On August 28, 2019, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) officially submitted the proposed amendments to the Regulations on Environmental Protection of Offshore Oil Exploration and Development (Revised Draft for Soliciting Opinions) of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”) to the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China through postal delivery.

After repeated and serious discussions, CBCGDF put forward five general recommendations for the revision of the Regulations and made detailed revisions to the specific provisions.

The revised recommendations are as follows:

General recommendations:

First, increase the legal provisions for maintaining marine biodiversity.

The exploration and development of offshore oil has a great impact on marine biodiversity, especially for the protection of marine life and its habitat. It is proposed to add “maintaining marine biodiversity” provisions in Article 1 of the General Regulations of the Regulations.

Second, strengthen the management of sewage permit

At present, China's environmental management system with the pollutant discharge permit as the core has basically been formed, but the Regulations are not enough. It is recommended to clearly stipulate that “the offshore oil exploration and development implements the sewage discharge permit system”.

Third, clear the regulatory duties of the department

Although the Regulations stipulate the supervisory responsibilities of the State Council's ecological environment authorities and the China Coast Guard Bureau, they are not clear. It is recommended that in accordance with the new “three legalizations” responsibilities of the institutional reform, it is clarified that “the State Council’s ecological environment authorities are responsible for the unified supervision and management of the offshore oil exploration and development environmental protection; the China Coast Guard is responsible for the offshore law enforcement inspection and punishment of the offshore oil exploration and development environmental protection. "

Fourth, the civil public interest litigation system that joins the marine environment

The "Regulations" stipulates that the marine environmental supervision and management department shall file a lawsuit for compensation for ecological environmental damage on behalf of the state, but there is no legal remedy for violation of the public interest of the marine society. It is recommended to add a provision in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law and the Environmental Protection Law: "The developers of offshore oil exploration pollute the marine environment, destroy the marine ecology, and harm the public interest. The organs and relevant organizations provided by law may file litigation with the people's courts. "

Fifth, strengthen information disclosure and public participation

Offshore oil exploration and development projects are highly specialized and involve many stakeholders. It is necessary to strengthen the disclosure of environmental information and public participation. It is recommended to add a provision to the General Regulations, namely: “The ecological environment authorities and China Coast Guard Bureau shall disclose relevant information on the environmental protection of offshore oil exploration and development according to law according to the division of responsibilities. The developers of offshore oil exploration shall disclose information on sewage discharge according to law. "

For projects that may have a major impact on the environment, developers of offshore oil exploration should hold demonstrations, hearings, or other forms to solicit opinions from relevant units, experts, and the public before submitting the environmental impact report for the construction project.

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/9727.html

By / Maggie