The Yu River flowing through the urban area of Longde County was polluted by enterprises on the banks of the river in Longde County and domestic sewage from the urban area of Longde County. After being injected into the Dongxia Reservoir in Jingning County, Gansu Province, the Dongxia Reservoir continued to be polluted. Monitoring by the Pingliang City Environmental Monitoring Station showed that since March 2014, the water quality of the Dongxia Reservoir has failed to meet the water quality standards for drinking water sources in my country. After preliminary verification, the discharge of domestic sewage from enterprises on both sides of the Yu River in Longde County and the domestic sewage of Longde County was the direct cause of the water pollution of the Yu River.
(Photo: Baidu)
China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) filed a lawsuit against the Longde County Government, the Longde County Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, and six companies in the industrial park as a public interest litigator, requesting the above-mentioned parties to bear the civil responsibility for stopping the infringement, eliminating the danger, and compensating for the loss according to law.
After the case was accepted, a seven-member collegial panel was formed to hear it according to law. With the joint efforts of the Pingliang Intermediate People's Court and all parties involved in the lawsuit, the discharge of domestic sewage and industrial wastewater in Longde County has been completely rectified, and the water quality of the Yu River and Dongxia Reservoir has reached the national standards. Since the purpose of the public interest litigation has been achieved, all parties reached a settlement agreement under the auspices of the Pingliang Intermediate People's Court. After the announcement, all sectors of society did not raise substantive objections, and the case was closed through mediation.
This case is the first environmental public interest litigation case across provincial administrative regions in the country after the revision of the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and the establishment of the environmental public interest litigation system. After the case is accepted, there are problems such as the difficulty of investigation and evidence collection, doubtful appraisal conditions, and huge appraisal costs. During the litigation period, the Pingliang Intermediate People's Court, with the purpose of improving and restoring the ecological environment of the Yu River and Dongxia Reservoir, increased communication and coordination with the local government, environmental protection and water affairs departments, and held many discussions, prompting the local government to increase supervision and governance.
During the litigation period, the Court increased communication and coordination with the local government, environmental protection and water affairs departments for the purpose of ecological environment management and restoration of the Yu River and Dongxia Reservoir. After several discussions, the Court urged the local government to increase supervision and governance. After multiple comprehensive governance and ecological restoration, the Yu River Basin has become an "ecological cycle modern agriculture demonstration area" in Longde County, and the water quality of the Dongxia Reservoir has reached the national standard of drinking water. Water quality standards are deeply reflected in the case-handling concept of promoting administrative law enforcement through the judiciary. The case was closed through mediation, which is of typical significance in improving the diversified dispute resolution mechanism of environmental civil public interest litigation.
References:
1.http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4869/59.html
2.http://pingliang.chinagscourt.gov.cn/Show/37982
3.https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UO1uCY7gbO2quYJ5fIzUag
4.https://m.thepaper.cn/baijiahao_6579645
Translator: Daisy
Checked by Sara
Editor: Daisy
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776
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