CHINA UPDATE OCTOBER 2016 1 NATIONAL SOIL POLLUTION PREVENTION ACTION PLAN 2 NATIONAL CATALOGUE OF HAZARDOUS WASTE 3 IMPACT ASSESSMENT LAW (2016 REVISION) 4 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL 5 WORKPLACE ACCIDENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS 6 SHANGHAI MUNICIPAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS (2016 REVISION) 7 SHANGHAI MUNICIPAL RULES FOR PROTECTION OF SOIL 8 HUNAN PROVINCE SOIL REMEDIATION STANDARDS Note: The regulatory information contained herein is current as of October 2016. The next issue of China Update will be published in December 2016. NATIONAL SOIL POLLUTION PREVENTION ACTION PLAN Implemented May 28, 2016 Released by the State Council, this plan also called Ten Soil Actions provides tasks for achieving soil pollution prevention through 2050. 1. Develop a soil pollution survey to be conducted every 10 years to understand the current state of soil quality. Establish a soil quality monitoring network through monitoring points with total coverage in all counties, cities and areas by the end of 2020. Improve the digital database of environmental information relating to soil. 2. Promote legislation for the prevention of soil contamination, and establish comprehensive regulatory and standards systems by 2020. Develop a system of standards; enhance monitoring and supervision; and monitor the content of heavy metals, such as cadmium, mercury, arsenic, lead and chromium, as well as cycloalkanes, petroleum, ether and similar organic pollutants. Also focus on the supervision of ferrous metal ore extraction, ferrous metal smelting, petroleum drilling and similar industries. 3. Implement management of farmland, and protect the security of the agricultural environment by dividing contaminated farmland into three classes based on the degree of contamination, while enlarging the scope of protection, promoting safe utilization, implementing management controls, and enhancing management of the soil environment of forests, grasslands and garden areas. 4. Prevent risks to residential environments through construction management requirements and publication of technical specifications for soil surveys at construction sites by the end of 2016. Clarify management measures for use by classification, and gradually generate catalogues of contaminated sites for development and utilization. Also implement supervisory responsibility, and make access to sites more rigorous. Continued on page 2
CHINA UPDATE OCTOBER 2016 2 Continued from page 1 5. Protect uncontaminated soil and contain new contamination. Promote urbanization and development of towns, as well as the restructuring of industry and dismantling of redundant production. Aim to move or close down existing facilities that cause serious soil pollution. 6. Supervise pollution sources, particularly related to agricultural contamination from industry and mining activities. 7. Implement regional pollution remediation and restoration measures. Rules for the assessment of remediation and restoration results will be drafted by the end of 2017. 8. Increase research and development, and promote growth of the environmental protection industry. Enhance research into the prevention of soil pollution, expand efforts to promote appropriate technology, and further develop the remediation and restoration industry. 9. Construct a system for soil remediation that includes establishing preliminary integrated prevention zones for soil contamination in Taizhou City (Zhejiang Province), Huangshi City (Hubei Province), Changde City (Hunan Province), Shaoguan City (Guangdong Province), Hechi City (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) and Tongren City (Guizhou Province) before the end of 2016. 10. Improve auditing of goals and determine responsibility. The State Council and various provincial governments will sanction a letter of responsibility with goals for the remediation of soil pollution before the end of 2016. NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF HAZARDOUS WASTE Implemented August 1, 2016 In this latest revision to the directory, there are 46 major categories with 479 types of hazardous waste (117 of which are new additions). Of those in the original catalogue, HW06 (organic solvent waste), HW41 (waste halogenated organic solvents) and HW42 (waste organic solvents) were consolidated into HW06 (waste organic solvents and waste containing organic solvents). Two categories from the previous version that were deemed ambiguous HW43 (waste containing PCBs and furans) and HW44 (waste containing PCBs and dioxin) were eliminated. A new category, HW50 (waste catalysts), was added. The 117 types of hazardous wastes that were added were gathered from the results of research, waste identification and responses to requests for opinions. Additionally, the directory lists 16 types of hazardous waste that are exempt from management. Seven types of hazardous waste have been exempted in the relevant standards; for example, fly ash from incinerated household trash that satisfies acceptance criteria can be buried in a landfill for household trash. Nine types of hazardous waste have been confirmed to present an acceptable environmental risk after exemption for a specific aspect, such as waste circuit boards in vehicles, which, if they satisfy requirements for being waterproof, leak-proof and without discharge, can be transported as other than hazardous waste.
