Measures on Open Environmental Information (Trial) (CECC Full Translation)

The following is a translation prepared by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of the "Measures on Open Environmental Information," issued by the State Environmental Protection Administration on April 11, 2007. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China Web site on June 4, 2007. CECC analysis and summary of the Measures is available here.

Measures on Open Environmental Information (Trial)

Chapter I. General Provisions

Article 1. In order to promote and standardize the disclosure of environmental information for the administrative departments in charge of environmental protection (hereinafter referred to as "environmental protection departments") and enterprises, protect the rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations to obtain environmental information, and promote public participation in environmental protection, in accordance with the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Open Government Information," the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Clean Production," the "State Council Decision on Implementing the Scientific Concept of Development and Strengthening Environmental Protection," and other relevant provisions, these Measures are hereby formulated.

Article 2. "Environmental information," as referred to in these Measures, includes government environmental information and enterprise environmental information.

"Government environmental information" refers to information created or obtained by environmental protection departments in the course of carrying out their environmental protection responsibilities and recorded and stored in a definite form.

"Enterprise environmental information" refers to information that an enterprise has recorded and stored in a definite form and which relates to the environmental impact generated by the operating activities of the enterprise or the environmental conduct of the enterprise.

Article 3. The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) is responsible for promoting, guiding, coordinating, and supervising open environmental information work throughout the country.

The environmental protection departments of the local people's governments at the county level and above are responsible for organizing, coordinating, and supervising open environmental information work within their respective administrative areas.

Article 4. Environmental protection departments shall abide by the principles of justice, fairness, convenience to the people, and objectivity, and disclose government environmental information promptly and accurately.

Enterprises shall, regardless of whether disclosure is voluntary or mandatory, disclose enterprise environmental information promptly and accurately.

Article 5. Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations may file requests with environmental protection departments to obtain government environmental information.

Article 6. Environmental protection departments shall establish and perfect the environmental information disclosure system.

The General Office of SEPA shall be the office responsible for organizing SEPA's open government environmental information work. Each of the functional offices shall complete open government environmental information work within their respective areas in accordance with the division of work responsibilities.

Environmental protection departments of the local people's governments at the county level and above should designate the office responsible for organizing their open government environmental information work based on practical circumstances. These offices are responsible for organizing and implementing their department's open government environmental information work.

The specific duties of the office responsible for organizing the open government environmental information work of an environmental protection department are:

(1) To organize formulation of a set of regulations and work rules for the disclosure of the department's government environmental information;

(2) To organize coordination of the open government environmental information work of each of the functional offices within the department;

(3) To organize the safeguarding and updating of government environmental information disclosed by the department;

(4) To supervise and assess the open government environmental information work of each of the functional offices within the department;

(5) To organize compilation of the department's open government environmental information guide, open government environmental information catalogue, and annual report on open government environmental information work;

(6) To supervise and guide the open government environmental information work of lower level environmental protection departments;

(7) To supervise enterprise environmental information disclosure work in areas under the department's jurisdiction;

(8) To be responsible for investigating the secrecy of government environmental information prior to disclosure;

(9) Other responsibilities of the department related to the disclosure of government environmental information.

Article 7. Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations shall not harm national interests, public interests, or the lawful rights and interests of other persons when using disclosed environmental information.

Article 8. Environmental protection departments shall guarantee the personnel and funding for that department's environmental information disclosure work.

Article 9. For government environmental information that requires approval in accordance with the relevant state provisions in order to be released by an environmental protection department, such information may not be released without approval.

Article 10. Environmental protection departments, in disclosing government environmental information, must not endanger state security, public security, economic security, and social stability.

Chapter II. Disclosure of Government Environmental Information

Part I. The Scope of Disclosure

Article 11. Environmental protection departments, within their scope of responsibility and jurisdiction, shall proactively disclose the following government environmental information to the public:

(1) Environmental protection laws, regulations, rules, standards, and other regulatory documents;

(2) Environmental protection plans;

(3) Environmental quality conditions;

(4) Environmental statistics and environmental investigation information;

(5) The emergency response plan, forecast, occurrence, management, and other information relating to sudden environmental incidents;

(6) Distribution and implementation of targets for total levels of major pollutant discharges, the distribution of pollutant discharge permits, and the results of urban environment comprehensive improvement quantitative assessments;

(7) Information on the classification, production quantity, disposal of and other conditions of solid waste for large- and medium-sized cities;

(8) The review of environmental impact assessment documentation for a construction project, the results of such review, the results of the environmental protection inspection of a construction project upon completion, and other items requiring environmental protection administrative permits and their legal bases, conditions, procedures, and results;

