Draft law ups punishment for environmental wrongdoing

A draft amendment to China's Environmental Protection Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for its fourth reading on Monday, proposing heavier punishments for law violations.

When explaining the draft to lawmakers, Zhang Mingqi, vice-chairman of the NPC Law Committee, said the draft will give heavier punishments to tackle the problem of pollution, following lawmakers' suggestions during the third reading that penalties were too lenient.

The new draft stipulates that enterprises will be named and shamed for breaking environmental protection laws.

According to the new draft, responsible persons would face up to 15 days of detention if their enterprises dodge environmental impact assessments and refuse to suspend production after being issued a ban; fail to obtain a pollutant discharge permit but discharge pollutants, and refuse to suspend the discharge after administrative bodies issue a ban; or if they shirk supervision through means including forging monitoring data or improperly operating pollution prevention equipment. The length of detention would depend on the impact of their violations.

Responsible persons would face the same punishments if their enterprises produce or use forbidden pesticides.

The draft also proposes that organizations in charge of environmental impact assessments and supervision would bear joint liabilities if they practice fraud.

China's Environmental Protection Law has not been revised since it took effect in 1989.

This is the fourth time the draft amendment has been submitted for deliberation since its first reading in August 2012. It is rare in China for a law or amendment to go through three readings and not be passed, highlighting the importance of the draft in China's pursuit of sustainable development and the wide public scrutiny of the law.