CHINA UPDATE OCTOBER 2016 3 IMPACT ASSESSMENT LAW (2016 REVISION) Implemented September 1, 2016 The recent revision includes changes in the following areas. Streamlined administrative review and approval Administrative review and approval of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) will no longer be a prerequisite for the approval of feasibility study reports or projects. Pre-approval by water resource departments for soil and water conservation plans has also been removed; this includes pre-approval by the supervisory department for the respective industry. The type of assessment required EIA report, EIA report form or EIA registration form depends on factors, such as type of industry, project scope, industrial process in question and whether or not the project involves sensitive areas. EIA registration forms need only be filed under the revised law, rather than undergo a 15-day review period. Increased penalties Content concerning post-completion for missing EIAs within a set timeframe was eliminated to be more consistent with the Environmental Protection Law. Penalties for illegal actions are now significantly stricter than those currently in effect. For EIA reports and EIA forms that are not submitted for approval, or companies that commence with construction prior to approval of these items, penalties have been increased from RMB 50,000 RMB 200,000 to between one and five percent of the total investment of the project. Enhanced planning EIAs Organizations drafting plans must highlight whether the EIA reviewing opinions were adopted, and outline the reason why any opinion given was not adopted. If a new construction project is included in a planning EIA, the conclusions of the planning EIA will constitute a major basis for the new project. WORKPLACE ACCIDENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS Implemented July 1, 2016 The Management Rules for Workplace Accident Emergency Response Plans clarifies requirements for drafting and implementing accurate, practical plans for individual companies. Article 5: The primary responsible person (PRP) for a production company must organize, develop and implement emergency response plans for their organization. Each responsible person in the respective divisions must, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, implement emergency plans in line with his or her stipulated responsibilities. Article 6: Production and management companies must bear legal liability, and ensure that daily management and emergency response plans are closely linked. Article 31: Work safety administration bureaus at all levels shall incorporate training of emergency response plans into their overall workplace safety training programs, and will organize and implement training for key production or management companies within their administrative area. Article 24: The PRP must approve and publish their company s emergency response plans. Plans must also be readily available to all relevant departments, work posts and emergency response teams. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL Implemented September 1, 2016 The revisions to the Law on Occupational Disease Prevention and Control are as follows. Revisions to articles 17, 18 and 19 eliminate the need for Work Safety Administration Bureau approval and intermediary services regarding items formerly covered by these articles. Articles 70 and 84, which address legal liability, have also been revised. Construction companies can arrange and complete the protective facility design approval and project completion inspection and approval (PCIA), as well as the assessment of effective control of occupational disease. The Work Safety Administration Bureau may take measures, such as supervision and auditing of assessment results and PCIA activities, and supervision inspection of specific items regarding preventive and protective equipment related to controlling occupational disease.
