Illegal dumping of waste soil onto farmland: Farmers speak out in tears, saying the environment is no longer friendly

Cases of illegal dumping of waste soil are nothing new, and farmland is very often the victim. Recently, near a rice-producing area in Hsinchu County that practices friendly farming, another case emerged of a contractor illegally dumping construction waste soil. The nearly person-height mound of soil was mixed not only with all kinds of discarded building materials but even with red imported fire ant mounds, prompting neighboring farmers to complain that the good farmland landscape had been destroyed and that their crops were suffering from introduced pests and diseases, putting agricultural production at serious risk.

The farmers therefore called on prosecutors and police to intervene and investigate, saying that in addition to the existing fines of tens of thousands of yuan, illegal operators should be heavily penalized if rural areas are to be truly protected.

Friendly farmers speak out in pain: dumping of waste soil on farmland affects agricultural production

Regarding the dumping of waste soil on the fields, farmer Kuo Hsin pointed out that the site is on Zhongxing Road in Zhudong Township, surrounded by the main fields of a coarse grains production and marketing group. For many years they have produced championship rice and sweet potatoes, and because they promote a friendly farming environment, the fields have long been open to the public to visit and learn about friendly farming methods, once drawing as many as 8,000 visitors in a single day. It is an important base for promoting agricultural land use.

But since last year, gravel trucks from elsewhere have continuously dumped surplus construction soil on an adjacent 3-fen field, and the waste soil has now grown as tall as a person, greatly affecting residents' safety and nearby agricultural production.

Hsinchu County Agriculture Department: It is indeed illegal

Hsinchu County Councilor Chou Chiang-chieh, who had received the complaint, also pointed out that the case highlights a legal loophole: the flow of surplus construction soil cannot be tracked. Waste soil across Taiwan should all be sent to local soil resource sites for processing, but because processing capacity is insufficient and there is no reasonable oversight mechanism, illegal dumping keeps happening. Illegal dumping cannot be handled and causes serious harm to farmland. In this case, investigation showed that the landowner had not filed any legal land-leveling application, so it clearly falls within the illegal category, yet the landowner can only be fined 60,000 to 300,000 yuan under the Regional Plan Act. The penalty is too low, and violators feel nothing at all.

Regarding the progress of handling the case, the Hsinchu County Agriculture Department stated that after receiving the complaint it had sent staff to inspect the site. Because the landowner had not applied according to law for farmland conversion or other farmhouse construction, dumping soil and rocks illegally is not permitted under law, so it will issue a fine to the landowner together with the Land Administration Department, hoping to curb similar incidents from happening again.

Engineering contractor: Absolutely legal. Farmers: We hope prosecutors and police will intervene and investigate

Facing the farmers' anger, the official surnamed Guan in charge of the farmland leveling project stressed that an application had been made for "drainage ditch improvement works," because the ditch at the site had been out of repair for years and had been blocked for quite a while, so the landowner began repairs, and therefore it is absolutely legal.

However, with both the county government and the councilor confirming it, the case is determined to be illegal, yet waste soil is still continuously delivered to the field. Affected nearby farmers stressed that they hope prosecutors and police will intervene and investigate, so that the works stop immediately, relevant persons are prosecuted and penalties are increased. Otherwise, once heavy rain comes, the waste soil will wash around and cause an indelible impact on all surrounding farmland. At the same time, residents also said they are very afraid of retaliation, but from the standpoint of protecting rural areas they must speak out.