China’s National People’s Congress has passed a revised Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law to go into effect on 1st January 2018.
The country’s official news agency Xinhua reported on 27th July that the law to strengthen government responsibility and supervision was adopted after a second reading at the bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the Congress.
The legislature also appointed Li Ganjie as Minister of Environmental Protection on Tuesday, replacing Chen Jining.
The revised law stipulates that emergency and back-up water resources should be set up in cities with single water sources and governments above the county-level should make public information of drinking water quality at least once a quarter.
Those who build sewage outlets in protected drinking water source areas will face increased fines.
According to Xinhua, the law brings the "river chief" system into being, “with leading officials assuming responsibility for addressing water pollution, including resource protection, waterline management, pollution prevention and control, and ecological restoration”.
China has previously appointed local government officials as “river chiefs”, notably in 2007 to address a blue algae outbreak in Taihu Lake, Jiangsu Province.
According to a draft published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, “all entities and individuals must prevent soil pollution, and will be held accountable for damage caused.
There will be national standards for soil pollution risk control”.
Soil condition information will be published by environmental protection authorities, who must submit pollution prevention plans to central and local governments for approval.