CCTV News: According to the WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, since 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has guided all localities to establish and implement a reward system for reporting ecological and environmental violations in accordance with the relevant requirements of the "Guiding Opinions on the Implementation of the Reward System for Reporting Ecological and Environmental Violations", fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the masses to participate in ecological and environmental protection work, give full play to the role of mechanisms such as insider reporting and heavy reward reporting, effectively improve the ability to find problems, and accurately discover a number of clues of major violations and crimes.
On October 19, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced five typical cases in the field of whistleblowing rewards, and commended the Deqing Branch of the Huzhou Ecological Environment Bureau of Zhejiang Province, the Anhui Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, the Ganzhou Ecological Environment Bureau of Jiangxi Province, the Jinxiang County Branch of the Jining Ecological Environment Bureau of Shandong Province, and the Qidong Branch of the Hengyang Ecological Environment Bureau of Hunan Province. Typical cases announced this time include:
1. Huzhou, Zhejiang Province will reward the masses who report the case of excessive heavy metal emissions from an electroplating processing point
【Institutional Background】
In 2021, the Huzhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, together with the Huzhou Municipal Bureau of Finance and the Huzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, issued the "Implementation Measures for the Grid Supervision of the Ecological Environment in Huzhou City and the Reward for Reporting Illegal Acts". Where the department of ecology and environment verifies the illegal acts of the ecological environment on the basis of the reported clues, and makes an administrative punishment decision on the illegal entity, the whistleblower shall be given a reward of 5% of the fine amount, with a maximum of 100,000 yuan. Where the same reported matter meets multiple reward circumstances, the rewards may be stacked. Where the public security organs file a case for investigation and employ criminal compulsory measures, or the procuratorate approves the arrest, a reward of 10,000 yuan is to be given to the informant. Where the people's court makes a guilty verdict, give the informant a reward of 10,000 RMB.
【Brief Facts of the Case】
On February 14, 2022, the Deqing Branch of the Huzhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the "Deqing Branch") received a call from the public, reflecting that there was a processing point in a hidden farmhouse, emitting a pungent odor. The Deqing Branch immediately organized law enforcement officers to rush to the scene to investigate, and found that there were plastic barrels, pickling tanks and suspected anodic oxidation ponds containing unknown liquids in the reported farmhouse, and the ground wastewater was collected to the collection tank and connected to the domestic sewage pipe network through a hose. After the law enforcement officers inspected and judged the on-site equipment and production process, they immediately sealed the site and production equipment. After investigation, from March 2021 to February 2022, Zhang Moumou rented the farmhouse to illegally engage in metal plating business, and discharged untreated electroplating processing wastewater into domestic sewage pipes.
On February 15, 2022, law enforcement officers sampled and monitored the sewage in the manhole of the drainage hose of the farmhouse and the domestic sewage pipeline outside the fence, and the results showed that the lead, total chromium, hexavalent chromium and nickel in the water samples in the drainage hose exceeded the standard limits of 0.1mg/L, 0.5mg/L, 0.1mg/L and 0.1mg/L in Table 3 of the "Electroplating Pollutant Discharge Standard" (GB 21900-2008) by 15.7 times, 57 times, 181 times and 96 times, respectively; The lead and total chromium of the water samples in the manhole of the domestic sewage pipeline outside the fence exceeded the standard limits of 0.1 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L in Table 3 of the "Electroplating Pollutant Discharge Standard" (GB 21900-2008) by 4.5 times and 3.6 times, respectively.
[Investigation and Reward]
Zhang's conduct in this case is suspected of constituting the "crime of polluting the environment" under Article 338 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. On February 24, 2022, the Deqing Branch transferred the clues and evidence of the case to the Deqing County Public Security Bureau of Huzhou City. On November 7, 2022, the Huzhou South Taihu New District People's Court sentenced Zhang to 10 months in prison and a fine of RMB 25,000 for the crime of polluting the environment.
According to the relevant provisions of the "Huzhou Ecological Environment Grid Supervision and Reward for Reporting Illegal Behaviors", the Deqing Branch gave the whistleblower a reward of 20,000 yuan.
2. Anhui will reward the masses who report a company's online fraud and theft of sewage sludge
【Institutional Background】
In 2020, the Anhui Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment and the Provincial Department of Finance revised and implemented the "Anhui Provincial Measures for Rewarding Reporting of Ecological and Environmental Violations", and awarded 1,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan to eligible whistleblowers according to the degree of harm of the reported ecological and environmental violations. The province's 16 districted cities have established and implemented a reward system for whistleblowing in light of local conditions. Whistleblowers can use various channels such as telephone, WeChat, Internet, letters, and visits to make reports.
