By Wu Qing King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory group

编者按：

金杜律师事务所作为Thomson Reuters环境法板块中国地区唯一合作律所，2016、2017、2018连续三年为其提供 “Environmental law and practice in China: overview”（下称“Q&A Guide”）。Q&A  Guide是一份专门针对中国环境法律的指引，提供了对中国环境法律的高度概览，并且介绍了主要的环境实务问题，包括大气和水污染物排放，环境影响评价，固体废物和危险废物，土壤污染，以及交易中的环境问题等。金杜律师事务所每年都会结合最新出台的环境法律及环境监管趋势等内容，对Q&A Guide作出更新。目前2017/2018年度的Q&A Guide已更新，将以专题形式定期在“金杜研究院”平台进行推送，旨在为企业提供对中国环境法律体系及实务的全方位指引。

What are the key pieces of environmental legislation and the regulatory authorities?

1.Legislation

PRC law concerning the environment includes:

  • Laws promulgated by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee.
  • Administrative regulations formulated by the State Council.
  • Department rules formulated by ministries and commissions under the State Council.
  • Local regulations formulated by each province and municipality.

The main environmental laws are the:

  • Environmental Protection Law.
  • Law on Environmental Impact Assessment.
  • Cleaner Production Promotion Law.
  • Circular Economy Promotion Law.

Laws relating to specific fields of environmental protection include the:

  • Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law.
  • Marine Environment Protection Law.
  • Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law.
  • Water Law.
  • Grassland Law.
  • Forestry Law.

The Marine Environment Protection Law and Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law have been amended in 2017, and the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law is expected to be promulgated in 2018.

2.Regulatory authorities

Multiple administrative authorities jointly supervise and manage environmental matters, including:

  • Environmental protection authorities at county level and above, and their authorised environmental supervision institutions.

The housing and urban-rural construction authorities, land authorities, agriculture authorities, public security departments, transportation departments, territorial resources departments, forestry departments, oceanic departments and water departments, which undertake environmental protection supervision and administrative responsibilities.