Environment Auditing on the Yellow River Basin
I. Project Background
1. Basic Situation of the Yellow River Basin
The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China and the fifth-longest in the world, with a total length of 5,464 km. Originated on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai Province, it flows through 9 provinces into Bohai Sea. The upper- and middle-reaches account for 97% of the total basin area of 795,000 km2. As one of the most prominent birthplaces of Chinese nation, the Yellow River basin has a great influence on human civilization.
2. Major Environmental Risks
(1) Flooding. The upper-, middle- and lower-reaches of the Yellow River are vulnerable to floods of rainstorm and ice in varying degrees. As a world-renowned perched channel, its lower reaches bear the brunt of flooding. The floods of the Yellow River floods may damage an area of 120,000 km2 with 110 million mu (or 73,700 km2) of arable land, involving 87.55 million people.
(2) Water shortage. The Yellow River basin is short of water resources, with an average annual river flow of 58 billion m3. Against the backdrop of rapid development of social-economy, the constant rise in water consumption has made the lower reaches occasionally run out of water.
(3) Soil and water erosion. The Yellow River flows through the Loess Plateau, which features the world’s largest water-eroded area and the highest intensity of erosion. In extreme cases, the Yellow River has recorded an average silt discharge of 1.6 billion tons and silt concentration of 35kg/m3 annually. In this aspect, the Yellow River is known as the most sediment-laden river in the world.
(4) Water pollution. The Yellow River is mainly contaminated with organic pollutants, with such indicators as permanganate index, NH3-N and BOD exceeding the standard limits. The poor water quality of some tributaries has also affected that of the main stream. Some sources of drinking water along the main stream and tributaries have suffered contamination in varying extents.
3. Countermeasures Adopted by the Government.
The Chinese government has adopted various effective countermeasures against the above-mentioned environmental risks, including:
(1) Flood control and de-silting. The government has taken comprehensive measures against the floods and sediment problems of the Yellow River. For instance, in response to the sudden rise and fall of flood waters, large-scale reservoirs have been built or renovated along the main stream and tributaries in the middle reaches to substantially weaken flood peak. Great efforts have been made to facilitate the drainage of flood waters into the sea through waterways, with specific areas designed for flood diversion, retarding and storage when necessary.
(2) Protection and utilization of water resources. The government has managed to promote water-saving irrigation, strictly restrict high-water-consuming programs, and launch water diversion projects for the benefit of water supply network of the Yellow River.
(3) Ecological construction for soil and water conservation. As to various watersheds, comprehensive measures with agricultural, biological and engineering elements have been adopted against soil and water erosion. As for development projects, the administration and supervision over soil and water conservation has been strengthened to curb man-made erosion.
(4) Prevention and control of water pollution. Through the implementation of the Plan for Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in the Upper- and Middle-Reaches of the Yellow River (hereinafter referred to as the Yellow River Plan), the government has managed to deal with major sources of industrial pollution within the prescribed time limit, accelerate the construction of sewage treatment facilities, and tackle pollution incurred from the breeding of the livestock and poultry so as to reduce the discharge of main water pollutants and improve water quality.
II. Objectives, Scope, Contents and Criteria of Auditing
Basing on the identification of major environmental risks of the Yellow River basin and the preliminary assessment on the measures taken by the governments at various levels against these risks, the National Audit Office of P. R. China (hereinafter referred to as the CNAO) has decided to conduct an audit on the collection and use of funds for the prevention and control of water pollution, recovery of soil and water erosion in the basin and the fees of water resources.
1. Objectives
The audit is intended to examine and appraise the accomplishments of the goals set in the Yellow River Plan, the construction of projects for the prevention and control of soil and water erosion, and the management and use of fee of water resources and other funds, so as to disclose the existing problems, put forward recommendations on improving the pollution prevention and control and water resource protection, and promoting the sustainable socio-economic development of the basin.
2. Scope and Contents
From November 2010 to March 2011, the CNAO conducted an audit on the allocation, management and use of funds for the prevention and control of water pollution, and soil and water conservation in the Yellow River basin, and the fees of water resources, and the construction and operation of major projects concerned. Relevant auditees include the people’s governments of 7 provinces and autonomous regions including Gansu and Ningxia, the people’s governments of cities and counties in the basin, the finance, environmental protection and water resource authorities as well as project contractors.
