Introduction:
In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China jointly released the Measures for the Administration of Soil Environment of Agricultural Land (hereinafter referred to as “the Measures”), for the purposes of strengthening supervision and management and protecting the soil environment of agricultural land, preventing and controlling risks in the soil environment and ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products. Below is an excerpt of the Measures.
For the full text, please visit: https://www.mee.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/bl/201710/t20171009_423104.htm
“Activities related to the prevention and control of soil pollution on agricultural land” refers to various activities carried out to prevent and control soil pollution on agricultural land, such as soil pollution investigations, environmental monitoring, soil environmental quality classification and classified management. The classification methods and classified management of soil environmental quality of agricultural land as mentioned in these Measures are mainly applicable to cultivated land, and can also serve as a reference for the administration of the soil environment of garden land, grassland and forest land.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) shall be responsible for unified supervision and administration over the protection of the soil environment of agricultural land nationwide. Local environmental protection authorities at or above the county level shall oversee and manage the activities related to the prevention and control of soil pollution on agricultural land in their respective jurisdiction. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) shall supervise and administer the use, management, treatment and restoration of soil on agricultural land across the country. The MEE, together with the MARA and other departments, shall establish a national soil environmental quality monitoring network for agricultural land, make coordinated planning for state-level soil environmental quality monitoring points, specify the monitoring requirements and coordinate the work related to soil environmental quality monitoring across the country.
Provincial agriculture authorities and environmental protection authorities shall coordinate the classification of soil environmental quality on cultivated land based on the pertinent national technical specifications and in light of the severity of soil pollution and the quality of agricultural products, update the size, distribution and other information about various types of agricultural land on a regular basis, and upload the related data to the agricultural land environment information system.
Agriculture authorities at or above the county level shall coordinate the organization and implementation of the safe use, rigorous management, treatment and restoration of soil on agricultural land in their respective jurisdiction. Environmental protection authorities and agriculture authorities at or above the county level shall be responsible for the organization and implementation of specific work such as the prevention of soil pollution on agricultural land, soil pollution investigations, environmental monitoring, environmental quality classification, prioritized protection of soil on agricultural land, as well as supervision and management according to the relevant provisions provided in these Measures.
Local environmental protection authorities shall strengthen supervision over pollutant discharges by enterprises, public institutions and other producers and business operators, and take soil pollution prevention and control as an important part of environmental law enforcement. They shall carry out regular monitoring over the soil environment of agricultural land adjacent to specified enterprises. The monitoring results shall serve as an important basis for environmental law enforcement and risk warning, and be uploaded to the agricultural land environment information system in a timely manner.
Specialized agencies entrusted to carry out activities related to the prevention and control of soil pollution on agricultural land and third-party agencies entrusted to assess the effects of soil treatment and restoration shall comply with the applicable environmental protection standards and technical specifications, and be responsible for the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of information contained in any technical documents they provide.
Producers and business operators shall take effective measures to ensure the discharged wastewater, exhaust gas and solid waste are properly treated and disposed of in accordance with the applicable national regulations, so as to prevent soil contamination on surrounding agricultural land. Enterprises engaged in the storage, transportation and disposal of solid waste and chemicals shall take effective measures to prevent leakage, runoff, spills or spreading of solid waste and chemicals so as to avoid soil contamination on agricultural land.
