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Law to restrict shoreline exploitation, toughen punishments for infractions To enhance the conservation of the country's longest watercourse,
China plans to restrict exploitation of shorelines and impose tougher
punishment for a number of violations that cause environmental hazards
in the Yangtze River Basin, according to a draft law. With the help of a national coordination mechanism, central
government bodies and provincial-level governments in the basin will map
out protected shorelines and draft a plan on protecting shore areas of
rivers and lakes, according to the draft law on protecting the Yangtze
River that was submitted to the bimonthly session of the Standing
Committee of National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for
review for the third time on Tuesday. In areas less than 1 kilometer from the Yangtze's trunk and its
tributaries, for example, new chemical industrial parks and projects
will be forbidden, and existing ones will not be allowed to expand, it
said. New tailing ponds will be prohibited in areas less than 3 km from the Yangtze's mainstream, it added. The draft also said local governments in the Yangtze basin will work
in synergy as they draft local laws, guidelines and plans, and roll out
law enforcement measures to protect and remediate the Yangtze. It also vows to severely punish violations related to transportation of hazardous goods and sand excavation in the basin. Enterprises that transport highly toxic chemicals or chemicals
forbidden from waterway transport via the Yangtze will have their
illicit gains confiscated and be given fines of up to 500,000 yuan
($76,350).Company executives held accountable will face penalties of
50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan, according to the draft law. The penalties are more severe than those included in a guideline on
transporting hazardous goods via ship, which was published by the
Ministry of Transport in 2018. In addition, the draft law says that, under grave circumstances,
transport companies will have to suspend operations for rectification
and their business licenses could be revoked. Xu Hui, a senior official with the NPC's Constitution and Law
Committee, said the new items were added to the draft law based on
public opinions the legislature solicited after the previous two reviews
and field investigations the committee conducted in various regions,
including Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. He said officials from government bodies including the National
Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and
Environment participated in two conferences held by his committee to
consider the draft. "The draft law includes special institutional measures put forward
based on characteristics of the Yangtze River and the outstanding
problems in the watercourse," he said.
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