In May, the Ministry of Environmental Protection received 53,690 environmental complaints. More than half of these complaints were related to air pollution.
According to the information on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Environmental Protection released the handling situation of "12369" environmental protection complaints in May across the country, showing that in May, environmental protection departments at all levels across the country received a total of 53,690 environmental protection complaints, of which 47,986 complaints were accepted. Among the 47,986 accepted complaints, 25,566 had been resolved. According to the type of pollution, complaints related to air pollution accounted for the largest proportion, accounting for 55%.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection disclosed that in May, environmental protection departments at all levels across the country received a total of 53,690 environmental protection complaints, including 35,372 complaints through the "12369" environmental protection hotline, 10,221 complaints via WeChat, and 8,097 complaints online. Among the 47,986 accepted complaints, 25,566 had been resolved, and the remaining 22,420 were still under processing.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection pointed out that in May, the number of complaints received through the "12369" environmental protection hotline nationwide increased by 6,206 compared to the previous month, with a month-on-month growth rate of 21.3%. The number of online complaints increased by 2,809 compared to the previous month, with a month-on-month growth rate of 53.1%. The number of environmental protection complaints via WeChat increased by 2,153 compared to the previous month, with a month-on-month growth rate of 26.7%, and compared to the same period last year, it increased by 4,114, with a year-on-year growth rate of 67.4%.
From a regional perspective, the top five provinces in terms of WeChat complaint volume were Guangdong, Henan, Fujian, Hebei, and Shandong. Among them, Henan had an increase of 639 complaints compared to May 2016, with a year-on-year growth rate of 210.2%.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection pointed out that in May, the "010-12369" environmental protection complaint hotline of the Ministry of Environmental Protection received a total of 3,617 public complaints (1,728 were answered by human operators and 1,889 were left-message complaints), after being connected with environmental protection departments at all levels across the country, the Ministry of Environmental Protection strengthened the supervision of public complaints, transferred 229 complaints to the local environmental protection departments for handling, and督办ed 11 complaints that were strongly reflected by the public. Among the complaints transferred by the Ministry of Environmental Protection， Hebei and Shandong provinces had a large number of complaints， accounting for 32% of the total national number.
In May， the number of complaints received by the Ministry of Environmental Protection compared to the same period last year increased by 1，363， with a year-on-year growth rate of 60.5%； compared to the previous month， it increased by 1，215， with a month-on-month growth rate of 50.6%. The number of registered and assigned complaints compared to the same period last year increased by 185， with a year-on-year growth rate of 420%； compared to the previous month， it increased by 64， with a month-on-month growth rate of 38.8%.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection analyzed that among all the complaints received in May across the country， complaints related to air pollution were the most， accounting for 55%， followed by complaints related to noise， water， and solid waste pollution， accounting for 32%， 11%， and 7% respectively. The number of complaints related to radiation pollution and ecological damage was relatively small， accounting for 1.1% and 0.6% respectively.
In terms of air pollution， complaints about malodorous/odorous pollution were the most， accounting for 27% of the air-related complaints， followed by complaints about industrial exhaust gas and smoke/dust， accounting for 23% and 22% respectively. In the noise pollution aspect， complaints about construction noise were the most， accounting for 47% of the noise complaints； in water pollution， complaints about industrial wastewater pollution were the most， accounting for 50% of the water-related complaints.
From the perspective of national complaints， the industry that received the most public complaints was construction， accounting for 25%， followed by chemical industry and accommodation/entertainment/leisure industry， accounting for 22% and 17% respectively， totaling approximately two-thirds of the total number of complaints. The enterprises with more complaints this month were Jiangsu Province's Lianyungang City Guandou Port Chemical Industrial Park， Hebei Province's Xiangcang Management Area Chemical Industrial Park， and Henan Province's Zhaoling District Xingmao Titanium Powder Factory， etc.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection also released the situation of the national environmental protection complaint network. In May, all regions followed the requirements of the Ministry of Environmental Protection's environmental protection complaint network work, and entered or uploaded the information of the 12369 environmental protection complaint hotline received locally to the national complaint network platform. Among them, the provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) with relatively complete data entry or upload included: Jiangsu, Chongqing, Shanghai, Liaoning, Beijing, Fujian, etc. Cities included: Suzhou, Changzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Qingdao, Xiamen, etc. Provinces with significantly fewer complaint data entries than the daily complaint volume included: Heilongjiang, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Guangdong, etc.