CHINA UPDATE OCTOBER 2016 4 SHANGHAI PROTECTION REGULATIONS (2016 REVISION) Implemented October 1, 2016 The revised regulation comprises eight chapters and 91 articles, with revisions highlighting the principles of public participation, green development and comprehensive supervision. A red-line system for ecology protection has been established and specifies that drinking water resource protection zones, natural protection zones, as well as major mudflats and wetland zones, must be brought within the scope of the system. There are now three courses of action a polluting company can take to rectify the situation. A pollution prevention agreement can be signed between the company and relevant environmental agency that aims to improve the standard of supervision. Companies may hire a professional third party to implement pollution rectification on their behalf. Companies can participate in an emission discharge trading system, wherein they may obtain total mass discharge indices via an exchange of discharge allowances. For any construction project involving the discharge of focal contaminants, companies must obtain total mass discharge indices via an application process during the EIA phase, or obtain the total mass index via emission discharge allowance trading. The total mass limit of existing polluters will now fall under the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB). Incentive measures have been established, and reduction in emissions will be supported through financial, tax, pricing and government buy in. Companies must comply with conditions concerning management of the total mass limit, and if the emission mass exceeds the limit, production must be halted. In the event of a violation, companies that discharge more than their mass limit may be ordered by the city or district EPB to stop production and rectify the situation, and may be fined not less than RMB 100,000 or more than RMB 1 million. In serious instances, the violation may be reported to a government agency with an approval authority that may order a company to halt production or the closure of the facility. With regard to soil pollution in the city, a soil contamination monitoring and assessment mechanism, including surveys by government and monitoring by companies, will be established. If an environmental risk is discovered, the land user must develop a risk control plan and implement prevention measures. If contamination occurs, the company or individual will be liable for clean-up. Companies engaged in the production, sale or storage of liquid chemicals or oil products must take steps to prevent any leakage.
CHINA UPDATE OCTOBER 2016 5 SHANGHAI MANAGEMENT RULES FOR PROTECTION OF SOIL Implemented July 1, 2016 According to the Shanghai Management Rules for Environmental Protection of Soil through the lifecycle of industrial and commercial sites, land owners (including land resource reservation authorities) prior to acquiring, transferring, renewing or extending the period for land use right, shall undertake a soil survey and assessment, and submit an application to the local EPB. If contamination is identified and remediation or restoration is required, the land owner shall bear liability and expense for remediation. The Shanghai EPB is responsible for developing and completing the management system and standards for lifecycle management of soil for both commercial and industrial companies, enhancing management of a pool of experts for environmental site assessment and companies undertaking soil assessments and remediation. Each district/county EPB is responsible for supervising assessments and soil remediation undertaken by land owners under its jurisdiction, and for providing opinions on assessments and remediation reports to the district/ county land planning and management authorities. The district/county EPB is also responsible for improving routine inspections for soil contamination and informing the municipal-level EPB of the status of annual audits of soil environmental assessments and remediation. In the case of a land reserved for commercial or industrial use, the previous land use right owner must organize and implement soil assessments, and provide the results to the district/county EPB. If the EPB determines that there is contamination requiring remediation, the land owner will be required to organize and implement remediation to meet EPB-established requirements. The previous land use right owner may partner with the land reservation agency to discuss and determine work to be done by the agency on soil assessments and remediation, clarifying the responsibilities and duties in a supplemental agreement, with associated costs to be deducted from the selling price. If the land reservation agreement stipulates that the land reservation agency is responsible for implementing soil assessments and remediation, associated costs may be added into the cost of the land acquisition. Land use right owners may request an extension at the expiration of their contract. They must perform soil assessments, and provide the results to the district/county EPB. If that bureau determines that there is contamination requiring remediation, the land use right owner is required to organize and implement remediation. Prior to the extension period, the land planning management agency shall request an opinion from the district/county EPB, and issue an extension only after the EPB confirms that environmental requirements have been met. EPBs must strengthen routine soil inspections and environmental management of industrial companies to prevent soil contamination. Results of soil assessments and remediation at all phases of land transfer may serve as a source of data for EIAs. HUNAN PROVINCE SOIL REMEDIATION STANDARDS Implemented May 29, 2016 The Hunan Province Soil Remediation Standards for Sites Contaminated with Heavy Metals (DB43/T 1125-2016) establishes remediation target limits for more than 10 heavy metal contaminants including lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury for residential, commercial and industrial land. IN TOUCH For more information, please contact: Mr. Xiao-Jian Zhou, Managing Director Tel: +86 21 6473 6885 xjzhou@ramboll.com We prepare China Update to apprise clients of major EHS regulatory developments in China. It is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.