\"National Plan for the Construction of Facilities for the Disposal of Hazardous and Medical Waste\", Environmental Development Document [2009] No. 22

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Notice on Strengthening the Work Related to the Completion Inspection of Projects under the National Plan for the Construction of Facilities for the Disposal of Hazardous and Medical Waste (This document has been co-signed by Mu Hong from the National Development and Reform Commission) Environmental Protection Bureaus (Departments) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government: In accordance with the requirements set out in the National Plan for the Construction of Facilities for the Disposal of Hazardous and Medical Waste, jointly issued by our ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission (Document No. Huan Fa [2004] 16), by the end of 2008, more than 130 projects for the disposal of hazardous and medical waste (hereinafter referred to as “projects”) had been essentially completed. To effectively strengthen the supervision of projects throughout their entire lifecycle and standardize the process of project completion inspection, and in consultation with the Development and Reform Commission, the relevant matters are hereby notified as follows: 1. After the project construction is completed, an application for completion inspection must be submitted in accordance with regulations; the project can only be put into formal operation after passing such inspection. 　　II. For the capacity-building projects under the plan that are directly organized and implemented by our department, our department is responsible for organizing the acceptance inspections; for those projects implemented at the local level, the provincial environmental protection departments in question, together with the development and reform departments (hereinafter referred to as the \"provincial acceptance departments\"), jointly organize such inspections. The acceptance plans for provincial hazardous waste disposal centers must be submitted to our department for approval. The completion inspection departments at all levels shall, in accordance with **the relevant regulations on construction projects as well as the approved project details, conduct a comprehensive review of the project’s construction elements, quality, technical approach, and use of funds, based on the completion of each individual inspection. 　　III. The project legal entity is responsible for the preparatory work related to the project’s completion acceptance. Once the project has been completed, the construction contents have been reviewed and approved, the trial operation is proceeding normally, all individual inspections required by relevant national and local regulations have passed, and the conditions for completion acceptance are met, an application for completion acceptance should be submitted to the relevant authorities without delay. Those who fail to submit an application in a timely manner will not be issued a permit for handling hazardous waste, and they will not be allowed to commence operations; this will be regarded as a failure to complete the construction plans on schedule, and the local authorities in charge will be subject to official reprimand. 　　IV. In the acceptance of hazardous waste incineration and medical waste incineration projects, dioxin monitoring should be regarded as a key aspect of the final acceptance. In the acceptance of hazardous waste landfills, the construction quality of the landfill should be considered as one of the elements for final acceptance. 　　V. The project completion acceptance process shall be carried out in accordance with the \"Guidelines for the Completion Acceptance of Projects under the National Plan for the Construction of Hazardous Waste and Medical Waste Disposal Facilities\" (see attachment for details). Our department and the National Development and Reform Commission will conduct random inspections of the completion acceptance process. 　　VI. After the project passes the completion acceptance inspection, the provincial completion acceptance authority will issue a completion acceptance certificate, which serves as an important basis for our department or the local environmental protection agencies to issue permits for the handling of hazardous waste. 　　VII. The project owner is responsible for the entire process of the project, including fund raising and management, construction, technical solutions, equipment procurement, and the operation of the facilities once they are completed. 　　For those who alter the scale and scope of a project construction without approval, exceed the approved budget significantly, or misappropriate construction funds, the **relevant departments shall recover the illegal funds and impose penalties on the responsible entities and individuals in accordance with **relevant regulations. In cases of serious circumstances, the relevant entities and individuals will be held accountable in accordance with the law. 　　In cases where there are engineering or technical quality issues, and the pollution control results after trial operation do not meet the design requirements, immediate measures should be taken, and rectification must be ordered within a specified time frame. In cases of major technical and quality accidents, the relevant entities and individuals involved will be held accountable in accordance with the law. 　　VIII. Staff members of the completion inspection department who engage in malpractice for personal gain, abuse their powers, neglect their duties, or solicit or accept bribes in the course of completion inspection shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with the law ； If a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law. 　　Attachment: Guidelines for the Completion Inspection of the \"National Plan for the Construction of Facilities for the Disposal of Hazardous and Medical Waste\" 　　 February 25, 2009 　　 Keywords: Environmental protection, hazardous waste, planning, management, notice. 　　 CC: Development and Reform Commissions of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. 　　 Attachment: Guidelines for the Completion Inspection of Projects under the National Plan for the Construction of Facilities for the Disposal of Hazardous and Medical Waste

