Regulation on Land Reclamation

Regulation on Land Reclamation Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No.592) The Regulation on Land Reclamation has been adopted at the 145th executive meeting of the State Council on February 22, 2011, which is hereby promulgated and shall come into force on the date of promulgation. Premier Wen Jiabao March 5, 2011 Regulation on Land Reclamation Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 In order to implement the basic state policy of cherishing and giving rational use to land as well as giving true protection to arable land, regulate the activities of land reclamation, strengthen the administration of land reclamation, and improve the social benefits, economic benefits and ecological benefits of land utilization, this Regulation is formulated in accordance with the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China . Article 2 The term “land reclamation” as mentioned in this Regulation refers to the activities of taking remedial measures on the land destroyed by production and construction activities and natural disasters so as to turn it into utilizable land. Article 3 For the land destroyed by production and construction activities, the production and construction entities or individuals (hereinafter referred to as the “obligors of land reclamation”) shall be responsible for the reclamation in accordance with the principle of “He who destroys shall reclaim”. However, if the obligors of land reclamation of the land destroyed by production and construction activities cannot be determined due to historical reasons, the people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for organizing reclamation. For the land destroyed by natural disasters, the people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for organizing reclamation. Article 4 In the production and construction activities land should be economically and intensively utilized, and arable land should be occupied or used as little as possible; effective measures shall be taken on the land occupied according to law so as to reduce the acreage of land destroyed and lower the degree of destruction. In land reclamation, the principles of scientific planning, adopting measures suited to local conditions, comprehensive treatment, economically feasible and reasonable utilization shall be adhered to. The priority for the use of reclaimed land shall be given to agriculture. Article 5 The land and resources department of the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of land reclamation of the whole country. The land and resources departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of land reclamation of their respective administrative regions. Other relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation and their own duties, do a good job in the relevant work of land reclamation. Article 6 The national standards for land reclamation shall be observed in such activities as formulating plans for land reclamation, carrying out land reclamation projects, conducting examination and acceptance of land reclamation, etc.. Where there is no national standard, the industrial standards for land reclamation shall be observed. The establishment of the national standards and industrial standards for land reclamation shall be based on such factors as the type, degree, natural and geographic conditions, the feasibility of reclamation, etc. of the destroyed land, and the reclamation methods, targets and requirements for different types of destroyed land shall be determined according to the classification. Article 7 The land and resources departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall establish a system to monitor land reclamation, and keep timely informed of the destruction of land resources and the effects of land reclamation within their respective administrative regions. The land and resources department of the State Council and the land and resources departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall establish and improve their information management system of land reclamation, and collect, summarize and release the data of land reclamation. Article 8 The land and resources departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen supervision and inspection on land reclamation according to their duties. The inspected entities or individuals shall faithfully report relevant information and provide necessary materials. Any entity or individual shall not disturb or obstruct the work of land reclamation, or destroy land reclamation projects, facilities and equipments. Article 9 The state shall encourage and support the scientific research and technical innovations on land reclamation, and popularize advanced land reclamation technologies. Entities and individuals that make outstanding contributions in the work of land reclamation shall be rewarded by the people's governments at or above the county level. Chapter II Reclamation of the Land Destroyed by Production and Construction Activities Article 10 The obligors of land reclamation shall be responsible for the reclamation of the following destroyed land: 1. The land destroyed by surface mining, making tiles, digging sand digging, taking earth and other excavation on the earth's surface; 2. The land of surface subsidence caused by underground mining; 3. The land occupied by piling up solid wastes, such as mining stripping, barren rocks, mineral waste residues, coal ashes, etc.; and 4. The land destroyed by the temporary occupation in infrastructure construction activities, such as energy resources, transportation, water conservancy, etc. and other production and construction activities. Article 11 Obligors of land reclamation shall formulate their plans for land reclamation in accordance with the standards for land reclamation and the provisions of the land and resources department of the State Council.. Article 12 A plan for land reclamation shall include the following contents: 1. A brief introduction to the project and the land utilization of the project area; 2. An analytical prediction of the destroyed land and the feasibility assessment of land reclamation; 3. The target tasks of land reclamation; 4. The quality requirements of land reclamation to be obtained and the measures taken; 5. An estimate (budget estimate) of the project and investment of land reclamation; 6. Arrangement of land reclamation costs; 7. An working scheme and schedule of land reclamation; and 8. Other contents as stipulated by the land and resources department of the State Council. Article 13 An obligor of land reclamation shall, when handling the application for a piece of construction land or handling the application formalities for the right to exploitation, submit the plan for land reclamation along with other relevant materials for approval. Where an obligor of land reclamation fails to formulate a plan for land reclamation or his plan for land reclamation does not meet the relevant requirements, the people's government with the approval authority shall not approve his use of land for construction, and the land and resources department with the approval authority shall not issue a mining license to him. Where the formalities for construction land have been completed or a mining license has been received before the implementation of this Regulation, and the land is destroyed by production and construction activities continuously engaged in after the implementation of this Regulation, the obligor of land reclamation shall, in accordance with the provisions of the land and resources department of the State Council, supplement a plan for land reclamation. Article 14 Obligors of land reclamation shall carry out their work of land reclamation in accordance with their plans for land reclamation. Mining enterprises shall also conduct dynamic monitoring and evaluation on the destruction of land. Where the production and construction cycle lasts a long time and the reclamation needs to be conducted by stages, the obligor of land reclamation ......