The State Environmental Protection Administration and the State Economic and Trade Commission recently issued a Circular, requiring that various localities must, acting strictly in compliance with the requirements of the Decision of the State Council on Some Questions Concerning Environmental Protection, do a good job in the work regarding that key State industrial polluting enterprises in areas under their jurisdiction should meet the standard set for the discharge of major pollutants, ensure that one policy is adopted for one factory, and give guidance to and conduct management over different types of enterprises in different districts, so that said polluting enterprises fully meet the required standard within the specified time limit. The deadline for reaching the standard is set in light of the time for the fulfillment of technologically renovated projects now under way, which should, in principle, not go beyond December 31, 2002.

According to the State Council's unified requirement, the principal pollutants discharged by all of the country's industrial polluting businesses should meet the pollution-emission standard by December 31, 2000. Due to various reasons, however, among the 520 major State enterprises designated by the State Economic and Trade Commission, some enterprises still failed to reach the standard as scheduled. In view of the historical reasons of key State enterprises and their roles played in the development of the national economy, with respect to those key State businesses which failed to fulfill the task of meeting the standard on schedule and had difficulty to suspend production for rectification, the Circular explicitly states that various localities may work out an enterprise-reaching-target plan in light of the specific conditions of pollution-control projects or technologically renovated projects, so that they should reach the set standard on schedule.

The Circular requires that relevant government departments at various levels should, after the above-said plan is approved, tighten supervision and control over this type of enterprises, with emphasis being put on implementation of the measures for reducing pollution discharge and on progress of the pollution-control projects or technologically renovated projects. Enterprises which fail to meet the set standard within the specified time limit shall be resolutely dealt with according to law.

(People's Daily 02/02/01)