Administrative Regulations on the Environmental Protection of Construction Projects (Revised in 2017)

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No.682

July 16, 2017

(Promulgated by Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No.253 on November 29, 1998, and revised according to the Decision of the State Council on Revising the Administrative Regulations on the Environmental Protection of Construction Projects dated July 16, 2017)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 The Regulations are formulated with a view to preventing construction projects from generating new pollution and damaging the ecological environment.

Article 2 The Regulations shall be applicable to the building of construction projects having impacts on the environment within the territory of the People's Republic of China and other territorial sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 State standards and local standards for the discharge of pollutants must be complied with in building construction projects that generate pollution; requirements for aggregate control of discharge of major pollutants must be met in areas under aggregate control of discharge of major pollutants.

Article 4 Industrial construction projects shall adopt clean production techniques with low energy consumption, low material consumption and low pollutant generation, and rationally exploit natural resources to prevent environmental pollution and ecological damage.

Article 5 Measures must be taken in reconstruction, expansion projects and technological transformation projects to treat original environmental pollution and ecological damage related to the said projects.

Chapter II Environmental Impact Evaluation

Article 6 The state practices the construction project environmental impact evaluation system.

Article 7 The state practices classified control over the environmental protection of construction projects based on the extent of environmental impact of construction projects in accordance with the following provisions:
1. An environmental impact report shall be compiled for a construction project that may cause major impact on the environment, giving comprehensive and detailed evaluation of the pollution generated and environmental impact caused by the construction project;
2. An environmental impact statement shall be compiled for a construction project that may cause light impact on the environment, giving analysis or special-purpose evaluation of the pollution generated and environmental impact caused by the construction project; and
3. A registration form shall be filled out and submitted for a construction project that has a slight impact on the environment and necessitates no environmental impact evaluation.
The directory of classified administration of environmental impact evaluation of construction projects will be developed and announced by the competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council after organizing experts for demonstration and seeking opinions of the relevant departments, industry associations, enterprises and public institutions and the public.

Article 8 A construction project environmental impact report shall contain the following contents:
1. an overview of the construction project;
2. current state of the environment surrounding the construction project;
3. analysis and predictions of impacts which may be caused by the construction project on the environment;
4. measures for environmental protection and their financial and technical authentication;
5. environmental impact economic loss-benefit analysis;
6. proposals for environmental monitoring of the construction project; and
7. conclusions of the environmental impact evaluation.
Contents and formats of the environmental impact statement and environmental impact registration form of a construction project shall be prescribed by the competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council.

Article 9 For a construction project for which an environmental impact report or environmental impact statement shall be prepared, the construction unit shall submit, before starting construction, the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement to the competent administrative department of environmental protection with the authority of examination and approval for approval; if the environmental impact evaluation document of the construction project fails to be examined by the examination and approval department in accordance with the law or is not approved after examination, the construction unit may not start construction.
When examining and approving an environmental impact report or environmental impact statement, the competent administrative department of environmental protection shall mainly examine the environmental feasibility, the reliability of environmental impact analysis, prediction and evaluation, the effectiveness of environmental protection measures, and the scientificity of environmental impact evaluation conclusions in respect of the construction project, and make an examination and approval decision within 60 days of receipt of the environmental impact report or within 30 days of receipt of the environmental impact statement.
The competent administrative department of environmental protection may organize a technical organization to make a technical evaluation of the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of a construction project and bear the relevant costs; the technical organization shall be held liable for the technical evaluation opinions given by it and shall charge no fee from the construction unit and unit engaging in the work of environmental impact evaluation.
For a construction project for which an environmental impact registration form shall be filled in in accordance with the law, the construction unit shall submit the environmental impact registration form to the competent administrative department of environmental protection at the county level of the locality of the construction project for record-filing, according to the provisions of the competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council.
The competent administrative department of environmental protection shall carry out online examination and approval, record-filing and information disclosure of environmental impact evaluation documents.