I. In order to strengthen the management of the construction projects for centralized disposal facilities for hazardous and medical waste, as outlined in the National Plan for the Construction of Facilities for the Disposal of Hazardous and Medical Waste (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), to standardize the completion inspection process for such projects, to comprehensively assess the progress of project construction and the use of funds, and to ensure project quality, these guidelines are formulated in accordance with relevant regulations such as the Measures for the Completion Inspection of Construction Projects and the Regulations on the Quality Management of Construction Projects. They take into account the actual conditions of each construction project and are intended to serve as a reference for the completion inspection of projects covered by the Plan. 　　II. The completion acceptance referred to in these measures means a comprehensive inspection and assessment carried out prior to the official commissioning of a construction project, after the completion of the acceptance tests for each individual component of the project, and after trials have been conducted as well as specialized inspections related to environmental protection (“three simultaneities” requirement), safety and hygiene, fire protection, and project documentation. This process involves evaluating the quality of the construction work, the compliance with industry standards and design specifications, the implementation of construction management systems, and the use of funds. It also includes a comprehensive evaluation of the design, construction, and supervision aspects of the project. Completion acceptance is an important prerequisite for a construction project to be put into formal operation. The completion acceptance process should be carried out in a fair, scientific, and standardized manner. 　　III. For capacity-building projects under plans that are directly organized and implemented by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry itself is responsible for organizing the acceptance inspections; for projects implemented at the local level, the provincial environmental protection department in question, together with the development and reform department (hereinafter referred to as the \"provincial acceptance department\"), jointly organizes such inspections. The acceptance plan for provincial hazardous waste disposal centers must be submitted to the Ministry of Environmental Protection for approval. 　　IV. The main criteria for completion acceptance include: **the relevant laws, regulations, rules, engineering technical specifications, pollutant emission standards, pollution control standards, and current construction technical acceptance specifications issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection ； Approval and filing documents for construction projects, including approvals for environmental impact assessments and feasibility studies, technical review reports, plans for fund allocation, approvals for preliminary designs, approvals for cost estimates, start-up reports, construction project planning permits, land use certificates, and other relevant approval documents ； Design documents for construction projects, including preliminary design, construction drawings, design changes, and budget adjustments ； Construction quality assurance and construction quality control documents ； Technical specifications or manuals for main equipment ； All the registered tender documents, bid evaluation reports, winning bid notices, and contract texts, etc. For construction projects that introduce new technologies from abroad, acceptance shall also be carried out in accordance with the signed contracts and design documents provided by foreign parties, among other materials. 　　V. The legal entity in charge of the construction project (hereinafter referred to as the “legal entity”) shall, in accordance with regulations such as the Regulations on Quality Management of Construction Projects, promptly organize units responsible for design, construction, equipment supply, supervision, etc. to carry out acceptance inspections for each individual project. 　　VI. After all individual construction projects have been completed and passed the acceptance inspection, the legal entity shall promptly submit an application for trial operation to the provincial environmental protection department in the locality. For those equipped with incineration facilities, the trial operation application should include details such as the trial incineration plan. 　　VII. The provincial environmental protection department shall, within 30 working days from the date of receiving the application for trial operation, conduct an on-site inspection of the construction project and issue a decision on the application, approving the trial operation period as well as the scope of data collection and types of waste to be disposed of during that period. The approval for the application shall also be submitted to the environmental protection authority at the next higher level for record-keeping. Legal entities shall carry out waste collection and disposal activities within the approved scope. 　　