The Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently issued the Catalogue of Classified Management of Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects (2121 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue) and the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Park Planning. This is a new measure to deepen the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform, optimize the business environment, and promote the development of EIA reform.

so, what adjustments are made to the new policy, what new requirements are put forward for EIA management, and how will it affect related industries and industrial parks? This paper interprets the topics that readers care about.

which industries are no longer included in the EIA?

as we all know, China's development is facing a complicated and severe domestic and international situation, so it is particularly important and urgent to accelerate the reform in related fields. Deepening the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform and optimizing the business environment are the key measures to stimulate the vitality of market players and develop endogenous power.

how to stimulate vitality? When starting with "decentralization".

Just as in the 2121 national EIA training class, the main person in charge of the EIA Department put it in a word: we should further highlight the matters of "release", improve the quality of "service", strengthen the effect of "management" and ensure the implementation of "reform".

Therefore, the newly adjusted Directory fully embodies the above ideas. "Receiving and releasing" is an important way to adjust the Catalogue. Which industries should be "closed"? Industries that have a great impact on the environment should be strictly controlled. Which industries should be "released"? According to the needs of optimizing the business environment and ensuring people's livelihood, the classified management of EIA in animal husbandry, agricultural and sideline food processing industry, food manufacturing industry, warehousing industry and other industries should be "released".

The adjusted Catalogue also brings several "benefits"-

1. It is estimated that the number of reports and report forms that need to be submitted for approval can be further reduced by more than 11%, focusing more on the key points of EIA management.

2. The number of registration forms can be reduced by more than 41%.

3. It covers a batch of measures exempted from the reform of the "Positive List of EIA Approval" of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, which has achieved seamless connection between the policies before and after, and promoted the normalization and institutionalization of pilot measures.

so, how exactly does the directory reflect "receiving and releasing"? For example, the following industries are no longer included in the EIA management:

egg processing

urban natural gas supply project

remediation of contaminated sites

restaurants, entertainment and bathing places

centralized laundry in hotels, restaurants and medical institutions, centralized cleaning and disinfection of tableware

agricultural reclamation, etc.

What are the reasons? Because the above industries have little impact on the environment, the environmental control measures are mature, or they can be effectively managed through other environmental systems, these industries are no longer included in the EIA management through adjustment.

At the same time, VOCs-related industries are also differentiated according to the impact. For those who only use non-solvent low VOCs content coatings and the annual consumption is less than 11 tons, it is unnecessary to prepare environmental impact assessment documents.

So, which projects embody the idea of "receiving"? Category of tightened items (including some items in this category that are tightened):

mariculture

onshore oil exploitation

onshore natural gas exploitation

manufacturing of condiments and fermented products

manufacturing of feed additives and food additives

leather, fur and its products

printing

manufacturing of cultural, educational, sports and entertainment products

.

The newly issued Catalogue introduces the concept of "industrial buildings" for the first time, and defines 26 secondary project categories such as wine and beverage manufacturing, and only those located in industrial buildings are included in the EIA management.

someone asked: I am a farmer, and I am engaged in grain grinding and dairy products manufacturing. Do I need an environmental assessment? It depends on the situation If it is produced on a large scale in an industrial plant, the environmental impact will be relatively large, so the EIA should be prepared according to the list, which is basically a report form project; If it is only hand-made and semi-hand-made at home, that is, simple processing in family workshops, it will no longer be included in EIA management.

this is the function of introducing the concept of "industrial building", which is easy to distinguish from families and shops.

So, what kind of building is an "industrial building"? For the definition of industrial buildings, please refer to the Standard for Basic Terms of Engineering Structure Design (GB/T 51183-2114). Simply summarized, it refers to buildings with industrial production as the main function, and refers to houses engaged in various industrial production and directly serving production, which are generally called workshops, such as production workshops, auxiliary workshops, power houses, storage buildings, etc.

then you need to understand that 26 secondary project categories that are produced in industrial buildings need to be included in the EIA.

however, although the EIA has been reduced, the relevant environmental responsibilities cannot be reduced. According to the provisions of the Environmental Protection Law, units that produce environmental pollution and other public hazards must establish an environmental protection responsibility system. In other words, even if you are engaged in small and micro projects at home, it is not feasible to pollute the environment and will be regulated as well. In addition, if it is a project that is not included in the EIA management, but needs to be included in the pollutant discharge permit management, it is still necessary to apply for a pollutant discharge permit or register in accordance with the provisions of the pollutant discharge permit system.

if the project involves two or more project categories, it should be determined according to the highest single level. How to understand it?

article 5 of the current catalogue: the environmental impact assessment category of cross-industry and compound construction projects shall be determined according to the highest single level. Article 4 of the new version of the Catalogue is revised as follows:-For construction projects whose construction contents involve two or more project categories in this Catalogue, the environmental impact assessment category shall be determined according to the highest single level.

the "cross-industry and compound construction project" is changed to "construction projects whose construction contents involve two or more project categories in this catalogue" in order to make the Catalogue more universal and enhance its operability.

