Measures for the Administration of the Soil Environment of Agricultural Land (for Trial Implementation)

Measures for the Administration of the Soil Environment of Agricultural Land (for Trial Implementation) Order of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture (No. 46) In accordance with the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, as well as the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, the Measures for the Administration of the Soil Environment of Agricultural Land (for Trial Implementation) are developed, are hereby issued, and shall come into force on November 1, 2017. Minister of Environmental Protection: Li Ganjie Minister of Agriculture: Han Changfu September 25, 2017 Annex: Measures for the Administration of the Soil Environment of Agricultural Land (for Trial Implementation) Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 For purposes of strengthening the protection, supervision and administration of the soil environment of agricultural land, protecting the soil environment of agricultural land, managing and controlling the soil environmental risks of the agricultural land, and guaranteeing the quality and safety of agricultural products, these Measures are developed in accordance with the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China , the Law of the People's Republic of China on Agricultural Product Quality Safety and other laws and regulations, as well as the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution. Article 2 The relevant activities of preventing and controlling soil pollution of agricultural land and the supervision and administration thereof shall be governed by these Measures. For the purpose of the preceding paragraph, relevant activities of preventing and controlling the soil pollution of agricultural land means the prevention of soil pollution, investigation of soil pollution, environmental monitoring, environmental quality category division, categorized management and other activities. For the purpose of these Measures, the quality category division and categorized management of the soil environment of agricultural land shall be mainly applicable to cultivated land. Gardens, grasslands and woodlands may be governed, mutatis mutandis, to these Measures. Article 3 The Ministry of Environmental Protection (“MEP”) shall implement unified supervision and administration of the soil environmental protection of agricultural land; and the local competent environmental protection departments at or above the county level shall implement unified supervision and administration of the relevant activities of preventing and controlling soil pollution of agricultural land within their respective administrative regions. The Ministry of Agriculture (“MOA”) shall implement supervision and administration of the safe utilization, strict management and control, treatment and recovery and other work of the soil of agricultural land across the country; and the local competent agricultural departments at or above the county level shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of the safe utilization, strict management and control, treatment and recovery and other work of the soil of agricultural land within their respective administrative regions. The competent environmental protection departments and competent agricultural departments at or above the county level shall, according to the relevant provisions of these Measures, organize the implementation of the prevention of soil pollution of agricultural land, investigation of soil pollution, environmental monitoring, environmental quality category division, preferential protection of soil of agricultural land, supervision and administration and other work. Article 4 The MEP shall, in conjunction with the MOA, develop the technical rules on the investigation of soil pollution of agricultural land, environmental monitoring, and environmental quality category division, among others. The MOA shall, in conjunction with the MEP, develop the technical rules on the safe utilization, strict management and control, treatment and recovery, and treatment and recovery effect assessment, among others, of the soil of agricultural land. Article 5 The local competent environmental protection departments and competent agricultural departments at or above the county level shall include the prevention and treatment of soil pollution of agricultural land in the environmental protection plans and agricultural development plans within their respective administrative regions. Article 6 The MEP shall, in conjunction with the MOA and other departments, organize the establishment of the national soil environment management information system for agricultural land (hereinafter referred to as the “environmental information system for agricultural land”), to implement information sharing. The local competent environmental protection departments and competent agricultural departments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions issued by the state, organize the establishment and utilization of the environmental information system for agricultural land within their respective administrative regions, strengthen the data statistics of the soil environment of agricultural land, improve the files of soil environment of agricultural land, and upload them to the environmental information system for agricultural land on a regular basis, to implement information sharing. Article 7 A professional institution entrusted with the carrying out of the relevant activities of preventing and controlling soil pollution of agricultural land and a third-party institution entrusted with the engagement in treatment and recovery effect assessment shall comply with the relevant environmental protection standards and technical rules, and be responsible for the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of the technical documents issued by them. A professional institution entrusted with the engagement in treatment and recovery shall comply with the relevant environmental protection standards and technical rules of the state, carry out work within the scope as agreed in the contract, and be responsible for the treatment and recovery activities and the effects thereof. A professional institution entrusted with the engagement in treatment and recovery that practices fraud in treatment and recovery activities and assumes liability for the environmental pollution and ecological damage caused shall assume joint and several liability with other parties responsible for the environmental pollution and ecological damage caused, according to the law, besides accepting penalties according to the relevant laws and regulations. Chapter II Prevention of Soil Po......