The execution period of this project started from May 12, 2009 to November 11, 2010. The main contents of work in this project include: (1) analyzing the legal issues presented by the environmental agencies and providing legal opinions concerning thereto, so as to clarify complicate legal ambiguities and discrepancies. Totally 30 legal issues were handled, and 9 legal opinions were provided. (2) representing EPA or local government agencies in relevant legal disputes, which include 2 administrative appeals and 4 litigation cases. All these cases have satisfactory results. (3) drafting 3 planning reports, as per EPA’s instructions, on the recovery plans for remediation costs incurred in various contaminated sites, in order to promote and facilitate the enforcement of the Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Act. (4) Furthermore, the project has assisted EPA in completing the amendment of “Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Act”, which was promulgated by the President on February 3, 2010, and in drafting “the Directions for Managing Recovery Claim Cases for the costs prepaid by the Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Fund”, which was issued by EPA on March 8, 2010 and took effect since April 1, 2010. (5) As for the issues of Brownfield Reutilization and PRPs (Potential Responsible Parties) Search, the executive team has researched on the laws and regulations of England, U.S.A. and Japan, made a comparative study between our law and the afore- mentioned, and finally provided substantial advices on our legal system in establishing similar mechanism in the future. As to the issue of remediated field/ Brownfield Reutilization, the team has suggested that EPA should first adopt a proper definition on Brownfield suitable for our present situation, then make a comprehensive survey on the present situation of Brownfield in Taiwan, and finally clarify the issue on competent authorities. As to the issue of PRP Search, the team has suggested that EPA should establish a standard operating procedure, which shall be integrated into the existing resources, so that the environmental officers may have easier access to them. In the future, the Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Act should be further amended, in order to complete the stipulations on authorization of PRP search work. (6) Besides, the team, in matching with the work requirements of EPA, has introduced, translated and analyzed various foreign laws and court judgments concerning remediation of soil and groundwater pollution, so as to provide reference for our legal practice and law amendment. With regard to the court judgments, the team has focused on the issue of state compensation. (7) As to the domestic practice aspects, the team has sorted out 44 administrative interpretation letters issued by EPA in past years concerning the Soil and Groundwater Pollution Remediation Act, analyzed some of those worthy of reference,and has collected and analyzed 15 pertinent court precedents, so as to describe more complete outlines on the practice operation. (8) In addition, the team has also arranged a two days legal education conference for the personnel in environmental agencies, so that the environmental officers may get a better understanding of the amendment of the Act and solve the encountered problems in the enforcement of the Act.