(9) The items, legal bases, standards, and procedures for fees levied on the discharge of pollutants, the amount of fees that the polluter shall pay for the pollutant discharge, the actual amount collected, and any reduction or delay;

(10) The items subject to environmental protection administrative fees, and the legal bases, standards, and procedures for the collection of these fees;

(11) Verified and investigated petition letters and complaints by the public relating to environmental issues or enterprises that pollute the environment, and their outcome;

(12) Environmental administrative penalties, administrative reconsideration, administrative lawsuits, and the implementation of administrative compulsory measures;

(13) A list of the names of enterprises with serious pollution that have discharged pollutants exceeding national or local discharge standards, or whose total amount of pollutant discharge exceeds the total discharge control targets set by the local people's governments;

(14) A list of the names of enterprises responsible for major, large-scale environmental pollution accidents or incidents, and a list of the names of enterprises that refuse to carry out an environmental administrative penalty decision that has already taken effect;

(15) The inspection and approval results of environmental protection projects;

(16) The organizational structure, work responsibilities, contact information, and other information relating to environmental protection departments;

(17) Other environmental information required to be disclosed according to laws, regulations, rules, or provisions.

Environmental protection departments shall compile their own open government environmental information catalogues based on the scope as set forth in this provision.

Article 12. Environmental protection departments shall establish and perfect a mechanism to examine the secrecy of government environmental information to be released, and clarify the procedures and responsibilities for such examination.

Prior to disclosing government environmental information, environmental protection departments shall carry out an examination in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets" and other laws, regulations, and relevant state provisions.

Environmental protection departments may not disclose government environmental information involving state secrets, commercial secrets, or individual privacy. However, government environmental information involving commercial secrets or individual privacy may be disclosed if the rights holder consents or the environmental protection department believes that not disclosing such information could significantly impact the interests of the public.

If the environmental protection department is unable to determine whether to disclose government environmental information, then it shall submit the matter for determination to the department in charge or the department for safeguarding secrecy at the same level as the environmental protection department, in accordance with laws, regulations, and relevant state provisions.

Part II. Disclosure Methods and Procedures

Article 13. Environmental protection departments shall publicize the government environmental information that is to be proactively disclosed through government Web sites, government gazettes, press conferences, newspapers and other periodical publications, radio broadcasts, television, or any other method that facilitates public awareness.

Article 14. Environmental protection departments shall disclose government environmental information that is to be proactively disclosed within 20 business days from the date such information arose or was modified. If other laws or regulations have different provisions regarding the time limit for disclosing government environmental information, those provisions shall be followed.

Article 15. Environmental protection departments shall compile and publish open government environmental information guides and open government environmental information catalogues, and update them in a timely manner.

Open government environmental information guides shall include the information classification, the compilation system, the method for obtaining the information, the name, office address, office hours, contact telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address of the office for open government environmental information work, and other related content.

The open government environmental information catalogues shall include an index, name of the information, a summary of the information's content, the date of production, the date of disclosure, and other related content.

Article 16. Citizens, legal persons, and other organizations who make a request to an environmental protection department to obtain government environmental information in accordance with Article 5 of these Measures shall do so in writing, either through a letter, facsimile, e-mail, or another written form; if it is truly difficult for the requester to make a request in writing, he or she may do so orally, and the environmental protection department's office for open government environmental work shall fill out a request for the disclosure of government environmental information on the requester's behalf.

Requests for the disclosure of government environmental information shall include the following content:

(1) The name of the individual or organization making the request, and the method of contact;

(2) A detailed description of the government environmental information requested to be disclosed; and

(3) Requirements as to the format of the government environmental information requested to be disclosed.

Article 17. Environmental protection departments shall reply to requests for government environmental information in accordance with the following:

(1) If the information requested to be disclosed falls within the scope of disclosure, the requester shall be notified of the method and channel for obtaining such government environmental information;

(2) If the information requested to be disclosed does not fall within the scope of disclosure, the requester shall be notified that such government environmental information will not be disclosed and provided an explanation of the reason;

(3) If the law provides that disclosure is not within a department's responsibility or the government environmental information does not exist, the requester shall be notified; with regard to government environmental information whose disclosure agency can be confirmed, the requester shall be notified of the relevant administrative agency's name and contact information;

(4) If the content for which the request is being made is unclear, the requester shall be notified to edit or supplement his or her request.

Article 18. Environmental protection departments shall reply within 15 business days of receiving a request; if they are unable to reply within 15 business days, then with the consent of the person responsible from the office for open government environmental work, the deadline to reply may be extended with the requester notified in writing. The deadline to reply may not be extended by more than 15 business days.

