Chinanews.com, May 6th. According to the WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in April 2021, the Central First Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection Team inspected in Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, and found that the selection of enterprises in Daixian, Fanzhi County and other places was chaotic. The dumping of waste residues, the occupation of arable land and woodland, the occupation of nature reserves, and the pollution of the ecological environment have caused strong reactions from the masses.
According to reports, 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 outstanding 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.
1. Basic situation
The first round of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors pointed out that Shanxi Province has the problem of random piles of waste residues.
Although Shanxi Province has carried out some rectification work, the problem of random dumping of waste residues in some places is still prominent.
Dai County and Fanshi County of Xinzhou City are rich in mineral resources and are rich in iron ore resources. Among them, there are 205 iron ore mining and dressing enterprises in Dai County and 99 iron ore mining and dressing enterprises in Fanzhi County.
The inspector found that the problem of waste slag dumping in some local mining enterprises in Xinzhou is serious.
Two, the main problem
(1) The masses have a strong reaction to the problem of indiscriminate dumping of waste residues
Most of the mining and dressing enterprises in Xinzhou City inspected by the inspection team have the problems of random dumping of waste residues and damage to the ecological environment. Some enterprises even dump tailings directly on the cultivated land.
The masses continue to complain about this issue. From April 7th to 30th, 2021, the inspection team received 68 letters and visits about the random dumping of waste residues in Xinzhou, involving Daixian, Fanzhi, Ningwu, and Yuanping. , Jingle County, Xinfu District and many other counties (cities, districts), among which Daixian Jingcheng Mining Company and Fanzhi County Hongmao Mining Company were repeatedly reported and complained by the masses.
(2) The illegal occupation of arable land and forest land by tailings sand is more common
Article 20 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste stipulates that “units and other producers and operators that generate, collect, store, transport, utilize, and dispose of solid waste shall take measures to prevent dispersion, loss, leakage, or other prevention measures. The measures to pollute the environment shall not dump, stack, throw away, or throw away solid waste without authorization."
Some enterprises in Xinzhou City violated the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes, did not dispose of tailings and other waste residues as required, and randomly piled up and occupied farmland and forest land.
According to preliminary investigations, there are currently more than 300 tailings deposits in the city, with a total of 260 million cubic meters of tailings, covering an area of more than 35,900 acres, of which about 2,725 acres of arable land are occupied by illegal means.
Article 44 of the "Land Management Law" stipulates that "Where land occupied by construction involves the conversion of agricultural land to construction land, the approval procedures for agricultural land conversion shall be completed." However, some enterprise tailing ponds occupy agricultural land and fail to handle agricultural land as required. Land transfer approval and other procedures.
The inspector found that Fanshi County Hongmao Mining Company, Daixian Mingli Mining Company, Daixian Qiangsheng Mining Company and other enterprises dumped tailings directly on the cultivated land of the masses. Among them, Fanshi County Hongmao Mining Company dumped tailings indiscriminately. 5.7 10,000 cubic meters, occupying 19 acres of land, including 16 acres of arable land; Daixian Mingli Mining Company randomly dumped 21,500 cubic meters of tailings, occupying 45 acres of arable land; Daixian Qiangsheng Mining Company randomly dumped 120,000 of tailings Cubic meters, occupying 52.8 acres of land, of which 3.85 acres of arable land.
Figure 1 Fanzhi County Hongmao Mining Company illegally dumped a large amount of tailing sand outside the tailing pond Source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
Figure 2 Daixian Mingli Mining Company illegally dumped a large amount of tailings on the right bank of Hutuo River Source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
Figure 3 Daixian Qiangsheng Mining Company illegally dumped a large amount of tailings. Source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
(3) Waste slag such as tailings sands and other waste residues illegally invaded the nature reserve
Shanxi Smelly Fir Provincial Nature Reserve is located in Fanshi County, Xinzhou City. It mainly protects the rare tree species Smelly Fir, Cleft-lipped Tiger tongue and forest ecosystem.
The first round of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors pointed out that there were illegal and illegal construction projects in 24 nature reserves in Shanxi Province. The rectification plan of Shanxi Provincial inspectors required that “construction projects that do not meet the functional positioning of the nature reserves should be shut down immediately, demolished within a limited time, and ecological restoration should be implemented. …Illegal construction and development projects, complete the dismantling of facilities and equipment and site cleaning within a time limit, and restore the original status."
After the first round of central ecological environmental protection inspections, although relevant localities and departments in Xinzhou City closed down mining enterprises in the Smelly Fir Provincial Nature Reserve, the relevant places did not clean up the large amount of piled up tailings and other waste residues. Carry out ecological restoration and governance.
After a joint investigation by the Nature Reserve Management Bureau and Fanzhi County, more than 850,000 cubic meters of tailings and other waste residues were piled up in the Smelly Fir Provincial Nature Reserve of Shanxi Province, occupying an area of about 400 acres of the nature reserve.
Among them, Fanzhi County Nanyukou Iron Mine Company and Fanshi County Hongsheng Iron Mine Company have piled up about 700,000 cubic meters of tailings in the core area of the nature reserve, occupying a total area of about 268 mu of the nature reserve, occupying the natural reserve. In part of the river in the core area of the reserve, the original surface vegetation in the area invaded by waste residues has been destroyed.
Figure 4 A large amount of tailings and other waste residues in the core area of the Smelly Fir Provincial Nature Reserve. Source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
(4) The Yangnaogou Concentrator in Fanzhi County dumped toxic and hazardous waste in violation of regulations
The Yangnaogou Concentrator in Fanzhi County mainly concentrates on lead-zinc mines and gold mines. The company illegally dumped the beneficiation slag into the ditch near the plant and covered it with soil for camouflage.
When the inspection team asked, the company falsely claimed that the ditch was filled with construction waste, and the inspection team directly dug out the beneficiation waste on site.
After investigation, the dumped ore dressing residues amounted to 520,000 cubic meters, covering an area of 45 acres, including 1.8 acres of arable land.
Figure 5 The inspector directly digs out the lead-zinc beneficiation waste residue with a shovel on the site. Source: WeChat official account of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment
Three, cause analysis
Some local mining and selection enterprises in Xinzhou City have a prominent problem of waste slag dumping and occupation of cultivated land and forest land. The masses have expressed strong feedback. The relevant local party committees and governments have a weak sense of urgency to solve the problem of mining and selection enterprises. The softness and formality have indulged the illegal behaviors of enterprises, resulting in the long-term failure to effectively solve the problem of random piles of waste residues in mining and selection enterprises.
The inspection team will further investigate and verify the relevant situation, and do follow-up inspection work as required.