Guanyin Sewage Treatment Plant accused of covering up illegal discharges, searched and investigated by prosecutors
The Guanyin Industrial Zone wastewater treatment plant in Taoyuan and its contracted operator are suspected of long-term falsification of wastewater testing data, shielding factories in the zone that illegally discharge industrial wastewater. The Taipei City Investigation Office of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau yesterday dispatched fifty investigators to search the Guanyin Industrial Zone wastewater treatment plant and related businesses, and summoned Chen Keng-an, the person in charge of Shanghua Company, and twenty others for questioning; after interrogation they will be transferred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for investigation.
Shanghua Company is responsible for managing the Guanyin wastewater plant and controlling factory wastewater
In 2012, the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs commissioned Shanghua Environmental Engineering Company to handle the operation and management of the Guanyin Industrial Zone wastewater treatment plant. The Taoyuan County Environmental Protection Bureau also commissioned Shanghua to handle water pollution prevention and verification at the wastewater treatment plant.
Under the "Water Pollution Control Act" and the contract specifications, Shanghua Company must test whether the wastewater discharged by factories in the Guanyin Industrial Zone meets the standards for water temperature and water quality before it enters the sewer system. This part of the regulations is based on the "Guanyin Industrial Zone Wastewater Discharged into Wastewater Treatment Plant Limit Table"; water temperature must be below 45 degrees Celsius, water quality chemical oxygen demand (COD) must be below 700mg/l, suspended solids (SS) must be below 600mg/l, and hydrogen ion concentration (pH) must be between 5-9.
The Investigation Bureau stated that if wastewater from factories in the industrial zone is diverted, overflows, or if water quality does not meet the regulations, Shanghua Company has the right and obligation to report to the competent authority, requiring the factory to stop discharge and improve within a specified period.
Shanghua suspected of taking bribes and covering up factories with false data
