Changsha Cracks-down on Polluting Enterprises 64 Companies Blacklisted

30 heavily polluting enterprises are to be closed down before September 30th, 5 will shut down before December 31, 2010, 8 will be relocated within a deadline ending December 31, 2010; and 21 are to suspend production for rectification before September 30. A working conference on the rectification of enterprises in major polluting industries and environmental protection in rural areas was held today in Changsha. During the meeting, 64 enterprises were put on the blacklist. Zhang Jianfei, deputy secretary of the Changsha Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Changsha, said that the city must keep on developing, but above all, the people’s livelihood must be guaranteed. He went on to say that a slight drop in GDP was a price worth paying to ensure that businesses that should not be in business are closed down.

No loans for Heavily Polluting Enterprises

The scope and focus of rectification included: all polluting non-ferrous and chemical enterprises involved in heavy-metal pollutants (especially cadmium, lead, arsenic, chromium and mercury); enterprises with unlawful practice in the disposal and utilization of hazardous waste; enterprises involved in key complaint cases about environmental safety; and any illegal act of production related to environmental safety. 

To ensure good results, the city will take measures depending on the nature of offenses, such as the closing-down and relocation of offending companies or demanding that remedial measures be taken within a certain deadline. For heavy polluters, a range of measures may be imposed, such as revocation of business license, cancellation of tax registration, termination of bank loans, removal of production equipment and cut-off of power supply. All enterprises subject to remediation will be made public and listed without exception. Those engaged in illegal production without the necessary registration will be closed down without exception; those located within the protection zones of water sources will be ordered to cease production and shut down within a prescribed deadline; those being repeatedly reported by citizens due to pollution, thus resulting in disputes, will be ordered to cease production and take remedial action within a fixed period of time; and enterprises that have set up or added drainage exits or concealed conduits without permission will be ordered to stop production, take remedial action, and will be given the most strict penalties.

“For a GDP of 300 billion, closing-down 300 million worth of output will be a reduction of 0.1% of the total, whereas closing-down 3 billion is only 1%. Before September 30, 35 enterprises involved in illegal production and heavy metal pollution will be resolutely closed down.” Zhang Jianfei said the city will continue to use economic means, specifying how much deposits enterprises in different categories of environmental impact are required to submit. This policy in fact equals an entry level requirement, and is a form of environmental liability insurance. It will radically change the current situation, in which enterprises see protective measures as being costly, especially when breaking the rules does not bring about serious punishment. An incentive system for reporting environmental pollution is to be established. Members of the public will monitor enterprises with environmental risks, changing the mode of unilateral monitoring by environmental protection department for general public supervision. Once excessive emissions or a direct discharge is found, an inspection will be launched immediately.

Banning the keeping of chickens and pigs in the city next year

In addition to cracking down on serious polluters, Changsha has also shifted the focus of environmental work to lay stress on both urban areas and rural areas this year. This move is aimed at balancing the development of environmental protection in both urban and rural areas. “Many small towns have one new road with shops on both sides, surrounded by garbage dumps.” Zhang Jianfei said that poor environments in rural areas not only affect the living conditions of rural dwellers, but also the safety of food supplied to urban residents. Without the improvements in rural areas, the urban environment will not be able to improve.

Li Jun, vice mayor of Changsha City, indicated that in principle, the livestock industry will withdraw from the five districts in Changsha by 2010. The four counties (cities) will also demarcate areas prohibited for breading, areas for limited breeding and areas suitable for breeding. Moreover, unified planning, construction and management of urban and rural sewage treatment will be realized in stages; in areas neighboring the city, the extension of pipelines for sewage will be promoted, bringing sewage into the municipal sewage system for centralizing processing. By 2010, domestic sewage plants and their supporting pipe networks are to be established in 41 towns which already have waterworks. Meanwhile, “green industry" system will be established as soon as possible, resource-intensive enterprises with high energy consumption and high pollution will be resolutely banned, and "18 small enterprises”, such as small plating plants, small tannery plants and small printing & dyeing plants, which are explicitly ordered to be eliminated by state industrial policy, will be strictly banned from being introduced, established, expanded or renovated.

(Source: Hunan On-line---Sanxiang City Express)