The Ministry of Environmental Protection strictly orders the "supervision and rectification" of black factories, which are still "producing as usual" - Tracking of the threat of hundreds of thousands of residents from direct sewage discharge in Shunde, Guangdong

The "Xinhua Investigation" column of Xinhua News Agency published an exclusive report on August 19th titled "How can the environmental protection department become a" defender of black factories "- Guangdong Shunde's sewage direct discharge threatens hundreds of thousands of residents", which attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. The relevant departments of the Ministry of Environmental Protection have issued a document "supervising rectification", requiring "punishment and implementation in place".

However, during the current period of strong supervision by higher authorities, some black factories in Shunde that have been repeatedly reported are still operating as usual, and some black factories are also in a state of being able to start production at any time. Whether such "rectification" can sever the chain of interests and thoroughly investigate the issue of long-term pollution protection umbrella remains a concern for hundreds of thousands of local residents.

Ministry of Environmental Protection: Require legal penalties to be implemented effectively

In a report published on August 19th, Xinhua News Agency reporters pointed out that there are many black factory wastewater directly discharged into drinking water rivers in some industrial areas along the river in Shunde, posing a threat to the drinking water safety of hundreds of thousands of local residents.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection attaches great importance to this. The reporter learned from relevant departments that the Environmental Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection has issued a letter on entrusting investigation and handling of environmental pollution issues at the Shunde Electrolysis Plant in Guangdong.

This letter shows: "According to the instructions of the department leaders, the South China Environmental Protection Supervision Center is entrusted to investigate relevant issues." The letter points out that "for environmental violations discovered during the investigation, local authorities should be urged to handle and punish them in accordance with the law, and the investigation and rectification situation should be urged to be made public to the society. If it involves the responsibilities of other departments, it should be promptly urged to transfer to relevant departments for processing. If it is suspected of environmental crimes, it should be promptly urged to transfer to judicial organs."

The Ministry of Environmental Protection also requires timely reporting of "investigation, local handling and implementation, rectification, information disclosure, and relevant measures" within the prescribed time, and timely continuation of the follow-up situation of the case.

Black factory: sewage flowing horizontally, still in "top wind production"

The supervisory document from the Ministry of Environmental Protection has been conveyed to the environmental protection department in Shunde. According to insiders, a large-scale investigation was subsequently carried out in the local area against illegal polluting black factories.

But some black factories were not affected by this "big investigation". At No. 17 Xinghua Second Road, Xingcha, Jun'an Town, a factory with the brand "Hongyunda Paper Products Co., Ltd." was located. When the reporter entered, they saw a busy electrolysis plant with thousands of square meters of workshop sewage flowing horizontally. Less than a hundred meters away from the factory building is the Shunde section of the West River.

Located in Hongyu Industrial Park in Leliu Town, Jiangye Hardware Factory is also an electrolysis plant on Huangzhong South West Second Road. In recent days, this electrolysis plant has chosen to start construction at night, and the discharged sewage flows into the Xijiang River through the sewer.

On Zhongfa West Road in Beijiao Town, a manufacturer named "Olos Kitchenware Co., Ltd." entered and saw a thousands of square meters electrolysis workshop inside. This electrolysis plant also chooses to start production at night.

According to the query, these electrolysis plants have no pollution discharge permit approval registration and belong to "unlicensed operation" black factories. "These are all black factories that have been repeatedly reported, and the environmental protection department has not taken any shutdown measures so far," said local environmental activist Wu Jinfei.

Rectification cannot be a "cover up"

The investigation by reporters found that during the local government's "investigation and rectification" of black factories, some reported black factories adopted various concealment methods such as "self-locking doors", and the environmental protection department also "turned a blind eye" to this.

Located at No. 16 Junma Road, Magang Industrial Zone, it is a black factory that directly discharges electrolytic wastewater through toilets. Now, the factory gate is tightly locked, and the electrolysis equipment inside the factory is in perfect condition. The reporter did not see any "seizure and punishment notices" on site. The workers said that due to the maintenance of the factory building, production will begin in a few days.

Not far from here, an unlicensed electrolysis plant located at No. 21-1 Junma Road has an open door, complete electrolysis equipment, and a spacious factory filled with steel pots of kitchen utensils to be processed.

The "Kegang" electrolysis plant, located on Baogang East Road in Magang Industrial Zone, simply built electric gates at both ends of the public passage to seal it off from the outside world. According to the investigation, the owner claimed that the "license plate" was obtained from recent purchases. The current factory is located at a newly selected address, and according to regulations, it must be re declared and approved through environmental impact assessment and other relevant approvals before production and operation can proceed.

Local environmentalists say that these unlicensed business premises that damage environmental resources should be promptly sealed and banned by the state through explicit regulations. But these black factories with self-locking doors, equipped with water and electricity, can start production at any time. Why is it so difficult to implement national policies here?

Professor Wang Zhongwu from Shandong University stated that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, prioritizing ecological protection has become a consensus. The relevant departments should deeply reflect on the governance of these environmental pollution issues that have been repeatedly investigated and have a negative impact. It is necessary to cut off the chain of interests involved and thoroughly investigate the issue of umbrellas involved.