- Heavy industry among companies fined up to US$1 million amid fears economic slowdown is undermining war on pollution
- Environment ministry fines business for exceeding limits and says some regions have used slowing economy as excuse to backslide on curbs
A notice published last Friday said as many as 82 Chinese enterprises exceeded waste water emissions standards in the fourth quarter of 2018, including 44 sewage treatment plants and six waste water treatment facilities.
A unit of the Aluminium Corporation of China in Shanxi province was named as one of five “serious offenders”.
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It said the unit had exceeded emissions restrictions for a total of 92 days during the period. The firm did not respond to requests for comment.
As well as being fined, the companies cited were told to restrict operations until problems were resolved.
The biggest fine was meted out to a waste water treatment plant in Liaoning province, which was ordered to pay 7.2 million yuan (US$1 million).
In a separate review of monitoring standards in the Yangtze River Delta and the Fenwei plain regions, the ministry identified more than 300 firms for equipment quality violations and exceeding waste water discharge restrictions. It found only 22 per cent of equipment was of the required standard.
The list included a special steel producing unit of Baosteel, China’s biggest steelmaker. Baosteel did not respond to a request to comment.
Source: SCMP
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