Measures of Guangdong Province on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in the Pearl River Delta

· Document Number：Decree No. 134 of the People's Government of Guangdong Province

· Area of Law： Environmental Protection

· Level of Authority： Local Government Rules

· Date issued：03-30-2009

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Guangdong Province

Measures of Guangdong Province on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in the Pearl River Delta
Decree of the People's Government of Guangdong Province
No. 134
Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and other relevant laws and regulations and for the purposes of protecting and improving the atmospheric environment in the Pearl River Delta region, preventing and controlling regional combined air pollution, and protecting human health.
Article 2 These Measures are application to the prevention and control of air pollution in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong Province. The units and individuals mentioned in these Measures refer to units and individuals in the Pearl River Delta region.
The geographical scope of Pearl River Delta region (hereinafter referred to as the "Region") is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Outline of Modern Construction Planning for the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone of Guangdong Province.
Article 3 The provincial people's government formulates programs for the prevention and control of air pollution in the Region to control or reduce, in a planned way, the total volume of main atmospheric pollutants discharged in different places.
A people's government at or above the county level shall be responsible for improving the quality of atmospheric environment within its own administrative area, and enable the quality of atmospheric environment within its own administrative area to reach the prescribed standard by formulating programs and adopting measures.
Article 4 The competent department of environmental protection of a people's government at or above the county level shall carry out unified supervision over and management of the prevention and control of air pollution and publicize information about the quality of atmospheric environment in a unified way.
Departments in charge of comprehensive economic macro-control formulate industrial policies in favor of the prevention and control of air pollution; the competent departments of public security, transportation, fishery, and maritime shall, in accordance with their respective functions and responsibilities, carry out supervision over and administration of the prevention and control of air pollution from motor-driven vehicles and vessels.
Other relevant competent departments shall, within their respective authorities, carry out supervision over and administration of the prevention and control of air pollution.
The supervisory organ of a people's government at any level shall carry out supervision over and inspection of the performance by relevant administrative departments and their staff members of their respective duties with respect to the prevention and control of air pollution, and on a timely basis, investigate and deal with failure to perform duties in accordance with law.
Article 5 The provincial people's government sets up a supervision and coordination mechanism for the joint prevention and control of air pollution in the Region, and adopts the following measures to carry out supervision over the prevention and control of air pollution in the Region:
(1) Inspecting the progress of implementation of air pollution prevention and control programs in the Region, and organizing the assessment of the progress of work of people's governments at all levels in the Region with respect to the prevention and control of air pollution;
(2) On a regular basis, circulating a notice of the progress of implementation of air pollution prevention and control programs in the Region, the quality of atmospheric environment, major construction projects and other information;
(3) Coordinating efforts to resolve the air pollution disputes in trans-prefecture or trans-city administrative area; and
(4) Coordinating the efforts of all places and departments to establish Regional unified environmental protection policies.
Article 6 The competent department of environment protection of the provincial people's government shall establish an atmospheric environment quality monitoring and evaluation system adapting to the characteristics of air pollution in the Region and build an atmospheric environment quality monitoring network for the Region, covering the urban area, both sides of urban roads, and the area without background pollution.
The competent departments of environment protection of cities at or above the prefecture level shall, in accordance with the provisions of the State and this Province, establish and improve an atmospheric environment monitoring network, and set up an automatic online system to monitor the quality of atmospheric environment and the sources of air pollution.
The competent meteorological department of the provincial people's government shall carry out appraisal of the current weather and climate conditions having an effect on the transport, dispersion and change of atmospheric pollutants, and establish a hazy condition monitoring, forecasting and early warning system for the Region.
Article 7 All units and individuals are obligated to protect the atmospheric environment, and are entitled to file a complaint or charge against any unit or individual that has polluted the atmospheric environment.
The competent departments of environment protection of a people's government at any level shall, based on the local current situation, set up a system to reward those who have reported air pollution or pollution from motor-driven vehicles or retain "community supervisors" to assist in carrying out the supervision over and administration of the prevention and control of air pollution.
People's governments at all levels may give commendations and rewards to those enterprises that have fulfilled ahead of schedule or overfulfilled the tasks of controlling the total volume of pollutants discharged or other units or individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the prevention and control of air pollution.
