Environment watchdog sinks teeth into local river pollution

0 CommentsPrint E-mail Xinhua, June 12, 2010
Adjust font size:

With more city governments fined for failing to curb water pollution in a tributary of the Yellow River, China's environmental watchdog has bared its teeth.

Baoji City Government has become the third local authority after Xi'an and Xianyang in northwest China's Shaanxi Province to be penalized by the provincial environment regulator in almost half a year, after the density of pollutants in the Weihe River topped the upper limits.

The severe pollution in the Yellow River

The severe pollution in the Yellow River [www.QQ.com]

The fine of 200,000 yuan was imposed on Baoji in late May after monthly checks by Shaanxi Provincial Environmental Protection Department (SPEPD) showed excessive chemical oxygen demand (COD) in local waterways in February and April.

Although Xi'an and Xianyang both passed the most recent checks after being fined 400,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan respectively in January, environment officials Thursday said it did not mean an end to the problem.

SPEPD deputy chief and spokesman Li Xiaolian warned it was too early to be optimistic as the summer rainy season had raised the river level, which could dilute pollutant densities and help local governments look good.

"A fine of hundreds of thousands of yuan might be small money compared to the fiscal revenues of local governments. But our ultimate goal is to use economic leverages to put local governments on the forefront of environmental improvement," Li said in an interview with Xinhua.

"Local governments should be the first to be liable for environmental deterioration. But in the early stages of China's economic reform, local governments tended to think environmental protection was less important than economic growth. It is high time to break this habitual thinking and press local governments to value quality over quantity of economic expansion," he said.

A provincial regulation to curb water pollution that took effect on Jan. 1 sets the penalty for every milligram per liter of excessive COD in river water at 100,000 yuan. The official limits set for the Weihe River are 19 mg per liter in the first half-year and 17.5 mg in the second half.

All the fines will enter a special account of the provincial treasury. About 60 percent of the total will be appropriated to local governments at the end of the year as environment preservation funds. The remaining 40 percent will be awarded to cities or districts where local river water quality has markedly improved.

Shi Ying, deputy director of the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said the provincial environment watchdog had taken a "very significant move" by fining local authorities.

"It is very difficult to see dramatic progress in curbing water pollution without different levels of government immediately changing their approach. Frankly speaking, after years of crackdowns, few factories now violate environment rules. The emphasis of environmental protection work must shift from companies to local authorities," Shi said.

After being fined, Xi'an city government launched an immediate survey of pollution sources, only to find two companies, a starch maker and a combed cotton plant, discharging excessive pollutants into the river. Production in both companies has been suspended.

China's environment regulators, long criticized for being weak, started flexing their muscles in late 2006 by making environmental impact assessments compulsory for the approval of new economic projects.

1   2   Next  


Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comments

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter
主站蜘蛛池模板: 免费99热在线观看| 无码视频免费一区二三区| 国产人va在线| jealousvue成熟50maoff老狼| 欧美精品三级在线| 国产乱码精品一区二区三区四川人| a毛片全部免费播放| 成人小视频在线观看| 亚洲人成在线免费观看| 精品精品国产自在香蕉网| 国产精品天堂avav在线| 中文天堂在线观看| 欧美一线不卡在线播放| 含羞草实验室入口免费网站直接| 高级别墅贵妇交换俱乐部小说| 夜先锋av资源网站| 久久亚洲国产精品五月天婷| 熟女老女人的网站| 国产一区二区精品久久岳| 2019中文字幕在线电影免费| 成人综合激情另类小说| 亚洲国产成人va在线观看| 永久看一二三四线| 国产99久久亚洲综合精品| 三上悠亚在线网站| 婷婷伊人五月天| 乌克兰大白屁股| 波多野结衣被绝伦强在线观看| 国产五月天在线| 高清中文字幕免费观在线| 国产成人精品综合在线观看 | 欧美一级高清免费a| 亚洲欧洲另类春色校园小说| 综合久久久久久久综合网| 国产精品你懂得| 一个人看的在线免费视频| 成人免费视频一区二区| 中文字幕精品一区二区精品| 极品虎白女在线观看一线天| 亚洲视频国产视频| 羞羞漫画成人在线|