3. Criteria
The audit criteria mainly come from the following laws, regulations, plans and standards on environmental protection: the Law on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution of the People's Republic of China, the Law on Soil and Water Conservation of the People's Republic of China, the Law on Appraisal of Environment Impacts of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on Waterway Management of the People’s Republic of China, the Yellow River Plan, the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water, and the Standards on Pollutant Discharge for Urban Sewage Treatment Plants, etc.
III Main Problems Found in the Audit Investigation and Their Rectification
1. As of the end of 2010, of the 253 construction projects of urban sewage treatment whose completion was required in the Yellow River Plan, 56 projects remained to be completed, amounting to 22.13% of the total number as the plan required. The capacity of 3.0221 million tons/day of wastewater treatment was not in place, representing 43.05% of the 7.02 million tons/day of required capacity which should have been achieved.
2. Among the 96 wastewater treatment plants having been completed and in operation, problems of pollutant discharge over the quota in 10 plants were revealed in the audit conducted by random.
3. 45 projects of water and soil conservation in 6 provinces and autonomous regions had a fund shortfall of a total of 277 million Yuan, accounting for 54.96% of 504 million Yuan of total planned investment. Of the sum, 191 million Yuan should have been counterpart funds from local governments, representing 68.95% of the total shortfall, which affected the accomplishment of recovery of water and soil erosion.
4. There are 4 provincial-level, 10 city-level and 20 county-level departments in charge of water resources, environmental protection and construction, or water companies commissioned to collect charges, failed to collect 216 million Yuan of water resources fees, 35.819 million Yuan of charges of wastewater treatment, 573,500 Yuan of charges of garbage disposal and 817,600 Yuan of charges of pollutant discharge. Meanwhile 256 enterprises and public institutions did not hand in 216 million Yuan of due water resources fees, 19.266 million Yuan of charges of wastewater treatment, 90.9995 million Yuan of charges of garbage disposal and 206 million Yuan of charges of pollutant discharge.
5. There is a total of 14,700 mu of riverbed which was occupied by 24 construction projects in contravention of the regulations (1 mu equals 1/6 acre). Prior to their construction, no assessment on the impact of flood prevention was made, and no project among them was approved by the competent authority in charge of riverbed. Some constructed facilities did not meet the flood-fighting requirement.
Ⅳ. Audit Recommendations
After the audit, the CNAO submitted the audit report to the State Council together with audit recommendations and requirements for rectification put forward to local governments concerned as well as the competent authorities of finance, environmental protection and water conservation as follows:
1. To strengthen the collection of the fees of water resources and pollution discharge. No permission shall be granted to reduce or exempt such fees, nor to postpone or suspend the imposition of the same.
2. To analyze the failure to complete the tasks scheduled, and take specific measures to enhance pollution the prevention and control in key areas, enterprises and industries
3. To increase the investment in severely water-eroded areas and reinforce the recovery of soil and water erosion, and supervise the allocation of funds and efforts by local governments for soil and water conservation.
4. To intensify the handling or punishment of irregularities including the occupancy of waterways and their corresponding rectifications.
V. Follow-up and Rectifications
After the audit, the CNAO conducted a follow-up examination to the rectifications regarding the problems disclosed by the audit, and the accountabilities and accomplishments correspondingly until the problems are resolved.
1. Some provinces and autonomous regions have taken active measures to increase the investment, requested the speeding up of the construction of projects planned on pollution prevention, and urged the wastewater treatment plants which did not meet the required standards to proceed with technical upgrading.
2. Related provinces and autonomous regions have collected and handed in 42.8146 million Yuan of the due fees of water resources, charges of wastewater treatment and pollutant discharge.
3. Relevant provinces and autonomous regions have instructed the related localities to rectify the problem of funds shortfall, and the counterpart funds from local governments are being available.
4. The Yellow River Commission has formulated 2 rules and regulations including the Regulations on further Strengthening the Management of Administrative Licenses of the Yellow River, released 5 circulars requiring the checking and addressing of the illegal occupation of riverbed, and criticized the relevant units and persons responsible for the problems with the punishments on discipline.