In the current year (2023), this project aims to align with the national 2050 Net Zero Transformation Strategy while simultaneously supporting the second-phase Air Pollution Control Plan. It is designed to formulate an integrated strategy for the management of stationary sources, with the goal of reducing pollution and carbon emissions in a coordinated manner. The focus will be on five major work items,including "Regional Autonomous Emission Reduction and Precise VOCs Control," "Management of Stationary Pollution Source Permits," "Periodic Monitoring and Control," "Promotion of Permit Systems and Personnel Management," and "System Support.
Considering the increased cost of improving traditional total emissions,pollution reduction needs to be supported by scientific research. The transformation calls for precise reduction strategies focusing on key precursor species, regional emissions management, and health risk assessment. Therefore, this project utilizes Taiwan Emission Data System (TEDS) emission inventory data in conjunction with Source Classification Codes (SCCs) and Maximum Increment Reactivity (MIR) data to analyze precise reduction strategies for high Ozone Formation Potential (OFP)
precursors. It aims to identify key precursor species and pollution sources for ozone (O3) generation. The project recommends prioritizing efforts for emission reduction in the top 5 key industries related to critical species, including plastic product manufacturing, chemical raw material manufacturing, and plastic raw material manufacturing. These efforts involve initiating negotiations for voluntary emission reduction and developing regulatory measures, such as emission standards.Additionally, the project analyzes the main reduction regions and targets during the peak O3 season to identify key areas that should be prioritized for control.
The permit management system has planned a two-stage review schedule. The first stage was completed in the fiscal year (2019), in alignment with the key amendments to the Air Pollution Control Act, resulting in the revision and issuance of the Permit anagement Regulations. In the current year (2023), the second stage of the review has been initiated. The primary focus of this stage is on simplifying government procedures, enhancing preventive management, and connecting with innovative systems. As part of this effort, the system is formulating principles for applying for and reviewing emission offset quotas for stationary sources. These
principles will serve as the basis for execution by both public and private entities and regulatory authorities. Additionally, it involves consolidating hazardous air pollutants with high Ozone Formation Potential (OFP) and high carcinogenicity,drawing inspiration from the permit management system in South Coast Air Quality Management District, USA. This project aims to prioritize the inclusion of three hazardous air pollutant species in the permit approval control to reduce the overall administrative procedures and economic impact. Furthermore, concerning the proposed amendments, there is a reinforcement of the connection with regular testing management systems, the integration of permit operations, the addition of new categories for permit management subjects, and the specification of qualifications for reviewers. In the permit announcement conditions section, in
addition to allowing entities in the third category to convert 1,782 permits into the third category for simplified applications, the ninth batch of announcement conditions has also been introduced. This includes the requirement that public and private entities with stationary sources, such as organic solvent usage exceeding 5 metric tons annually, a certain scale of steam evaporation from factory boilers, and the use of level two and level three resource recycling fuels, should apply for permits. It is estimated that 195 process permits will be added for organic solvent processing procedures, and 195 public and private entities will need permits for the usage of factory boilers.
The regular testing management system was amended and published on June 6, 2022. It focuses on the self-conducted or commissioned testing and reporting procedures for stationary sources, aiming to enhance representativeness in testing, reduce unnecessary testing, simplify government procedures, and address execution issues. The primary objectives of this review are to effectively manage regular testing for stationary sources, leading to the establishment of a two-tiered testing control regulation with varying levels of stringency.However, in response to the review of air pollutant emission standards for specific industries such as semiconductors, adhesive products, and synthetic leather manufacturing, in 2023,there is a concurrent review and amendment of the regular testing requirements for stationary sources. Additionally, educational and training materials and operation frequently asked questions have been compiled to align with the contents of the amended application and reporting management procedures, which will be used for advocacy and training by local regulatory authorities. Furthermore, it is worth
noting that 60% of the targeted stationary sources in each county and city have already completed their testing plan applications and obtained approvals.
To ensure the effective implementation and promotion of various fixed pollution source control regulations, this project continues to track the qualifications and turnover of permit review personnel for stationary sources. It was found that the turnover rate for review personnel is approximately 24.6%, with a concentration among those with 3 to 6 years of experience. A comparison with the on-site inspection results for permit compliance in 2023 revealed that in some counties and cities, issues related to the interpretation of regulatory standards, such as the approval of emission standards or facility compliance, were more common
due to the relatively limited experience of the review personnel. Additionally, other issues included issues identified during inspections conducted by regulatory authorities, such as falling debris, and discrepancies in recording activities in accordance with the approved permit records by public and private entities. As a result, this project not only incorporates common deficiencies into specialized training materials but also adopts a different approach from previous training meetings. It utilizes designated personnel for training, providing training for both experienced and less experienced personnel. This is achieved through four training sessions that include educational training for review personnel and group practical exercises, facilitating the transfer of tacit knowledge into specialized knowledge.
In response to revisions and adjustments to various control regulations for stationary sources, this plan adds and expands the functions of the stationary pollution source management information system, including coordinating the integration of air, water, waste, and poison licenses, adding visa confirmation for technicians performing water business, and querying technician penalties. Information, synchronize Environmental Management System (EMS) codes and provide review fee trial calculation functions; cooperate with the inspection plan system to provide license information, permissions and other interfaces and
reporting warning functions, in addition, strengthen the fixed source system login confirmation verification, account and password information security management mechanism and additional factory repairs Address location verification function,
and at the same time developing a stationary pollution source mission detection and reporting operation platform; in addition, in the data quality improvement project, a total of 18,524 factories are listed and managed, and more than 7,000 licensed public and private sites are managed. In order to maintain the system and data quality, This year, we continued to implement data verification operations. By the end of October, 9 verifications had been carried out, and the average data compliance rate was 94.8%.
