Three years ago, the water in Hongfeng Lake, in southwest China's Guizhou Province, was undrinkable.

The seepage from 3 million tonnes of chemical waste piled up over decades by the shores of the lake had turned it into a toxic mess.

Hongfeng Lake is the drinking water source of more than 3.6 million residents of Guiyang, the provincial capital, but it seemed that nothing could be done to clean it up.

"Three years ago, people would become sick if they drank water in this lake," He Xiaoyi, a tourist guide tells visitors as she drinks directly from its waters.

The provincial environmental protection department had handed down about 10 administrative orders to demand the main polluter, Tianfeng Chemicals Co. Ltd., which is located in Anshui City, to suspend production.

The suspension orders, if executed, would have left thousands of Tianfeng workers without stable incomes. They besieged the offices of the municipal government and blocked traffic on the city's major roads in protest.

The Anshui city government, which also opposed suspension because the plant was a major contributor to the local economy, asked the provincial government to stop the administrative orders. The provincial government, with social stability as its top concern, complied.

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

But the company's immunity from the law came to an end in 2007 when the People's Court of Qingzhen City, under the jurisdiction of Guiyang, set up a tribunal for environment protection.

Tianfeng, one of the largest chemical companies in Guizhou, was the first defendant at the tribunal.

"Tianfeng had piled up nearly 3 million tonnes of phosphogypsum residues alongside the shores of Hongfeng Lake," recalls Cai Ming, chief judge of the environment protection tribunal.

"Since the company failed to build any waterproof or seepage-proof storage facilities, the residues leaked to the lake, and the lake water's phosphorus content exceeded allowable limits."

Dai Wendian, Tianfeng's vice general manager in charge of production, was cited as the company's legal representative in the proceedings, and Dai was held responsible when the tribunal handed down a civil verdict, ordering Tianfeng to take measures to curb pollution within three months.

Cai says the lawsuit against Tianfeng was a civil case. If the company failed to stop the pollution by the deadline, Dai would have faced criminal prosecution and a possible jail sentence.

Dai understood the situation very clearly, Cai says.

The company dismantled production equipment of ammonium phosphate, installed an anti-seepage membrane and cleared up the phosphogypsum residue, says Cai.

COST OF DEFIANCE

At the end of last year, the phosphorus content of the lake was 57.2 percent down from the levels of 2007, according to the municipal environmental protection departement of Guiyang.

An official with Tianfeng Chemicals says, on condition of anonymity, that the company could have defied the tribunal's order and decided not to buy costly environment friendly equipment.

The lack of action would have had no direct impact on interests of the company. However, the ruling compeled Dai, on threat of possible imprisonment, to agree to buy the equipment and continue production.

From 2007 to May 2010, the Qingzhen Municipal People's Court handled 243 environment suits, of which 194 were criminal cases. A total of 235 people have been convicted.

Guiyang's success in curbing pollution through environment protection tribunals has become a model for the rest of the nation in the fight against pollution.

Cities facing pollution in lakes or reservoirs such as Kunming, Yuxi, Qingdao and Wuxi have also set up tribunals.

Yunnan Provincal Higher People's Court announced that tribunals for environmental protection will be gradually established.

The All-China Environment Federation, a leading NGO, filed suits in Guiyang and Wuxi in 2009, both of which were accepted by the local environmental protection tribunals.

Ma Yong, head of the federation's litigation department, says environment protection tribunals offer another way to stem the tide of pollution and more companies will face legal proceedings.