Article 8 The provincial people's government implements a system of controlling the total volume of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, inhalable particles and main atmospheric pollutants discharged in the Region.
A people's government at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of the provincial people's government, reduce and control the total volume of main pollutants discharged into the air in the local administrative area.
The volume of pollutants discharged into the air shall not exceed national or local emission standards for atmospheric pollutants or the total volume control targets for discharge of main atmospheric pollutants.
For an area where the total volume control targets for discharge of main atmospheric pollutants have been exceeded so that the environment has no absorptive capacity, the competent governmental department of environmental protection shall suspend the examination and approval of the environmental impact assessment statements for construction projects which will increase the total volume of discharged main atmospheric pollutants.
It is forbidden to develop or use any industry or products resulting in large amounts of pollutants discharged to the air; enterprises are encouraged to save energy and reduce consumption, and cleaner production is promoted.
Article 9 For the registration of new buses, taxies and government cars, the people's governments of cities at or above the prefecture level shall put into effect the national motor vehicle emission standards for the next phase ahead of schedule, and additionally, phase out the financial subsidy policies for in-use buses and taxies with emissions falling below the national Phase II emission standards; it is encouraged to put into effect the national motor vehicle emission standards for the next phase ahead of schedule for the registration of other new vehicles.
Environmental protection marks will be given to qualified motor-driven vehicles. Motor-driven vehicles discharging atmospheric pollutants in excess of prescribed standards are forbidden to run on roads.
When running, motor-driven vessels shall not exceed the emission standards prescribed by the State.
Article 10 Enterprises supplying oil products shall, before December 31, 2009, provide all filling stations in the Region with motor vehicle gasoline that reaches national motor vehicle emission standards for the current phase, and accelerate the promotion and supply of motor vehicle gasoline that reaches national motor vehicle emission standards for the next phase.
Newly-built oil depots and filing stations and newly registered oil tank trunks may be put into use only after the installation of vapor recovery system has been fulfilled; for existing oil depots and filing stations and in-use oil tank trunks, comprehensive control facilities for vapor recovery shall be fulfilled by the end of the year of 2010.
Article 11 It will no longer be planned to build new coal-fired or oil-fired power plants in the Region.
Those coal-fired and oil-fired power plants and those units using industrial boilers or kilns shall, in accordance with the provisions of the State and this Province, adopt desulfurization, sulfur-fixing, dedusting, denitrification or low-nitrogen combustion techniques. Those coal-fired and oil-fired power plants and those boilers and kilns with a rated capacity of over 65 evaporation tons shall be equipped with automatic online devices for monitoring discharge of atmospheric pollutants, which shall be connected to the network of the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government and the normal operation of which shall be ensured.
For coal-fired units equipped with desulfurization facilities and coal-fired, oil-fired, or gas-fired units equipped with denitrification facilities, the grid power rate plus shall be enjoyed in accordance with relevant provisions. If consumption is at the same level, then those power generation units equipped with desulfurization and denitrification facilities shall be given priority to be connected to the grid.
The people's government of a city at or above the prefecture level shall, based on the needs of the prevention and control of air pollution within the administrative area of the city, eliminate those high-consumption and heavy-pollution industrial boilers and kilns, and actively develop low-consumption, low-pollution or pollution-free industrial boilers and kilns; work out the scope, period and subsidy policies for using clean energy instead for coal-fired boilers and kilns, and reduce coal-fired pollution.
The people's government of a city at or above the prefecture level shall, based on the needs of the prevention and control of air pollution, delimit a fuel control zone in the administrative area of the city, and in the control zone, it is forbidden to build new ordinary coal-fired and oil-fired boilers.
Article 12 Paints and coatings with a high content of volatile organic compounds shall be eliminated; it is encouraged to produce and sell insecticide aerosols, washing agents, adhesives, hair gel and other products with a low content of volatile organic compounds.
In automobile manufacturing, automobile repair, petrochemical, furniture manufacturing and processing, shoe making, printing, electronics, dry cleaning and similar trades, unorganized emission of volatile organic compounds shall be controlled in accordance with relevant technical specifications.
Article 13 Urban catering service providers shall not discharge cooking fumes or smokes in excess of prescribed standards, and cooking fumes shall be discharged through special flues, and it is forbidden to discharge smokes into urban underground pipeline networks.
Newly built catering service premises shall use clean energy such as electricity, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas; existing catering service premises shall use clean energy instead within the period prescribed the local people's governments of cities at or above the prefecture level.
Article 14 It is forbidden to use as fuel any abandoned asphalt, asphalt felt, rubber, plastics, leather or other materials that may produce toxic or harmful smoke, dust or fetor after burning; it is forbidden to recover metal by burning in the open air.
Article 15 If possible, green spaces shall be built on the idle or bare land in the urban area, on a temporary basis.
