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June 23, 2017

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New law in fight to clean China’s soil

LAWMAKERS are discussing a draft of China’s first law on soil pollution which promises funds and a nationwide soil survey every 10 years.

Addressing lawmakers at the start of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s bimonthly session, Luo Qingquan, deputy head of the NPC’s environment and resources protection committee, described the condition of the country’s soil as “grim.”

Soil pollution is a substantial obstacle to building a moderately prosperous society, he added.

A strict environmental protection system, such as the one proposed in the draft, is the only way to improve soil quality and ensure agricultural produce is safe for consumption, he said.

China must show patience in its “long war” against soil pollution, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said earlier this week, with the country facing a cleanup bill that could be up to 1 trillion yuan (US$146 billion).

In an action plan published last year, the central government said it would aim to “stabilize” worsening soil pollution by the end of the decade and start to make improvements by 2030.

Soil pollution, along with air and water pollution, is a consequence of breakneck economic development.

China revised its law on air pollution in 2015, restricting various sources of smog and making environmental data more transparent. Lawmakers are currently considering an amendment to the law on water pollution, which was enacted in 1984.

Currently, however, there is no dedicated law on soil pollution, just a handful of provisions scattered across other laws.

Nearly all known pollutants carried by air or water eventually find their way into the soil.

A string of food scandals, especially those involving rice and wheat, have been linked to soil contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium.

Calling soil the “ultimate receptor” of all pollutants, Luo said pollution had already reached alarming levels.

Figures from the environment ministry and the Ministry of Land and Resources show that about 16.1 percent of China’s surveyed land tested positive for excessive levels of pollution. About 19.4 percent of surveyed arable land had levels of pollution higher than the national standard. Scientists say this may just be the tip of the iceberg.

The lack of a specific law, and lenient penalties for environmental damage — at least until 2015 when the new law on environmental protection came into effect — have taken their toll on China’s soil.

According to the draft, everyone is obliged to prevent soil pollution, and those responsible for damage or contamination will be held accountable. National standards for soil pollution risk control will be rolled out across the country.

Monitoring stations will be established, and data will be shared among environmental, agricultural, housing, forestry, health and land resource authorities.

Environmental protection authorities will release soil information and submit pollution prevention plans to central and local governments.

Construction projects that may cause soil pollution will be subject to environmental impact evaluations.

Enterprises involved in the production, use, storage, transport, recycling or disposal of pollutants must record and monitor their annual discharge levels and transfer volume and report this data to authorities.

All firms must prove that they have systems in place to prevent toxic substances entering the soil.

Soil, especially around enterprises, and sewage and waste treatment facilities must be regularly tested.

Farming and food safety are highlighted as priority areas.

According to the draft, all pesticides and fertilizers linked to pollution risks must be recorded.

About a third of the world’s chemical pesticides, or 1.4 million tons, are used in China every year. China uses 2.5 times more pesticide than most developed countries.

The draft law also proposes a ban on the discharge of sewage, sludge and ore tailings, which contain excessive heavy metal and organic pollutants, onto farmland.

Industrial solid waste, household garbage contaminated by excessive heavy metals or other toxins as well as polluted soil cannot be used in land reclamation projects, the draft said.

Farmland will be divided into three categories — the least polluted should be prioritized for protection; the most polluted for intense treatment; and land lying in between being kept safe.

Farmland rendered unsuitable for grain production should be left fallow or returned to forest and grassland.

Meanwhile, residential and public facilities must not be built on polluted land, the draft said.

Those responsible for soil pollution should take measures to rehabilitate contaminated land and ground water, while landowners and local governments must step in should they fail to do so.

Soil pollution prevention funds will be set up at both central and local government levels to cover expenses when necessary, the draft said.

It said the government would encourage financial institutions to increase credit to support soil pollution control and remedial projects, and favorable tax policies will be designed to support enterprises engaged in such projects.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Qiu Qiwen, head of the ministry’s soil environment department, said the cost of cleaning up one mu (0.066 hectares) of polluted farmland in China could reach as much as 20,000 yuan (US$2,928).

According to the last nationwide survey in 2013, about 50 million mu of China’s farmland — an area the size of Belgium — was too polluted to grow crops. That would put total cleanup costs at a trillion yuan.

“Soil pollution does not form overnight and the problem cannot be solved overnight,” said Qiu. China “must have patience to fight the long war ahead.”




 

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