China's State Environmental Protection Administration and the Ministry of Supervision of the People's Republic of China have released information to the public about the extent of their work over the last six months.
As of June 30, 2007, more than 500,000 lower level law enforcement officers have been involved in various environmental cases, and over 220,000 enterprises were checked. Of those, more than 8000 have been punished, and 170 people were given punishments.
Earlier this month, SEPA implemented river range limit approvals on five parks, two counties and six cities, and supervised 30 enterprises, including six waste water processing mills.
According to local media, SEPA has asked environmental protection departments at provincial levels to take immediate action to close down companies or projects that are not in line with the state policies or that seriously pollute the environment. It also asks measures to be taken to strengthen the implementation of the relevant administrative orders issued in recent years.
MOS is requiring the supervision departments at all levels to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the work they have done and track the responsibilities of relevant personnel in relation to the environment protection rules.
