Yunnan provides feedback on environmental inspection to Nujiang Prefecture: sewage from multiple areas is directly discharged into the Nujiang River

According to the website of the People's Government of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, the third ecological and environmental protection inspection team of Yunnan Province provided feedback to Nujiang Prefecture on September 14th regarding the second round of ecological and environmental protection inspections.

Take the prevention and protection of ecological risks in Gaoligong Mountain as the "top priority" project, further improve the management and protection mechanisms of 8 natural reserves, accelerate the creation of Gaoligong Mountain National Park, implement ecological comprehensive management projects, establish a network of ecological security protection patrols, strengthen the construction of scientific research monitoring and protection systems, and effectively maintain the ecological security of Gaoligong Mountain. We have comprehensively promoted the three-year action of improving the environment of the Nujiang Grand Canyon and greening and beautifying the Nujiang River, successfully creating 8 national forest villages. In 2022, the forest chief system assessment ranked third in the province, and in the past three years, the river chief system assessment has been rated excellent. We will deepen the battle against pollution prevention and control, and ensure that the water quality of the main streams of the Nu River, Lancang River, and Dulong River reaches Class II or above for a long time. The water quality compliance rate of centralized drinking water sources at or above the county level is 100%, and the ecological environment condition index ranks among the top in the province. Nujiang Prefecture has been awarded the title of "National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration State", Gongshan County has been named as the "Green Water and Green Mountains are Gold and Silver Mountains" Practice and Innovation Base, and has been awarded the title of "China Natural Oxygen Bar". Lanping Qinghuadian National Wetland Park has become a national ecological brand.

Nujiang Prefecture attaches great importance to this inspection work, overseeing and implementing reforms simultaneously, and solving a group of ecological and environmental problems around the people. As of the end of August 2023, 4 of the 6 public reporting issues assigned by the inspection team have been completed, and 2 have been completed in stages.

Some counties and departments in Nujiang Prefecture still have weak awareness of prioritizing protection, with a blind and optimistic tendency towards good natural endowments, excellent ecological environment, and large environmental capacity. Since 2020, the environmental conditions and achievement of environmental goals reported by the People's Government of Nujiang Prefecture to the National People's Congress have only been briefly discussed, which have drawn high attention to the issue of heavy metal pollution. The quality of the 2021 Central Ecological Environment Protection Supervision and Rectification Special Democratic Life Meeting of the Party Group of Gongshan County People's Government was not high, and the problems identified deviated from the theme. The Office of Lanping County People's Government illegally approved drinking water source protection areas. In addition, further consolidation and improvement are needed for the ecological security prevention work in Gaoligong Mountain. There is a gap in the responsibility for ecological and environmental protection by tightening and compacting. Some state level departments have problems with inadequate implementation of regulations and discounted arrangements in deepening the fight against pollution. The people's governments of Lushui City and Fugong County failed to report the environmental status and completion of environmental protection goals to the county people's congress or its standing committee in accordance with the law. Some river leaders have been patrolling the river without governing it, and have not promptly dealt with issues such as illegal sand mining on the east bank of the Nu River in Gongshan County, and arbitrary dumping of household and construction waste in the river. There is a gap in implementing the "two revolutions", the work style is not strict, not practical, and not detailed, and some people's complaints and reports are not rectified properly.

The second is the prominent problem of heavy metal pollution. There is still a gap in fulfilling the main responsibility of heavy metal pollution prevention and control in Nujiang Prefecture, especially in Lanping County, and adhering to the principle of drawing lessons from others, promoting overall planning, and systematic governance. Since 2022, the Standing Committee of the Lanping County Party Committee and the Executive Meeting of the County People's Government have not conducted a special study on the deployment of heavy metal pollution prevention and control work. Some enterprises have been idle or even abandoned for a long time, with no one managing the factory area. Some enterprises have inadequate pollution prevention and control measures, and environmental risks and hidden dangers have existed for a long time, affecting the surrounding ecological environment.

