Harsher fines

 

North China's Liaoning Provincial Department of Environment Protection fined its local governments in eight cities for a total of 54.2 million yuan (8.9 million U.S. dollars) for air pollution in December.

According to a regulation which went into effect last year, the Liaoning provincial government has evaluates 14 cities on indicators of PM10, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, was ordered to pay a fine of 34.6 million yuan. Seven other cities, including Dalian and Anshan, were fined 19.6 million yuan.

The fines, the first the provincial agency has imposed on lower-level governments, send a clear signal that the provincial government is becoming more serious about tackling air pollution.