The Ministry of Environmental Protection releases typical cases of fraud in automatic monitoring data for key pollution sources in 2015, the second batch

Thread Content

The last edit to this post was made by yinkuilin6868 on 2015-12-18 at 08:43. The Ministry of Environmental Protection released typical cases of fraud related to the automatic monitoring data of key polluting sources for the second batch in 2015. The Ministry of Environmental Protection disclosed these cases to the media today. As the automatic monitoring systems for key pollution sources come into play, a few illegal enterprises engage in fraud regarding these monitoring facilities and data in an attempt to evade oversight by environmental protection authorities. To this end, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has continuously organized environmental protection agencies at all levels to carry out special law enforcement inspections, cracking down severely on fraud related to automatic monitoring facilities and data for pollution sources. A number of typical illegal cases have been identified; in particular, provinces and municipalities such as Shandong, Henan, Guangdong, Fujian, Chongqing, and Gansu have stepped up their law enforcement efforts, promptly summarized relevant experiences, innovated inspection methods, and adopted effective measures such as using \"technical innovation\" to counteract \"technical fraud\", achieving significant results in law enforcement. In the second half of 2015, environmental protection agencies at all levels identified a total of 8 serious cases of fraud involving automatic monitoring equipment and data for pollution sources; all such cases were handed over to the police authorities for handling, and 10 individuals responsible for them were subjected to criminal or administrative detention. 　　Zou Shoumin, director of the Environmental Inspection Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, provided detailed information on the fraud involved in these cases: The South China Environmental Protection Inspection Center under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, in conjunction with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Environmental Protection, conducted surprise inspections of the domestic wastewater treatment plant in Chang’an Town, Dongguan (Jinxiang Sanshou Water Quality Purification Co., Ltd.) on August 11–12 and August 15, 2015. During these inspections, various illegal activities were discovered, including fraud related to the flow meters used to measure wastewater flow and the automatic water quality monitoring systems, as well as the use of hidden pipes to introduce tap water into the samples in order to interfere with manual sampling and monitoring processes. Tests carried out by the South China Metrology and Testing Center (the Dongguan branch of the Guangdong Institute of Metrology) showed that the experimental errors of the flow meters exceeded the allowable limits; it is suspected that these flow meters were falsified, thereby allowing the company to illegally claim reimbursement for wastewater treatment services. Second is the fraud in automatic monitoring facilities for water quality. Upon on-site inspection, it was found that the solenoid valve of the pre-treatment unit in the plant’s effluent outlet automatic monitoring system had been removed, and a tap water pipeline had been added. The three inlet pipes at the water inlet are equipped with manual control valves, which allow for adjusting the dilution ratio of the incoming water sample. Third, the inspection team found that the factory had installed dilution pipes near the sampling points for supervisory monitoring by environmental protection authorities, allowing tap water to be added to dilute the sample water. Fourth, regarding automated equipment, the maintenance providers have failed in their duties severely; they have long neglected to carry out regular calibration and maintenance, have never recorded any faults in the instruments and equipment, and have shown serious shortcomings in their daily management. The public security authorities in Dongguan established a special task force to investigate criminal activities carried out by Dongguan Sanshou Company, including the falsification of flow meters and the fraudulent collection of large amounts of money related to sewage treatment. On October 24, criminal detention was imposed on one of the suspects. Dongguan City has suspended the payment of wastewater treatment fees for this company for the period from May to September this year, totaling approximately 20.79 million yuan. In accordance with the regulations on the management of automatic monitoring system operations, the Dongguan Environmental Protection Bureau held discussions with the third-party operator, Delin Concentration Company, demanding that it improve its management and enhance its operational practices. The bureau also deducted a total of approximately 48,800 yuan from the fees paid by Delin Concentration Company to Dongguan Sanzhou Company for the first three quarters of 2015. 　　