Pollution Control Will Affect Evaluation of Officials' Performance    

Recently the North China Environmental Protection Supervision Center, the sixth supervision center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), officially inaugurated its operation in Beijing.
   Zhang Lijun, vice minister of MEP, pointed out at the inauguration ceremony that with the ongoing development of the economy the amount of pollutants discharged is swelling and bringing larger and larger pressure on China's environmental loading capability. The ecology in some regions is worsening. New methods for protecting the environment are needed. Supervision centers are set up aiming to strengthen the environmental supervision system.
   Zhang also disclosed MEP plans to expand the urban sewage treatment capacity by 10 million tons per day in 2009, and to supervise coal based power plants and steel works to construct desulfurization facilities.
   The performance evaluation of regional governments and officials will include the reduction of pollutants discharge as a key factor. Government review of new plans involving in high pollution and high energy consumption will be stricter.  
   A company that causes pollution damage should make compensation through buying insurance, according to Pan Yue, minister of MEP. The enterprises that manufacture, trade, store, deliver or use dangerous chemicals, and the petrochemical companies that can easily cause pollution accident, as well as the companies that engage in the treatment of dangerous goods will be encouraged to buy pollution damage insurance.  
   China's first compensation case happened in Hunan province and was resolved in December 2008. China Haohua Group's Zhuzhou branch leaked gaseous hydrogen chloride in September 2008, polluted a neighboring vegetable field. Because the branch had bought insurance for pollution damage, the related insurance company compensated more than 120 villagers whose fields were polluted.