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On the evening of the 27th, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province, Jiangxi Province, and Henan Province simultaneously announced their plans for addressing the issues identified during the central government’s environmental protection inspections. In accordance with the deadline requirements, if these four provinces and regions fail to resolve the environmental issues listed in the problem checklist by the set date, not only will the central authorities hold them accountable, but the local residents can also demand an explanation. Reporters from Yicai noticed that the lists of corrective measures for various provinces and regions, published on the official website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, are quite comprehensive. Taking the rectification plan of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as an example, the total word count is 54,000 words; if printed in size 3 font, it will exceed 120 pages. “This is actually a detailed implementation of the list of issues identified by the central environmental inspection team for the local authorities. This list of issues was not made public at that time. ”An environmental protection official told a reporter from Yicai News. Taking the list of corrective measures in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as an example, it contains as many as 49 items, including the existing environmental problems, the responsible entities, the supervising entities, the entities accountable for taking action, the time limits for implementation of the corrections, the goals to be achieved, and the specific corrective measures. From July 14 to August 14, 2016, the First Central Environmental Protection Inspection Team conducted an environmental protection inspection in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The listed environmental issues include: Hulunbuir and Xingan League need to pay attention to the severe impacts and consequences of extensive and unregulated development on the ecological environment. The move by Xingan League and Xilin Gol League to pursue a \"coal-water cooperation\" approach for the development of coal chemical industries is concerning. The rectification requirements stipulate that the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region must strictly follow the **13th Five-Year Plan** to determine the industrial layout in a scientific and rational manner. Strictly adhere to the red lines for functional zones, development-restricted areas, and prohibited areas; strengthen the guiding and regulatory role of planning and environmental impact assessments; and raise the entry barriers for coal chemical projects. “During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, apart from the coal chemical projects included in the **plan, Hulunbuir City, Xingan League, and Xilin Gol League will not undertake any new coal chemical projects. In recent years, due to factors such as a significant increase in water demand for industry and agriculture, reduced precipitation, and increased evaporation, the ecosystem in the Daihai Lake basin in Inner Mongolia has suffered severe degradation. The water level has dropped rapidly, the lake area has shrunk sharply, and the water quality has continued to deteriorate year by year. During the decade from 2005 to 2015, the water level dropped by an average of 0.37 meters per year; the lake’s surface area shrank from 88 square kilometers to around 60 square kilometers. The volume of water stored in the lake decreased by an average of 30 million cubic meters per year, and currently only about 400 million cubic meters of water remains in the lake. If no effective measures are taken, in another ten to twenty years, this lake, which serves as an important ecological resource in the north and is the third-largest lake in the region, will completely disappear. The rectification requirements call on the Development and Reform Commission of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Party Committee of Ulanqab City, and **to complete the approval process for the plan and start its implementation by the end of June this year; by 2020, pollutants entering the lake should be significantly reduced and the water quality improved. The central environmental inspection team also found that groundwater over-extraction is severe in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. From 2011 to 2015, 197,500 new irrigation wells were added across the region, accounting for 35% of the existing irrigation wells. In the 33 areas where groundwater is overexploited in this region, the average annual amount of groundwater extracted in excess of its sustainable level was 627 million cubic meters. This overexploitation led to a significant drop in groundwater levels in various cities and regions; between 2014 and 2015 alone, the groundwater levels in Tongliao, Hohhot, and Baotou dropped by 0.85 meters, 0.62 meters, and 0.31 meters respectively. The rectification requirements state that by 2020, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the amount of water withdrawn from the three large areas where over-extraction is occurring – Tongliao, Hohhot city area, and Bayannur Ulaat Qian Banner – should account for more than 60% of the amount extracted in excess; the water levels in these areas should reach the prescribed levels. In the remaining 30 areas where over-extraction occurs, extraction and replenishment should be balanced, with water levels also reaching the prescribed levels so that they no longer decline. Yunnan Province’s list of corrective measures includes 46 issues related to the implementation of corrections, 4 issues that require enhanced attention, as well as a list of corrective measures for issues specific to various cities and prefectures. Reporters from Yicai noted that environmental issues closely related to the daily