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The Ministry of Environmental Protection publishes information on public participation in the environmental impact assessment for Xintian’s coal-to-natural gas project. Author/Source: Date: 2016-04-25. Clicks: 3. On April 22, the Ministry of Environmental Protection released the document titled “Explanation on Public Participation in the Environmental Impact Assessment for Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 2 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project”. The public notice period is from April 22, 2016, to May 6, 2016 (10 working days). This description was prepared solely by the project owner, Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. It is reported that in February 2016, the Ministry of Environmental Protection accepted the \"Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the 2 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project of Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.\" During the public comment period, the public raised objections to the project construction through ** and other means. In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. carried out enhanced efforts to involve the public in this process, and prepared a document titled \"Explanation on Public Participation in the Environmental Impact Assessment for Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 2 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project.\" The people’s government of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang also supervised and provided guidance regarding public participation in this project. The “Public Participation Guidelines” and the “Report on the Relevant Situations in Yili Prefecture **” are being made public this time. According to the \"Public Participation Statement for the Project’s Environmental Impact Assessment\" prepared by Xintian Company: • In February 2016, the Ministry of Environmental Protection accepted the environmental impact assessment report for the Xintian coal-to-gas project for the second time. •From February 25 to 26, 2016, the Environmental Engineering Assessment Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection held a technical assessment meeting for the project’s environmental impact assessment report in Beijing. •During the public disclosure period for the second round of review of the project report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in February 2016, some residents of Yining called the ministry and sent signed faxes to raise concerns about issues such as the project being constructed without approval and illegal trial operations that caused damage to water resources, expressing their opposition to the construction of the project. •On March 8 and March 23, 2016, the project developer organized meetings with representatives from environmental protection associations and citizens. Following on-site inspections and discussions, these representatives concluded that, provided New Tian Company complies with the requirements outlined in the environmental impact assessment report, the environmental impacts of the project can be kept under control, and they agreed to the construction of the project. •From March 26 to 29, 2016, Xintian Company conducted one-on-one phone conversations with most of the signatories of the joint letter. A total of 581 signatories were contacted, of whom 323 expressed clear opinions on the project construction: 62 were against it, accounting for 19.2% of the valid responses, while 261 were in favor, accounting for 80.8% of the valid responses. •From March 28 to 31, 2016, Xintian Company distributed additional public participation questionnaires to the signatories as well as to the residents of Yingyeer Township and Bayandai Town in the surrounding area. A total of 205 questionnaires were distributed, with 203 returned. According to the results of these questionnaires, 22 expressed opposition to the project construction, accounting for 11%, while 181 supported the project construction, accounting for 89%. •From April 8 to 17, 2016, Xintian Company published explanations regarding its participation in the environmental impact assessment process on the Internet and in newspapers; it made a printed version of the environmental impact assessment report available for the public to view, and made the full text of the report available online. The public disclosure period was 10 days, during which no objections were received. The following is a report from Ili Prefecture in Xinjiang regarding the public announcement related to the environmental impact assessment of the project: The Ministry of Environmental Protection published information on public participation in the environmental impact assessment for the coal-to-gas project carried out by Xintian. Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China: On March 3, after receiving from the Environmental Protection Department of Xinjiang Autonomous Region a letter from the Environmental Impact Assessment Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection regarding public reactions to the coal-to-gas project of Ili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., the Party committee of Ili Prefecture attached great importance to this matter. The top leaders promptly gave instructions, and the deputy governor in charge quickly organized the prefectural environmental protection bureau and the people’s government of Yining City to develop a plan for closely monitoring and addressing public opinions related to the “Ili Xintian Coal Chemical Project”, in order to deal with such public reactions effectively. On the 4th, the Environmental Protection Department of the autonomous region sent staff to Yi to carry out work. We immediately established a three-level joint investigation team to go to Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xintian Company”) to conduct on-site inspections, and at the same time arranged for the news media to cover the events on site. On three occasions, members of the environmental protection volunteer association and representatives of the public were taken on site visits to the enterprise, where their questions were answered on the spot. Symposia were held with representatives from the province, city, enterprise, and citizens to facilitate open communication; it was confirmed that Xintian Company had not started trial operations. This helped representatives of the public gain a better understanding of the project’s environmental protection facilities and production processes, thereby eliminating misunderstandings arising from information asymmetry. Ten days after the \"Public Participation Notice on the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Yili Xintian Coal-to-Gas Project\" was published in newspapers and on the internet, public reactions have become more calm, and the situation has largely settled down. Ili has long been known as the \"Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall.\" The people of all ethnic groups in Ili have always been concerned about environmental issues there. In recent years, as industrialization accelerates, the residents of Ili are particularly worried about the impact that industrial projects such as those in the fields of biomedicine and coal chemistry may have on the environment. The public relations incidents involving Xintian Company reveal that some enterprises in our province still need to improve in terms of public participation and the disclosure of environmental information. To this end, we have decided to: first, establish a team of voluntary environmental supervisors and set up a regular communication mechanism with environmental volunteer associations, so as to involve the general public in environmental protection efforts and create a long-term mechanism for monitoring and managing the social environment ； Second, strengthen the supervision of enterprises by promptly publishing and making available on the internet all information related to them ； Third, regular or ad-hoc symposiums are held among the enterprise, the government, and the public before and after the enterprise starts operations, to ensure that the public has access to information regarding the enterprise’s construction and operations ； Fourth, strengthen supervision and inspection to ensure that the seven commitments made by Xintian Company regarding environmental protection are implemented. The Party Committee and the People’s Government of Ili Prefecture have always attached great importance to environmental protection, firmly upholding the principle that \"environmental protection comes first, and ecology is the foundation of the prefecture.\" They have issued regulations such as the \"Regulations on Environmental Protection in the Ili River Basin\" and the \"Overall Plan for Environmental Protection in Ili Prefecture,\" established an ecological function zoning system that takes into account the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, and clearly defined the boundaries of ecological red-line areas, areas with specific functional roles, and construction control zones. A series of special initiatives have been carried out, including the implementation of the \"two strict rules\" and comprehensive environmental inspections, in order to strengthen environmental supervision and adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward enterprises that commit environmental violations. In particular, for coal power and coal chemical enterprises that are of great concern to people of all ethnic groups in Ili, the strictest environmental protection measures are implemented. In accordance with the newly issued \"Environmental Access Requirements for Modern Coal Chemical Projects (Trial)\), the thresholds for environmental approval of such projects are raised. The \"environmental impact assessment\" system as well as the \"three simultaneities\" principle are strictly enforced to control pollution at its source ； For the coal chemical projects that are already in operation, strengthen environmental supervision by increasing the frequency of monitoring, ensure the proper functioning of environmental protection facilities, and guarantee that pollutants are discharged within specified limits, so as to protect the clear skies and clean waters in Ili from pollution. At the same time, it is necessary to earnestly implement the Measures for Public Participation in Environmental Protection, further promote the disclosure of environmental information and corporate information, pay close attention to and respond to environmental issues raised by the public, humbly accept extensive supervision from all sectors of society, and work together to safeguard the ecological environment of Ili.