Chapter III. Disclosure of Enterprise Environmental Information

Article 19. The state encourages enterprises to voluntarily disclose the following environmental information:

(1) The enterprise's environmental protection guiding principles, and annual environmental protection targets and results;

(2) The enterprise's total annual consumption of natural resources;

(3) The enterprise's investment in environmental protection and its development of environmental technology;

(4) The type, amount, toxicity, and destination of the enterprise's discharged pollutants;

(5) The construction and operation of the enterprise's environmental protection facilities;

(6) The enterprise's handling and disposal of waste materials generated during the production process, and the recycling and comprehensive utilization of discarded products;

(7) A voluntary agreement with an environmental protection department to improve environmental conduct;

(8) A description of how the enterprise fulfills its social responsibility;

(9) Any other environmental information that the enterprise wishes to voluntarily disclose.

Article 20. Enterprises included on the lists provided for under Part I, Article 11, Item 13 of these Measures shall disclose the following information:

(1) The enterprise's name, address, and legal representative;

(2) The names of major pollutants, their methods of discharge, the toxicity and amount of discharge, if they exceed standards, and the amount in excess;

(3) The enterprise's construction and operation of environmental protection facilities;

(4) The emergency response plan for an environmental pollution accident.

The enterprise may not invoke the protection of trade secrets as a pretext for refusing to disclose the aforementioned environmental information.

Article 21. Enterprises required to disclose environmental information to the public in accordance with Article 20 of these Measures, shall, within 30 days after the environmental protection department publishes its list, publish the environmental information in the major media outlets where they are located, and file such environmental information disclosed to the public with the environmental protection department where they are located.

Environmental protection departments have the authority to perform an audit of environmental information released by an enterprise.

Article 22. Enterprises that voluntarily disclose environmental information in accordance with Article 19 of these Measures may disclose such environmental information to the public through the media, the Internet, or other means, or in the form of their annual environmental report.

Article 23. With respect to enterprises that voluntarily disclose information regarding their environmental conduct, and who obey environmental protection laws and regulations in an exemplary fashion, environmental protection departments may give the following awards:

(1) Public recognition in local major media outlets;

(2) Priority position with respect to special funds for environmental protection projects in accordance with relevant state provisions;

(3) Priority recommendation for clean production demonstration projects or other demonstration projects that receive state subsidies in accordance with relevant state provisions;

(4) Other awards as provided by state provisions.

Chapter IV. Supervision and Responsibilities

Article 24. Environmental protection departments shall establish and perfect a system for assessment, public appraisal, and investigation of responsibility, and schedule periodic assessment and appraisal of open government environmental information work.

Article 25. Environmental protection departments shall publish an annual report on their open government environmental information work before March 31 of each year.

The annual report on open government environmental information work shall include the following information:

(1) The government environmental information proactively disclosed by the environmental protection department;

(2) Requested government environmental information that was either disclosed or not disclosed by the environmental protection department;

(3) Applications for administrative reconsideration or the filing of administrative lawsuits related to the disclosure of government environmental information;

(4) Major issues that exist in open government environmental information work and improvements thereof;

(5) Other matters that must be reported.

Article 26. If citizens, legal persons, and other organizations believe an environmental protection department has not fulfilled its obligation to disclose government environmental information according to law, they may report their concerns to a higher level environmental protection department. The higher level environmental protection department that receives such a report shall supervise and urge the lower level environmental protection department to fulfill its obligation to disclose government environmental information according to law.

If citizens, legal persons, and other organizations believe that an environmental protection department's specific administrative conduct while carrying out open government environmental information work have violated their lawful rights and interests, they can apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit according to law.

Article 27. For environmental protection departments that violate provisions under these Measures, as in the case of any one of the circumstances below, the higher level environmental department shall order it to make corrections; if the circumstances are serious, managers with direct responsibility or other personnel with direct responsibility may be subject to administrative punishment according to the law:

(1) Failure to fulfill the obligation to disclose government environmental information according to law;

(2) Failure to update government environmental information content, the open government environmental information guide, and the open government environmental information catalogue in a timely manner;

(3) Collecting fees in violation of provisions during the government environmental information disclosure process;

(4) Utilizing other organizations and individuals to provide government environmental information as a fee-paying service;

(5) Disclosing government environmental information that should not be disclosed;

(6) Other conduct in violation of the provisions in these Measures.

Article 28. In the case of serious pollution, enterprises that violate Article 20 of these Measures by discharging pollutants in excess of national or local discharge standards, or by discharging a total amount of pollutants in excess of the total discharge control targets set by the local people's government, and failing to disclose or failing to disclose in accordance with requirements the pollutant discharges, the local people's government environmental protection department at the county level or above shall, in accordance with requirements of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Clean Production," impose a fine of up to 100,000 yuan and publicize it.

Chapter V. Supplementary Provisions

Article 29. These Measures shall go into effect as of May 1, 2008.