The public can submit environmental pollution issues to the national environmental protection complaint network platform through the WeChat official account "12369 Environmental Complaint", or by scanning the QR code. The environmental protection departments in the areas where the pollution occurred will handle the complaints, and the superior environmental protection departments will supervise the complaint handling process. Provinces with significantly less complaint data entries than the daily complaint volume included: Heilongjiang, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Guangdong, etc.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection also released three typical cases:
— The problem of waste gas pollution at Debang Xinhua Chemical Co., Ltd. in Haizhou District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. The public reported the problem of waste gas pollution from Debang Xinhua Chemical Co., Ltd. in Haizhou District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province through the "010-12369" environmental protection complaint hotline. The Ministry of Environmental Protection immediately conducted supervision and instructed the environmental protection department of Jiangsu Province to investigate and handle the issue. After investigation, the enterprise had some seriously aged production equipment, and there were relatively serious "leaking, spilling, dripping" problems in the production workshop. Most of the production workshops were not enclosed, and the ammonia gas was emitted without control. Moreover, the enterprise was too close to the surrounding residential areas, which could easily cause pollution to the surrounding residents. The environmental protection department of Lianyungang City and Haizhou District environmental protection department organized an environmental problem rectification special action for the enterprise, and cumulatively filed 4 cases of environmental violations such as excessive waste gas emissions and excessive waste water emissions for investigation and punishment. Finally, a prior notice of suspension for rectification was issued. Regarding the prominent environmental problems of the enterprise and the slow progress of the rectification, the environmental protection department of Lianyungang City repeatedly summoned the main person in charge of the enterprise and required the formulation of a feasible rectification implementation plan. In the future, the environmental protection department will continue to strengthen environmental law enforcement against the enterprise and actively urge the implementation of rectification measures. It will also actively cooperate with relevant departments to promote the relocation of the enterprise to completely eliminate pollution and continuously improve the environmental quality in the surrounding areas. Currently, the new factory of the enterprise has started construction in Xupu New District.
— The noise disturbance problem at Laiwu City Laicheng District Laiwu Coal Mine Machinery Co., Ltd. The public reported the noise disturbance problem at Laiwu Coal Mine Machinery Co., Ltd. in Laicheng District, Laiwu City, Shandong Province through the "010-12369" environmental protection complaint hotline. The Ministry of Environmental Protection immediately conducted supervision and instructed the environmental protection department of Shandong Province to investigate and handle the issue. After investigation, the enterprise had been reported by the public multiple times. The noise source mainly came from the punching machine. The environmental protection bureau of Laicheng District had already proposed specific rectification requirements for the enterprise. During the on-site inspection, the enterprise completed the rectification as required, adjusted the equipment operation time, enclosed the production workshop, and built two closed and soundproof rooms. After on-site monitoring, the factory boundary noise met the emission standards. The environmental protection bureau of Laicheng District fed back the handling results to the reporter, and the reporter was satisfied with the rectification situation.
— The waste gas and wastewater pollution problem at Xinzhong Chemical Co., Ltd. and Jintian Chemical Co., Ltd. in Huajia County, Xinxiang City, Henan Province. The public reported through the "010-12369" environmental protection complaint hotline that the Xinzhong Chemical Co., Ltd. and Jintian Chemical Co., Ltd. in Jiaoxian County, Xinxiang City, Henan Province had caused pollution to the surrounding atmosphere and groundwater. The Ministry of Environmental Protection immediately took action to supervise and instructed the environmental protection department of Henan Province to investigate and handle the matter. After investigation, the two enterprises had complete environmental impact assessment approval procedures and were equipped with various pollution control facilities. The process exhaust gas of Xinzhong Chemical Co., Ltd. mainly contained hydrogen sulfide acid gas, which was collected and sent to the sulfur recovery device. The small amount of untreated exhaust gas was input into the boiler for combustion treatment. The boiler exhaust gas control facilities were operating normally, and there were no records of exceeding the standard emissions in the online monitoring facilities. No pungent smell could be detected around the factory area. The wastewater treatment facilities were also operating normally, and the treated wastewater was sent to the Xiangshan Sewage Treatment Co., Ltd. in Jiaoxian County. The boiler treatment facilities and online monitoring facilities of Jintian Chemical Co., Ltd. were operating normally, and there were no over-standard situations in the online data. The ammonia gas monitoring and alarm instrument installed at the northern boundary of the factory also had no over-standard records. The wastewater was treated and reused in a comprehensive manner without being discharged. The environmental protection bureau of Jiaoxian County will feedback the investigation results to the reporter, and the reporter expressed satisfaction with the investigation situation.
