Facility Siting in the Asia-Pacific: Perspectives on Knowledge Production and Application

12. Compensation in Siting Hazardous Facilities: A Radioactive Waste Repository in Taiwan

12 Compensation in Siting Hazardous Facilities: A Radioactive Waste Repository in Taiwan Daigee Shaw and Te-hsiu Huang INTRODUCTION This paper examines a case where the state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) attempted to locate a low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) repository in Wu-chiu, a remote island off the coast of Mainland China and under the control of the Taiwan government . The case of Wu-chiu is unique in two respects when it comes to the NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon . First, it involves a unique siting process with a generous amount of compensation . Since siting locally unwanted facilities is always a difficult job for governments and developers because of the ubiquitous NIMBY phenomenon, the first solution that comes to our minds is usually compensation . In 1995, after a long period of unsuccessful attempts to site an LLRW repository in Taiwan using the traditional hierarchical approach, Taipower turned to a voluntary siting process with compensation, inviting local townships to voluntarily be candidates in providing sites for the repository to be built . Those townships that voluntarily became candidate sites, once selected, could have been rewarded with various kinds of compensation, depending on the stage of the process involved . Table 1 provides the details of the compensation scheme in relation to the voluntary siting process . In 1996, nine townships entered the first stage and five were deemed to be qualified; however, they all withdrew their applications in 1997 because of the heavy social pressure that resulted from the news media’s in-depth coverage of the planned repository . Consequently , Taipower revised its voluntary siting process by adding an expert screening and selection process to the voluntary siting process with its emphasis on the compensation scheme of the voluntary siting process . Then it chose Wu-chiu to be the candidate site .1 1 Wu-chiu was one of the five voluntary and qualified candidate communities in 1996. Facility_final2207.indd 243 22/07/2011 5:33 PM 244 | Facility Siting in the Asia-Pacific Table 1. The Compensation Scheme of the Voluntary Siting Process Phase Compensation Condition First phase NT$1 million After signing an agreement with Taipower for further survey and assessment, each township with voluntary but unqualified sites is entitled to compensation of NT$1 million . Second phase NT$50 million After signing an agreement with Taipower for further survey and assessment, each township with voluntary and qualified candidate sites is entitled to compensation of NT$50 million . Third phase NT$100 million Among the candidate sites, Taipower will select some to conduct geological surveys and environmental assessments . For these selected sites, Taipower will offer compensation of NT$100 million . Fourth phase NT$3,000 million Among the assessed sites, Taipower will select one site to construct and operate the repository . Compensation of NT$3,000 million in total will be offered to the local governments surrounding the site . Second, Wu-chiu’s location and social structure is special . It is an isolated island village located between Kinmen and Matsu just off the coast of Mainland China but under the control of the Taiwan government (Figure 1) . Before 1949, this small island was a place where fishermen could stay temporarily during the fishing season and there were no permanent residents on the island . However, some fishermen from nearby Mainland fishing villages and their families moved to and stayed on Wu-chiu after 1949 when the Communist Chinese government took control of the Mainland, and the Nationalist Chinese government retreated to Taiwan and kept Wu-chiu, as well as Kinmen and Matsu, two bigger islands along the coast of the Mainland, under its control . Since then, in ways similar to other places following the war, Wu-chiu first experienced a period of population growth . However, in recent years, apart from the army that is stationed there, its population has declined to 30 residents who provide various services for the army because most of the residents have moved to and have remained in Taiwan . Most of them, however, are still registered as residents of Wu-chiu Township because they have strong ties there . There are in total 95 households . Facility_final2207.indd 244 22/07/2011 5:33 PM Compensation in Siting Hazardous Facilities | 245 The purpose of this chapter is to examine the residents’ perception of and attitudes toward compensation for siting NIMBY facilities using the results of a population-wide survey of the residents registered in Wu-chiu Township...