On July 10, 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection held centralized talks with the main government officials of Siping City and Gongzhuling City in Jilin Province, Jingdezhen City in Jiangxi Province, Hengshui City in Hebei Province, Zibo City in Shandong Province, Xingyang City in Henan Province, and Changzhi National High tech Industrial Development Zone in Shanxi Province to supervise the implementation of environmental protection responsibilities and further transmit environmental pressure.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection pointed out during the interview that there is a serious deterioration of water quality, inadequate treatment of urban domestic sewage, and inadequate rectification of problems discovered during early inspections in urban areas such as Siping, Gongzhuling, and Jingdezhen.

It was learned from the interview that the Ministry of Environmental Protection also emphasized during the interview that Hengshui and Zibo cities did not report the rectification work for the problems found in the previous inspection by the Ministry of Environmental Protection strictly and truthfully, and there were cases of falsification of rectification data and temporary fabrication of rectification documents.

In addition, Hengshui, Zibo, Xingyang, and Changzhi High tech Zones belong to the "2+26" cities in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region and surrounding areas. In response to the problems pointed out by the previous special strengthened inspection by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the rectification work has been slow.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection also revealed that in October or November of this year, it will conduct a central special inspection on cities that have failed to rectify the problems found in the inspection work of 2+26 cities, focusing on the slow and inadequate rectification issues.

Hengshui feedback problem: The rectification situation of the enterprise does not match the inspection results

According to Liu Changgen, Deputy Director of the National Environmental Protection Supervision Office, during the interview, the main officials of seven city (district) governments were interviewed mainly due to the severe environmental protection situation in the above-mentioned areas, and the slow progress in subsequent rectification of the problems pointed out in the previous inspection report of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Even worse, when Hengshui City and Zibo City reported the rectification of environmental protection issues to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, there were cases of tampering with data and temporarily forging rectification records.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection pointed out that out of the 42 problematic enterprises supervised by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in Hengshui City, 34 have not completed rectification, and the completion rate of rectification is the lowest among the "2+26" cities. Among them, there are 18 enterprises with prominent problems, and only 4 have completed rectification. Wuqiang County Craft Glass Products Co., Ltd. was one of the first batch of "scattered and dirty" enterprises to be supervised, and had not yet completed rectification by the fourth inspection.

On June 1st, Hengshui City reported that 17 prominent problem enterprises had completed rectification, but inspections found that only 4 had actually completed rectification, indicating that the rectification work was not strict or practical.

There is a problem of temporary production of cancellation documents for environmental approval of three projects in Zibo

The rectification work in Zibo City is also lagging behind. From April 7th to June 29th, the inspection team inspected a total of 1711 enterprises (units) in Zibo City, with 85.7% of them having environmental problems. The number of problematic enterprises (units) was the highest among the "2+26" cities. From June 19th to 24th, during inspections by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, it was found that out of the 175 issues previously supervised, there were 32 issues that had not been cancelled, which was significantly higher than in other cities.

During the inspection, it was also found that there were logical errors in the sequence and approval time of the environmental approval opinions for three projects provided by Wenchanghu District, namely Coca Cola Melon Seed Factory, Longde Metal Products Co., Ltd., and Mingren Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd., and there were issues with the temporary production of cancellation documents.

Similar problems also exist in other areas such as Xingyang and Changzhi High tech Zone. The environmental problems of Hengda Machinery Factory in Xingyang City, which were first supervised by the Ministry of Environmental Protection on April 14th, have not been rectified as of the inspection on June 25th.

The fourth inspection by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of six "scattered and polluting" enterprises in Changzhi High tech Zone has not been completed, and rectification is lagging behind.

According to the interview requirements, the governments of the seven cities (districts) mentioned above shall formulate rectification plans as required and submit them to the Ministry of Environmental Protection within 20 working days, with copies to the relevant provincial people's governments.

Hengshui Mayor: We will never let go of problems that are not strict or practical

The relevant person in charge of the Environmental Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection stated that the interview is not the purpose, the main purpose is to transmit pressure. The cities (districts) that were interviewed this time not only did not improve their air quality, but also deteriorated. The problems discovered were not rectified properly, and it is hoped that the speed of problem rectification will be accelerated in the future.

The relevant person in charge of the Atmospheric Department pointed out that for the first half of the year, there should be specific detailed plans and task lists for each city.

Mayor Han Fuchun of Siping stated on site that the municipal sewage treatment plant will ensure completion and operation by the end of October this year. Regarding the construction of sewage treatment plants in other townships, we aim to start construction within this year and complete and use them next year; The main restaurant in the water source area has been demolished, and other buildings will be demolished within this month.

Hengshui Mayor Wang Jingwu stated that the problems of lax and untrue reporting of rectification will not be overlooked, and the accountability process will be immediately initiated. Such problems will never be allowed to occur again.

Zibo Mayor Yu Haitian said that a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee will be held on the morning of the 11th, and a city wide environmental protection work conference will be held in the afternoon.

Source: China Abrasives and Grinding Tools Network