Small hydropower in the national protection zone should be refunded, non-refundable drinking water source protection zone, construction of real estate projects in violation of regulations
The Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspectors disclosed that local protection areas are not strictly supervised
□ Our reporter Yan Jianrong
Recently, the second round of the fourth batch of central ecological and environmental protection inspectors (hereinafter referred to as the inspection team) publicly notified 7 typical cases, two of which involved protected areas.
One is the lag in the cleanup and rectification of small hydropower in the core area and buffer zone of the Jiugongshan National Nature Reserve in Tongshan County, Hubei Province; the other is the illegal development of real estate around the centralized drinking water source in Meishan City, Sichuan Province.
The inspection team pointed out that at present, there are a total of 6 small hydropower stations in the core area and buffer zone of the Jiugongshan National Nature Reserve, of which 3 are in the core area.
According to regulations, these six small hydropower plants should be withdrawn before the end of last year.
"Since April 2018, Meishan City and Renshou County have approved a total of 20 real estate projects in the Heilongtan drinking water source quasi-protection zone." According to the inspection team, a large amount of vegetation in the northern and northwestern regions of Heilongtan Reservoir was destroyed. Some forests have been replaced by high-rise buildings and houses, and the water conservation function has been basically lost, which has affected the authenticity and integrity of the Heilongtan Reservoir's ecosystem.
Through these two typical cases, it is not difficult to find that when a locality is facing the need to develop the economy or protect the ecological environment or how to achieve a win-win situation, there are still some places that are difficult to make the right choice.
What shouldn't happen is that Tongshan County is attempting to continue to retain these small hydropower stations by means of adjustments instead of reforms.
And Meishan "gave the green light" for real estate development in the reserve.
There were still 5 small hydropower stations operating when the inspector moved in
In 1982, the Tongshan County People’s Government approved the establishment of Jiugongshan Nature Reserve. In February 1988, this reserve became the first batch of provincial-level forest and wildlife nature reserves in Hubei Province. In April 2007, it was promoted to National nature reserve.
Jiugongshan Nature Reserve is one of the well-preserved ecological systems in Central China. The national rare and endangered protected wild plants are very rich. There are as many as 39 species of national first and second protected animals in the reserve. It plays a very important role in the construction of the middle and lower reaches of the ecological environment.
In 2018, the relevant state departments jointly issued the "Opinions on Carrying out the Cleanup and Rectification of Small Hydropower in the Yangtze River Economic Zone".
According to the requirements of the opinion, before the end of 2020, hydropower stations located in the core area or buffer zone of the nature reserve should be withdrawn in principle; hydropower stations that were legally constructed before the establishment of the reserve can be withdrawn within a time limit, but no more than 2022.
In September of this year, after the inspection team stationed in Hubei, they discovered that there were 6 small hydropower stations in the core area and buffer zone of Jiugongshan Nature Reserve, namely Jitan I, Anping II, and Jitan II hydropower stations; 3 in the buffer zone. , Respectively are the three-level hydropower stations of Taiyang, Shikai and Anping.
Subsequently, the inspection team launched an investigation into the clearance of these 6 small hydropower stations.
The inspection team verified the information provided by the local authorities and found that these six small hydropower stations should all be withdrawn before the end of 2020.
However, Tongshan County has relaxed its requirements and delayed its withdrawal until the end of 2022.
The inspection team pointed out that as of the time the inspectors moved in, there were still 5 small hydropower stations in operation.
The inspection team also found that the Shikai Hydropower Station not only did not withdraw, but instead expanded its production capacity.
In 2014, without going through the relevant approval procedures, the Shikai Hydropower Station underwent renovation and expansion, and the installed capacity was transformed from one 400 kW and one 250 kW to two 400 kW.
"The Jitan II Hydropower Station located in the core area of the reserve stated in the relevant materials that its first commissioning date was May 2003, and that it was constructed before the effective date of the Environmental Assessment Law (September 1, 2003), and it was deemed unnecessary. Going through the environmental review and approval procedures. However, the inspector found that the date of delivery of the nameplates of the two hydro-generators of the Jitan II Hydropower Station was December 2003 and January 2005, respectively.” The inspection team pointed out that the Jitan II Hydropower Station could not be located in In May 2003, when it was put into operation for power generation, the hydropower station was required to go through the environmental review and approval procedures, but it has not been processed.
At the same time, in accordance with the requirements of the relevant state departments to strengthen the supervision of the ecological flow of small hydropower stations in the Yangtze River Economic Zone, it is necessary to ensure that the small hydropower stations discharge the ecological flow stably and adequately, and to install dynamic video online monitoring equipment before the end of December 2020 to carry out ecological flow monitoring.
However, the inspection team found that none of the six small hydropower stations in the Jiugongshan Nature Reserve have installed facilities that can ensure a stable and full amount of ecological flow, and they have not carried out ecological flow monitoring.
Among them, the Jitan II Hydropower Station also has privately blocked the ecological flow discharge channel behavior.
On September 3 this year, the on-site inspection of the inspection team discovered that the Jitan II Power Station dug a new outlet in the middle of the dam as an ecological flow discharge channel, but the channel was blocked by a baffle, and no ecological flow was discharged, resulting in downstream rivers. Dry up.
Illegal Development of Real Estate in Quasi-Protected Areas of Drinking Water Sources
The Heilongtan Reservoir in Renshou County of Meishan City is the drinking water source for nearly 3 million people in Meishan City, Renshou County, and Jingyan County of Leshan City. Its ecological function and status are very important.
