Five responsible environmental impact assessment agencies have reached compensation agreements, with a total compensation amount of over 400 million yuan for environmental damage caused by the Xiangshui explosion accident. Ecological environment | accident | damage compensation
Recently, the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court released the "Ecological Environment Damage Compensation Agreement" in the form of a public announcement for the "3.21" water explosion accident. The agreement shows that the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment has reached a compensation agreement with five compensation obligors, including the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Environmental Science. These five compensation obligors should jointly bear a reasonable proportion of ecological environment damage compensation liability, with a total compensation amount of no less than 10 million yuan.
At around 14:48 on March 21, 2019, a particularly serious explosion occurred at Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd. located in the Ecological Chemical Park of Xiangshui County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, resulting in 78 deaths, 76 serious injuries, 640 hospitalizations, and a direct economic loss of 1.986 billion yuan.
The accident investigation team found that the direct cause of the accident was the continuous accumulation and heating of nitration waste illegally stored in the old solid waste warehouse of Tianjiayi Company, which led to spontaneous combustion and explosion. The accident investigation team determined that Tianjiayi Company ignored national environmental protection and safety production laws and regulations, deliberately concealed, illegally stored, and illegally disposed of nitrification waste, had chaotic safety and environmental management, engaged in fraudulent daily inspections, and built solid waste warehouses and other projects without approval. Relevant environmental impact assessment, safety assessment and other intermediary service agencies have seriously violated laws and regulations, and issued false and untrue evaluation reports.
The "Environmental Damage Assessment Report on the Site of the Xiangshui 3.21 Explosion Accident" issued by the Nanjing Academy of Sciences of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has determined that the compensation amount for ecological environment damage caused by the explosion accident due to illegal storage of hazardous substances is 403.8301 million yuan.
On February 26, 2023, the compensation right holder, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, and the compensation obligation holders, Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Yancheng Haixi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Yancheng Environmental Monitoring Center, Suzhou Ketai Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., and Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences, signed an ecological environment damage compensation agreement.
The compensation agreement shows that after criminal judgment, it was determined that Jiangsu Environmental Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Yancheng Haixi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou Ketai Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., and Jiangsu Environmental Science Research Institute intentionally provided false certification documents. The Jiangsu Yancheng Environmental Monitoring Center was seriously irresponsible and issued certification documents that were significantly untrue, resulting in the failure of the accident enterprise to timely expose the major risks and hidden dangers of nitrification waste, interfering and misleading the regulatory work of relevant departments, which is an important reason for the explosion accident.
The above five institutions are all eligible compensation obligors and should bear certain compensation responsibilities for ecological environment damage.
According to the relevant plan and division of responsibilities, after consultation with each compensation obligor and taking into account their respective business capabilities, they actively assume responsibility by engaging in repair matters and other means. In accordance with the consultation plan and the relevant requirements of the Xiangshui County government where the damage occurred, the compensation obligor has formulated and revised the corresponding repair plan.
The compensation agreement shows that Tianjiayi Company ignored national environmental protection and safety production laws and regulations, illegally stored and disposed of nitrification waste for a long time, and had chaotic enterprise management, which was the main reason for the accident. Considering the correlation between the behavior of the five compensation obligors involved in the agreement and ecological environment damage, the compensation obligors shall jointly bear a reasonable proportion of ecological environment damage compensation liability, with a total compensation amount not less than 10 million yuan.
After friendly consultation and in consideration of the wishes of each compensation obligor, they shall assume the following responsibilities:
Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., due to the preparation of the "Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co., Ltd. Environmental Protection Facility Efficiency Evaluation and Production Restoration Report", has a compensation amount of no less than RMB 5.26 million.
![Five responsible environmental impact assessment agencies have reached compensation agreements, with a total compensation amount of over 400 million yuan for environmental damage caused by the Xiangshui explosion accident. Ecological environment | accident | damage compensation](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/c5b66e42d096d1b63e1605177af1047a.jpg)
Yancheng Haixi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., due to the preparation of the "Environmental Impact Analysis of Construction Project Changes" report and the "Special Demonstration Report on Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control", has a compensation amount of no less than RMB 1.84 million.
Jiangsu Yancheng Environmental Monitoring Center issued a completion acceptance monitoring report. The compensation amount shall not be less than RMB 1.32 million.
Suzhou Ketai Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., due to the preparation of the "Environmental Impact Analysis of Construction Project Changes" report, has a compensation amount of no less than RMB 1.05 million.
Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Environmental Science, due to the preparation of the Special Demonstration Report on Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control, has a compensation amount of no less than RMB 530000.
At the same time, the agreement also stipulates the performance method, performance period, regulatory requirements, and evaluation of repair effects for compensation obligations.
In addition, due to the fact that Tianjiayi Company and other compensation obligors not involved in this agreement have not expressed their agreement to negotiate, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment will cooperate with the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Justice to file a lawsuit with the competent people's court.
Among the five compensation obligors mentioned above, Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. bears the highest compensation amount, reaching 5.26 million yuan.
The Environmental Damage Assessment Report on the Site of the Xiangshui 3.21 Explosion Accident shows that the groundwater in the plot has been damaged, and some areas exceeding the relevant standards require the use of extraction technology. After temporary storage, they are transported to the local sewage treatment plant for treatment and repair. Some areas exceeding the baseline require control and regular monitoring.
In this context, Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. has developed a long-term monitoring plan for groundwater at the site in accordance with relevant management requirements. By monitoring the natural attenuation trend of groundwater at the site, it provides support for comprehensive environmental management of the site.