Article 10 The competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council shall be responsible for the examination and approval of environmental impact reports or environmental impact statements of the following construction projects:
1. special-nature construction projects such as nuclear facilities and top-secret projects;
2. construction projects transcending the administrative areas of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; and
3. construction projects subject to the examination and approval of the State Council or the examination and approval of the departments concerned authorized by the State Council.
Limits of authority of examination and approval of environmental impact reports or environmental impact statements of construction projects other than those prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
Where a construction project causes trans-administrative area environmental impact and a dispute arises between the relevant competent administrative departments of environmental protection over the conclusions of environmental impact evaluation, its environmental impact report or environmental impact statement shall be submitted to the joint competent administrative department of environmental protection at the next higher level for examination and approval.

Article 11 The competent administrative department of environmental protection shall make a decision on disapproval of an environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of a construction project if:
1. the type, location, layout, or scale of the construction project is not in line with laws and regulations on environmental protection and the relevant statutory planning;
2. the environmental equity of the area where the construction project is located fails to meet the national or local environmental quality standards and the measures to be taken for the construction project cannot meet the administrative requirements of regional environmental quality improvement targets;
3. the pollution prevention and control measures adopted for the construction project cannot ensure that the pollutant discharge can meet the national and local discharge standards, or no necessary measures are taken to prevent and control ecological damage;
4. in the case of a reconstruction or expansion project or technological transformation project, no effective measures are taken to prevent and control the original environmental pollution and ecological damage of the project;
5. the basic materials and data in the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of the construction project are obviously false with material defects or omissions, or the environmental impact evaluation conclusions are unclear and unreasonable.

Article 12 Where major changes take place in the nature, scale, location or production techniques adopted or the measures for prevention of pollution or ecological damage caused by a construction project upon approval of the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of the construction project, the construction unit shall once again submit the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of the construction project for approval.
Where a construction project starts construction on expiry of five years starting from the date of approval of its environmental impact report or environmental impact statement, the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement shall be submitted to the original examination and approval organ for re-examination and revivification. The original examination and approval organ shall, within ten days after receipt of the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement, notify the construction unit in writing of the views on examination and verification; failure to notify on expiry shall be construed as approval upon examination and verification.
No fee whatsoever shall be collected for the examination and verification, and examination and approval of the environmental impact report, environmental impact statement or environmental impact registration form of any construction project.

Article 13 Construction units may adopt the form of open tender to select the units engaging in the work of environmental impact evaluation for environmental impact evaluation of the construction projects.
No administrative organ shall appoint units engaging in the work of environmental impact evaluation for construction units for environmental impact evaluation.

Article 14 A construction unit shall, when compiling an environmental impact report, solicit the opinions of the units and residents concerned of the locality wherein the construction project is located pursuant to the relevant provisions of laws.

Chapter III Construction of Environmental Protection Facilities

Article 15 Simultaneous design, simultaneous construction and simultaneous going-into-operation with the main body project must be realized for matching environmental protection facilities construction which is required for the construction project.

Article 16 The preliminary design of a construction project shall, pursuant to the requirements of environmental protection design standards, contain the preparation of a chapter on environmental protection and the implementation of measures for the prevention and treatment of environmental pollution and ecological damage as well as budgetary estimate for investment.
A construction unit shall include the construction of environmental protection facilities in the construction contract, guarantee the construction progress and funds of environmental protection facilities, and organize the implementation of the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement and the environmental protection measures put forward in the decisions of the examination and approval department during the project construction process.

Article 17 After the construction of a construction project for which an environmental impact report or environmental impact statement is prepared is completed, the construction unit shall make an acceptance check of the matching environmental protection facilities and prepare an acceptance report according to the standards and procedures stipulated by the competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council.
When making an acceptance check of environmental protection facilities, a construction unit shall truthfully check, monitor, and record the construction and debugging of the environmental protection facilities of the construction project and may not commit fraud.
The construction unit shall make the acceptance report publicly available in accordance with the law unless it is required to be kept confidential according to national provisions.

Article 18 For construction projects that are built in phases, go into production or are delivered for use in phases, acceptance checks for their corresponding environmental protection facilities shall be conducted in phases.

Article 19 For a construction project for which an environmental impact report or environmental impact statement is prepared, its matching environmental protection facilities may go into production or be delivered for use only after they pass the acceptance check; and they may not go into production or be delivered for use if no acceptance check is made for them or they fail to pass the acceptance check.
After the construction projects mentioned in the preceding paragraph go into production or are delivered for use, a post-environmental impact evaluation shall be carried out according to the provisions of the competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council.

