Recently, the General Office of the Ministry of Environmental Protection ("MEP") has issued the Official Reply to the Category of Environmental Impact Assessment for Ferroalloy Remelting Projects (the "Reply").
The Reply states that, upon receipt of the Request for Instructions on the Category of Environmental Impact Assessment for Ferroalloy Remelting Projects from the Department of Environmental Protection of Henan Province, the MEP concludes through careful study that ferroalloy remelting projects shall fall into the Category 62 "Ferroalloy Production; Smelting of Manganese and Chromium" specified in the Category-based Administration Catalogue for the Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects (Order of the Ministry of Environmental Protection No.44), given that techniques adopted in and pollutants generated from these projects are similar to follow-up techniques and pollutants involved in ferroalloy production projects in which ores are used as raw materials, and also by considering the industrial category of ferroalloy remelting projects and the nature of their products; therefore, environmental impact reports should be prepared for such projects.