On July 26, 2024, the 10th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th Provincial People's Congress voted to pass the "Measures for the Implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China in Anhui Province" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), which will come into effect on October 1, 2024. The relevant situation regarding the formulation of the "Measures" is introduced as follows:

I. Background and Significance of Formulating the Measures

Enhance operability and executability to provide legal guarantees for promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of economic and social development.

(2) A powerful guarantee for promoting high-quality development of the ecological environment and the economy and society. We have accumulated some experience and practices in ensuring environmental elements for construction projects, but there are still some problems. For instance, the implementation of ecological and environmental zoning control and the guarantee of pollutant discharge indicators is not yet in place. There is still a gap in the guarantee and service of environmental elements for industrial development. It is necessary to promote the institutionalization and long-term effectiveness of environmental element guarantee through legislation and further strengthen the guarantee of environmental impact assessment elements. We will continue to unleash the effectiveness of reform, effectively enhance the legalization and standardization of environmental impact assessment work in our province, and ensure high-quality economic and social development with high-level ecological and environmental protection.

Ii. The Process of Formulating the Measures

According to the legislative plan of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress for 2023, the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment drafted and submitted the draft for review to the provincial government, and requested the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress to deliberate. On September 20, 2023, the Fourth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th Provincial People's Congress reviewed the "Draft Measures for the Implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China in Anhui Province" (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft Measures"). After the meeting, the Legal Affairs Commission made the draft and its explanation public on the website of the Anhui Provincial People's Congress to solicit opinions from the society. It also solicited written opinions from relevant departments of the provincial government, the standing committees of the People's congresses of cities divided into districts and relevant counties, as well as grassroots legislative liaison points. Additionally, it conducted research in Bengbu and Huangshan to enhance the pertinence, accuracy and effectiveness of local legislation. On July 26, 2024, the 10th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th Provincial People's Congress voted to pass the "Measures".

Iii. Main Contents of the Measures

The Measures consist of 5 chapters and 33 articles, regulating the general provisions, environmental impact assessment of plans, environmental impact assessment of construction projects, legal responsibilities, and supplementary provisions. The key points highlighted are as follows:

(1) Clarify the overall requirements for environmental impact assessment

To strengthen the management of common issues in environmental impact assessment of planning and construction projects, the Measures stipulate in the general provisions: First, the basic principles of environmental impact assessment should be clarified, which should be objective, open and fair, and adhere to promoting the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the economy, society and ecological environment. Second, it stipulates the basic requirements for environmental impact assessment. In the environmental impact assessment of planning and construction projects, in accordance with the requirements of the ecological environment zoning control plan and the ecological environment access list, the ecological protection red line, environmental quality bottom line, and resource utilization upper limit should be implemented to the ecological environment zoning control units. Third, establish a collaborative governance system for environmental impact assessment, study and establish an environmental impact assessment management system for pollution impact construction projects that is compatible with the pollutant discharge permit system, and promote the inclusion of greenhouse gas emission control requirements in environmental impact assessment. Fourth, we will optimize the guarantee of environmental elements, adhere to green, low-carbon and circular development, adjust and optimize the industrial structure, implement emission reduction projects, optimize the allocation of total regional pollutant discharge indicators, and strengthen the guarantee of environmental impact assessment elements, etc. Fifth, standardize the argumentation and review activities of environmental impact assessment experts, requiring provincial-level ecological and environmental authorities to establish and manage provincial-level environmental impact assessment expert databases in accordance with regulations, and municipal-level ecological and environmental authorities to establish and manage municipal-level environmental impact assessment expert databases as needed. It is stipulated that experts participating in the argumentation and review of environmental impact assessment shall be randomly selected from the legally established expert pool, and the circumstances for recusal and work requirements are set.

(2) Strengthen the guarantee of environmental impact assessment for planning

To effectively enhance the quality of environmental impact assessment for planning, the Measures stipulate in Chapter Two that: First, the specific scope of planning that should undergo environmental impact assessment is detailed, including the overall planning of territorial space, the construction and development and utilization planning of regions and river basins, as well as relevant special planning such as industrial planning. Second, it is stipulated that when formulating the overall plan for territorial space and the construction, development and utilization plans for regions and river basins, as well as the guiding plans in special plans, environmental impact assessment should be organized, environmental impact chapters or explanations should be compiled, and the main contents of the environmental impact chapters or explanations should be clearly defined at the same time. Third, it is clearly stipulated that when formulating special plans other than guiding plans, an environmental impact assessment should be organized before the draft plan is submitted for approval, and an environmental impact report should be submitted. At the same time, the main contents of the environmental impact report should be clearly defined. Fourth, it is stipulated that when formulating the overall development plan for an industrial park, an environmental impact report should be prepared before submitting it for approval. Promote the environmental impact area assessment of industrial parks. For construction projects that meet the conclusion list of planning environmental impact assessment and the requirements of environmental impact area assessment, simplify the content and categories of environmental impact assessment in accordance with regulations, or no longer put forward separate assessment requirements for market entities in accordance with the law. Further define the scope of the industrial park. The fifth is to clarify the compiling entity of the planning environmental impact assessment document and the responsibilities it should undertake; The compiling authorities of special plans are required to publicly solicit public opinions on plans that may cause adverse environmental impacts and directly involve the public's environmental rights and interests through holding argumentation meetings and other forms before submitting them for approval. Sixth, clarify the review requirements for the planning environmental impact report. It is required to convene a review team composed of representatives from relevant departments and experts. The number of experts should not be less than half of the total number of the review team. If the review team puts forward revision suggestions, they should be revised and improved, and an explanation of the adoption situation should be provided. Seventh, clarify the approval principles for various types of draft plans. When submitting draft plans for approval, corresponding regulations have been made on the environmental impact assessment documents that need to be attached to different types of plans. It is stipulated that when approving the draft of a special plan, the conclusion of the environmental impact report and the review opinions should be taken as important bases for decision-making, and explanations should be made item by item for the parts that are not adopted. The eighth point is that if major adjustments or revisions are required in the implementation scope or other aspects of the plan, the planning compilation authority shall re-conduct or supplement the environmental impact assessment. The specific circumstances and relevant requirements for the tracking assessment of the environmental impact of organizational planning have been determined, and detailed regulations have been made for the tracking assessment of the environmental impact of organizational planning by the management institutions of industrial parks. Legal responsibilities have been set for situations where improvement measures have not been implemented.