How can enterprises without environmental impact assessments operate \"normally\" for 8 years

Thread Content

How could enterprises without environmental impact assessments operate \"normally\" for 8 years? How to balance \"lucid waters and lush mountains\" with \"gold and silver mountains\"? This is a challenge that all regions must face and overcome in their economic and social development. It takes into account the local **determination and vision. 　　With the outbreak of the case involving Xu Yuyu, a soon-to-be college student from Linyi, Shandong, who died as a result of being deceived, Anxi County in Fujian Province – once famous worldwide for its \"Tieguanyin\" tea and known as the \"Tea Capital\" – suddenly acquired the infamous reputation of being a hub for telecommunications fraud, ending up at the center of public scrutiny. 　　Just as people were marveling at the tactics used in telecom fraud in Anxi County and questioning why such fraud had proven so difficult to eradicate over the years, reporters from Rule of Law Weekend recently received complaints: the relevant authorities in Anxi County, in an effort to protect a local company that was on track to become a listed firm, allowed it to carry out illegal production for 8 years without it completing any environmental impact assessment procedures. 　　The entity that was reported is named Fujian Quanzhou Weibo Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Weibo Food Company). According to business registration records, the company was established on June 17, 2003, with a registered capital of 20.2 million yuan. It is a high-tech enterprise specialized in the research, development, production, sales, and service of food additives. 　　According to official figures, Weibo Food Company paid 10.35 million yuan in taxes in 2015, ranking 21st among all companies in the county in terms of tax payments; it is one of the more powerful private enterprises in Anxi County. In April this year, the company was also designated by the Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission as a key provincial enterprise for listing in 2016. 　　According to investigations by reporters from Rule of Law Weekend, Weibo Food Company is unable to complete the environmental impact assessment procedures because its factory is located within a local water source protection area. Over the years, Anxi County has been actively applying to Fujian Province through Quanzhou City, hoping to have the boundaries of the water source protection areas redrawn. However, as the alternative water sources have not yet been constructed, the application has not been approved yet. 　　Black smoke curls among the green mountains and waters. Weibo Food Company is located at the foot of Zhongbiao Mountain in Anxi County, where the terrain is full of ridges and hills; the Xixi River flows alongside it, and a newly built bridge spans across this river, linking closely with Daling Village in Guanqiao Town on the opposite side. 　　At around 9:00 a.m. on September 12, reporters from Legal Weekend went to Weibo Food Company to conduct an on-site inspection. Inside the company’s factory, machines were humming loudly. In one of the workshops covered with tin sheets on one side of the factory, a glass window that was half open stood covered in dust; white smoke would occasionally emanate from inside the window, indicating that the company was in operation. 　　At around 9:50, the tall chimney on the left rear side of the factory building suddenly began to emit large amounts of black smoke. The reporter looked up and saw a mountain covered with lush vegetation behind the chimney. A gust of wind blew, carrying the thick black smoke away; instantly, the beautiful landscape set against the backdrop of green mountains and waters became chaotic. 　　“It mainly depends on the wind direction; sometimes there’s a smell of instant noodle seasoning that’s nauseating. ”Ms. Zhang, a villager from Daling Village who lives near Weibo Food Company, told the reporter that the company works overtime almost every night to produce goods. Since she doesn’t like instant noodles, it’s difficult for her to get used to the smell of these flavorings, and sometimes this even causes her insomnia. 　　During the visits, some villagers were unconcerned about the smell emitted by the food factory. “Everything produced by food factories is edible, and the thick smoke it emits should not be harmful to human health. ”Some villagers believe. 　　The failure to conduct an environmental impact assessment is due to the \"water intake\" issue. Weibo Food Company has two production lines: one is used for manufacturing food additives (seasonings), while the other is dedicated to the production of soy polysaccharides. 　　It is reported that soybean polysaccharides are a food stabilizer widely used in dairy products. Currently, few food companies in China produce such products; large dairy firms such as Mengniu and Yili all use products from Weibo Food Company. 　　