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DECISION OF THE STATE COUNCIL ON SEVERAL ISSUES CONCERNING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

    With a view to further carrying out the basic state policy of
environmental protection, implementing the strategy of sustainable
development, executing the Ninth-Five-Year Plan of the People's Republic of
China on National Economy and Social Development and Outlines of Objectives in
Perspective of the Year 2010, and realizing the environmental protection
objectives of bringing the worsening tendency of environmental pollution and
ecological deterioration under control and improving to certain extent
environmental quality of some cities and regions by the year 2000, the
following decision is hereby made:

    1. Specifying objectives and adopting procedures through which
administrative officials shall be held responsible for environmental quality

    Discharge of pollutants should be subject to control of maximum quantity.
A national and systemic maximum quantity index of major pollutants and a
practice of regular publication thereof should be adopted in real earnest.

    By the year 2000, industrial pollution sources all over the country shall
meet national or local standards on discharge of pollutants; different
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central
government should control maximum discharge of major pollutants under their
respective jurisdiction within the maximum discharge quantity index laid down
by the state. The worsening tendency of environmental pollution and ecological
disruption could be generally brought under control. Municipalities directly
under the central government, capital cities of provinces, cities within
special economic zones, coastal open cities, and key tourist cities should all
keep environmental air and environmental quality of surface water up to the
corresponding national standards in terms of their functional categories. The
Huaihe River and the Taihu Lake should have waters cleared. The Haihe River,
the Liaohe River, the Dianchi Lake and the Chaohu Lake should have the quality
of surface water markedly improved.

    Local people's governments at different levels should adopt a policy of
administrative officials being held responsible for environmental quality
under their jurisdiction. They should, according to the above-mentioned
objectives, set local objectives and measures for control over discharge
quantity of major pollutants and for improvement of environmental quality, and
should submit them to people's governments at higher levels for the record.

    Local people's governments at different levels and leading officials
thereof shall perform their duties of environmental protection according to
law, and shall resolutely enforce environmental protection laws, regulations
and policies. Environmental quality within jurisdiction should be an important
item for evaluation of principal leading officials of government.

    People's governments at different levels should include environmental
protection on their working agendas as an important item, regularly deliberate
and solve in time issues concerning environmental protection and make such
conducts compulsory practices.

    2. Stressing on key points and solving regional environmental problems in
real earnest

    Local people's governments at different levels should resolutely enforce
the law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of
Water Pollution, effectively strengthen the prevention and control of water
pollution so as to ensure safety in industrial and agricultural production and
people's daily use of water. Drinking water sources, which closely concerns
people's livelihood, shall be well protected as key points. Drinking water
sources protective zones shall be delimited and placed under rigorous
supervision. The prevention and control of water pollution in valleys shall be
strengthened. The system of maximum quantity control and the verification
procedure for control over discharge of major pollutants shall be applied,
according to law, where attempts to control discharged water pollutants within
prescribed standards still fail to meet national prescribed standards for
water environment quality. Water pollution in rivers of Huaihe, Haihe, Liaohe,
and lakes of Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi shall be controlled as key points. The
prevention and control on water pollution in other rivers, lakes, reservoirs
and coastal waters shall also be strengthened.

    Local people's governments at different levels shall, according to the Law
of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of
Atmospheric Pollution, do proper work to prevent and control air pollution,
put stress on air pollution by fuel coal, and bring under control the
worsening of pollution by sulphur dioxide and acid rain. The State
Administration for Environmental Protection shall, as soon as possible and in
consultation with relevant departments, put forward opinions on delimitation
of acid rain control zones and sulphur dioxide pollution control zones and
propose required objectives for their control, then submit them to the State
Council for approval before their enforcement.

