1. Which construction projects and activities require environmental impact assessment procedures? Answer: According to Article 16 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, "The state implements classified management of the environmental impact assessment of construction projects based on their degree of impact on the environment." Project construction units included in the "Classification Management List of Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects" formulated by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment shall organize the preparation of environmental impact assessment documents. Construction projects not specified in the "List" shall not be included in the management of environmental impact assessment of construction projects.
2. What are the categories of environmental impact assessment documents? Answer: According to the relevant provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has formulated the "Classification Management List for Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects", implemented the classification management of environmental impact assessment of construction projects, and comprehensively considered the possible impact of construction projects on the environment based on the characteristics of the construction projects and the environmental sensitivity of the areas where they are located, and implemented classification management for the environmental impact assessment of construction projects. The construction unit shall organize the preparation of the environmental impact assessment report, environmental impact assessment form, or fill out the environmental impact registration form for the construction project in accordance with the directory regulations.
3. What type of environmental impact assessment documents require approval? Answer: According to the relevant provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has formulated the "Classification Management List for Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects" and implemented the classification management of environmental impact assessment of construction projects. According to Article 22 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, the environmental impact assessment report and report form of a construction project shall be submitted by the construction unit to the competent ecological environment department with approval authority in accordance with the regulations of the State Council for approval.
4. Does the Environmental Impact Registration Form require approval? Answer: According to the "Classification Management List for Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects" formulated by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the classification management of environmental impact assessment of construction projects shall be implemented. Taking into account the possible impact of construction projects on the environment, the construction unit shall organize the preparation of construction project environmental impact reports, environmental impact report forms or fill out environmental impact registration forms in accordance with the provisions of the list. According to Article 22 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, "the state implements record management for environmental impact registration forms" and does not require approval.
5. What website does the construction unit need to implement online filing when filling out the environmental impact registration form on its own? Answer: According to Article 8 of the "Management Measures for the Filing of Environmental Impact Registration Forms for Construction Projects", the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has uniformly set up an online filing system for environmental impact registration forms for construction projects (hereinafter referred to as the online filing system). Provincial environmental protection authorities shall organize the application of online filing systems within their administrative regions, and allocate usage permissions for the online filing system to county-level environmental protection authorities by providing address links. The county-level environmental protection department shall publicly announce the address link information of the online filing system.
6. Which department is responsible for the filing and management of environmental impact registration forms for construction projects within its administrative area? Answer: According to Article 15 of the "Management Measures for the Filing of Environmental Impact Registration Forms for Construction Projects", after the completion of the filing of the environmental impact registration form for construction projects, the county-level environmental protection department shall synchronously disclose the filing information to the public through its website's online filing system and accept public supervision. For construction projects that require confidentiality according to national regulations, the county-level environmental protection department shall strictly comply with relevant national confidentiality regulations, and the recorded information shall not be disclosed. The county-level environmental protection department shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State Council on strengthening environmental supervision and law enforcement, include the construction projects that have been completed and filed in the relevant environmental supervision grid management scope.
7. After the environmental impact assessment report of the construction project is approved by the management department, if the construction project has not been implemented within five years, is it necessary to reapply for approval? Answer: According to Article 24 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, if the environmental impact assessment document of a construction project is approved for more than five years before the decision to start construction is made, the environmental impact assessment document shall be submitted to the original approval department for re examination and approval; The original approval department shall notify the construction unit in writing of the review opinions within ten days from the date of receiving the environmental impact assessment documents for the construction project 8. What is the role of environmental impact assessment in planning? Answer: The planning environmental impact assessment mainly demonstrates the ecological environment rationality and environmental benefits of the planning scheme, proposes optimization and adjustment suggestions for the planning, clarifies the mitigation measures for adverse ecological environment impacts, proposes ecological environment protection suggestions and control requirements, and provides optimization basis for ecological environment management in the planning decision-making and implementation process.
9. Who is the responsible party for the environmental impact assessment of industrial park planning? Answer: The management agency of the industrial park is the responsible party for the planning and environmental impact assessment work. According to the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Park Planning" (Environmental Impact Assessment [2020] No. 65), the management agencies of industrial parks are the main responsible parties for the planning and environmental impact assessment of industrial parks. They should carry out planning and environmental impact tracking assessments in accordance with regulations, implement the requirements of planning and environmental impact assessment measures, and carry out ecological environment source prevention and control work in the park.
10. Is it necessary to organize a review of the environmental impact assessment report for planning? Answer: According to Article 16 of the Regulations on Planning Environmental Impact Assessment, "When submitting and approving a special plan draft, the planning authority shall attach the environmental impact assessment report to the planning approval authority for review; if the environmental impact assessment report is not attached, the planning approval authority shall request it to be supplemented; if it is not supplemented, the planning approval authority shall not approve it. The relevant departments of the State Council have formulated. Therefore, The environmental impact assessment report needs to undergo organizational review.
11. When will the planning and environmental impact assessment be submitted to the planning and approval authority? Answer: According to Article 15 and Article 16 of the Regulations on Planning Environmental Impact Assessment, when submitting and approving comprehensive planning drafts and guiding planning drafts in special plans, the planning authority shall include the environmental impact chapter or explanation as an integral part of the planning draft and submit it to the planning approval authority. If no environmental impact chapter or explanation has been written, the planning approval authority shall require it to be supplemented; If it is not supplemented, the planning approval authority will not approve it.
