Polluters held liable to restore environment

Restorative justice approach adopted to enhance ecological governance

China has adopted a restorative justice approach to handling environmental pollution cases as part of efforts to enhance its ecological governance system, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday.

In the first half of this year, 1,597 individuals were prosecuted in 668 cases for environmental pollution offenses, according to the top procuratorate. It said that environmental pollution crimes present a mix of old and new challenges, requiring comprehensive strategies and intensified governance efforts.

In February, the top procuratorate launched a special nationwide operation focused on addressing livelihood issues, including the protection of the environment and natural resources, which will run until December.

The rapid pace of industrialization and urbanization has led to an increase in solid waste production, particularly hazardous waste, in certain areas. Some enterprises, facing insufficient disposal capacity and high costs, resort to illegally transferring hazardous waste to other regions or provinces, causing soil, water and air pollution, the top procuratorate said.

In a recent case, a man surnamed Zhang, lacking the required waste disposal qualifications, accepted construction and untreated domestic waste in a rented forest area in Beijing's Fangshan district from 2020 to July 2021. Furthermore, he hired individuals to work at the site and collected dumping fees.

The Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate said the total weight of the illegally dumped waste reached nearly 449,000 metric tons, severely damaging the land's original functions and vegetation. The costs for cleaning, disposal and environmental restoration, along with the loss of ecological services, amounted to over 138 million yuan ($19.3 million).

The Fangshan District People's Procuratorate filed public interest litigation against Zhang and four others involved in environmental pollution crimes, in addition to investigating their criminal acts. The Fangshan District People's Court sentenced Zhang and his accomplices to prison terms ranging from one year and eight months to six years and 10 months for environmental pollution, along with fines ranging from 20,000 to 70,000 yuan.

Zhang was also ordered to bear the costs of ecological restoration, loss of ecological services, punitive damages and appraisal fees totaling about 140 million yuan. The other defendants were held jointly liable with Zhang for 2 percent to 15 percent of the costs.

Two defendants appealed the verdict, but the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court recently upheld the original judgment.

The top procuratorate said that industries such as electroplating, printing, chemical engineering and metal processing remain key areas for environmental pollution crimes. Some privately operated workshops deliberately evade supervision and unlawfully discharge pollutants.

Falsification of monitoring data is another significant concern. While China's laws require key polluting units to install monitoring equipment and connect it to ecological authorities, some entities manipulate data to avoid regulatory oversight, which has a negative impact on environmental compliance.

Certain third-party testing and monitoring institutions, motivated by self-interest, aid waste producers in concealing pollution through the falsification of data, the top procuratorate said.

In June, it released three typical cases of prosecuting third-party environmental protection agencies for data falsification, providing guidance to procuratorates at all levels in handling such violations. The cases, supervised by the top procuratorate and the ministries of ecology and environment and public security, covered environmental impact assessments, testing and vehicle emissions.

From 2022 to 2023, multiple central departments, including the top procuratorate and court, collaborated on a special campaign to address data falsification by third-party environmental protection agencies.