Introduction: The Ministry of Environmental Protection recently announced that it will take strict control of "scattered pollution" enterprises as one of the key contents of strengthening supervision, and all enterprises that cannot upgrade and transform to meet emission standards will be closed before the end of September this year. In the second half of the year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will strictly rectify environmental protection issues. While the most stringent "environmental protection law" in history is showing off, it will ensure that the "five-step method" of supervision and inspection storms is effective, so that corporate compliance will gradually become the norm.

The strictest "environmental protection law" in history

"Judging from the current situation, the number of cases implementing the four supporting measures has doubled every year, indicating that everyone is learning to use the new'environmental protection law' to manage illegal activities." Tian Weiyong, director of the Environmental Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said.

"If the strictest 'environmental law' in history provides for several weapons have not been used, how can it be considered 'environmental law' landing?" Tian Weiyong said, in the past, environmental law enforcement only a means of fines, now, four supporting measures give the environmental protection department more coercive power.

The implementation of the "Environmental Protection Law" has entered the third year in a row. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, from 2015 to 2017, 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, all prefecture-level cities, and all counties (districts) will be required to fully implement the four supporting measures for the implementation of the "Environmental Protection Law.

According to reports, the number of cases implementing the four supporting measures will become an important indicator for the Ministry of Environmental Protection to assess the implementation of the "Environmental Protection Law" in various regions. According to this indicator, in the three major regions of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei has become the region with the worst use of the four supporting measures: the average number of cases in prefecture-level cities is only 37, which is lower than the national average of 51.

Data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection show that in the first half of the year, 1727 counties (districts) across the country had cases of using supporting measures, accounting for 62% of the total counties (districts) in the country. This year's goal is to fully implement supporting measures in all counties (districts) except those whose environmental quality has reached the standard. Accordingly, in the second half of this year, 780 counties (districts) across the country will need to complete the task of using supporting measures.

The "five-step method" of supervising the storm is effective.

While the "Environmental Protection Law" is being implemented in full swing, the inspection storm is also advancing in an orderly manner in accordance with the "five-step method" of the new environmental protection minister.

The so-called "five-step method" is a set of "combined punches" of supervision, handover, inspection, interview, and special supervision ".

The first public activity of Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie after taking office was to meet with the fourth batch of trainers who strengthened the supervision of air pollution prevention and control in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas. At the meeting, Li Ganjie put forward a new management idea of "five-step" supervision. Specifically:

The first step: supervision, that is, inspectors to the scene to find problems.

Step 2: Assigned, involving important issues of environmental quality improvement, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will issue a document to the local government to formally assign, that is, "the account is recorded and the list is posted".

Step 3: Inspection. All departments and bureaus of the Ministry of Environmental Protection will send people to inspect whether the "list" of local governments has been completed and how is the progress?

Step 4: interview. If the inspection finds that the progress of governance is slow and the rectification is not effective, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will interview the relevant leaders of the local government. After the interview, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will send people to "look back".

Step 5: Special inspectors, for places that are still "indifferent", will also launch "mobile" and "point-pointing" central special inspectors to hold people accountable to ensure that the problem is fully resolved.

Strictly deal with "scattered pollution" enterprises

It was learned from the Ministry of Environmental Protection that the problem of "scattered pollution" has become the most prominent problem in the strengthening of supervision in the first three months. Tian Weiyong pointed out that according to the plan of strengthening supervision and inspection, the focus of the first three months was on "scattered and polluted" enterprises. Next, by the end of September this year, all "scattered and polluted" enterprises that cannot be upgraded will be banned and closed. In winter, if such problems are found again, not only the enterprises will be dealt with seriously, but also the local government will be held accountable.

Tian Weiyong said that the Ministry of Environmental Protection implements a very strict write-off system. Taking the rectification of "scattered and polluted" enterprises as an example, the enterprises to be shut down must be "cut off two times and cleaned up three times", that is, water cut off, electricity cut off, raw materials cleared, equipment cleared and sites cleared.

"Scattered pollution" enterprise remediation is one of the key contents of strengthening supervision. Tian Weiyong revealed that at the end of March this year, the number of "scattered pollution" enterprises reported in the "26" cities of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei was 56000. With the deepening of supervision, new "scattered pollution" enterprises have been found. By the end of June, that number had grown to 176000.

He said that according to the arrangement, before the end of September this year, those enterprises that cannot be upgraded to meet the emission standards should be banned and closed.

Regarding the question of whether the strengthening of supervision will affect the local economic and social development, Tian Weiyong responded that in the strengthening of supervision, all illegal enterprises are investigated. There are no environmental protection procedures, no pollution control facilities, and no possibility of meeting the standards. The "three noes" enterprises are the focus of the crackdown. The supervision is carried out in strict accordance with the law. Such "three noes" enterprises should not exist anywhere. Among the problem enterprises, the proportion of "scattered pollution" enterprises is high, and some enterprises do not have any treatment facilities at all or their facilities are not operating normally. Enterprises make profits from illegal pollution discharge, but it affects the public environment and public health, which should be resolutely resisted. At the same time, monitoring shows that large enterprises and law-abiding enterprises in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas have not been affected.

He said that in the three months since the strengthening of supervision and inspection, the air quality in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas has been effectively controlled, law enforcement has been unprecedentedly increased, and corporate law-abiding has gradually become the norm.

Enterprises that cannot upgrade and transform up to the standard will be closed before the end of September.

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as of the end of June, 28 cities in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas have verified 176000 scattered pollution enterprises, and all enterprises that cannot be upgraded to meet the emission standards will be closed by the end of September this year.

Tian Weiyong, director of the Environmental Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, reported that in the three months since the intensive supervision of air pollution prevention and control in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas, the intensive supervision team has inspected more than 32000 enterprises, of which more than 20000 enterprises have environmental violations, accounting for more than 64%, especially the problem of "scattered pollution" enterprises and imperfect pollution control facilities.

Tian Weiyong said: "We require all enterprises that cannot be upgraded to be closed down. In winter, if we find such problems, we should not only strictly deal with enterprises, but also hold local governments accountable. Law-abiding enterprises will not affect the economic and social activities around Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. There are no procedures, no treatment facilities, no possibility of meeting the discharge standards, and scattered pollution, a three-no enterprise, should not exist anywhere."

At present, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is also carrying out a special action to crack down on environmental violations of imported waste processing and utilization enterprises. At present, 349 enterprises have filed cases for investigation and punishment of environmental violations.