For example, a hotel, restaurant and medical institution has the project of "centralized washing of clothes and centralized cleaning and disinfection of tableware", which will not be included in the EIA management according to the new Catalogue. However, if this hotel or medical institution has supporting sewage treatment facilities, it belongs to the category of "two or more projects", so the requirements for preparing EIA documents should be determined according to the new Catalogue of "sewage treatment and its recycling". For example, if the sewage treatment facilities of this project are self-built, have biochemical treatment units, are not directly discharged into surface water bodies and contain no heavy metals, then only the EIA registration is required.

Another example is the paper product manufacturing project. If boilers are built for production at the same time, the EIA category of the paper product project and the EIA category of the thermal production and supply project should be comprehensively considered, and the highest level should be determined according to the single item.

But "two or more project categories" should be accurate and realistic, and cannot be understood mechanically. For example, a report form should be made for the printed circuit board manufacturing project, and the electroplating process involved in the normal circuit board manufacturing has been considered when the list is formulated. At this time, it is impossible to mechanically cite the metal surface treatment as "electroplating process" and ask this project to make a report.

For another example, a metal product manufacturing project will only produce a small amount of smoke dust and VOCs by simple mechanical processing (turning, milling, shot blasting, etc.) or using a small amount of water-based paint, and some hazardous wastes will be produced more or less, and it may not be included in the EIA management. Although the hazardous waste derived from this project needs to be temporarily stored, marked and disposed of according to the management requirements of hazardous waste, the "other" in the subcategory of hazardous waste utilization and disposal cannot be mechanically applied, and the project is required to make a report form.

which types of parks can no longer carry out planning EIA separately?

with the development of economy, industrial parks have become an important leading area of regional economic development in China, an important gathering area of industrial development, a concentrated area of environmental pollution and a prominent area of environmental risks. At the same time, it is also one of the important areas of the State Council's "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform.

At the 2121 National Environmental Assessment Training Course, relevant personnel of industrial park management institutions were invited to participate for the first time. This is an innovative measure to promote the implementation of the main responsibility, which is conducive to directly conveying the management requirements, work direction and focus to the responsible subject.

regarding the environmental impact assessment document of industrial parks, the Notice on Strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Park Planning (hereinafter referred to as the Notice) was issued in 2111. The newly issued Opinions on Further Strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Park Planning (hereinafter referred to as Opinions) is a revision and adjustment of the Notice. So, what are the key points to pay attention to after the adjustment?

We have noticed that in the Notice issued in 2111, among the requirements of "What types of parks should carry out planning environmental assessment"-national and provincial: economic and technological development zones, high-tech development zones, bonded zones, export processing zones, border economic cooperation zones and other development zones approved by the people's governments at the provincial level in the State Council. The newly issued Opinions are expressed as-national and provincial: economic and technological development zones, high-tech industrial development zones, tourist resorts and other industrial parks approved by the State Council and its relevant departments and provincial people's governments.

that's the point! The new version of the Opinions no longer requires separate planning environmental assessment for special customs supervision areas such as bonded areas and export processing zones. It is reported that such parks account for about a quarter of the total number of state-level development zones.

The reason is that these national bonded zones, bonded port areas, comprehensive bonded zones, export processing zones and other special customs supervision zones usually have a single function and a small area, and they mainly focus on export-oriented processing and manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, entrepot trade, etc., and most of them rely on the construction of peripheral parks, and there is no separate plan.

in practical work, some places have incorporated the above-mentioned parks into the relevant planning of their respective regions and carried out environmental assessment as a whole, which can effectively play a guiding role in the development of parks on the premise of ensuring quality. Therefore, the Opinions no longer put forward the mandatory requirement of carrying out planning environmental assessment separately for such parks.

In addition, the Opinions also take into account the high-tech zones and agglomeration zones with characteristic industries approved by some departments in recent years, and it is necessary to carry out environmental impact assessment when planning the development and construction of the park.

it needs to be clear that the industrial park management organization is the main body responsible for the planning environmental impact assessment of industrial parks, and is responsible for the quality and conclusions of the planning environmental impact assessment. In other words, the industrial park management organization should take responsibility now. If it is taken lightly and not paid enough attention, it will bear the consequences of responsibility.

what should industrial park management agencies do?

1. Carry out planning environmental assessment according to law, provide basic information truthfully, and carefully study the optimization and adjustment suggestions put forward by technical institutions of planning environmental assessment. Organize consultation, consultation, etc.

2. Put the planning EIA conclusions and review opinions into the planning.

3. Organize the planning environmental impact tracking evaluation in time.

4. * * * Enjoy the environmental quality and planning EIA information of the industrial park, and coordinate the construction of environmental monitoring network.

what are the consequences if the regulatory authorities find that the quality of planning EIA preparation is seriously inaccurate, does not meet the requirements of laws and regulations, cannot provide technical support for planning optimization and adjustment, or even falsifies? The industrial park management organization and its entrusted planning EIA technical organization will be dealt with according to the law and regulations. Therefore, industrial parks should pay attention to the planning EIA and attach great importance to it.

the eco-environmental protection department has a package of supervision plans. Not only will the verification be carried out according to law, the environmental impact assessment of industrial park planning will be regularly scheduled and the development and implementation of the evaluation will be tracked, but also the quality supervision of the report will be strengthened by combining "regular inspection+irregular spot check", with the focus on checking the quality of the report preparation and the implementation of the planning environmental impact assessment.