No Penalty For New Environmental Law

Illegal sewage disposal should be punished by the day, and there is no upper limit; the main body of responsibility through underground pipe sewage disposal or tampering with monitoring data may be detained by the public security department.

Due to the fact that "no penalty is imposed on the fine, the illegal polluters are likely to face punishment for the loss of personal freedom" and other provisions, the new environmental protection law, which began in January 1, 2015, is considered by academia to be the most stringent environmental law in history.

In the view of Pan Yue, Vice Minister of environmental protection, this environmental protection law, described as "long teeth", not only highlights the central government's determination to declare war against pollution, but also responds to people's expectation of the good environment such as APEC blue, and the most important thing now is that

How to enforce laws with iron fist to ensure that the strictest laws are not a mere scrap of paper.

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The overhaul has been 25 years since the last revision, and the process of revision is quite tortuous. After the two session of the people's Congress, two times sought advice from the community.

Lv Zhongmei, Dean of Hubei University of Economics, remembers that the amendment was only revised at the beginning, and as the public became more and more concerned, the amendment was eventually changed.

From revision to amendment, although it is only one word difference, it is a painful change, especially the change of environmental law has been a "soft law" situation for a long time.

Before the revision of the environmental protection law, the environmental protection department has imposed a fine limit of 1 million yuan on illegal sewage enterprises, and can only punish a polluter once. For decades, the number of enterprises fined 1 million yuan by environmental protection departments is few.

Many places have even seen the following scenes: at the beginning of the year, polluting enterprises took money to go to the environmental protection department, saying that it was a year's fine, once enough, and the environmental protection department was not used for law enforcement all year round.

The biggest highlight of the revised environmental law is that the environmental protection department can impose penalties on the enterprises that refuse to correct illegal emissions.

That is to say, for the illegal activities of enterprises, the environmental protection department can continue accumulatively punishments on a daily basis until the enterprise corrections.

Wang Canfa, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, has been calling for more punishment for environmental offences over the years. He is also an active promoter of daily punishment.

According to Wang Canfa, the daily penalty is a relatively mature punishment system in developed countries. After introducing the system of daily punishment through local legislation in Chongqing a few years ago, it has played a deterrent role in the illegal sewage disposal of enterprises.

Before the introduction of a daily penalty in Chongqing, the rate of correction was only 4.8% after the environmental protection department found illegal sewage disposal, but the number was increased to 84% after the daily penalty was written to local regulations.

With the strict enforcement of environmental protection departments, the rate of correction of illegal activities has been over 90%.

In Wang Canfa's view, a continuous and unlimited penalty is only the first step in deterring illegal enterprises by the new environmental protection law. The punishment of judicial and criminal law will make the illegal polluters face the restriction of personal freedom.

In fact, before the formal introduction of the new environmental protection law, the Supreme People's court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have made judicial interpretations on crimes of punishing environmental pollution and increased penalties for environmental violations.

Du Wanhua, a full-time member of the Supreme Judicial Committee, said that the number of environmental cases handled by courts at all levels in the country has risen from several pieces 10 years ago to nearly 1000 pieces each year.

Since June 2013, thousands of environmental cases have been tried at various courts throughout the country, and more than 1000 people have been sentenced.

Huang Ming, Vice Minister of public security, said that before the implementation of the new environmental protection law, the Ministry of public security and the Ministry of environmental protection have established an information sharing mechanism for environmental violations and a consultation mechanism for major cases. In 2014, the number of cases filed by environmental protection departments exceeded the sum of the previous 10 years.

The law enforcement officers are also hanging on their heads.

Just like two sides of a coin, the new environmental protection law has imposed a clear responsibility on the law enforcement officers while making heavy penalties and restricting free means to offenders.

After the promulgation of the new environmental protection law, sixty-eighth of them triggered heated discussions among the local environmental protection departments.

This provision stipulates that in the 9 case, if the environmental protection personnel are dereliction of duty, they are to be dealt with and cause serious consequences. They should be dismissed or dismissed. The principal responsible person should take the blame and resign.

These 9 kinds of behaviors, including those harboring environmental offences, have not been promptly investigated and dealt with by the reports, and the environmental information has not been released in time.

Some local environmental protection department cadres initially puzzled, think that the law enforcement officers dereliction of duty delineated too much content, dry environmental protection has become a high-risk industry.

Some experts also believe that the local environmental protection officials are actually appointed by local governments. The "meal tickets" are in the hands of local governments. Whether the local environmental protection bureau has the courage to challenge both polluters and enterprises with large profits and taxes.

In Pan Yue's opinion, how can the environmentalists stop polluting their hands with iron fingers?

In fact, not only are environmental law enforcement officers hanging on their heads, but also the "environmental burden" of local officials.

Zhou Ke, a professor at Renmin University of China, said that the environmental protection act before the amendment mentioned responsibility, but only for illegal enterprises. The new law is clear. It should be accountable to the environmental law enforcement officials and local officials.

In order to cooperate with the implementation of new environmental protection, not long ago, the State Council also issued the notice on strengthening environmental supervision and law enforcement, which mentioned "zero tolerance for all kinds of environmental violations".

Wang Canfa said that the notification of the State Council and the new environmental protection law come from the same origin. If there is an environmental law violation case, it is not only illegal enterprises, or dereliction of duty environmental departments, or even local governments who need to be held responsible.

Zou Shoumin, director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Ministry of environmental protection, said that there were many provisions in the notice issued by the State Council that environmental accidents occurred and local governments should be responsible.

One way out of the past is to "pursue lifelong accountability of local officials for the damage of the ecological environment".

This is closely related to the "local people's governments at all levels should be responsible for the environmental quality of their administrative regions" mentioned in the new environmental protection law.

Many legal people believe that the newly revised environmental law also answers a very important question: who should be responsible for the quality of the environment.

From the point of law delineation of responsibilities, local governments, enterprises, environmental protection departments and the public should contribute to environmental protection.

Even the law was written for the first time. "Citizens should enhance their awareness of environmental protection, adopt a low-carbon and frugal lifestyle, and conscientiously fulfill their obligations to protect the environment".

Pan Yue believed that the new environmental protection law established the idea of social pluralism and co governance.