However, in September this year, when the inspection team went to the sinking inspectorate of Renshou County, Meishan City, they found that in recent years, Meishan City and Renshou County illegally planned and constructed a large number of real estate projects in the Heilongtan Drinking Water Source Quasi-Protection Zone, which had a significant impact on the ecological function of the protected area. Cause serious impact.
The inspection team sinking inspectors found that in December 2017, the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress approved the "Regulations on the Protection of Centralized Drinking Water Sources in Meishan City" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"). The "Regulations" prohibit new additions in quasi-protected areas. Residents are concentrated in settlements.
However, the inspector found that since April 2018, Meishan City and Renshou County have violated the "Regulations" to develop real estate projects in the Heilongtan drinking water source quasi-protection zone, which has led to a large increase in the concentration of residents in the quasi-protection zone.
Among them, the two areas of Long Island Future City and Tianfu Eco-city have approved 20 real estate projects, and plan to construct 1,097 buildings (including 542 low-rise buildings), with a total land area of about 3,222 acres and a construction area of about 3.32 million square meters.
The inspection team said that up to now, 322 buildings (all low-rise buildings) have been built in the two areas, covering an area of about 546 acres, with a construction area of about 370,000 square meters; 775 buildings under construction (including 220 low-rise buildings) covering an area It is about 2676 acres and the construction area is about 2.95 million square meters.
A large number of low-rise buildings are built adjacent to the water, seriously squeezing the ecological protection space of drinking water sources.
The inspection team found that the illegal construction of the real estate project in the Heilongtan drinking water source quasi-protection zone severely damaged the ecological environment of the Heilongtan water source.
According to the inspection team, the "Regulations on the Protection and Management of Drinking Water Sources of Sichuan Province" stipulate that non-renewable and non-care logging and destruction of drinking water source conservation forests, bank protection forests and other vegetation are prohibited in the quasi-protection areas of surface water drinking water sources.
However, the inspector found that since 2018, the Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Bureau has handled forest land use procedures for relevant real estate projects in violation of regulations, resulting in the occupation of 342.56 acres of forest land in the Heilongtan drinking water source quasi-protection zone, of which 63.45 acres of shelter forest.
At the same time, due to inadequate supervision and management, since 2018, 88 cases of forest destruction have occurred in the Heilongtan watershed, involving 761.58 mu of forest land, of which 56.80 mu of protection forests.
The inspection team saw at the scene that a large amount of vegetation in the northern and northwestern regions of Heilongtan Reservoir had been destroyed. The original forest trees had been replaced by a large number of high-rise buildings and houses. The water conservation function was basically lost, which affected the authenticity and authenticity of the Heilongtan Reservoir ecosystem. Completeness.
In addition, according to the "Overall Implementation Plan for the Pilot Program of Ecological Environmental Protection in Heilongtan, Sichuan Province" approved by the Sichuan Provincial People's Government, Meishan City should complete 53 ecological environmental protection projects by the end of 2017.
As of this batch of inspectors, there are still 8 projects that have not been completed or even implemented, of which only 192 acres of the 4000 acres of ecological conservation forests that should be built have been completed, accounting for only 4.8%.
Local governments "give the green light" for illegal real estate development
The "Implementation Plan for the Cleanup and Reformation of Small Hydropower in the Yangtze River Economic Zone in Hubei Province" requires that the exiting hydropower stations should formulate a "one stop, one policy" exit plan, and at the same time, specify the exit time and draw up the exit procedures.
In October 2019, Tongshan County issued the "One Station One Policy" Work Plan for Small Hydropower Cleanup and Reform in Tongshan County, proposing to further develop a specific demolition plan for exiting small hydropower stations. Substantial work has not been initiated.” The inspection team pointed out that Tongshan County also used the false reason that “legal water conservancy and hydropower facilities existed before the establishment of certain plots of protected areas.” In the reported natural reserve integration and optimization plan, 6 The area where the small hydropower station is located has been adjusted from the core area and buffer zone of the original national nature reserve to a general control area, in an attempt to replace the six small hydropower stations.
Regarding the illegal construction of real estate in the Heilongtan drinking water source quasi-protection zone, the inspection team pointed out that in April 2020, the Meishan Municipal People’s Congress Legal Work Committee issued a violation of the original legislative intent to the Renshou County People’s Government without the right to interpret the law. Legal interpretation.
According to the inspection team, in February 2018, the Meishan City Urban and Rural Planning Committee made it clear when reviewing the project planning of the Tianfu Eco-city and the Changdao Future City area that the Standing Committee of the Meishan City People's Congress should provide written explanations on the prohibitive provisions of the Regulations.
“The Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the Meishan Municipal People’s Congress issued written explanations to the Management Committee of Heilongtan Scenic Area and the People’s Government of Renshou County in March 2018 and April 2020 without the right to interpret the law, which violated the original intent of the legislation. The “Regulations” stipulated that “prohibition of new concentrated settlements of residents in quasi-protected areas” are interpreted as “the original legislative intent of this paragraph is to prohibit the concentration of new residents in rural areas outside the planned areas of the quasi-protected areas. Residential sites'." The inspection team believes that this is actually a "green light" for real estate development in the reserve.
As a result, 20 real estate projects in the Heilongtan drinking water source quasi-protection zone have been illegally started construction.
In response to the problems existing in the protection areas in Hubei and Sichuan, the inspection team pointed out that Tongshan County has a negative attitude and ineffective rectification of small hydropower stations in the core area and buffer zone of the nature reserve; supervision of small hydropower stations that cannot stabilize and fully discharge ecological flow Weakness affects the ecological environment.
Meishan City and Renshou County have deviations in the implementation of the concept of ecological priority and green development, they have not properly handled the relationship between development and protection, the special importance of the Heilongtan Reservoir is not well understood, and the protection of drinking water sources is ineffective.