Partial Amendment to the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act

This member's bill proposes to restrict permits for new and renewable energy facilities (including offshore wind turbines and wind measurement devices) on public waters to only those facilities pre-identified in marine spatial management plans developed by the government. Currently, private developers individually select sites and obtain permits, causing stakeholder conflicts and uncoordinated development; the amendment requires government to comprehensively assess impacts on fishing, marine traffic, and ecosystems before designating suitable locations in marine spatial plans, with the public waters management authority then granting permits only for facilities included in those plans. The bill is under committee review as of June 2024.

Under the current Act, where a person intends to install new and renewable energy facilities under subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy, such as wind measurement devices and offshore wind turbines, in public waters, an electricity generation business entity is required to identify a site individually and obtain permission for occupancy or use of public waters from the management agency of public waters.

As electricity generation business entities thus identify sites individually, opposition from stakeholders, such as fishers, has been continuous in the process of permission for occupancy or use of public waters, and concerns about disorderly development are also high, so that the orderly deployment of new and renewable energy in public waters is not being achieved. Therefore, in order to conserve and manage public waters so that they can be used sustainably and to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality in the oceans and fisheries sector while minimizing impacts on the marine environment and fishing activities, there is an urgent need to introduce an innovative system that differs from the existing approach to site identification.

The first paragraphs of the bill's own statement, in KWI's English translation. The full statement and bill text are in the English translation PDF.

1. Received
2. In review
3. Enacted