Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Cancellation of EIA agency qualification is not a deregulation

EIA agencies have violations, fraud, etc.
    There are four EIA agencies involved in this transfer, namely Ningxia Zhicheng Anhuan Technology Consulting Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia Baiba Environmental Technology Consulting Co., Ltd., Chinalco International Engineering Co., Ltd., Henan Maida Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. Most of the problem clues of the transfer were discovered by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment during the technical review of the EIA documents. The main problem was that the EIA document was suspected of violating the relevant national EIA standards and technical specifications during the preparation of the EIA document. Serious quality problems, as well as some EIA agencies to cope with inspections, falsify, and modify multiple EIA documents.
    The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said that it will transfer some clues to some environmental assessment agencies to the provincial-level eco-environmental departments such as Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Henan, and require relevant departments to carry out investigation and evidence collection according to law, and penalize the existing illegal acts according to law, and the suspected crimes are transferred to judicial organs for investigation. criminal responsibility.

The focus of supervision shifts from “before” to “after the event”
    The Environmental Impact Assessment Law was promulgated on December 29, 2018, in which the administrative licensing of environmental impact assessment for construction projects was cancelled. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment believes that the EIA qualification management of construction projects that have been implemented for many years has played an important role in safeguarding the quality of EIA documents, effectively preventing environmental pollution and ecological damage, and strengthening the effectiveness of the EIA system, and has fostered an EIA market with certain self-regulation capabilities. Under the new situation of comprehensively deepening the reform of "distribution suits", with the increasing supervision of EIA technical checks and other matters, the focus of supervision has shifted from "ex ante" to "after the event." The revised Environmental Impact Assessment Law no longer mandates that a qualified environmental impact assessment agency prepare a construction project environmental impact report (form), which stipulates that the construction unit may entrust a technical unit to prepare an environmental impact report (form), such as It has its own technical capabilities and can be compiled by itself. It is conducive to stimulating market vitality. It can enhance the technical service level and service awareness of EIA through more adequate market competition, which will help reduce the burden of enterprises and promote the development of the real economy.

Strengthen legal responsibility and implement “double penalty system” for units and personnel
    The Ministry of Ecology and Environment stressed that the cancellation of EIA qualifications does not mean that the EIA management is relaxed. On the contrary, the Environmental Impact Assessment Law has imposed stricter regulations on supervision and management and accountability, and has given the ecological and environmental departments at all levels more powerful regulatory weapons. Such as the substantial strengthening of legal responsibilities, the implementation of units and personnel "double penalty system." If there are serious quality problems in the EIA document, a fine of 500,000 to 2 million yuan shall be imposed on the construction unit, and a fine of 50,000 to 200,000 yuan shall be imposed on the relevant responsible personnel; the fine for the technical unit shall be increased from 1-3 times to 3 - 5 times, and confiscate the illegal income, the serious circumstances prohibit the employment; the implementation of the five-year ban on employment and other penalties, constitute a crime will also be investigated for criminal responsibility, and life banned from work. Refining the environmental impact report (table) has the specific situation of “serious quality problems”, and the standards are more clear, which is conducive to strengthening the supervision of the eco-environment departments at all levels.
    The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said that the clues to the transfer of EIA agencies have released a clear signal that the EIA management has not been relaxed after the EIA reform, and the standard management of the EIA industry will be further strengthened, and the EIA agencies and their staff will be strict. Supervision and so on.