[위클리 리포트] Government to Promote Construction of Multipurpose Dam for the First Time in 14 Years
Government: “Extreme Rainfall and Drought Increase… Urgent Need to Build Dams to Respond to Climate Crisis”
Up to 10 candidate sites within the year… Yanggu-Hwasun, etc. “Accelerating regional extinction”
Yeoncheon and Gangjin, which suffered flood damage, are welcomed… Cheongyang-gun, opinions are divided within the region
Experts: “Local residents’ consent is key… Efforts such as revision of damage compensation law are needed”
The briefing session for residents of Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do on the construction of the Jicheon Dam on the 27th of last month was literally a mess. Some residents occupied the podium of the briefing session and shouted, “Oppose the dam construction.” An official from the Ministry of Environment could not even say a word. In the end, the briefing session was canceled after about 30 minutes.
Jicheon Dam is a multipurpose dam with a storage capacity of 59 million tons that the government is planning to build in Jicheon, a Geumgang River area. The Ministry of Environment decided to promote the construction of new dams in 14 places nationwide, including Jicheon Dam, in July of this year. At the time, Minister of Environment Kim Wan-seop emphasized the need to promote dam construction, saying, “It is urgent to secure additional water containers to respond to climate crises such as extreme heavy rain and the worst drought, and to handle new water demand due to national strategic industries.” It has been 14 years since the construction of a multipurpose dam was promoted.
However, five sites, including the Suipcheon Dam in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do and the Danyangcheon Dam in Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, are experiencing difficulties as they cannot even set a schedule for explanatory sessions due to opposition from residents. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Environment plans to begin full-scale promotion of up to 10 dam candidate sites within this year. Since there are quite a few places that are in favor of dam construction or have requested dam construction, they plan to speed things up by focusing on those areas. We looked into the inside story of each region surrounding dam construction.
● “The foundation of life is disappearing” vs. “We must prevent flood damage”
Gangwon Yanggu County is a region where public opinion is strongly against dam construction. Among the 14 dams announced this time, the Suipcheon Dam, with a storage capacity of 100 million tons, is being promoted here. On the 9th, residents held a ‘Suipcheon Dam Construction Opposition Rally’ with 2,000 participants and called for the dam construction to be scrapped. Yanggu County Mayor Seo Heung-won claimed on the day, “Dam construction is a criminal act that destroys clean nature, accelerates the disappearance of Yanggu County, and fundamentally threatens the lives of the county residents.” Yanggu County emphasizes the experience of losing their homes when many villages were submerged due to the completion of the Hwacheon Dam in 1944 and the Soyang River Dam in 1973.
Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do, is also opposing the construction of the Dongbokcheon Dam. Jang Tae-su, the head of the Sapyeong-myeon resident committee in Hwasun-gun, raised his voice in a phone call with the Dong-A Ilbo, saying, “The construction of a third dam on the Dongbokcheon River threatens the residents’ right to survive.” He complained that since the construction of the Dongbok Dam in 1971 and the Juam Dam in 1991, fog has frequently formed around the Dongbokcheon River, crops have not grown properly, and respiratory diseases have increased among residents. The countermeasure committee, which consists of about 80 people including the Sapyeong-myeon village head, stated, “We should not force one-sided sacrifices on the residents of Sapyeong-myeon, a rural area, in order to increase drinking water sources for city residents and water for factories.”
On the other hand, Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, welcomes the construction of the Amicheon Dam. Yeoncheon-gun believes that the construction of a multipurpose dam with a storage capacity of 45 million tons on the Amicheon in Dongmak-ri, Yeoncheon-eup, upstream of the Chatancheon, will help prevent flood damage and control floods. Participants in the resident briefing session held on the 30th of last month also generally expressed opinions in favor of the dam construction. Mr. Lee, a resident of Dongmak 2-ri, said, “The villages and farmland in the downstream area suffered great damage due to the concentrated heavy rain in the upstream area for decades,” and “If there had been a dam, the damage could have been reduced by controlling the flow.” Yeoncheon-gun Governor Kim Deok-hyeon also said, “Most Yeoncheon residents are in favor of the construction of the Amicheon Dam,” and expressed his expectations that “it will also help develop the local economy by creating tourism projects utilizing the waterside space.”
Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do, has also been requesting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to build a dam since 2017. Last year, they made efforts to once again propose the construction of a dam to the Ministry of Environment. Joo Nam-sik, the head of Jiro Village in Byeongyeong-myeon, Gangjin-gun, said, “This is a project that the village has wanted for over 10 years, so most residents are in favor of building the dam,” and “It was difficult to get water during the dry season, so we used to dig underground water, but if the dam is built, we won’t have to worry about that.” The calculation is that if the Byeongyeongcheon Dam, with a capacity of 1.9 million tons, is built in the Homgolje area, it will help secure agricultural water and prevent flood damage.
Gyeongbuk Yecheon-gun also welcomes the construction of Yongducheon Dam with a total water storage capacity of 1.6 million tons. In Yecheon-gun, a landslide occurred due to record-breaking heavy rain last July, killing 15 people and leaving 2 missing. A resident of Dochon-ri, Hyoja-myeon, Yecheon-gun said, “The dam should have been built a long time ago.” Yecheon-gun mayor Kim Hak-dong also emphasized, “In order to prevent an accident like last year, a large water tank that can control water in the upstream area is absolutely necessary.”
There are also regions where opposing views are sharply opposed. A representative example is Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, where the resident briefing session was canceled last month. Choi Moon-gap, the head of the Jicheon Dam Opposition Committee, raised his voice, saying, “Flood damage cannot be prevented by building a dam, and land prices will fall due to various regulations.” On the other hand, Lee Seong-woo, the head of Guchi-ri, Daechi-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, said, “Most residents in the downstream areas of the Jicheon are in favor of dam construction,” and argued, “The dam is necessary to improve water quality in the downstream areas, prevent embankment collapse, and secure water.”
● Ministry of Environment “Promoting Dam Construction Starting from the Dongui Region”
The Ministry of Environment plans to first proceed with the dam construction process in areas that support it. Minister Kim said at a press conference held at the Sejong Government Complex on the 11th, “We will proceed with basic plans, etc., starting from areas where consensus is formed (in the region).” A government official said, “There will be no major difficulties in proceeding with the 8-9 dams suggested by the region, such as the Sanggicheon Dam, as planned, but the key is areas where there is strong opposition, such as the Suipcheon Dam, which is a state-led dam.”
When asked whether he would give up on dams with strong local opposition, Minister Kim avoided giving a direct answer, saying, “It is not yet time to answer.” It seems that he intends to persuade the residents who are opposed to the project until the end, as the town hall meeting is still in progress. However, the situation is not easy. In Jicheon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, construction of a dam was attempted three times in 1991, 1999, and 2012, but was canceled due to opposition from residents.
Experts pointed out that, “Since gaining the consent of local residents is key to pushing forward with dam construction, efforts such as revising the Act on Compensation for Damaged Residents should be made.” Jeong Sang-man, professor emeritus of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Kongju National University, said, “The consent of residents in areas expected to be submerged is important,” and, “Unlike in the past when only submerged land was compensated to residents, we should also consider expanding the compensation items to include all actual damages.” Jeong Chang-sam, professor of the Department of Smart Construction and Disaster Prevention at Induk University, said, “Since the Ministry of Environment is now in charge of water resource management work that was previously done by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, efforts should be made to persuade residents, such as by showing them a blueprint for an eco-friendly dam that minimizes concerns about environmental destruction.”
The Ministry of Environment is also preparing several carrot measures. Minister Kim said, “I don’t think it’s right to maintain the current compensation level,” and “We will provide sufficient financial and administrative support to the region (where the dam will be built).” He added that negotiations are underway with the financial authorities to increase the compensation amount. The Ministry of Environment is also emphasizing that most of the new dams will not be designated as water source protection areas. If there are no water intake facilities, the lakes formed when the dams are built will not be designated as water source protection areas, and thus will not be subject to regulations. Of the 14 dams that the Ministry of Environment is promoting the construction of, only one dam, Dongbokcheon Dam, is scheduled to have water intake facilities.
Reporter Park Seong-jin [email protected]
Cheongyang = Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon [email protected]
Gangjin = Reporter Jeong Seung-ho [email protected]
Yanggu = Reporter Lee In-mo [email protected]
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2024-09-15 03:27:36