    People's governments of cities shall strengthen comprehensive control over
city environment, put emphasis on control of waste water, waste gas, waste
residue and noise pollution. During the Ninth-Five-Year Plan period, cities
with a municipal government, particularly cities with more than 500,000
non-agricultural population, shall, through a variety of channels, raise and
collect funds for the construction of sewage disposal facilities suited to
city conditions so that water environmental pollution in cities could be
alleviated in real earnest. Municipalities which are located in heating areas
shall spread use of clean heating systems such as centralized heating, and
may not establish new boiler rooms scattered around. Gas burning areas in
cities shall be enlarged and raw coal shall be replaced. By the year 2000,
large- and medium-sized cities shall have only sulphur-fixing shaped coal or
other clean fuels used for urban residents' kitchen ranges. Priority shall be
given to development of different forms of urban public transit. Motor
vehicles shall be encouraged to use clean fuels, and similar other measures
shall be adopted so as to reduce air pollution by tail gas of vehicles. Large-
and medium-sized cities shall, step by step, expand using of bags for urban
residential refuse that shall then be sorted out, collected, stored, removed,
and processed for harmless conversion. Rigorous measures shall be taken to
control environmental noise pollution so as to reduce its disturbance to
citizens.

    Local people's governments at different levels shall, according to
relevant regulations of the State Council, take effective measures to
strengthen environmental management in countryside and township enterprises.
The governments shall make comprehensive designing for reasonable layouts,
offer instructions in light of special situations, and develop low-pollution
or non-pollution industries that are suited to localities, and combined with
overall countryside and township development. The construction of countryside
and township enterprises shall be relatively concentrated so that their
ability to dispose of pollution could be markedly raised and the worsening of
environmental pollution and ecological deterioration caused by countryside and
township enterprises could be thoroughly reversed. The State Administration
for Environmental Protection shall be instructed to closely attend to
formulating, in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, the State
Planning Commission, and the State Economic and Trade Commission, detailed
rules on strengthening the environmental protection work of countryside and
township enterprises.

    3. Making strict checks and resolutely controlling new pollution

    All large-, medium- or small-sized construction projects, expanded
construction projects or reconstruction projects, and all technological
renovation engineering (hereinafter referred to as construction projects for
short) shall start from a raised technological level, adopt clean productive
technology with low energy consumption, low materials consumption and low
pollutants discharge quantity, and shall be strictly prohibited from using
equipment or technology precisely banned by the state. Construction projects
that influence on environment shall, in strict accordance with the law,
conform with the environmental impact assessment provisions and the
"three-stage simultaneous" requirement, according to which environmental
protection facilities shall be designed, constructed and put into production
simultaneously with main construction structures. Total construction
investments should contain capital for construction of environmental
protection facilities. Construction projects after being completed and put
into production or use shall steadily attain the standards on discharge of
pollutants prescribed by the state or localities. Environmental capacity shall
be an important criterion for environmental impact assessment of construction
projects. Where pollution is serious, new construction projects shall be
supposed to offset old ones in calculating environmental capacity so as to
ensure a decrease of total quantity of pollutants discharge.

    When a construction project is found to fail to meet environmental
protection standards at the stage of examination for approval or at the stage
of acceptance after completion, the administrative department in charge of
environmental protection may not grant approval to the environmental impact
statement of the construction project or the acceptance report on
environmental protection facilities. Other relevant approval departments may
not approve its construction or use in production. The interested bank may not
release loans. The administrative departments in charge of environmental
protection at different levels shall exercise rigorous environmental
protection management of construction projects and strictly conduct daily
monitoring, and shall take overall responsibility for examination and approval
of environmental impact assessment of construction projects and for acceptance
of environmental protection facilities according to the "three-stage
simultaneous" requirement. Departments in charge of planning, economy and
trade, construction, industry and commerce, and land administration at
different levels and other relevant departments shall, within the scope of
their respective responsibility, conduct rigorous checks at the stage of
examination for approval, registration, planning, review of land use, design
and acceptance of construction projects. Leading officials of local people's
governments at different levels may not arbitrarily approve construction
projects without prior environmental impact assessment by violating relevant
state laws and regulations regarding environmental protection of construction
projects. In case of violation, the approval organ and persons who have
conducted the examination and granted approval shall be investigated for
responsibility.

