BEIJING – China, as of May 1, 2008, will be implementing the Environmental Information Disclosure Rule (Trial Edition) which will require industrial plants with heavy pollution to disclose all environment-related information to the public, according to research from Industrial Info Resources.
The announcement, made by Pan Yue, Deputy Director of the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA), is the first normative document regarding the disclosure of environmental information issued by a government department in China.
Under the ruling, if a company fails to disclose related information, according to specified requirements, it will receive serious punishment, Industrial Info noted.
Any companies with pollution emissions over the specified limit will be included on a black list and will have to disclose environmental information in four categories: company information; description, emission mode, density and total volume, and the over-limit status of major pollutants; construction and operational status of environmental protection facilities in the plant; and emergency response planning.
A fine of up to $13,000 will be levied on companies that fail to disclose environmental information according to the specified rules, Industrial Info’s report said.
