Ministry of Environment Stresses Transparency for Erren River Cleanup Amid Budget Dispute

(CNA, Taipei, May 21, by reporter Tseng Yi-ning) The Ministry of Environment's allocation of a NT$342 million budget for the cleanup of waste in the Erren River, supplemented by another NT$13.98 million for commissioned services, has been criticized by a Kuomintang (KMT) legislator as potential budget padding. Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming stated today that he hopes for public-private cooperation to record the entire process to prevent the toxic legacy from reappearing. The Erren River, located on the border of Kaohsiung and Tainan, was heavily polluted in its early years by illegal scrap metal dismantling and the dumping of large amounts of waste, causing an accumulation of hazardous substances in the riverbed that severely affected the health of nearby residents and the ecosystem. Early this year, the Tainan City Environmental Protection Bureau pointed out that four sites along the Erren River still require cleanup, with three in Tainan City and one in Kaohsiung City. The Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee reviewed the Ministry of Environment's budget proposals for the fiscal year 115 (2026) central government budget today. KMT Legislator Wang Yu-min proposed that while the Ministry of Environment has budgeted NT$342 million for local governments to conduct the actual excavation under the "Erren River Channel Waste Cleanup Second Phase Special Project," it has also budgeted an additional NT$13.98 million for commissioned services to handle tracking, control, public participation, and manpower support. Wang stated that the Environmental Management Agency should fulfill its supervisory duties for tracking the cleanup progress, and the current practice of outsourcing "assistance with tracking" is suspected of being budget padding. In response, Peng Chi-ming told the media that the Erren River pollution is a long-standing problem that must be addressed now. After coordination between central and local authorities, the Ministry of Environment took responsibility. However, because the excavation process could have environmental impacts, public-private cooperation is needed to supervise the construction, hence the allocation of over NT$10 million. Peng pointed out that the waste in the Erren River is electronic waste, a historical wound for Taiwan that resulted in environmental destruction and pollution of the air, land, and rivers. Although it is now covered, printed circuit boards can still emerge after heavy rains. To prevent the past toxic legacy from repeating, he hopes for a full recording of the process to avoid history from repeating itself. Shih Ping-hsin, Chief Secretary of the Ministry's Resource Circulation Administration, said the excavation process will be live-streamed online for public supervision. Wang Yu-min argued that budgets should not be extravagantly allocated or create redundant structures, stating that the ministry cannot give money to local governments and then commission its own supervision and management. Ultimately, no consensus was reached on the case, and it was decided to reserve it for negotiation.