    Administrative supervisory departments shall, according to their duties
and relevant provisions, strengthen the supervision over enforcement of
environmental protection laws and regulations by the governments,
environmental protection departments and other relevant departments, and shall
put forward supervisory comments on disposal of problems they discovered.

    Ever from the date of promulgation of the present Decision, for any
construction project which has already been arbitrarily started or put in
production or use without going through the procedure of environmental impact
assessment, the administrative department of environmental protection at or
above the county level shall put forward suggestions on handling the case, and
submit them to the people's government at or above the county level, who may
then accordingly order suspension of the construction project or stop using it
in production. For any construction project which has been accepted after
inspection but fails to steadily keep to national or local standards on
discharge of pollutants after being put in production or use, the
administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county
level shall order it to stop the discharge of pollutants in excess of
prescribed standards and at the same time report the case to the people's
government at or above the county level for an order to suspend production for
rectification.

    4. Prescribing a time limit for reaching standards and facilitating
control over old pollution

    Ever from the date of promulgation of the present Decision, for any unit
that discharges pollutants in excess of prescribed standards, local people's
governments at or above the county level or the administrative departments of
environmental protection authorized thereby shall order the unit to control
the situation within a prescribed time limit ranging from one to three years
depending on circumstances. Those units that fail to control the situation
within the prescribed time limit shall be ordered by the people's government
at or above the county level to close down, suspend production or convert to
other line of production. The State Administration for Environmental
Protection, the State Planning Commission and the State Economic and Trade
Commission shall give instructions to and exercise supervision and check over
major projects to be rectified within a prescribed time limit.

    Units discharging pollutants shall ensure the normal operation of
environmental protection facilities. In case that environmental protection
facilities are, without authorization by the administrative department of
environmental protection, arbitrarily stopped working or left unused resulting
in discharge of pollutants in excess of standards, the administrative
department of environmental protection shall order a resumption of their
normal operation and impose punishment according to law.

    By the date of September 30, 1996, the people's governments at or above
the county level shall ban the following factories, plants and enterprises:
all papermaking factories with annual output of less than 5,000 tons paper;
leather processing plants with annual output of less than 30,000 pieces of
oxhide; dyestuff making plants with annual output of less than 500 tons; and
all enterprises that coke or refine sulphur through backward approaches known
as "pits", "Pingxiang Style", "High Pot" and "Open Air Style". Local people's
governments at or above the county level shall order the following enterprises
to close down or stop production within the above-mentioned time limit: plants
that are using indigenous methods to refine arsenic, mercury, or smelt lead,
zinc, or extract oil, or pan gold, or to make agricultural chemicals, bleach
and dye, make electroplates, or make asbestos products or radioactive
products. In case such enterprises have not been banned, or do not close down
or stop production within the prescribed time limit, concerned principal
leading officials of local people's governments and enterprise managers shall
be investigated for legal liability.

    5. Taking effective measures to prohibit from transfer of pollutant wastes

    According to the provisions of the Basel Convention on Control over the
Transfer and Disposal of Dangerous Wastes cross Boundaries, our country
forbids transfer of foreign dangerous wastes into our territory. Departments
at different levels in charge of environmental protection, foreign economic
cooperation and trade, and customs, etc., shall, according to the Law of the
People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental
Pollution by Solid Wastes and other relevant provisions, make rigorous check
upon importation and persistently forbid transfer of external dangerous wastes
and residential refuse into our country. If importation of other wastes as raw
materials is really necessary, such importation shall conform to the state
provisions and shall be subject to prior examination and approval. Any unit or
individual who, in violation of the state provisions, arbitrarily approves,
lets pass or conducts without authorization importation of wastes shall be
severely punished according to law. In case domestic wastes need to be
transferred for disposal to another province, autonomous region or
municipality, the transfer shall be subject to approval of the administrative
departments at the provincial level of both the original place and the
destination place. In case solid radioactive wastes need transfer for disposal
to anther province, autonomous region or municipality, the transfer shall be
subject to approval of the State Administration for Environmental Protection.