On-site inspections focused on whether the main engineering facilities and environmental protection facilities had been constructed in full accordance with the requirements specified in the review reports and design documents, whether the results of the joint commissioning tests met the specifications outlined in the equipment’s technical documents, whether the online monitoring systems were functional and connected to the relevant environmental protection authorities, whether there was the capability to collect, transport, and safely store hazardous waste, as well as whether the emergency management systems and facilities were adequate. It was also checked whether the individual inspections related to production safety, such as those related to safety and fire protection, had been completed. 　　VIII. During the trial operation period, legal entities shall promptly apply to the department responsible for environmental impact assessment of the project for environmental protection acceptance in accordance with the relevant provisions of the \"Administrative Measures for Environmental Protection Acceptance upon Completion of Construction Projects\". For facilities with good operational performance, the monitoring data for environmental protection assessments can be used during the project completion inspection. 　　IX. Starting from the date of approval for trial operation, the trial operation period shall generally not exceed one year. Legal entities shall ensure that all special inspections have been completed in accordance with **relevant regulations by the end of the trial operation period; the final account report shall be reviewed by the financial authorities and audited by the audit authorities. 　　10. Legal entities shall submit an application for completion acceptance to the completion acceptance authority within 1 month after the end of the trial operation period, providing application reports, application materials, and other relevant documents. For those unable to apply for completion inspection on schedule, an application for an extension should be submitted to the completion inspection authority, with the extension period generally not exceeding 2 months. Legal entities should also apply to extend the trial operation period. If the application for completion acceptance cannot still be submitted on schedule despite the extension, the completion acceptance authority shall issue a notice or warning. 　　11. The completion acceptance of a construction project shall meet the following conditions: (1) All the construction tasks specified in the approved investment plan documents and preliminary design documents have been completed; it meets the requirements regarding scale of construction and technological specifications, as well as the functional requirements ； 　　(II) The construction unit has passed the self-inspection of the project quality, the supervision unit has given an approval for the project quality, and the project quality supervision agency has verified that the project quality meets the standards ； 　　(III) Each individual project has passed the handover and acceptance inspection ； 　　(IV) The trial operation meets the design requirements, and the operation is normal. Among them, the incineration system shall have process operation records showing stable operation for 72 consecutive hours under design conditions on three or more occasions, as well as records of pollutant emission monitoring; other treatment systems shall have such operation records and pollutant emission monitoring records on two or more occasions, in order to fully demonstrate that the facility construction meets the design requirements and can satisfy the performance and quality standards required for its operation, as well as the safety and environmental protection requirements ； 　　(5) The facilities for the storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the associated pollution control equipment, comply with ** or local environmental protection standards and safety requirements, and possess disposal technologies and processes appropriate to the types of hazardous waste being handled ； 　　(VI) Public utilities such as water supply, power supply, roads, drainage, and gas supply are ready for operation ； 　　(7) Environmental protection facilities, safety and hygiene facilities, fire protection facilities, etc. have been constructed simultaneously with the main project in accordance with the design requirements, and have passed the relevant special inspections ； 　　(8) The completion archive materials are complete, and the special inspection has been passed ； 　　(IX) The final completion account report has been prepared, passed the review by the financial authorities and their authorized agencies, as well as the audit by the auditing authorities and their authorized agencies; the audit report contains no reservations ； 　　(10) The operation management departments and personnel have been assigned ； 　　(11) The final project completion summary report has been prepared. 　　12. After a legal entity submits an application for completion inspection to the department responsible for such inspections at the location of the project, the department shall, within 15 working days from the date of receiving the application documents, examine whether the construction project meets the conditions for completion inspection and issue its opinions thereon. If the review is unsuccessful, recommendations for corrective actions within a specified time frame are issued until the results meet the required standards. 　　