Police in Shandong handled 671 pollution offenses and arrested more than 1,000 suspects last year, local official data showed.
"The public has increasingly high expectations for improving environment, calling for strict law enforcement," said Wang Canfa, an environmental law researcher at China University of Political Science and Law.
Environmental protection departments, police and procuratorates at different levels should improve coordination, according to a document issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the MEP and the Ministry of Public Security earlier this month.
"Joint law enforcement by environmental authorities and the police will lead to the more effective handling of serious pollution cases," said Fang Li, head of Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.
UPHILL BATTLE
In an official document on air pollution treatment for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2016 to 2017, this year's target for the average annual density of PM2.5, unhealthy particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, was set at around 60 micrograms per cubic meter for both Beijing and Tianjin, and about 67 micrograms per cubic meter for Hebei.
Pollution control is a government priority. Beijing plans to spend 18.2 billion yuan on promoting clean energy, phasing out high-polluting old vehicles and factories and other measures to cut pollution. Its PM2.5 density fell by 9.9 percent to 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016.
Hebei's target is to achieve a PM2.5 density reduction of at least 6 percent in 2017 after it dropped 9 percent to reach 70 micrograms per cubic meter last year.
Tianjin aims to reduce coal consumption by 2.1 million tonnes through closing or upgrading coal-burning boilers and generators this year.
To cut vehicle exhaust emissions, Tianjin Port, the largest in northern China, will stop receiving diesel truck-transported coal in July. All coal in and out of the port will be carried by rail from the end of September, according to the municipal environmental authorities.
"For complementary development, Tianjin Port will focus on container services while Hebei's ports will develop bulk cargo businesses such as steel and coal in line with environmental standards," Zhao Mingkui, vice president of Tianjin Port, told Xinhua.
Central environmental inspections, which have been carried out in 16 provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions, will cover the rest of the country this year.
Meanwhile, two thirds of provinces or regions have unveiled provincial environmental inspection programs. Shanxi, which conducted provincial environmental inspections of four cities last year, will continue inspecting the remaining seven cities this year.
"We should make good use of the environmental protection inspection mechanisms as a sharp sword in our pollution treatment arsenal," said Wang, the researcher.
In new efforts to boost public monitoring and pollution control, the MEP said this month it would publish the ten best and worst cities for air quality improvement, in addition to the ten cities with good and poor air quality.
"Pollution treatment is a long, uphill battle. We can never slack off -- not even a bit," said Chen Run'er, governor of the central province of Henan.