lives and economic activities of the people include the slow progress in phasing out vehicles with yellow license plates that were in use in Yunnan Province by the end of 2005; by the end of 2015, there were still 30,692 such vehicles in the province, which is a significant gap compared to the required target. The corrective measures propose that by the end of 2017, yellow-label vehicles in cities at the prefecture level and above across the province should be basically phased out. Among the 155 urban sewage treatment plants already built in Yunnan Province, a considerable number suffer from issues such as inadequate pipeline networks and incomplete sewage interception. The corrective measures require that the Yunnan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Provincial Department of Agriculture, and the Provincial Department of Environmental Protection, along with various cities and prefectures, **increase financial investment, strive to obtain support from central government funds and **special construction funds, make good use of provincial subsidies, build and improve 3,780 kilometers of pipelines associated with urban sewage treatment plants, further upgrade 2,765 kilometers of such pipelines, renovate 239 kilometers of old pipelines, and increase the capacity of sewage treatment facilities by 845,000 tons per day, in order to fully address issues such as inadequate pipeline networks and incomplete sewage interception. The supervision and rectification plan for Jiangxi Province covers 4 aspects, 16 items, and 61 issues. The main environmental issues include a decline in air quality in some cities since 2013; in the first half of 2016, the concentrations of inhalable particulates (PM10) increased compared to the previous year in the four cities of Nanchang, Xinyu, Ganzhou, and Yichun. The concentrations of fine particulates (PM2.5) also increased on a year-on-year basis in the five cities of Nanchang, Jiujiang, Yingtan, Yichun, and Ji’an. The list of corrective measures requires that by the end of 2017, the concentrations of inhalable particulate matter (PM10) in the four cities of Nanchang, Xinyu, Ganzhou, and Yichun should meet the respective ** and provincial ** annual targets, while the concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the five cities of Nanchang, Jiujiang, Yingtan, Yichun, and Ji’an should also meet those targets. From 2013 to 2015, among the 194 monitoring stations along the major rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Jiangxi Province, the total phosphorus concentration increased year by year at 47 stations, the chemical oxygen demand concentration increased at 40 stations, and the ammonia nitrogen concentration increased at 21 stations. The list of corrective measures requires that by the end of 2020, the upward trend in total phosphorus concentrations at 47 monitoring sites along the major rivers, lakes and reservoirs in Jiangxi Province, as well as the upward trend in chemical oxygen demand concentrations at 40 sites and ammonia nitrogen concentrations at 21 sites, be effectively brought under control, with these concentrations showing a decline. Regarding the issue of declining water quality in Poyang Lake, which is of concern to the public, the list of corrective measures calls for Jiangxi Province to implement a \"river chief system\" at the provincial, municipal, county, township, and village levels, so as to ensure that river chiefs at each level fulfill their responsibilities. Comprehensive efforts should be continued throughout the province to address water pollution, with a focus on carrying out special campaigns to rectify eight types of illegal activities, such as unauthorized land use and construction, improper enclosures and blockages, reckless mining and excavation, as well as illegal dumping and discharge. Problem lists should be established for different regions and river basins, records kept to track progress, and supervision ensured to facilitate corrections. Reporters from Yicai noticed that the deadline for addressing many environmental issues in Henan Province was set for the end of 2017. For example, given that the rate of treatment of domestic wastewater in the built-up areas of Shangqiu City is only around 50%, which is far below the required 85%, some of the rivers and streams in the area are polluted and filled with trash. Regarding the air quality, which has deteriorated sharply, the list of corrective measures calls for accelerating the construction of the Eighth Wastewater Treatment Plant and the second phase of the Xiayi County Wastewater Treatment Plant (with a capacity of 20,000 tons per day) by the end of September 2017, so that they can begin operating on schedule. Strengthen the prevention and control of dust pollution, motor vehicle pollution, industrial pollution, coal combustion regulation, bans on burning straw, and emergency management. In response to the ongoing deterioration of water quality in the Majia River in Puyang City, as well as the fact that the Jindi River has long had water quality classified as poor category V, the list of corrective measures calls for a comprehensive approach to combating water pollution, active implementation of key projects aimed at addressing water pollution issues, increased efforts in water ecosystem restoration, and ensuring an adequate flow of water in these important rivers. The goal is to fully improve the water environment quality by December 20, 2018. By the end of 2017, the water quality at the municipal monitoring points along the Majia River and Jindi River, as well as at the national (provincial) controlled monitoring points, reached Class V, and this quality level remained stable in 2018 as well. Measures were taken to address the issues existing in the Henan Fengli Petrochemical project, with processes and equipment that did not comply with **industrial policies being adjusted and improved.