A person familiar with the matter told reporters that in 2007, when Weibo Food Company began construction of its first production line, an environmental impact assessment was carried out, but the final environmental inspection and approval procedures had not yet been completed. In 2008, the company built a second soybean polysaccharide production line without approval, including two boilers, and has been in operation to this day without going through any environmental impact assessment procedures. 　　It is hard for outsiders to imagine: as a supplier to large dairy companies, what prevented it from going through the environmental impact assessment procedures? 　　In response to this, Lin Bihai, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Anxi County, explained in an interview with reporters that in 2003, Anxi County **formulated a plan for designating drinking water source protection areas in order to ensure the safety of the local population’s drinking water. “At that time, Weibo Food Company was not located within the water source protection area defined by that plan. ”　　Later on, things took an unexpected turn. Due to the water storage resulting from the operation of the west bank dam in Anxi County town, the Xiaolan Creek (Guanqiao Creek) and Xixi Creek converge and flow back upstream into the Xixi Creek, which may affect the safety of water supply for drinking water in the urban area. To this end, in 2008, Anxi County further expanded the scope of the water source protection area. As a result of this adjustment, Weibo Food Company, located along the Xixi River, was fully included within the scope of the county’s secondary drinking water source protection area. 　　Polluting enterprises are not allowed to commence operations within water source protection areas. “It is for this very reason that Weibo Food Company has so far been unable to complete the environmental impact assessment procedures. ”Lin Bihai told the reporters. 　　Only two administrative penalties in 8 years It is worth noting that, although Weibo Food Company failed to complete the environmental impact assessment procedures, it is an undeniable fact that the company has been operating normally throughout those 8 years. 　　Lin Bihai admitted that although Weibo Food Company had not completed the environmental impact assessment procedures, the county environmental protection bureau treated it as a \"licensed enterprise\" and included it among the entities under the bureau’s supervision. The difference is that, for wastewater treatment at this company, WeiBo Food Company connects its sewage pipes to the municipal sewer system, from where the wastewater is sent to the wastewater treatment plant in the county town. 　　The reporter asked: During these 8 years, what specific environmental supervision efforts has the Anxi County Environmental Protection Bureau carried out regarding Weibo Food Company? Lin Bihai said that the county environmental protection bureau conducts 4 inspections of the company each year, two of which are unannounced inspections and two are conducted at the company’s request. However, the agency only has records of two penalties to offer. “There are usually no issues with the ways in which ordinary companies make invitations. ”　　Reporters from Rule of Law Weekend obtained two administrative penalty decisions provided by the Anxi County Environmental Protection Bureau. One of these decisions states that on June 6, 2014, when officials from the Anxi County Environmental Protection Bureau conducted an on-site inspection at Weibo Food Company, the company was operating normally. However, large amounts of soybean dregs water generated during the production of soybean polysaccharides were not treated in any way; they spilled out of the sewage channels and flowed into the rainwater drains outside the factory, eventually reaching the Xixi River. The Anxi County Environmental Protection Bureau imposed a fine of 11,196 yuan. 　　Another administrative penalty decision states that on the morning of April 11 this year, officials from the Quanzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, together with those from the Anxi County Environmental Protection Bureau, conducted an on-site inspection of Weibo Food Company. At that time, the company was operating normally and its wastewater treatment facilities were in use. Monitoring personnel collected a set of water samples at the wastewater outlet; according to tests conducted by the Quanzhou Environmental Monitoring Station, the COD level of the discharged wastewater was 16,100 mg/L, which far exceeded the third-level standard specified in Table 4 of the \"Comprehensive Wastewater Discharge Standards\" (GB-1996), which is ≤500 mg/L. The level of COD in the discharged wastewater was thus 32.2 times higher than the allowed limit. The Anxi County Environmental Protection Bureau imposed a fine of 55,980 yuan and required the completion of the remediation work by October 31, 2016. The environmental impact assessment for the first phase of the project (i.e., the first production line) had to be completed, while registration procedures were needed for the second phase (i.e., the second production line); production could only resume after these corrections were made. 　　