Chinanews.com, May 6, according to the WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in April 2021, the third central ecological and environmental protection inspection team discovered when inspecting the sinking of Tongling City in Anhui Province that the water environment of the lotus pond was disposed of in the suburbs of Tongling City. Pollution problems were dealt with in a perfunctory manner, causing part of the excess sewage to be discharged into the Yangtze River.
The news pointed out that the second round of the third batch of the central ecological and environmental protection inspection team went deep into the front line and on-site, and verified a number of prominent ecological and environmental problems, verified a number of inactions, slow actions, unaccountable, uncompromising, and even perfunctory responses. , Falsification and other formalism and bureaucracy issues.
In order to play a warning role and effectively promote the rectification of problems, the inspection team conducted a centralized public notification of the fourth batch of 8 typical cases.
Among them, the work in the suburbs of Tongling City, Anhui Province was perfunctory, and the excessive sewage from the lotus pond was discharged into the Yangtze River.
The details of this typical case are as follows:
1. Basic situation
The lotus pond is located in the outskirts of Tongling City, about 1 km away from the mainstream of the Yangtze River. It covers an area of 120,000 square meters and has a capacity of about 300,000 cubic meters. The daily inflow is mainly rainwater from the surrounding areas. In recent years, the water quality has maintained Class IV to V.
The lotus pond water body is connected to the Yangtze River and is discharged into the Yangtze River through the Taohe Gate of Desheng Wharf. The Taohe Gate is open daily and closed when the water level of the Yangtze River is high to prevent the river from inverting.
The lotus pond is about 1 km away from the main stream of the Yangtze River. It flows to the Taohe sluice through ditches and underground culverts and then drains into the Yangtze River.
Image source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
On October 20, 2020, the water quality of the lotus pond suddenly turned black and smelled. The suburban government of Tongling City began to intercept and control pollution in late October. However, relevant emergency measures were not in place, and the follow-up work was not promoted effectively, and a large amount of sewage overflowed. Drain into the Yangtze River through the Taohe Gate.
As of the time the inspectors were stationed, the problem of sewage discharge from the lotus pond had not been effectively resolved.
Two, the main problem
(1) Focus on deployment, not implementation
After the water quality of the lotus pond was abnormal on October 20, 2020, the suburban government held a meeting on October 29 to organize the plugging of the culvert outside the lotus pond, requiring "to ensure that sewage does not flow out."
In January 2021, the suburban government convened three more meetings to deploy the lotus pond water pollution control work, requesting "not let a drop of sewage flow into the Yangtze River".
During this period, the main responsible comrades of the district party committee and district government have also visited the lotus pond several times.
However, the inspector found that the relevant requirements and deployment mostly stayed on slogans and documents, which were not implemented.
As of the inspector’s arrival, no one from the local government or relevant departments has visited the Taohe sluice to check the true situation of the sewage discharged into the river; the district party committee, the responsible comrades of the district government and the person in charge of the relevant departments introduced that since the interception measures were taken in October 2020 , The problem of sewage from the lotus pond being discharged into the Yangtze River has never occurred.
But the actual situation is that from January to March 2021, the three unannounced inspections conducted by the inspection team in the early stage of the drainage revealed that a large amount of sewage from the lotus pond overflowed into the river, forming an obvious pollution zone on the surface of the river.
In March 2021, the inspection team discovered in the early stage that a large amount of sewage from the lotus pond was still discharged into the Yangtze River without treatment.
Image source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
(2) Emphasize the form and neglect the root cause
Regarding the abnormal water quality of the lotus pond, the party committee, government and relevant departments in the suburbs of Tongling City did not organize a comprehensive analysis, nor did they conduct a comprehensive traceability investigation of the surrounding sewage discharge. Instead, they acquiesced to the relevant units to throw flocculant and sodium hypochlorite on a large area of the lotus pond. "Sprinkle medicine to cure pollution."
After more than two months, the suburban government and relevant departments did not monitor the progress of the governance. It was not until January 2021 that the grid staff reported that the water quality of the lotus pond had deteriorated, and then the monitoring was carried out again. The monitoring data showed chemical oxygen demand. The amount concentration is 252-275 mg/L and the ammonia nitrogen concentration is 12.9-15.7 mg/L, which are respectively 11.6-12.8 times and 11.9-14.7 times higher than the surface water class III standard, and the pollution level is further aggravated.
As the water quality of the lotus pond continued to deteriorate, the local area urgently built a sewage treatment facility at the end of February 2021. However, as of the arrival of the inspectors, hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of sewage still accumulated in the lotus pond, and the water environment safety hazard has not yet been eliminated.
On October 27, 2020, monitoring data at 4 points in the lotus pond showed that the chemical oxygen demand concentration was 92-105 mg/l and the ammonia nitrogen concentration was 10.5-12.4 mg/l, which exceeded the surface water level III standard by 3.6-4.3 times and 9.5 respectively. -11.4 times.
Image source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
On January 19, 2021, monitoring data at 4 points in the lotus pond showed that the chemical oxygen demand concentration was 252-275 mg/l and the ammonia nitrogen concentration was 12.9-15.7 mg/l, which exceeded the surface water level III standard by 11.6-12.8 times and 11.9 respectively. —14.7 times, which is significantly worse than October 27, 2020.
Image source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
(3) Fabricate materials to deal with inspectors
Suburban party committees, governments, and relevant departments deal with pollution interception and pollution control in a perfunctory manner, but they are bothered to deal with inspectors.
After “spilling medicine to control pollution”, the suburban government and relevant departments believe that “preliminary work on water treatment has been completed.” Therefore, in the key work schedule for December 2020 published on the suburban government website, the lotus pond pollution control work is not included. .
However, in the paper material on the key work arrangements for December provided to the inspection team, the content of "continue to do a good job in environmental supervision of lotus ponds" was temporarily added.
The Tongling Suburban Government's key work arrangements for paper materials in December 2020 include a new item "Continue to do a good job in the environmental supervision of lotus ponds", which is obviously inconsistent with the publicity of the district government website.
Image source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
Three, cause analysis
The party committee and government in the suburbs of Tongling City did not pay enough attention to the protection and restoration of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River. When dealing with the environmental pollution of the lotus pond, they adjusted their doors high, implemented poorly, and even made superficial comments, perfunctory response, and the work was lax and unrealistic, and they did not effectively solve the problem of excessive sewage discharge. The Yangtze River issue has a negative impact on the ecological environment of the Yangtze River.
The inspection team will further investigate and verify the relevant situation, and do follow-up inspection work as required.