Following heightened supervision in the city, over 470 environmental violations were reported in the first quarter of 2015 — nearly 50 percent increase than last year, Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday.
A revised China Environmental Protection Law has come into effect since the beginning of this year. Referred to as China's "strictest environmental protection law," the new law set higher fines for law violating enterprises. Enterprise owners who refuse to follow renovation orders by environment officials will be given administrative detentions.
A total fine of 28 million yuan (US$4.5 million) was collected from 476 cases of violations. The two figures reflect a jump of 47.3 percent and 44.7 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. A large number of the violations related to illegal discharge of waste water and gas, as well as unlicensed disposal of industrial wastes.
In a recent case, an unlicensed mill in Baoshan District was busted for illegally collecting and disposing waste machine oil since 2010. A man Xiao Qifeng set up the mill in Luodian Town's Nanzhou Village in Baoshan District, and started collecting and recycling waste machine oil without having environmental protection facilities in the mill.
Xiao sold the recycled oil to an energy company in Fujian Province, and discharged waste water directly into the soil, polluting farmlands. The bureau discovered a total of 251.5 tons of waste machine oil, filters and containers from the mill. Baoshan District People's Court sentenced Xiao to seven years in jail and fined him 300,000 yuan. Seven others also received jail terms.
In another case, Shanghai Sanxin Organic Fertilizer Co Ltd and Shanghai Yanzhi Industrial Co Ltd are facing charges for illegal discharge of poisonous wastes. The two companies disposed a total of 12,000 tons of sewage sludge in Fengjing Town's Xiafang Village in Jinshan District since 2012.
Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences found heavy metal and organics in the illegally discharged sludge which were extremely harmful to the farmlands. It would cost over 10 million yuan to repair the destroyed soil and the surrounding environment.
"The new law has improved the efficiency of our work," said He Chen, director of Shanghai Environment Supervision Brigade. "Our team members will fulfill their duty while we also encourage the public to tip us on pollution."
