The illegal sprawl of brick kilns along the mudflats of China's second largest waterway, Yellow River, has stirred up an administrative whirlwind in a central China county, leading to the removal or discipline of 22 officials.

Illegally-built brick kilns pose serious flooding risks to the land surrounding the river.

At the epicenter of Yuanyang County of Henan Province, Sun Guofu, the first in command who doubles as the secretary of Yuanyang County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a member of the standing committee of the CPC Xinxiang Municipal Committee received a serious disciplinary warning.

This is the fourth worst disciplinary action taken by the CPC against its problematic members. In descending order of severity, the five-grade intra-Party penalties are removal of Party membership, under probation within the Party, removal of intra-Party posts, serious disciplinary warning and disciplinary warning.

Sun's partner Wei Liubao was immediately removed from the post of deputy secretary of the CPC Yuanyang County Committee.

He may lose his concurrent post of Yuanyang County head as the Henan Provincial government had proposed this removal to local legislature.

Another 20 officials of the county received Party penalties of various degrees, Xinhua learned from sources of the Henan Provincial government.

Two bosses of the illegal kilns have been detained so far. Further investigation is being carried out by the police and the Party's disciplinary inspection departments.

The presence of illegal brick kilns in Yuanyang County did not raise the awareness of the Henan Provincial Government until media reports exposed in late July that a flood-control project along the Yellow River had been suspended, putting 220,000 people in danger as the flood season came.

The project, situated in the mudflats of the Shuangjing Village, was supposed to be completed before this flood season and erect a second protecting embankment.

An illegal brick kiln broke a gap of 300 meters on the 8,722-meter-long water diversion facility aimed to prevent floods from crushing directly at the main Yellow River dam seven kilometers in the north.

The project has been completed on Sunday.

Initial investigation showed that there were 129 brick kilns along the Yellow River mudflats of Yuanyang County, with only 30 having been licensed. Of the 99 illegal ones, 49 have been dismantled as of Monday.

Henan Provincial Government decided Aug. 15 as the deadline for the dismantling of all brick kilns jeopardizing flood control. Brick kilns built upon farm lands must also be destroyed.

With one-third of its territory or 365 square kilometers being mudflats, Yuanyang County with a population of 680,000 is to the north of Yellow River and relies upon agriculture for economic development.

Yellow River has remained unruffled over the years and entered flood season this July. The two worst floods in history occurred in 1933 and 1938, killing a combined population of more than 900,000.

Li Guoying, first deputy director of the Yellow River Flood Prevention and Drought Relief Headquarters, warned in late May that the country should be fully aware of the possible difficulties in flood control given the unpredictable weather conditions.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)