTD0.4 (USD0.02) will be added per cubed meter of water for construction sites which are equipped with wastewater treatment facilities, and NTD4.3 (USD0.15) per person per month for wastewater which is produced from factory employees. NTD7.63 billion dollars (USD255 million) will be collected per year. It is estimated that 42.1 percent of fee revenues will come from industries, 8.4 percent from livestock farmers, and 49.5 percent from households. The list of wastewater pollution control fees are listed below:

Effective date Tap water users (NTD/m3)Non tap water users (NTD/m3)
July 1, 19982.1 (USD0.07) 12.9 (USD0.43)
July 1, 19992.2 (USD0.07) 13.4 (USD0.45)
July 1, 20002.3 (USD0.08)13.8 (USD0.46)
July 1, 20012.4 (USD0.08) 14.3 (USD0.48)
July 1, 20022.4 (USD0.08)14.8 (USD0.49)
NTD/USD exchange rate: 30:1

For industries, environmental authorities will base discharge fees on indicators of chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), or heavy metal content. Industries will need to pay NTD790 (USD26.34) for every 50kg of cod, or for every 1,000 kg of ss, or for every unit of heavy metal (depending on the characteristics of the heavy metal in question).

The fees will primarily be used for building sewerage systems on the island in the following ways:
  • increase the sewage hook-up rate from 3.8 percent to 40 percent of the population by 2009; and,
  • achieve a 25 percent reduction of river pollution, and improve the quality of drinking water sources by year of 2009.

    TEPA expects that the fees on industries and the biggest pollution source -- households -- will be imposed beginning on July 1, 1998. However, households are not included in the current regulations. Therefore, TEPA intends to submit an amendment to The Legislative Yuan for approval by July 1998. Otherwise, the fees will only be collected from industries.

    One of the more significant water treatment projects is a USD40 million water treatment plant expansion for the greater Kaohsiung area which is now under planning. Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) is another alternative which tepa is aggressively reviewing at present. TEPA anticipates over USD200 million will be spent in improving water and wastewater treatment in the near future.

    The American Institute in Taiwan, a private non-profit corporation was established to carry out relations between the people of the united states and the people on taiwan. AIT's Commercial Section is charged with the mission of helping U.S. firms export their goods and services to taiwan. To accomplish this mission we conduct a number of services on behalf of the U.S. department of commerce. AIT's Commercial Section offers a variety of resources and services (including market research, agent/distributor searches, trade missions and trade shows, advocacy) to assist U.S. companies entering the Taiwan market. AIT Commercial Section can be contacted at TEL: 886-2-2720-1550, fax: 886-2-2757-7162. AIT Commercial Section is also on the world wide web at the following address: www.ait.org.tw. If this report has alerted you to a commercial opportunity in taiwan and you subsequently pursue it with successful results, please let us know. We track U.S. successes and want to know how our market reports and services are being used.

    For further information, please contact:
    Jennifer Huang
    United States-Asia Environmental Partnership
    American Institute in Taiwan Commercial Section
    Taipei, Taiwan
    Tel: (886-2) 720-1550
    Fax: (886-2) 757-7086
    Email: JHuang3@doc.gov

    Mr. TY Yeh
    Researcher
    Bureau of Water Quality Protection
    Environmental Protection Administration
    Tel: (886-2) 311-7722 # 2809
    Fax: (886-2) 389-9860
    Email: tyyeh@sun.epa.gov.tw

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