In the storage and piling of coal, gangue, coal cinder, coal ashes, sandstone, lime soil or other materials easy to produce dusts, enclosure, covering and other measures shall be adopted to prevent and control dust pollution.
On a construction site, enclosure, covering and other measures shall be adopted to prevent and control dust pollution; when construction vehicles enter or leave construction sites, spraying, washing or other similar measures shall be adopted.
In the loading and unloading, transportation, and storage of substances that may diffuse toxic or harmful gases or dusts, special-purpose sealing devices or other protective measures shall be adopted.
Measures shall be adopted to prevent and control dust pollution when sweeping and cleaning are done on roads, at squares or in other public spaces.
Article 16 People's governments at all levels shall establish air pollution accident forecasting and early-warning systems and formulate emergency plans. When the level of pollution requires the standard for a certain level for early warning, following emergency measures shall be adopted:
(1) Timely circulating a notice to units and residents that may be damaged by pollution;
(2) Prohibiting emission from certain sources of pollution;
(3) Prohibiting or restricting motor-driven vehicles from running; or
(4) Adopting other effective measures to reduce or eliminate pollution.
Article 17 Where, in violation of the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 8 of these Measures, a unit discharging pollutants has discharged pollutants in excess of national or local discharge standards for atmospheric pollutants, the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order the unit to make improvement within a prescribed period, in accordance with law, and impose upon the unit a fine of not less than RMB$10,000 nor more than RMB$100,000; where a national or local control target for total volume of atmospheric pollutants is exceeded, the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order improvement within a prescribed period, and impose thereupon a fine of not less than RMB$10,000 nor more than RMB$30,000.
During the prescribed period for controlling pollution, the competent department of environmental protection shall order the unit to limit production or emission or discontinue production for improvement. The prescribed period shall not be more than one year, and if the unit fails to comply with the order, the competent department of environmental protection shall request the local people's government at the corresponding level to order business stoppage and closure.
Article 18 Where, in violation of the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 9 of these Measures, a motor-driven vehicle running on road discharges atmospheric pollutants in excess of prescribed standards, the competent public security organ shall impose punishment upon the violator in accordance with law.
Where, in violation of the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 9 of these Measures, a motor-driven vessel running discharges pollutants in excess of prescribed standards, the competent maritime, transport or fishery department or other department exercising the power of supervision according to law shall impose punishment upon the violator in accordance with law.
Article 19 In the event of a violation of the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 10 of these Measures, the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order rectification within a prescribed period and impose upon the violator an additional fine of not less than RMB$3,000 nor more than RMB$30,000.
Article 20 In the event of a violation of the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 11 of these Measures, the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order rectification within a prescribed period; if the violator fails to comply with the rectification order, a fine of not less than RMB$10,000 nor more than RMB$30,000 shall be imposed upon the violator.
Article 21 In the event of a violation of the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 13 or the third paragraph of Article 15 of these Measures, the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government at or above the county level or other department exercising the power of supervision according to law shall order stoppage of illegal acts and rectification within a prescribed period, in accordance with law, and may impose upon the violator an additional fine of not less than RMB$5,000 nor more than RMB$50,000.
Article 22 In the event of a violation of the provisions of Article 14 of these Measures, the competent department of environmental protection of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order stoppage of illegal acts in accordance with law and impose upon the violator a fine of not less than RMB$2,000 nor more than RMB$20,000.
Article 23 Where anyone, in violation of the provisions of the first, second, or fourth paragraph of Article 15 of these Measures, carries out construction or engages in other activities producing dust pollution in the urban area without adopting effective dust prevention and control measures, thus causing pollution to the atmospheric environment, the violator shall be ordered to make improvement within a prescribed period in accordance with and be imposed a fine of not less than RMB$2,000 nor more than RMB$20,000; if the violator fails to meet the requirements prescribed in local environmental protection provisions within the prescribed period, the violator may be ordered to stop construction and make rectification.
Punishment for the dust pollution caused due to construction, as provided for in the preceding paragraph, shall be decided by the competent construction department of the local people's government at or above the county level; punishment for dust pollution otherwise caused shall be decided by the competent department designated by the local people's government at or above the county level.
Article 24 Where a staff member engaged in monitoring, supervision and enforcement with respect to the prevention and control of air pollution abuses his or her power, practices graft, neglects his or her duties, or commits an administrative omission, he or she shall be given an administrative sanction; if a crime is constituted, the criminal liability shall be investigated for in accordance with law.
Article 25 These Measures shall be effective as of May 1, 2009.