Mingheng Industrial Base Fabric Co., Ltd. in Sanming City, Fujian Province, specializes in cashmere base fabrics as well as composite-coated fabrics with electrostatic flocking. On September 1, 2015, during a routine inspection of the company’s environmental protection facilities, law enforcement officers discovered that the values showing the concentration of pollutants emitted, as indicated by the company’s automatic monitoring systems, were abnormal. On-site inspections revealed that the company had illegally connected a water pipe at the sampling point of the monitoring facilities at the main sewage discharge outlet to draw in river water in order to dilute the wastewater before testing it. Law enforcement officers conducted investigations and collected evidence in accordance with the law, and ordered the enterprise to immediately cease its environmental violations. According to manual sampling tests, the COD concentration of the wastewater discharged by the enterprise was 426 mg/L, which is 4.3 times above the allowed limit. After dilution with river water, the COD concentration of the wastewater dropped to 55 mg/L, while the automatic COD monitoring equipment on site indicated a COD concentration of 37.8 mg/L. Sanming Mingheng Industrial Base Fabric Co., Ltd. diluted pollutants by using river water for discharge, and interfered with sampling and monitoring processes, resulting in severe distortions in the monitoring data. In response to this illegal behavior, the Sanming Environmental Protection Bureau initiated legal proceedings against the company; it imposed a fine of 30,000 yuan on the company for interfering with the automatic monitoring data, and referred the case to the police authorities as required by law. Two individuals responsible for this offense were sentenced to five days of administrative detention. 　　Heilongjiang Fuyu Chenming Paper Industry Co., Ltd. specializes in kraft paper made from natural pulp. During on-site inspections, the Northeast Environmental Protection Inspection Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection identified two main issues at this enterprise: first, it used underground pipes to discharge the sludge mixture generated in the sedimentation tanks of the wastewater treatment plant directly into an external ash flushing tank, from where it was eventually released into natural wetlands. Results from on-site sampling monitoring showed that COD levels were 13 times above the standard, while ammonia nitrogen levels were 2.75 times above the standard. The Qiqihar Environmental Protection Bureau imposed a fine of 100,000 yuan on the company, ordering it to immediately remove the hidden pipes and cease operations for rectification. The case was also referred to the city’s public security bureau, which imposed administrative detention penalties of 10 days and 15 days respectively on the company’s deputy general manager and the director of the wastewater treatment plant. Second, the operation and maintenance company falsified the nitrogen oxide conversion factor. The automatic monitoring data from this enterprise is transmitted to the data acquisition instrument via an industrial computer; the industrial computer collects it as NO data, without directly acquiring the NO2 data that has been converted in the automatic monitoring and analysis unit. The third-party operation and maintenance company, under the pretext that it was unable to modify the conversion coefficients, adjusted the conversion data by changing the upper limit of the range; the conversion factor was set at 1.33 (the normal value for converting NO to NO2 is 1.53), resulting in the monitoring data being about 15% lower than actual values. The Qiqihar Environmental Protection Bureau ordered Heilongjiang Xianfeng Environmental Protection Engineering Co., Ltd., the third-party operation and maintenance company, to immediately correct its failure to operate in accordance with technical specifications, which resulted in significant distortions in the data from the automatic monitoring of pollution sources; the company was also fined 30,000 yuan. 　　During routine monitoring activities, the staff at the Henan Province Environmental Monitoring Center noticed that the concentrations of sulfur dioxide as measured by the automatic monitoring systems in Furnace No. 1 and Furnace No. 2 of Yu Long Coking Co., Ltd. were significantly low. After commissioning qualified environmental monitoring agencies to conduct on-site comparisons, it was found that there was a large discrepancy between the manually measured values of sulfur dioxide in these furnaces and those recorded by the automatic monitoring systems. Upon investigation, the company admitted to deliberately lowering the monitoring data when calibrating the instruments. The Anyang Environmental Protection Bureau, in conjunction with the Anyang County Environmental Protection Bureau, initiated an investigation into the enterprise and referred the case to the local public security authorities. A fine of 20,000 yuan was imposed on the company for falsifying its monitoring data, while a fine of 33,000 yuan was imposed for exceeding the allowed pollution discharge levels. An additional amount of 304,747 yuan in pollution fees had to be paid. The Public Security Bureau of Anyang County ordered Fu, the company’s deputy general manager, to serve a five-day administrative detention sentence. 　　When reviewing the video surveillance system, the staff at the Henan Province Environmental Monitoring Center discovered that someone in the control room of the wastewater treatment plant in Yanshi City had poured an unknown liquid into the sampler on two occasions. After ruling out the legitimacy of such actions, they sent personnel to conduct an on-site inspection of the facility. By examining the automatic monitoring data and video footage, it was found that there were two abnormal fluctuations in the automatic monitoring data from this facility: the ammonia nitrogen level changed from 5.59 mg/L to 3.89 mg/L, and from 7.83 mg/L to 0.87 mg/L. Upon investigation, the company admitted to sending people to enter the base station illegally in order to pour water samples into the samplers. In response to the illegal activities at the Yanshi City sewage treatment plant, in accordance with Article 63 of the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Methods for On-site Supervision and Inspection of Automatic Monitoring Facilities for Pollution Sources, the Luoyang Environmental Protection Bureau, together with the Yanshi City Environmental Protection Bureau, initiated an investigation into this plant. A fine of 60,000 yuan was imposed for the falsification of monitoring data, and the case was referred to the public security authorities. The Yanshi City Public Security Bureau imposed a penalty of 10 days of administrative detention on Ma, the deputy director of the Yanshi City sewage treatment plant. 　　