13. The application documents for completion acceptance mainly include: (1) Application report for completion acceptance ； 　　(II) Project completion summary report. The report should comprehensively reflect the main aspects and relevant details of the project construction. The format and content requirements for the report are detailed in Appendix 1 ； 　　(III) Work reports from units responsible for design, construction, supervision, etc., as well as the quality inspection opinions issued by quality supervision units; the format and content requirements for these work reports are detailed in Appendix 2 ； 　　(IV) Commissioning report (attached are process operation records, trial incineration report, and environmental monitoring records) ； 　　(5) Individual inspection opinions from the competent departments in charge of environmental protection, safety and hygiene, fire protection, archives, etc ； 　　(VI) Catalog of project documentation (including various bidding documents, supervision reports, quality inspection reports prepared by the project owner, etc.) ； 　　(7) Final account report (including the financial final account statement and financial final account explanation) and review/audit reports ； 　　(8) Approval and filing documents. These mainly include approval documents for environmental impact assessments, approval documents for feasibility study reports, investment plan documents, approvals for preliminary design and cost estimates, land use certificates, construction permits, and certificates (agreements) regarding the supply of water, electricity, etc. 　　14. The application documents for completion acceptance shall be prepared in four copies, two of which shall be submitted to the environmental protection department and two to the development and reform department respectively. The project owner, design unit, construction unit, supervision unit, and quality supervision agency shall be responsible for the completeness, accuracy, and validity of the documents they submit. 　　15. The completion acceptance department shall organize a completion acceptance committee composed of representatives from relevant administrative departments, as well as experts in engineering, technology, economics, and other fields, to be specifically responsible for the completion acceptance process. The membership of the completion acceptance committee shall be an odd number; the number of experts shall be no less than 5 and not less than two-thirds of the total membership, and they shall possess the professional knowledge and experience required for the acceptance tasks. All personnel related to the construction and operation of the project should recuse themselves. 　　16. The legal entity in charge of the construction project, the design unit, the construction unit, the supervision unit, the unit responsible for quality supervision of the project, as well as the suppliers of major equipment, the hydrogeological survey units, the environmental impact assessment units, and the units responsible for environmental protection inspection and monitoring should all participate in and cooperate with the completion acceptance process. Other participating units can be determined according to the needs of the project. 　　17. The completion acceptance committee shall, based on the submitted application documents, clarify the procedures, schedule, and task allocation for completion acceptance, and determine the main contents, key points, and methods for such acceptance. 　　18. At the time of completion acceptance, a comprehensive evaluation should be conducted of the quality of the project construction, ** and compliance with industry engineering standards, progress management, contract management, financial management, as well as design, construction, supervision, and other related aspects. The focus is on examining and verifying the implementation of the construction scale, process technology routes, construction standards, and construction contents determined through technical reviews and investment plans; the consistency between project construction requirements and design specifications; the legality and validity of bidding processes; compliance with relevant pollution control standards and industry engineering technical specifications; the quality and effectiveness of the project’s construction; the legality of the use of national debt funds; the status of compensation for land acquisition and resettlement; the effectiveness of the quality assurance systems of the legal entities involved, as well as those responsible for construction and supervision; and the availability and utilization of project funds. Severe design issues identified during trial operation and individual inspections that affect the operation of the project can also be included as key items for inspection. 　　19. The key points of on-site inspection for the incineration system include: records of the test incineration process and evaluation results ； Whether the control ranges of the process operation parameters comply with the operating specifications, whether the automatic control system is stable and effective, and whether the exhaust gas treatment system can meet the **emission standard requirements ； Whether the online monitoring system can operate effectively, and whether the fly ash generated after incineration is stored safely ； Whether the emergency response system is comprehensive and effective, etc. 　　