When submitting and approving the draft special plan, the planning authority shall attach the environmental impact assessment report to the planning approval authority for review; If the environmental impact assessment report is not attached, the planning and approval authority shall require it to be supplemented; If it is not supplemented, the planning approval authority will not approve it.
12. Who is responsible for organizing public participation in the process of planning and environmental impact assessment? Answer: According to Articles 13 and 14 of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Planning, the planning authority shall publicly solicit opinions from relevant units, experts, and the public on the environmental impact assessment report for special plans that may cause adverse environmental impacts and directly involve public environmental rights and interests before submitting the draft plan for approval through forms such as questionnaires, symposiums, demonstration meetings, and hearings. However, except for those that are required by law to be kept confidential.
If there are significant differences between the opinions of relevant units, experts, and the public and the conclusions of the environmental impact assessment, the planning and preparation authority shall further demonstrate through demonstration meetings, hearings, and other forms.
The planning authority shall attach an explanation of the adoption and non adoption of public opinions and their reasons in the environmental impact assessment report submitted for review. 13. What department shall convene a review team consisting of representatives and experts from relevant departments to review the environmental impact assessment report for the special planning draft approved by the people's government at or above the city level with districts before approval? Answer: According to Article 13 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, the people's governments at or above the city level with districts shall, before approving the draft special plan and making decisions, convene a review group composed of representatives and experts from relevant departments designated by the ecological environment department or other departments of the people's government to review the environmental impact assessment report. The review team shall provide written review opinions. The experts participating in the review group as stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be randomly selected from the list of experts in relevant professions in the expert database established in accordance with the regulations of the competent department of ecological environment under the State Council.
14. To which agency should the environmental impact chapter or explanation be submitted as a component of the draft plan for the guidance plan in the preparation of comprehensive or special plans? Answer: According to Article 15 of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Planning (promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on August 17, 2009), when submitting and approving comprehensive planning drafts and guiding planning drafts in special planning, the planning authority shall include the environmental impact chapter or explanation as an integral part of the planning draft and submit it to the planning approval authority. If no environmental impact chapter or explanation has been written, the planning approval authority shall require it to be supplemented; If it is not supplemented, the planning approval authority will not approve it.
15. How to classify environmental impact assessments during the planning process? Answer: Article 10 of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Planning (promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on August 17, 2009, Order No. 559) stipulates that when formulating a comprehensive plan, an environmental impact chapter or explanation shall be written based on the potential impact on the environment after the implementation of the plan. To prepare a special plan, an environmental impact assessment report should be prepared before the draft plan is submitted for approval. Guidance plans in the preparation of special plans shall include environmental impact chapters or explanations in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of this article.
16. Can the planning and approval authority approve a special planning draft without attaching an environmental impact assessment report when submitting it for approval? Answer: According to Article 16 of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Planning (promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on August 17, 2009, Order No. 559), when submitting and approving special planning drafts, the planning authority shall attach the environmental impact assessment report to the planning approval authority for review; If the environmental impact assessment report is not attached, the planning and approval authority shall require it to be supplemented; If it is not supplemented, the planning approval authority will not approve it.
17. What are the composition and number of experts in the planning and environmental impact assessment review team? Answer: According to Article 18 of the Regulations on Planning Environmental Impact Assessment (promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on August 17, 2009, Order No. 559), the experts of the review panel shall be randomly selected from the list of experts in relevant professions in the legally established expert database. However, experts involved in the preparation of the environmental impact assessment report shall not be members of the review team for that report. The number of experts in the review team shall not be less than half of the total number of experts in the review team; If it is less than half, the review opinion of the review team is invalid.
18. How should the planning approval authority handle the rejection of the conclusions and review opinions of the environmental impact assessment report when approving special planning drafts? Answer: According to Article 22 of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Planning, the planning approval authority shall use the conclusion of the environmental impact assessment report and the review opinions as important basis for decision-making when approving special planning drafts. If the planning approval authority does not adopt the conclusions and review opinions of the environmental impact assessment report, it shall provide a written explanation of the reasons for rejection item by item and keep it on file for future reference. Relevant units, experts, and the public can apply for consultation; However, except for those that are required by law to be kept confidential.
19. How to determine the review level of environmental impact assessment for industrial park planning? Answer: According to the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Park Planning" (Environmental Impact Assessment [2020] No. 65) document, "The environmental impact assessment report of industrial park planning is generally convened for review by the ecological environment department under the people's government that approves the establishment of the industrial park. If there are other regulations for the review of environmental impact assessment reports of industrial parks below the provincial level in each province (region, city), they shall be implemented in accordance with relevant local laws and regulations." Therefore, national level industrial parks are reviewed by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, provincial-level industrial parks are reviewed by the provincial-level ecological environment department, and municipal level and below industrial parks are reviewed by the municipal level ecological environment department.
20. How to form the planning and environmental impact assessment review team? Answer: Article 17 and Article 18 of the Regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment of Planning (promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on August 17, 2009, Order No. 559) stipulate that "special plans approved by the people's governments at or above the city level divided into districts shall be reviewed by a review team composed of representatives from relevant departments and experts convened by their environmental protection departments before approval to review the environmental impact assessment report." "The experts of the review team shall be randomly selected from the list of experts in relevant professions in the expert pool established in accordance with the law. However, experts who participate in the preparation of the environmental impact assessment report shall not be members of the review team. Therefore, the planning and environmental impact assessment review team shall be composed of representatives from relevant departments and experts in relevant fields.