Based on reports from the public, Henan Kaifeng Xinghua Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. was found to be discharging water of poor quality. By reviewing its automatic monitoring data and comparing it with that of similar companies, officials from the Henan Provincial Environmental Monitoring Center detected significant abnormalities in this company’s data. Following up on this clue, an on-site inspection was conducted, and it was found that the water samples from the company’s wastewater discharge were significantly different from those collected by the automatic monitoring systems; the water samples taken by the monitoring systems had a lower color intensity, while the wastewater discharged had a higher color intensity. Upon investigation, the company admitted to adding clean water in front of the sampling points of the monitoring equipment in order to dilute the water samples being monitored. In response to the illegal activities carried out by Kaifeng Xinghua Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., in accordance with Article 63 of the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and relevant provisions of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Kaifeng Environmental Protection Bureau initiated an investigation into this company. It imposed a fine of 100,000 yuan on the company for falsifying and altering automatic monitoring data through secret pipelines. The case was also referred to the public security authorities; the Airport Branch of the Kaifeng Public Security Bureau sentenced Cheng, the assistant general manager of the company, to five days of administrative detention. 　　Chongqing Qijiang Southwest Cement Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of China National Building Materials Group, focusing on the production and sales of cement clinker. The third-party operation and maintenance provider for this enterprise discovered that the sampling pipelines had been damaged during the maintenance of its exhaust gas monitoring systems; they installed filtering and absorption devices without authorization, and therefore reported the matter to the Chongqing Environmental Inspection Corps. The Chongqing Environmental Supervision Corps took immediate action. Upon investigation, it was found that on that day, due to the high concentration of pollutants emitted by the company and concerns that the data would exceed regulatory limits leading to administrative penalties, the company damaged the sampling pipelines of its automatic monitoring systems and installed filtering and absorption devices. The Environmental Protection Bureau of Qijiang District issued a \"Decision to Order Rectification\" to the company on site (Qijiang Env. Violation Rectification No. [2015] 0000022), requiring it to immediately remove the filtration and absorption devices and restore the normal operation of the automatic monitoring systems. Subsequently, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Qijiang District initiated the case approval process, and the **Organization Department** of Qijiang District, together with the Environmental Protection Bureau and other relevant departments, held talks with the company’s responsible persons. The Environmental Protection Bureau of Qijiang District issued an \"Administrative Penalty Decision\" imposing a fine of 100,000 yuan on them; the public security authorities issued a \"Public Security Administrative Penalty Decision\" by the Qijiang District Public Security Bureau of Chongqing, ordering Chen, the person who committed the environmental violation, to be placed under administrative detention for five days. 　　Gansu COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the formulation, production, operation, and sales of Coca-Cola series beverages. On September 11, 2015, staff from the Lanzhou Environmental Inspection Bureau discovered during a routine inspection that the company had altered the COD automatic monitoring equipment on its own: it removed the sampling tubes from the automatic monitoring instruments and placed them in a triangular flask on site to collect and preserve water samples. According to on-site monitoring, the COD value of the wastewater in the triangular flask was 12.87 mg/L. A sample of the total wastewater discharged by this enterprise was collected on-site, and its COD value was found to be 217 mg/L, which exceeds the permitted standards for wastewater discharge. The aforementioned actions constitute the falsification of monitoring data and the illegal discharge of pollutants in order to evade supervision. It violates the provisions of Articles 22 and 23 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People’s Republic of China. The Lanzhou Environmental Protection Bureau imposed administrative penalties on the enterprise in accordance with the law, and referred the case to the public security authorities; Zhang, the person directly responsible, was sentenced to five days of administrative detention.