The General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment ("MEE") has recently issued the Administrative Measures for Ecological and Environmental Standards (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") and the Administrative Measures for Work on Formulation and Revision of National Ecological and Environmental Standards (Draft for Comment) to seek opinions from the entities concerned by November 30, 2019.
Encompassing 53 articles in nine chapters, the Draft for Comment may be divided into four parts that deal with general provisions, the role of and administrative requirements for five types of standards, the record-filing of and administrative requirements for local standards, and the evaluation of standard implementation and other contents, respectively. The second part, including Chapter II through Chapter VI of the Draft for Comment, clarifies the role of, specific types of, principles for formulation of, forms of implementation of, and supervisory requirements for five different types of ecological and environmental standards, respectively. Chapter IV clearly specifies that in the framework of ecological and environmental standards, the standards prepared in the form of environmental monitoring specifications play as the supporting technical standards to supplement environmental quality standards and pollutant discharge standards, and then lays out the principles to formulate and the ways to implement, the standards in the form of environmental monitoring specifications, not touching upon the application of these standards for other purposes.