Excessive discharge of wastewater: Wastewater treatment company in Yangzhou Chemical Industrial Park fined 8.73 million yuan

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Abstract: On November 11, reporters learned from the Yangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau that Kaifa Xinquan Water Services (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd., a wastewater treatment enterprise located in the Yangzhou Chemical Industry Park, was fined on a daily basis by the local environmental authorities for discharging wastewater above the permitted levels; the total amount of fines imposed amounted to 8.73 million yuan. The company that was fined is one of the enterprises located in the Yangzhou Chemical Industry Park... On November 11, reporters learned from the Yangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau that Kaifa Xinquan Water Services (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd., a wastewater treatment enterprise in the Yangzhou Chemical Industry Park, was fined on a daily basis for discharging wastewater above the allowed levels; the total amount of fines imposed amounted to 8.73 million yuan. (EHS.CN) The company that was fined is a comprehensive wastewater treatment plant responsible for the centralized treatment of industrial wastewater from enterprises in the Yangzhou Chemical Industry Park. It currently has a processing capacity of 40,000 tons per day across two phases, with the treated wastewater being discharged into the Yangtze River. For many years, complaints were made by the public due to non-compliance with emission standards; in 2013, the environmental protection authorities urged the Yangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau to strengthen supervision over Kaifa Xinquan Water Services (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd. to ensure that wastewater was discharged in compliance with standards. 　　“Within the Yangzhou Chemical Park, a sewage collection network with a total length of 42 kilometers connects all the chemical enterprises in the park. After pre-treatment, the massive amounts of wastewater are transported through dedicated pipelines to the Qingshan Wastewater Treatment Plant operated by Kaifa Xinquan Water Services (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd., which has a daily treatment capacity of 40,000 tons, where it is treated centrally; once it meets the required standards, it is discharged collectively. ”This is the approach to pollution prevention and control that Wang Qingshan, the director of the Yangzhou Chemical Industry Park, has described on various occasions. Wang Qingshan said that by adhering to the strategy of \"pollution prevention at the source + strict measures for pollution control\" over the years, the park has been fortunate enough to become a green chemical industry park. It seems that regulation is inadequate; no matter how good the measures are, they remain just theoretical. 　　This company is a key enterprise under the supervision of the Yizheng Environmental Protection Bureau, and online monitoring devices for parameters such as chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, and total phosphorus have been installed at its inlet and outlet points for remote monitoring. According to the local environmental protection authorities, at the end of last year, the Yizheng Environmental Protection Bureau received reports that the company was discharging wastewater in excess of the allowed levels. Upon receiving the report, environmental protection officials acted swiftly; by dividing into two teams to take samples and conduct inspections, they discovered that the company had illegally added chemicals to interfere with wastewater testing. “The online monitoring facilities for wastewater at enterprise discharge points are supervised by third parties, with chemicals being added at the end point to interfere with monitoring – this is the first time such a practice has been detected in Jiangsu. ” 　　In response, the local environmental protection authorities conducted sampling tests and confirmed that the company’s emissions exceeded the allowed limits. Immediately thereafter, the environmental protection authorities issued a \"Decision to Order Rectification of Illegal Acts\" to urge the company to make corrections, and imposed a fine of over 150,000 yuan. During the re-inspection, the environmental protection authorities found that the company had not made the necessary corrections. After being ordered to make corrections once again, the company experienced excessive wastewater discharge in June and September of this year. 　　In the past, such illegal enterprises could only be fined 150,000 yuan. So why is the fine amount so high this time? Officials from the Environmental Protection Bureau explained that the new Environmental Protection Law stipulates consecutive daily fines; that is, after a decision to order the enterprise to correct its violations is issued, follow-up inspections are carried out. If the enterprise continues to exceed the allowed limits, fines are imposed on a daily basis based on the amount specified in the administrative penalty order. In this case, since the violation persisted for over 40 days, the total amount of the fine reached 8.73 million yuan. 　　With a commitment to being responsible toward businesses and the environment, after issuing fines, the environmental protection authorities also organized sewage experts to conduct multiple inspections of the company, to develop improvement techniques and ensure that the necessary corrections were made. On April 24, 2016, the company’s wastewater discharge met the required standards, and to date there have been no instances of violations again. 　　“Penalties and fines are not the ultimate goal of environmental law enforcement; increasing the cost of environmental violations and urging companies to make corrections is the real aim. It is hoped that companies that violate the laws will correct their actions as soon as possible so that the skies in Yangzhou can remain bluer and the waters cleaner. ”So said the head of Yangzhou’s environmental protection department.