The General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment ("MEE") has recently issued the Circular on Reinforcing the Administration of Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Projects (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") for public comments by July 20, 2020.
The Draft for Comment specifies issues in nine aspects, such as the types of projects supported by the soil funds, project cycle and project owner. According to the Draft for Comment, generally, risk control and remediation projects shall last for no more than three years; projects involving the groundwater risk control and remediation and the safe use of farmland no more than five years; and other projects no more than two years. The Draft for Comment stipulates that the fund support for projects with longer cycles may be given by years or batches, with an annual funding support plan specified at the time of initial funding support arrangement to prioritize funding in subsequent years as planned to avoid the one-off support funds being recovered due to the long project cycle. Also, the Draft for Comment sets forth, from the perspective of project management, such management procedures as project application, record of assessed and reviewed projects, determination of annual supporting projects, project implementation organization, and project progress scheduling.