Key points for on-site inspection of safe landfill systems include: whether an effective testing system for the ratio of materials used in waste stabilization/curing has been established ； Is the content of the project construction complete and meets the requirements? ； Have the requirements set out in the approval for environmental impact assessment and the hydrogeological surveys been implemented? ； Is the construction quality assurance system comprehensive and effective? ； Are the construction records and supervision records complete, thorough, and in accordance with standards? ； Whether there are certification documents proving that the materials of the waterproofing system meet quality standards, whether the quality of the construction materials complies with the design requirements and relevant standards, and the completeness of the installation of the waterproofing layer, etc. 　　20. The completion acceptance cannot be approved under any of the following circumstances: (1) There are significant discrepancies between the various construction elements and the requirements specified in the documents approving the national debt, the technical review documents, the environmental impact assessment documents, as well as the requirements outlined in the documents approving the preliminary design regarding the scale of construction, the technological approach to be used, and the specific construction elements, without the approval of the relevant authorities ； 　　(II) The construction content and standards do not conform to the relevant technical specifications and standards; the project has serious defects or problems, which prevent the main structures and equipment from functioning properly, and it is thus impossible to ensure compliance with ** and the relevant industry standards ； 　　(III) It does not comply with the relevant provisions of the **Bidding Law; the quality of the supplied major equipment and materials is poor, and it cannot meet the requirements for the operation of the project ； 　　(IV) Construction not carried out in accordance with the design documents and revised design documents ； 　　(5) There are many omissions in the work records that the construction unit and the supervision unit should maintain, which makes it impossible to ensure the construction quality ； 　　(VI) Inadequate operational management safeguards and emergency facilities directly affect the safe operation of the facilities ； 　　(7) The compensation work for relocation has not been completed, and there are still residents or other environmentally sensitive sites within the safety distance ； 　　(8) There have been illegal activities, environmental pollution incidents, or non-compliance with pollution discharge standards during the project construction and trial operation phases, and these issues have not yet been resolved. 　　21. The completion acceptance shall be conducted in the form of an on-site meeting, and may be carried out in accordance with the following procedures: announce the composition of the completion acceptance committee ； Listen to the work reports from legal entities and participating units ； Review engineering records, financial accounts, and other relevant materials ； On-site inspections to examine the construction and operation status of the project ； Group discussions and further review of materials ； Summarize the group opinions and conduct thorough discussion and research ； Prepare the minutes of the completion acceptance meeting and the completion acceptance certificate ； Announce the opinions on completion acceptance. 　　22. The opinions on completion acceptance are divided into two categories: approval recommended and rejection recommended. The experts on the completion acceptance committee are responsible for their expert opinions. The completion inspection department decides whether the project passes the completion inspection based on the opinions of the completion inspection committee. 　　23. For the projects recommended for approval, the completion acceptance committee shall submit the meeting materials to the completion acceptance authority. For issues that are recommended for approval but still require improvement, the completion acceptance committee shall issue requirements for rectification within a specified time frame. After receiving the rectification report from the legal entity and reviewing it, the completion acceptance department issues a decision regarding the projects that are deemed suitable for approval, and issues the project completion acceptance certificate. 　　24. For projects whose proposals are not approved, the completion acceptance committee shall provide a thorough explanation of the reasons to the legal entity, put forward requirements and suggestions for rectification, and submit them to the completion acceptance authority. Legal entities shall implement the required rectifications and submit a report thereon. The rectification work will continue until the requirements are met, after which the project completion acceptance certificate will be issued in accordance with the procedures. 　　25. Based on the nature of the issues to be rectified and the rectification report, the completion acceptance department decides whether it is necessary to organize another on-site inspection. When reorganizing the on-site acceptance and reviewing the rectification report, the key experts who expressed negative opinions in the original completion acceptance committee should be invited to participate. 　　26. Construction projects that have not undergone completion acceptance or failed such acceptance shall not be put into formal operation. 　　27. After the completion of the acceptance inspection, legal entities shall promptly carry out procedures such as the handover of archives and fixed assets for use in accordance with **relevant regulations, in order to strengthen the management of fixed assets. 　　28. Legal entities shall complete the property rights registration procedures within 30 working days after receiving the approval for completion inspection. Projects that have not undergone property rights registration shall not be delivered for use. 　　Appendix: 1. Project completion summary report 　　　　2. Work reports from project design (construction, supervision, quality control, etc.) units