Beijing cloaked in heavy smog on October 20, 2014 (LUO XIAOGUANG)

A prominent mining company that discharged waste into a reservoir has recently felt the brunt of China's updated Environmental Protection Law, in a concerted commitment to clamp down hard on environmental polluters.

In August 2014, the Huangchangping Mining Co. in central China's Hubei Province began trial production of pyrites without formal approval from the local environmental watchdog and dumped untreated waste water on nearby land. The toxic sewage seeped into groundwater that then flowed into the Qianzhangyan Reservoir, tainting the drinking water supplies for people living in Wushan and Fengjie counties in Chongqing Municipality neighboring Hubei.

This cross-regional pollution caused direct economic losses of 3.34 million yuan ($534,000). On January 20, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) announced that the mining company had been fined 1 million yuan ($159,900) for pollution violations. Cheng Jinyin, a manager of Huangchangping Co., has been remanded in custody on environmental pollution charges and two local environmental officials have also been sacked for lax supervision.

The revision

There have been a number of similar cases to be taken up since the revised Environmental Protection Law came into effect on January 1, with it laying out much harsher punishments for people and companies that cause heavy pollution.

With decades of rapid economic development and a large population, China has long faced serious pollution problems. Despite this, the country's Environmental Protection Law had not been revised since it took effect in 1989, with the original provisions unable to meet the ever changing challenges facing China's environmental protection efforts.

A report issued by the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) in April 2014 revealed that nearly 60 percent of monitored areas in China had "very poor" or "relatively poor" groundwater quality. Another report issued jointly by the MEP and the MLR in the same month showed that about 16.1 percent of the country's soil was contaminated.

In March 2014, China "declared a war" against pollution and pledged to fight it with the same determination the country used to battle poverty, according to a work report of the Central Government submitted to the annual session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature. On April 24, 2014, the amendment of the Environmental Protection Law was adopted after four readings. This highlights the importance of the legislation in the pursuit of sustainable development, as it is rare in China for a law or amendment to go through more than three readings before being passed.

The revised law sets environmental protection as the country's basic policy. In addition to imposing harsher punishments to environmental offenses, it has specific articles and provisions on tackling smog, making citizens more aware of environmental protection and protecting whistleblowers.

According to the revised law, if an enterprise, which illegally discharged pollutants, is fined and asked by authorities to correct its practices, but fails to do so, it may face a fine that accumulates daily. In the past, enterprises received a one-off fine.

The responsible persons, according to the new law, would face up to 15 days in detention if their enterprises dodge environmental impact assessments and refuse to suspend production after being issued a ban. The penalty will also apply to executives of businesses that discharge pollutants without required permits and refuse to suspend the discharge after administrative bodies issue a ban, as well as those who attempt to shirk supervision through means including forging monitoring data or improperly operating pollution prevention equipment. The length of their detention will depend on the impact of their violations.

NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LAW (XIN HUA)

The effects

"The revised law has largely increased the penalties for polluting the environment," said Wang Canfa, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. "In the past, the fine was too small to deter companies or individuals. They almost ignored it."

Wang conducted research in Chongqing after the enforcement of the revised law. The results showed that after fines are calculated on a daily basis, 84 percent of the companies said that they would suspend operations that could harm the environment, while in the past, only 4.8 percent would.

Responsible local officials, as well, will face legal punishments for the concealment of offenses, failing to publicize environmental data, and not giving closure orders to enterprises that illegally discharge pollutants.

"Lax supervision is to blame for this heavy pollution," said Wang Xiaojun, a professor at the College of Environment and Energy at South China University of Technology.

"Some small company heads assume their dirty secrets will not be discovered, while some bigger companies have 'shelters' behind them," Wang Xiaojian said, explaining that these "shelters" were basically local officials that relied on the taxes paid by polluting companies.

Wang Canfa said that local environmental officials were usually caught between a rock and a hard place: between government heads and polluters.

"On the one hand, they need to stop pollution; on the other, government heads usually ask them to be tolerant of big polluters who pay sizable taxes," Wang Canfa said.

Local environmental protection departments also face other problems.

Luo Hui, head of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Bama County, a famous "land of longevity" known for its breath-taking natural environment in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, complained that environmental watchdogs are particularly understaffed at county level, which impacted the effectiveness of supervision work.

"In Bama, we have hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, putting huge environmental pressure on us, but our bureau only has seven employees," Luo said.

To tackle the problem, the government should allow broader public oversight and encourage them to report pollution scandals, said Luo Guo'an, a research fellow with the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences.

"Environmental protection is one of China's basic state policies and the country's current state of affairs from an environmental standpoint is still rather grim," said Zhou Ke, a law professor at Beijing-based Renmin University of China. "The implementation of the revised law is a major component in the country's eco-friendly development and construction framework."

"The revised law states individuals in society all have the right and responsibility to monitor the environmental situation," said Zhou. "This is a big leap forward and will also encourage NGOs to participate."