Thirdly, there are prominent shortcomings in the construction and management of urban environmental infrastructure. The collection and treatment rate of urban domestic sewage in Lushui City is about 33.2%, with about 10000 cubic meters of domestic sewage discharged directly into the Nujiang River every day. There is still a gap from the 50% rectification target by the end of 2025. The bottom of the pipeline network in Lushui City is unclear, and daily inspections and maintenance are not in place. Multiple sewage pipes such as Bajiao River, Laimao River, and Xiaoshaba River are damaged, and the direct discharge of sewage exceeds the standard seriously. Among them, more than 40 sewage pipes within a range of only 285 meters from the inlet of Bajiao River are damaged, and more than 30 pipes are damaged. The construction of urban pipeline networks in Fugong County and Gongshan County lags behind, with varying degrees of damage. The sewage treatment plants have been operating at low loads for a long time, and a large amount of domestic sewage is discharged directly into the Nu River without collection and treatment. The effluent quality of the urban sewage treatment plants in Lanping County cannot stably reach Grade A standard. The phenomenon of urban and rural domestic sewage treatment facilities not being built, not being built, and not being used still exists. The coverage rate of sewage treatment facilities in 29 townships in the whole state is low. The sewage in unfinished townships is directly discharged into nearby rivers, while the facilities in Shugan Township and Lajing Town that have been built are not in use. The sewage in the vicinity of Wanxiao in Shangjiang Town, Lushui City is severely discharged. There is a common phenomenon of open-air incineration of household waste in towns and villages. In Laowo Town, Gudeng Township, and Zhigan Township of Lushui City, as well as Yingpan Town, Hexi Town, and Tu'e Township of Lanping County, waste incineration residues are stored in the open air on site.

The fourth issue is that some inspectors have reported that the rectification standards and requirements are not high enough. After the progress of the Lushui Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Power Plant project was hindered, it was adjusted to cement kiln collaborative incineration. There is a problem of unauthorized adjustment and change of the second round of central ecological environment protection inspection and rectification measures, and the project progress is lagging behind. The urban air quality in Lushui City has decreased compared to the same period in 2022, and there were 7 days of mild pollution weather from January to May 2023. There are still 8 out of 29 heavy metal waste residue storage points in the state that have not completed acceptance and cancellation. Out of 194 abandoned open-pit mining sites left over from history, 81 have not yet completed ecological restoration.

Fifth, other ecological and environmental issues need to be taken seriously. The relevant departments at the Nujiang prefecture level and the four counties lack overall planning for the disposal of construction waste, and are basically in a state of disorderly control, with prominent phenomena of arbitrary dumping and disorderly storage. The problem of indiscriminate dumping of construction waste in Xiaoshaba Village, Lanping County, and Qilian Village in Lushui City is prominent, posing safety hazards and affecting the surrounding water environment. The relevant functional departments in Lushui City have inadequate daily supervision of quarries, resulting in slow ecological restoration of mines. The incomplete diversion of urban sewage and rainwater, as well as incomplete interception and control of pollution sources, have led to fluctuations in the water quality of some sections.

Regarding the issue of dereliction of duty and responsibility, relevant departments should be instructed to further investigate, clarify responsibilities, and hold accountable seriously, accurately, and effectively. For those who need to carry out ecological environment damage compensation or file public interest litigation, relevant regulations shall be followed.

The inspector emphasized that Nujiang Prefecture should study and formulate rectification plans based on the inspection report, and submit them to the provincial party committee and government within 45 working days. The rectification plan and implementation status should be made public to the society in accordance with relevant regulations.

The inspection team has also sorted out the issues of accountability for ecological environment damage discovered, and has transferred them to Nujiang Prefecture for further investigation and verification in accordance with relevant regulations. It is required to handle them in accordance with regulations and laws, and the implementation plan for accountability work will be included in the rectification plan. The overall situation of the transfer of accountability results will be included in the rectification implementation plan, and reported to the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government together.