In order to effectively reduce air pollution caused by construction projects, the Environmental Protection Administration amended the “Management Regulations for Construction Project Air Pollution Control Facilities” (the “Regulations”) on October 18, 2021. Several provisions were added in response to the issue. The amended Regulations will become effective on November 11, 2022. The key amendments are as follows:

1. Improve the efficiency of pollution prevention:

(1) Decrease the threshold of scale to be qualified as Type 1 construction projects to meet regulation needs.(2) Increase the height requirement for the construction fences on Level 3 control area. Increase the ratio of area that require control facilities in vehicle routes and exposed areas. Require temporary preventative measures for areas not covered by control facilities.(3) Considering that drought conditions brought by climate changes have made the provisions not enforceable in certain areas or during certain periods, exceptions are provided in reference to the directions governing water service stops and restrictions. (Articles 4, and 6 to 9 of the amended Regulations)

2. Increase requirements on the cleanliness of the construction environment

(1) Add the requirement that no pavement color difference may exist for vehicle entrances and exits and road extensions.(2) When conducting regional development and irrigation projects, automatic carwash facilities should be installed at construction vehicle entrances and exits.(3) To prevent secondary pollution from sludge fallen off from construction vehicles onto the ground, construction vehicles should include the function or facility to prevent dirty water or sludge from falling onto the ground. (Article 10 of the amended Regulations)

3. Suppress fugitive escape of dusts: Expressly provide that, before conducting operations which might generate fugitive     dust emission, measures should be taken to effectively suppress fugitive escape of dusts, including spraying water to     keep the ground damp, or installing landfill gas collection systems or pressurized water spraying systems. (Articles 16 &    17 of the amended Regulations)

4. Implement air pollution prevention: In reference of foreign laws, the amendment requires that construction projects over a certain size shall install monitoring meters and video recording monitoring systems for air pollution prevention facilities, and the video recordings and information shall be retained for one month for possible audits. If monitoring facilities cannot be installed, an alternative shall be provided. (Article 18 of the amended Regulations)