[Basic facts of the case]
In March 2023, the public WeChat reported that Hanshan Chuangye Water Co., Ltd. secretly discharged sewage sludge into the Desheng River during March 2022 and operated automatic monitoring equipment in violation of regulations. According to the clues provided by the public, the law enforcement officers of the Anhui Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment carried out an on-site investigation in a timely manner. After investigation, from March 16 to 17, 2022, the company's employees secretly discharged the muddy water mixture of the sewage treatment project to the Desheng River by setting up a private fire hose. Ding, the general manager of the company, pulled out the sampling pipe of the automatic monitoring equipment for wastewater pollution sources without authorization, resulting in the automatic monitoring equipment being unable to normally monitor the actual discharge of water pollutant concentration, and discharging water pollutants by tampering with monitoring data to evade supervision.
[Investigation and Reward]
The company's actions violated Article 39 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China. On June 29, 2023, the Ma'anshan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment imposed a fine of 320,000 yuan on the company in accordance with Article 83, Paragraph 3 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Provisions on the Discretionary Criteria for Administrative Penalties for Ecological and Environmental Punishment in Anhui Province.
The behavior of Ding, the general manager of the company involved in this case, is suspected of constituting the "crime of polluting the environment" under Article 338 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The Ma'anshan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment transferred the case to the public security organs for filing and investigation in accordance with the law. In August 2024, the Hanshan County People's Procuratorate has indicted Ding, pending the court's trial.
According to the provisions of the "Anhui Provincial Measures for Rewarding Reporting of Ecological and Environmental Violations", the Anhui Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment gave the whistleblower a reward of 20,000 yuan.
3. Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province will reward the masses who report the case of excessive discharge of electroplating wastewater from the hidden pipe of an electroplating factory
【Institutional Background】
In 2021, the Ganzhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment and the Ganzhou Municipal Bureau of Finance issued the "Interim Measures for Rewarding Reports of Ecological and Environmental Violations in Ganzhou City", which allows whistleblowers to report illegal ecological and environmental behaviors such as illegal discharge, excessive emissions, falsification of monitoring data, and improper operation of pollution prevention and control facilities through telephone, letters, visits, and WeChat. Reports are divided into three levels, which are rewarded at no more than 4%, 3%, and 2% of the penalty amount, and double rewards are given for major reports and internal reports.
[Basic facts of the case]
On April 24, 2023, the law enforcement officers of the Ganzhou Ecological Environment Bureau received a telephone report from the public, reflecting the "problem of odor disturbing the people in a workshop in Dabu 4S Automobile City, Ruijin City". After investigation, law enforcement officers of the Ganzhou Ecological Environment Bureau found that Xu used the maintenance workshop on the second floor of the automobile city to open an electroplating plant in March 2023.
The law enforcement officers of the Ganzhou Ecological Environment Bureau commissioned a third-party testing company to sample and test the wastewater discharged from the plant on site. The test results showed that the total chromium and total copper in the effluent wastewater of the electroplating plant exceeded the standard limits of 0.5 mg/L and 1.0 mg/L in Table 2 of the "Electroplating Pollutant Discharge Standard" (GB 21900-2008) by 23.3 times and 193.8 times, respectively.
[Investigation and Reward]
The actions of Xu and others involved in this case are suspected of constituting the "crime of polluting the environment" under Article 338 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The Ruijin Ecological Environment Bureau of Ganzhou City transferred the case to the public security organs for filing and investigation in accordance with the law. In July 2024, the Ruijin Municipal People's Procuratorate has prosecuted Xu and 6 others, pending the court hearing.
According to the relevant provisions of the "Interim Measures for Rewarding Reports of Ecological and Environmental Violations in Ganzhou City", the Ganzhou Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau gave the whistleblower a reward of 16,000 yuan.
Fourth, Shandong Jining will reward the masses who report the case of a company illegally discharging sewage by evading supervision
【Institutional Background】
In recent years, the Shandong Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment and the Shandong Provincial Department of Finance have jointly issued the Interim Provisions on Rewards for Reporting Ecological and Environmental Violations in Shandong Province and the Regulations on Rewards for Reporting Ecological and Environmental Violations in Shandong Province, broadening the channels for rewarding whistleblowers, adjusting and optimizing the distribution methods and some rewards for whistleblowing. On the basis of the punishment and handling results, the whistleblower will be rewarded with different amounts according to the severity of the reported environmental violation, and the maximum reward for a single time is 500,000 yuan.