From the second administrative penalty decision mentioned earlier, the reporter noticed that it differed from the first penalty decision: firstly, the Quanzhou Environmental Protection Bureau got involved, and secondly, Anxi County issued a decision to suspend production. However, in reality, there are no signs that Weibo Food Company has stopped production; the chimneys of its factories continue to emit thick plumes of black smoke. How can this be explained? 　　“Due to reasons such as the production process, the relevant equipment at Weibo Food Company cannot be cooled completely; if it is left unused for an extended period, it may get damaged. Therefore, the equipment has to be operated from time to time, which is a way of using it intermittently to protect it. ”Lin Bihai said. 　　The explanation given by the person surnamed Liao from Weibo Food Company, who arrived shortly after hearing the news, surprised those present. He claimed, “What’s being emitted here isn’t smoke; it’s dust that comes out when the factory removes its boilers.” Since production is not allowed, the company is planning to relocate its factory. ”　　Should it be “gold mountains” or “green mountains”? Due to the restrictions imposed on water source protection areas, Weibo Food Company is unable to complete the environmental impact assessment procedures. In this struggle between \"gold mountains\" and \"green waters\", Anxi County **hesitated not for a moment in choosing the former when faced with the decision between the two. The complainant said. 　　According to Lin Bihai, as told to reporters, Anxi County has been applying since 2010 to Quanzhou City ** and Fujian Province ** to re-optimize the secondary drinking water source protection areas designated in 2008. In the same year, the county also planned to relocate and rebuild the existing water intake points further upstream. However, by 2011 the county had successfully phased out the slate industry, eliminating the risk associated with wastewater from slate processing; as a result, the county decided not to move the water intake points of the local water treatment plant any further upstream. 　　On January 5 of this year, Anxi County ** submitted a request to the provincial authorities for support in adjusting the boundaries of the drinking water source protection areas for the local water treatment plants. In this request, it was stated that since the two drinking water source protection areas designated by the provincial authorities for these water treatment plants (approved in 2003 and 2008 respectively) are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of protecting these water sources, and given that the county has already started working on establishing alternative water sources in accordance with relevant plans, the county is now requesting that the boundaries of the existing drinking water source protection areas be integrated and optimized so as to better protect the drinking water sources in the county seat. ”　　“Due to the failure to complete the construction of water sources, the application to designate a water source protection area has not yet received approval from the provincial authorities. ”Lin Bihai told reporters that Anxi County is a county town that relies on a single water source for supply. In accordance with requirements set out in higher-level documents, the construction of a backup water source for the county town was to be completed by 2018. According to the overall planning for the county town, Lanxi River has been designated as the primary backup water source, while Canlinxi Reservoir has been planned to serve as the secondary backup water source. “At present, the first alternative water source has completed preliminary tasks such as site selection planning, water source assessment, and the demarcation of the water source protection area. ”　　“How to choose between \"lucid waters and lush mountains\" and \"mountains of gold and silver\"? This is a challenge that all regions must face and overcome in their economic and social development. A local retired official expressed concern, saying that these two aspects are often contradictory and can even lead to conflicts; it is very difficult to make a reasonable choice, as it depends on the local authorities’ determination and vision. 　　“The protection and development of the ecological environment is a long-term process and an eternal challenge. We must mobilize the entire county’s efforts to carry out sustained and thorough work in ecological protection, so as to make the skies in Anxi bluer, the waters clearer, the mountains greener, the tea more fragrant, and the environment more beautiful. ”On the official website of the Fujian Provincial Environmental Protection Department, the reporter found an article from Anxi County titled “Building an Ecological Tea Capital and Creating a Fragrant Anxi,” which stated as much.