Recently, the State Council issued the "Decision on Amending the Regulations on Environmental Protection Management for Construction Projects," making revisions to the original "Regulations on Environmental Protection Management for Construction Projects." The revised regulations will take effect from October 1, 2017.

The "Decision" introduces three key revisions to the current regulations:

One key requirement is to ease the burden on businesses and further optimize services. The approval, filing, and technical evaluation of environmental impact assessment documents must be conducted without charging any fees to enterprises. Additionally, the environmental protection department is required to promote e-government and digitalization, as well as implement online approval, filing, and information disclosure for environmental impact assessment documents.

Compared to the previous version of the Regulations, the new Regulations introduce significant changes primarily in the following areas:

First, the clause on "environmental impact assessment unit qualifications" has been removed, eliminating the requirement for qualification certificate reviews.

Second, the administrative permit for environmental completion acceptance will be abolished, and the responsibility for completion acceptance will shift from the environmental protection department to the project developer.

Third, add a clause on "circumstances for non-approval," clearly outlining the EIA approval requirements.

Fourth, clarify the legal status of environmental impact technical assessments;

Fifth, eliminate the requirement during the trial production period;

Sixth, we have further intensified penalties for violations and strengthened accountability measures.

Meanwhile, other provisions that were inconsistent with the new Environmental Impact Assessment Law and the Environmental Protection Law have also been revised—for instance, overlapping responsibilities and pre-approval requirements have been streamlined, and the environmental impact registration form has shifted from an approval-based system to a filing-based one.

Notably, the new Regulations do not explicitly define the status of environmental supervision, nor do they mention any requirement for environmental supervision to be conducted during construction projects. Additionally, they fail to clearly outline how environmental impact assessments should align with the pollutant discharge permitting system.

The specific changes are as follows:

1. Delete all provisions related to "Environmental Impact Assessment Unit Qualifications"

(1) Delete paragraph 2 of Article 6.

Delete Previous:

Article 6: The state implements a system of environmental impact assessments for construction projects. The environmental impact assessment process for construction projects shall be carried out by entities that have obtained the appropriate Qualification Certificate Undertaken by the unit.

Revised:

Article 6: The state implements a system of environmental impact assessments for construction projects.

(2) Delete Article 13.

Delete Previous:

Article 13: The state implements a system for organizations engaged in environmental impact assessment of construction projects. Qualification Review System 。

Units engaged in environmental impact assessment for construction projects must obtain a qualification certificate issued by the environmental protection administrative authority under the State Council. They shall carry out their work strictly within the levels and scope specified on the certificate, and assume responsibility for the evaluation conclusions. The environmental protection administrative authority under the State Council is required to regularly publish a list of all qualified units authorized to conduct environmental impact assessments for construction projects. Specific implementation measures will be formulated by the same authority.

Units engaged in environmental impact assessment for construction projects must strictly adhere to the fee standards stipulated by the national regulations.

Revised:

Delete Article 13.

(3) Delete the "revocation of qualification certificates" clause from Article 29

Before modification:

Article 29: Any entity engaged in environmental impact assessment for construction projects, if found to have engaged in fraud during the EIA process, shall have its qualification certificate revoked by the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council, and shall also be fined an amount between one and three times the fees collected.

Revised:

Article 25: Any entity engaged in environmental impact assessment for construction projects that submits falsified information during the assessment process shall be subject to a fine by the environmental protection administrative authority at or above the county level, ranging from one to three times the fees collected.

2. Cancel the administrative permit for environmental protection completion acceptance, and shift the responsibility for completion acceptance from the environmental protection department to the construction entity.

The revised regulations eliminate the requirement for environmental protection acceptance permits upon completion of construction projects, instead mandating that a completion acceptance report be prepared. Additionally, the responsibility for conducting the final acceptance process is shifted from the environmental protection authorities to the project developers themselves.

Amend Article 20 and delete Article 22.

