Environmental Evaluation Should be Done Previously for All Development Projects

An environmental evaluation in the project planning stage will soon become a mandatory procedure for government projects and public infrastructure businesses of any scale, which includes the development of industrial complexes or residential areas and the construction of roads, harbors, and airports.

Starting next winter, landlords are responsible for shoveling away the snow from the sidewalk or roads in front of their buildings or houses.

If a natural disaster happens, a certain amount of expenses will be paid for people on the spot for prompt facility rehabilitation, and people will pay back the expenses later.

The National Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that because of the environmental countermeasure law passed in the National Assembly late last year, it is planning to complete related ordinances by June and put them into effect starting in July.

The evaluation had targeted development projects of more than 300,000 square meters of all 24 kinds of development businesses, including residential areas, industrial complexes, tour attractions, gravesites, golf courses, and reservoirs, but now projects of any scale are included. It will also evaluate projects of public infrastructure such as railways, roads, barbers, and airports, and facilities such as dams, reservoirs, river improvements, and mountain developments that can be easily exposed to natural disasters.

The law also stipulates that landowners are responsible for the snow on their sidewalks, nearby roads, pedestrian roads and backyard. The responsibility of shoveling away snow, once considered a moral issue, has now turned into a legal matter.

“The U.S. fines a person 25-500 dollars for not shoveling snow in front of one’s own house. Local government bodies could come up with similar penalty regulations,” said a concerned person with the National Emergency Management Agency.

Jong-Dae Ha orionha@donga.com