    6. Preserving ecological balance, and protecting and rationally exploiting
natural resources

    Local people's governments at different levels shall effectively
strengthen the protection of natural resources such as fresh water, land,
forest, grassland, minerals, the sea, animals and plants and climate and the
protection of national ecological environment. On condition that ecological
balance is maintained, those resources can be exploited and utilized in a
rational way. Development of ecological agriculture shall be encouraged.
Pollution of farmland and water resources by pesticides, fertilizers and farm
plastic films shall brought under control. Reclamation of waste land and
control over ecological environment within mining areas shall be strengthened.
Vigorous effort shall be made to carry out tree planting and afforestation.
Indiscriminate and excessive felling of trees shall be restrained. The
forest-covered area shall be enlarged through efforts. Comprehensive control
over soil erosion shall be facilitated. Vegetation of grassland shall be
restored and developed. Overgrazing shall be prevented. Shrubs, medicinal
herbs or other sand-fixation plants growing in grassland or desertized areas
shall be protected from felling or digging. Technology for prevention and
fixation of sand shall be actively applied so as to protect land from further
desertization.

    Biological diversity shall be actively protected. Nature reserves,
historic sites and scenic spots, city gardens and green land shall be
developed and strictly placed under protection and management. All illegal
exploitation and construction activities within nature reserves or historic
sites and scenic spots which damage natural resources and environment shall be
firmly banned.

    Arrangements for early warning of and emergency measures against pollution
accidents and calamities shall be strengthened so as to reduce their influence
upon ecological environment and loss of people's lives and property.

    7. Perfecting economic policies on environment and effectively increasing
investment in environmental protection

    According to the principle "whoever pollutes, exploits, develops or
damages the environment shall be respectively responsible for payment for
discharging pollutants, compensation, protection and restoration", the
relevant departments of the State Council shall, in terms of infrastructure
construction, technical renovation, comprehensive utilization, finance and
taxation, banking and credit, and absorption of foreign investment, closely
attend to formulating and improving economic policies and measures for
promoting environmental protection, preventing environmental pollution and
control of ecological damaging. When important decisions on economic
construction and social development are made such as designing of regional
development or resources exploitation, programming of city development or
trade progress and restructuring of industry or productivity layout, overall
consideration shall be given to economic, social and environmental efficiency,
and environmental assessment shall be made. All provinces, autonomous regions
and municipalities directly under the central government shall comply with the
guideline that economic construction, rural and urban construction and
environmental construction shall be simultaneously designed, conducted and
progressed. Investment in environmental protection shall be substantially
increased. The proportion of investment in environmental pollution prevention
and control in total GNP in a locality over the period shall be raised
gradually. A corresponding test and check system shall also be established.

    The relevant departments of the State Council shall as soon as possible
formulate policies imposing restrictions upon production, import and
application of carbon-fluoride-chloride, halong and lead-contained gasoline,
and establish and perfect a reimbursement mechanism for non-gratuitous
exploitation of natural resources and restoration of ecological environment.
Current standards for pollutant discharge fees shall be raised according to
the principle of "pollutant discharge fees being higher than cost on pollution
control" so that pollutant discharging units could be urged to take vigorous
measures for control of pollution. Collection, use and management of pollutant
discharge fees shall be strengthened. The administrative departments in charge
of environmental protection and local people's governments at different levels
shall collect pollutant discharge fees in full. Fees so collected and income
from confiscation and pecuniary penalties shall be managed along separate
lines of receipts and payments, shall be used according to provisions and may
not be embezzled for other use or detained. Cities which have installed
centralized facilities for disposal of sewage may levy sewage disposal fees
upon those who discharge sewage.

