Lately, the Ministry of Environmental Protection ("MEP") has released the Administrative Measures for Soil Environment around Polluted Lands (for Trial Implementation)(the "Measures") which shall take into effect as of July 1, 2017.
The Measures provide that any entity or individual that causes soil pollution shall be held liable as the main responsible body for the abatement and restoration, according to the principle that whoever causes pollution is responsible for the treatment. Where the main responsible body changes, relevant responsibilities shall be undertaken by the entity or individual that accepts the creditor's rights and liabilities after such change; where the main responsible body does not exist any longer or is indefinite, local people's governments at county level shall be responsible; where the land use right is transferred according to law, the transferee or the responsible person as agreed by both parties shall bear responsibilities. The abatement and restoration of soil pollution shall be subject to a lifelong responsibility system. Besides, the Measures clearly state that for polluted lands that are intended to be developed into residential lands or lands used for building up public utilities for commercial and medical purposes, land use right holders shall abate and treat the pollution provided that the abatement and treatment is considered as necessary upon risk assessments. Also, the Measures point out that departments of environmental protection at and above the county level shall have the right to take measures, such as "requesting the inspected entity to submit an explanatory statement", while supervising and inspecting the possibly polluted lands and related activities.