Pictures of three severely polluted sewage pits in north China have gone viral after a report from an environment organization revealed toxic levels of pollution. China’s environmental authority responded on Friday that it is illegal to dispose waste into seepage pits and wells, and vowed to “seriously handle” the cases.
Tian Weiyong, head of the inspection division under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, briefed the media on the investigations into the cases and said the pollution was caused by the improper disposal of hazardous waste.
Tian Weiyong, head of the inspection division under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, speaks at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday. /Weibo Photo
“The investigation results of the sewage pit pollution cases are still on the way. However, it is illegal to discharge pollutants in seepage pits and wells to escape supervision, no matter how and how long the pits form,” said the head, adding that violators would be punished to the full extent of the law.
China’s Environmental Protection Law took effect in 2015. It banned the use of seepage wells and pits, and other ways of fooling or misleading regulators.
Article 42 of the law reads, “Discharging of pollutants by setting up concealed drains, making use of seepage wells or pits, perfusion, tampering or forgery of monitoring data, abnormal operating of pollution prevention and control facilities, or any other means that evade regulation, is strictly prohibited.”
The three pits found in north China’s Hebei and Tianjin have been severely polluted with acid waste, covering a total area of 350,000 square meters, equal to nearly 46 standard soccer fields.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection holds a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday./Weibo Photo
The cases were first disclosed online by the Chongqing Liangjiang Voluntary Service Center NGO.
Tian voiced his welcome to the supervision of the public, media as well as NGOs, saying thanks to their monitoring, lots of violations can be found and handled in time.
Speaking of the latest campaign against pollution in 28 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the official said that 4,077 firms had been investigated, and 2,808 firms were found to have violated environmental rules, 69 percent of the total.
China imposed total fines of 6.63 billion yuan (963.3 million US dollars) for environmental violations in 2016, up 56 percent compared to the previous year, the environment ministry said in a statement ahead of the Friday briefing.
And a total of 137,800 environmental violations were punished in 2016, up 34 percent from 2015, added the statement.
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