Article 20 The competent administrative department of environmental protection shall supervise and inspect the design, construction, acceptance, going-into-production or delivery for use of the environmental protection facilities of a construction project, and the implementation of other environmental protection measures determined in the relevant environmental impact evaluation documents.
The competent administrative department of environmental protection shall record information on environmental illegalities concerning a construction project in the social credit file and timely disclose the list of offenders to the public.

Chapter IV Legal Liability

Article 21 A construction unit shall be punished in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Environmental Impact Assessment if it:
1. starts construction without authorization before submitting the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of the construction project for approval or re-examination in accordance with the law;
2. starts construction without authorization before the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement of the construction projects is approved or approved after re-examination; or
3. fails to file the environmental impact registration form of the construction project for record in accordance with the law.

Article 22 Where a construction unit, in violation of the provisions hereof, fails to contain measures for the prevention and control of environmental pollution and ecological damage and budgetary estimate for investment in environmental protection facilities in the preliminary design of a construction project, to include the construction of environmental protection facilities in the construction contract, or to carry out a post-environmental impact evaluation in accordance with the law, the competent administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county level of the locality of the construction project shall order it to effect rectification within a specified time limit, impose a fine of more than CNY50,000 but less than CNY200,000 against it; if it fails to effect rectification within the time limit, a fine of more than CNY200,000 but less than CNY1 million shall be imposed.
Where a construction unit, in violation of the provisions hereof, fails to organize the implementation of the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement and the environmental protection measures put forward in the decisions of the examination and approval department during the project construction process, the competent administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county level of the locality of the construction project shall order it to effect rectification within a specified time limit and impose a fine of more than CNY200,000 but less than CNY1 million against it; if it fails to effect rectification within the time limit, it shall be ordered to stop construction.

Article 23 Where a construction project goes into production or is delivered for use without the completion of construction of matching environmental protection facilities required for the construction project, without going through acceptance checks or without passing the acceptance checks in violation of the provisions hereof, or fraud is committed in the acceptance check of the environmental protection facilities, the competent administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county level shall order the construction unit to effect rectification within a specified time limit and impose a fine of more than CNY200,000 but less than CNY1 million against it; if it fails to effect rectification within the time limit, a fine of more than CNY 1 million but less than CNY2 million shall be imposed; the person in charge who is held directly liable and other liable persons shall be subject to a fine of more than CNY50,000 but less than CNY200,000; if material environmental pollution or ecological damage is caused, the construction unit will be ordered to stop production or use of the construction project, or be ordered to close down upon approval by the people's government with the authority of approval.
Where a construction unit fails to disclose the report on acceptance check of the environmental protection facilities to the public in accordance with the law, the competent administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county level shall order it to disclose the report, impose a fine of more than CNY50,000 but less than CNY200,000 against it, and make an announcement.

Article 24 Where a technical organization collects a fee from the construction unit or any unit engaging in the work of construction project environmental impact evaluation, the competent administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county level shall order it to return the fee collected and impose a fine of more than 100% but less than 300% of the fee collected.

Article 25 Any unit engaging in the work of construction project environmental impact evaluation that commits fraud in the work of environmental impact evaluation shall be imposed a fine of more than 100% but less than 300% of the fee collected by the competent administrative department of environmental protection at or above the county level.

Article 26 Any functionary of the competent administrative department of environmental protection who indulges in malpractices for selfish gains, abuse of power, or negligence of duty that constitute a crime shall be investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the law; where a crime has not been constituted, administrative sanctions shall be imposed in accordance with the law.

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Article 27 Environmental impact evaluation shall be conducted when compiling construction planning for such regional developments as valley development, development zone construction, new urban district construction and old urban district reconstruction. Specific measures shall be worked out separately by the competent administrative department of environmental protection under the State Council in concert with the competent departments concerned under the State Council.

Article 28 The environmental protection administration of ocean engineering construction projects shall be subject to the provisions of the State Council on the environmental protection administration of ocean engineering.

Article 29 Environmental protection administration of construction projects of military installations shall be subject to the relevant provisions of the Central Military Commission.

Article 30 The Regulations shall come into force as of the date of promulgation.