01 Implementation of the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law

On August 31, 2018, the Fifth Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress voted to adopt the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, which will come into effect on January 1, 2019.

This marks the first time that my country has enacted a dedicated law to regulate the prevention and control of soil pollution. It is the third such specialized statute in the field of soil pollution prevention and control, following the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

The Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law sets forth provisions on the planning, standards, census and monitoring, prevention and protection, risk control and remediation, as well as the security and supervision of soil pollution prevention and control.

02 The second round of central environmental inspectors

On December 15, 2018, Li Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and Environment, attended the Nanjing Annual Meeting of the China Ecological Civilization Forum and announced that a new round of environmental inspections would be fully launched in 2019, with plans to spend an additional four years conducting the second round of central environmental inspections.

Li Ganjie also stated that in the four years of the second round of central environmental inspections, the first three years were regular full-scale inspections, and the last year was “look back”. According to the plan of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, the next step for environmental protection inspectors is to solve outstanding environmental problems, improve environmental quality, and promote high-quality economic development.

In addition, relevant state and local departments, state-owned enterprises, and other entities will also be brought within the scope of inspections, and targeted, on-site as well as mobile special inspections will be conducted in several key areas of pollution control.

03 Measures for Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment

On April 16, 2018, the “Measures for Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment” were reviewed and approved at the Ministerial Meeting of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and came into effect on January 1, 2019.

The Measures have comprehensively revised the relevant provisions on public participation in environmental impact assessments for construction projects, with the aim of fully ensuring the adequacy and effectiveness of such participation, further enhancing its efficiency, and optimizing the business environment.

04 Individual industries completely ban monofluorodichloroethane

In order to fulfill the “Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer” and the “Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,” in accordance with the relevant provisions of the “Regulations on the Management of Ozone Layer Substances” and the requirements of China’s polyurethane foam industry’s HCFCs phase-out plan, the industry is promoted The development of low-carbon and environmentally friendly technology promotes industrial transformation and upgrading.

On October 18, 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the “Announcement on Prohibiting the Production of Refrigerator and Freezer Products, Refrigerated Container Products, and Electric Water Heater Products Using Monofluorodichloroethane (HCFC-141b) as a Blowing Agent,” which clearly stipulates that, effective January 1, 2019, no enterprise may use HCFC-141b as a foaming agent in the production of refrigerator-freezer products, refrigerated container products, or electric water heater products.

05 Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky Defense War

On June 27, 2018, the State Council issued the “Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky Defense War,” which explicitly stipulates that by the end of 2019, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Fenwei Plain will have basically completed the comprehensive remediation of “scattered and polluting” enterprises and the upgrading of pollution control in key industries, as well as related transformation initiatives.

The plan also stipulated that, effective July 1, 2019, key regions, the Pearl River Delta region, and the Chengdu–Chongqing region will implement the National VI emission standards ahead of schedule and promote the use of natural-gas-powered vehicles that meet these standards.

Effective January 1, 2019, the country will fully supply gasoline and diesel meeting the National VI standards, discontinue the sale of gasoline and diesel below these standards, and implement a “three-fuel integration” comprising vehicle diesel, ordinary diesel, and certain marine fuels. The ordinary diesel standard will be abolished, with early implementation in key regions, the Pearl River Delta, and the Chengdu–Chongqing region.

By the end of 2019, key regions will have completed measures to prevent and control pollution from non-road mobile machinery and ships, established a 7–10-day heavy-pollution weather forecasting system, built an automated monitoring system for key pollution sources, and developed capabilities for monitoring emissions from mobile sources. In addition, the formulation of mandatory national standards setting limits on the VOC content of adhesives, cleaning agents, and other products will be finalized, with these standards first being implemented in key regions starting July 1, 2020.

06 Full coverage of sewage permit system

In November 2016, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Implementation Plan for the Control of the Pollutant Discharge Permit System,” marking the entry of China’s pollutant discharge permit system reform into the implementation phase. Over the past year and more, the environmental protection authorities have vigorously advanced the reform of the pollutant discharge permit system and achieved positive results. Fifteen enterprises in the thermal power, paper-making, and other industries have obtained certified pollutant discharge permits.

In January 2018, the former Ministry of Environmental Protection issued the “Administrative Measures for Pollution Discharge Permits (for Trial Implementation),” which set out the procedures for issuing pollution discharge permits, detailed the legal responsibilities of environmental protection authorities, pollutant-discharging entities, and third-party agencies, and sought to reform and improve the pollution discharge permitting system. This marked a solid step forward in the implementation of the permit system. In 2019, the pollutant discharge permit system was to cover all key industries involved in the battle against pollution, with pollutant-discharging entities that account for more than 80% of key air pollutants and more than 80% of key water pollutants from stationary sources required to obtain pollution discharge permits. By 2020, full coverage of the pollutant discharge permit system was to be achieved, encompassing all stationary pollution sources.

File source: environmental protection circle