On Wednesday the State
Environmental Protection Administration issued a circular to
four provincial authorities in the Huaihe River region urging them
to do more to stop river pollution.
Provincial environmental protection authorities are being asked
to turn in small companies, such as paper plants and alcohol
producers, that should be shut down for polluting practices.
Controls for major companies that discharge pollutants and
sewage treatment plants should also be in place by the end of the
year, the circular said, and companies that release more pollutants
than permitted should be publicized through the media and reported
to the administration.
The circular suggests that provincial governments sign papers
with city and county governments making them take responsibility
for monitoring targets and making requirements clear.
The Huaihe River, one of the largest rivers in China, supplies
water for around 165 million people in Henan, Hubei, Anhui and
Jiangsu provinces in central and eastern China.
In late October, a State Council conference on pollution control
for the river was held in Bengbu,?Anhui
Province?and attended by Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan.
At the conference, governments of the four provinces signed a
pledge to cut pollution along the river, which was endorsed by the
State Council.
The provinces have promised to increase control of industrial
pollution along the river from next year and to build additional
sewage treatment plants. They say they will also curb agricultural
pollution.
(China Daily December 9, 2004)