    8. Rigorously enforcing environmental protection laws and strengthening
supervision and management of environment

    The administrative departments in charge of environmental protection at
different levels shall perform in real earnest their duty of unified
supervision and management of environmental protection, strengthen the
development of environmental supervision and law enforcement personnel,
reinforce the enforcement of environmental protection laws, perfect procedures
governing law enforcement and improve skills in law enforcement. People's
governments at or above the county level shall set up environmental protection
supervisory institutions, which shall independently perform the duty of
unified supervision and management of environmental protection. Appointment
and removal of leading officials of local administrative departments of
environmental protection at different levels shall be subject to opinions of
the administrative departments of environmental protection at higher levels.

    The relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county
level shall, according to the relevant provisions of law, exercise the
supervision and management over prevention and control of environmental
pollution and resources protection.

    A legislative framework and management system regarding environmental
protection shall be improved further. Administrative enforcement of
environmental protection laws shall be subjected to frequent checks. Whenever
law is not observed, strictly enforced or violation of law is not punished, or
in case law is subordinated by words or power, criminal sentence is replaced
by administrative sanction, etc., such cases shall all be investigated for
punishment. If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be
investigated according to law.

    9. Vigorously conducting environmental scientific research and developing
environmental protection industries

    The state, localities and relevant departments shall give priority to
environmental protection scientific research and technological development
projects when making medium- or long-term plans or annual programmes on
science and technology development. Major environmental scientific research
subjects such as saving of energy, reduction of consumption, clean production,
prevention and control of pollution, biological diversity and ecological
protection, etc., shall be studied as key ones. New and High technology and
pragmatic technology shall be applied actively. Researches on basic
environmental sciences, environmental standards and monitoring techniques
shall be strengthened. Application of scientific and technological
achievements shall be spread vigorously.

    The Circular of the General Office of the State Council on Transmitting
Suggestions of the State Council Environmental Protection Commission on
Actively Developing Environmental Protection Industries (promulgated by
Guobanfa No.(1990)64), shall be carried out in real earnest. Encouraging and
preferential policies shall be drafted in order to substantially develop
environmental protection industries. Quality of environmental protection
products and environmental projects and technology involved shall be advanced.
Enterprises producing environmental protection products with advanced, stable
performance and high efficiency shall enjoy priority in terms of fixed assets
investment so that environmental protection industries could be pushed to
certain scope.

    10. Strengthening publicity and education and improving environmental
consciousness of the whole people

    Environmental protection concerns the existence and progress of the whole
nation. To protect environment is to protect productive forces in nature. All
localities and departments shall enhance their awareness of the significance
of environmental protection, further strengthen environmental publicity and
education, widely disseminate and popularize knowledge of environmental
sciences and relevant laws and regulations and effectively reinforce
environmental consciousness and related sense of legality of the whole nation.

    All localities and departments shall include environmental protection laws
as an important content in training of cadres and staff members and improve
the consciousness of cadres at different levels and the people for observance
of environmental protection laws and regulations. Higher, middle and primary
schools shall develop environmental education. A mechanism for public
involvement shall be established. Social organizations shall be given play to
their role. The public shall be encouraged to involve in environmental
protection and to charge against or disclose any kind of illegal activities of
violating environmental protection laws and regulations.

    Mass media such as newspaper, broadcasting and television shall in due
course report and praise advanced or model units or individuals of
environmental protection and openly disclose and criticize illegal activities
of polluting and damaging ecological environment. The press shall play the
role of supervision and monitoring and shall expose to the public any unit or
individual who has seriously polluted or damaged ecological environment.

    All localities and departments, when attending relevant international
events, shall conscientiously observe and publicize our government's principle
stand on the global environmental problem, and safeguard rights and interests
of our country and other developing countries.

    The State Council shall instruct the State Administration for
Environmental Protection to supervise and inspect the implementation of the
present Decision in consultation with the Ministry of Supervision and other
relevant departments and submit a report to the State Council.