[Basic facts of the case]
On November 22, 2023, the Jinxiang County Branch of the Jining Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the "Jinxiang County Branch") received a report from the public that white sewage flowed into the roadside ditch at the rainwater pipe network on the north side of Jinxiu Road in Jinxiang County, and it was suspected that surrounding enterprises were secretly discharging sewage. The law enforcement and monitoring personnel of the Jinxiang County Branch immediately rushed to the scene and carried out traceability investigation, and found that the sewage came from the rainwater collection well on the south side of the electrophoresis workshop of a company, and the monitoring personnel took water samples on the spot, and the test report showed that the chemical oxygen demand of the wastewater was 2280 mg/L, which exceeded the standard limit of 60mg/L in Table 2 of the Comprehensive Discharge Standard for Water Pollutants in the Basin Part 1: Nansi Lake Dongping Lake Basin (DB37/3416.1-2018). Further investigation found that there was a pipe at the bottom of the company's sewage regulating tank connected to the plant's rainwater pipe network, and finally found out that it had illegally discharged pollutants by evading supervision.
[Investigation and Reward]
The company's actions violated the provisions of Article 17, Paragraph 2 of the Regulations on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permits. On February 28, 2024, the Jinxiang County Branch fined the company 400,000 yuan in accordance with Article 34, Item 2 of the Regulations on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permits and the Discretionary Criteria for Administrative Penalties for Ecological Environment in Shandong Province (2022 Edition). The Jinxiang County Branch transferred the case to the Jinxiang County Public Security Bureau in accordance with the law, and the public security organ administratively detained the relevant responsible personnel of the company for 5 days.
According to the "Shandong Provincial Regulations on Rewards for Reporting Ecological and Environmental Violations" and the relevant provisions of the linkage mechanism for reporting and rewarding ecological and environmental violations and crimes, the Jinxiang County Branch gave the whistleblower a reward of 10,000 yuan.
5. Hunan implements rewards for the masses who report the case of a company's improper operation of pollution prevention and control facilities and evasion of supervision
【Institutional Background】
In 2023, the Hunan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment issued the "Hunan Provincial Measures for Rewarding Reporting Clues on Ecological and Environmental Issues (Trial)", and set up a provincial-level reward platform for reporting clues on ecological and environmental problems, so as to realize the whole process of report acceptance, registration, verification, and reward, and the whole process is electronic. After the report is verified, the whistleblower will receive a cash reward of at least 1,000 yuan and a maximum of 500,000 yuan.
【Brief Facts of the Case】
In April 2023, some people reported that a food company in Qidong County, Hengyang City, secretly discharged production wastewater into the surrounding rivers, resulting in an obvious abnormal color of the river in this section. After the joint handling of the case by the Qidong Branch of the Hengyang Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the "Qidong Branch") and the public security department, it was finally verified that the sewage treatment station of the Food Co., Ltd. was not operating normally, and a tap water valve was set up at the main discharge port of the wastewater, and the tap water was mixed into the wastewater of the main discharge port through the hose, and the pollutants were discharged after dilution and discharge, so as to evade supervision and discharge pollutants.
After on-site sampling, the chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen of the total wastewater discharge outlet exceeded 13.56 times and 5.20 times of the maximum allowable discharge concentration of 100 mg/L and 15 mg/L of the first class of pollutants in Table 4 of the Comprehensive Sewage Discharge Standard (GB 8978-1996).
[Investigation and Reward]
The company's actions violated Article 39 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China. On May 4, 2023, the Qidong Branch ordered the company to stop production and rectify in accordance with the provisions of Article 83, Paragraph 3 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Provisions on the Discretionary Discretion of Administrative Penalties for Ecological Environmental Protection in Hunan Province (2021 Edition), and imposed a fine of 270,000 yuan on it. The Qidong Branch transferred the case to the Qidong County Public Security Bureau in accordance with the law, and the public security organ administratively detained Zhang, the main person in charge of the company, for 10 days.
According to the relevant provisions of the "Hunan Provincial Measures for Rewarding Reporting Clues on Ecological and Environmental Problems (Trial)", the Hunan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment gave the whistleblower a reward of 3,000 yuan.
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