Enterprises: Meet Criteria or Shut DownAn environmental authority in Beijing Tuesday warned the nation's polluters that the government will not tolerate any excess discharge of pollutants.About 28,000 enterprises failed to meet State environmental standards. The government requested earlier this year that all enterprises must meet the State environmental standards by the end of this year. About 85.3 per cent of the nation's 230,000 polluters have met the environmental standards to date, an increase of 7,192 against the same period last year, according to Lu Xinyuan, director of the Pollution Control Department under the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). About 65 per cent of the nation's pollution comes from 18,000 key polluters. Most are large State-owned enterprises (SOEs), statistics from SEPA indicated. The State closed 83 major polluters last year, yet there is still a long way to go before the remaining ones can cut their pollutant discharge, Lu said at a news conference. "The SOEs have become a bottleneck for our environmental improvement, but we are seeking ways to solve the problem," he said. The government will not hesitate to close them down if needed, the official warned. To this end, local environmental officials must pay attention to their situations, he said. More work should be done to increase environmental awareness among local police. Law enforcement departments should close down enterprises that fail to meet State environment standards within a time period mandated by the government. Detailed research should be carried out on the environmental impact caused by polluters. About 7,280 major industrial polluters have yet to take any action to reduce their pollutant discharge, while 7,750 enterprises are working on environment treatment plans, Lu said. In the western region, the environmental outlook seems particularly bleak. In terms of air and water quality, major cities in the western region have failed to reach SEPA's standards, especially in regards to the amount of the total suspended particles in the air. Poor natural conditions, insufficient funds and an underdeveloped infrastructure are the major reasons, the official said. SEPA's latest report indicated that the cleanest cities in China are Shenzhen, Yantai, Haikou, Dalian, Xiamen, Shantou, Suzhou and Zhuhai. |
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