Before modification:

Article 20: After a construction project is completed, the project entity shall apply to the environmental protection administrative department that approved the project's Environmental Impact Report, Environmental Impact Statement, or Environmental Impact Registration Form for the completion and acceptance of the environmental protection facilities required to be built as part of the project.

The completion and acceptance of environmental protection facilities must be carried out simultaneously with the completion and acceptance of the main project. For construction projects requiring trial production, the project proponent shall, within 3 months from the date the project commences trial production, apply to the environmental protection administrative authority that approved the project’s Environmental Impact Report, Environmental Impact Statement, or Environmental Impact Registration Form for the completion and acceptance of the environmental protection facilities required as part of the project.

Article 22: The environmental protection administrative department shall complete the acceptance inspection within 30 days from the date of receiving the application for completion and acceptance of environmental protection facilities.

Revised:

Article 17: After the completion of a project for which an Environmental Impact Report or Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared, the project proponent shall, in accordance with the standards and procedures stipulated by the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council, conduct acceptance testing of the accompanying environmental protection facilities and prepare an acceptance report.

During the acceptance process of environmental protection facilities, the construction entity shall truthfully inspect, monitor, and record the construction and commissioning status of the project's environmental protection facilities, and must not engage in any form of falsification or deception.

Except in cases where confidentiality is required by national regulations, the project entity shall publicly disclose the acceptance report to the society in accordance with the law.

Article 19: Construction projects requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report or an Environmental Impact Statement may officially commence production or operation only after their associated environmental protection facilities have been inspected and approved. Projects that have not undergone inspection, or whose inspections fail to meet the required standards, shall not be allowed to start production or enter into operation.

After the construction projects specified in the preceding paragraph are put into operation or use, an environmental impact post-assessment shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations of the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council.

3. Add a clause specifying "Circumstances for Denial of Approval," Clarify environmental impact assessment approval requirements ;

The approval red lines have been clearly defined, standardizing environmental protection review management and enhancing transparency throughout the approval process. Approval requirements are now outlined in key areas, including improvements in environmental quality, the effectiveness of proposed environmental measures, and the overall quality of environmental impact assessment reports (forms). Construction entities can use the checklist for self-assessment, proactively identifying projects that don’t meet approval criteria—helping them avoid potential losses caused by ill-advised investments.

Before modification:

There are no corresponding clauses.

Revised: Add Article 11:

If a construction project falls under any of the following circumstances, the environmental protection administrative authority shall decide not to approve the Environmental Impact Report or the Environmental Impact Statement:

(1) The type of the project, as well as its site selection, layout, and scale, do not comply with environmental protection laws, regulations, and relevant statutory plans;

(II) The environmental quality in the relevant area does not meet national or local environmental standards, and the measures proposed for the project are insufficient to fulfill the management requirements aimed at improving regional environmental quality.

(III) Pollution control measures implemented for construction projects fail to ensure that pollutant emissions meet national and local emission standards, or necessary steps have not been taken to prevent and mitigate ecological damage.

(IV) For renovation, expansion, and technological upgrade projects, effective measures to prevent and control existing environmental pollution and ecological damage caused by the original project have not been proposed.

(5) The basic data and information in the environmental impact report or environmental impact statement for the project are clearly inaccurate, with significant deficiencies or omissions in the content, or the environmental impact assessment conclusion is unclear or unreasonable.

4. Clarify the legal status of environmental impact technical assessments.

Before modification:

There are no corresponding provisions regarding the technical assessment of environmental impacts.

Revised:

Add the content of Article 9, Paragraph 3: The environmental protection administrative authority may organize technical institutions to conduct technical assessments of environmental impact assessment reports and forms for construction projects, bearing the associated costs. The technical institutions shall be responsible for the technical assessment opinions they provide and are prohibited from charging any fees to either the project proponent or the entities conducting the environmental impact assessments.

5. Cancel the "Requirements During Trial Production" clause

Delete Article 18 and Article 19.

Before modification:

Article 18: Once the main engineering works of a construction project are completed and trial production is required, the accompanying environmental protection facilities must be put into trial operation simultaneously with the main project.