Ministry of Environmental Protection: Strengthen environmental supervision of the steel industry and increase penalties
The Ministry of Environmental Protection informed the media today about the deployment of special enforcement inspections for environmental protection in the steel industry across the country. Tian Weiyong, director of the Environmental Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that all localities will be required to comprehensively strengthen environmental supervision of the steel industry, increase penalties, and promote the full discharge of major pollutants in the steel industry.
According to Tian Weiyong, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued the “Emergency Notice on Further Strengthening Special Law Enforcement Inspections for Environmental Protection in the Iron and Steel Industry” in July 2016, requiring localities to organize key environmental law enforcement business backbones to inspect key iron and steel enterprises in the administrative area and focus on steel enterprises. The discharge status of major pollutants, the installation, and operation of automatic monitoring facilities, etc.
Tian Weiyong said that in accordance with the requirements of the “Opinions of the State Council on Resolving Excessive Capacity in the Iron and Steel Industry and Realizing Difficulty Development”, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has made a series of deployments on the special law enforcement inspections for environmental protection in the iron and steel industry: in March 2016, the iron and steel industry will be rectified. Listed in the “Key Points of National Environmental Supervision Work in 2016”; in May 2016, the steel industry was included in the special law enforcement inspection of key industries, requiring all regions to sort out and investigate steel companies one by one from June to October 2016.
Tian Weiyong also said that the Ministry of Environmental Protection will require all localities to comprehensively strengthen environmental supervision of the iron and steel industry, increase penalties, and promote the full discharge of major pollutants in the iron and steel industry. For iron and steel enterprises whose pollutant discharge continues to exceed the standard, measures such as continuous penalties on a daily basis, orders to restrict production or suspension of production for rectification shall be taken in accordance with the law.