Marine Environment Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (1999)

Marine Environment Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (1999)

Adopted at the 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress on August 23, 1982; revised at the 13th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on December 25, 1999 and promulgated by Order of the President of the People's Republic of China No.28 on December 25, 1999

Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Supervision and Control over the Marine Environment
Chapter III Marine Ecological Protection
Chapter IV Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment Caused by Land-based Pollutants
Chapter V Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment Caused by Coastal Construction Projects
Chapter VI Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment Caused by Marine Construction Projects
Chapter VII Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment Caused by Dumping of Wastes
Chapter VIII Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment Caused by Vessels and Their Related Operations
Chapter IX Legal Liabilities
Chapter X Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted to protect and improve the marine environment, conserve marine resources, prevent pollution damages, maintain ecological balance, safeguard human health and promote sustainable economic and social development.

Article 2 This Law shall apply to the internal waters, territorial seas, contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of the People's Republic of China and all other sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China.
All units and individuals engaged in navigation, exploration, exploitation, production, tourism, scientific research or other operations in the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, or engaged in operations in the coastal land areas which have impact on the marine environment shall comply with this Law.
This Law shall also apply to pollution to the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China originating from areas beyond the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 The State shall establish and put into practice a system of controlling the total sea-disposal pollution discharge for the key sea areas, determine the standards for controlling the total sea-disposed main pollutants discharge and shall assign controlled pollution discharges to key pollution sources. The specific measures therefor shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 4 All units and individuals shall have the obligation to protect the marine environment and have the right to supervise and expose the act of any unit or individual that causes pollution damage to the marine environment, as well as the act of any functionary engaged in marine environment supervision and control that constitutes a neglect of duty in violation of the law.

Article 5 The administrative department in charge of environment protection under the State Council, as the department to exercise unified supervision and control over the nation-wide environment protection work, shall guide, co-ordinate and supervise the nation-wide marine environment protection work and be responsible for preventing and controlling marine pollution damages caused by land-based pollutants and coastal construction projects.
The State oceanic administrative department shall be responsible for the supervision and control over the marine environment, organize survey, surveillance, supervision, assessment and scientific research of the marine environment and be responsible for the nation-wide environment protection work in preventing and controlling marine pollution damages caused by marine construction projects and dumping of wastes in the sea.
The State administrative department in charge of maritime affairs shall be responsible for the supervision and control over marine environment pollution caused by non-military vessels inside the port waters under its jurisdiction and non-fishery vessels and non-military vessels outside the said port waters, and be responsible for the investigation and treatment of the pollution accidents. In the event of a pollution accident caused by a foreign vessel navigating, berthing or operating in the sea under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, inspection and treatment shall be conducted on board the vessel in question. Where the pollution accident caused by a vessel results in fishery damages, the competent fishery administrative department shall be invited to take part in the investigation and treatment.
The State fishery administrative department shall be responsible for the supervision and control over the marine environment pollution caused by non-military vessels inside the fishing port waters and that caused by fishing vessels outside the fishing port waters, be responsible for the protection of ecological environment in the fishing zones, and shall investigate and handle the fishery pollution accidents other than those specified in the preceding paragraph.
The environmental protection department of the armed forces shall be responsible for the supervision and control over the marine pollution caused by military vessels and for the investigation and handling of the pollution accidents caused by military vessels.
The functions and responsibilities of the departments empowered to conduct marine environment supervision and control under the coastal local people's governments at or above the county level shall be determined by the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government in accordance with this Law and the relevant regulations of the State Council.

Chapter II Supervision and Control over the Marine Environment

Article 6 The State oceanic administrative department shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council and the people's governments of the coastal provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, work out a national marine functional zonation scheme and submit it to the State Council for approval.
The coastal local people's governments shall, in accordance with the national and local marine functional zonation schemes, make use of the sea areas in a scientific and rational way.

Article 7 The State shall draw up, in accordance with the marine functional zonation scheme, national marine environment protection plan and regional marine environment protection plans in key sea areas.
The relevant people's government of the coastal provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government adjacent to key sea areas and the departments empowered to conduct marine environment supervision and control may set up regional co-operation organizations for marine environment protection which shall be responsible for the implementation of regional marine environment protection plans in key sea areas as well as for the prevention and control of marine environment pollution and the marine ecological conservation work.

Article 8 Trans-regional marine environment protection problems shall be solved through consultations by the relevant coastal local people's governments or be solved through coordination by the people's government at the higher level.
Major trans-department marine environment protection work shall be coordinated by the administrative department in charge of environment protection under the State Council. The problems that fail to be settled through coordination shall be submitted to the State Council for decision.

Article 9 The State shall work out the national marine environment quality standards in accordance with the marine environment quality conditions and the economic and technological level of the country.
The people's governments of the coastal provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may work out the local marine environment quality standards for those items not specified in the national marine environment quality standards.
The coastal local people's governments at various levels shall, in accordance with the stipulations laid down in the national and local marine environment quality standards and the coastal sea area environment quality conditions in their respective administrative areas, work out their marine environment protection targets and tasks, incorporate them into their respective government work plans and exercise control thereover in accordance with the corresponding marine environment quality standards.

Article 10 In working out the national and local water pollutant discharge standards, the national and local marine environment quality standards shall be taken as one important basis. For the key sea areas where the State has established and put into practice the system of controlling the total sea-disposed pollution discharge, the standards for controlling the total sea-disposed main pollutants discharge shall also be taken as an important basis in determining the water pollutant discharge standards.

Article 11 All units and individuals discharging directly pollutants into the sea must pay pollutant discharge fees in accordance with the State regulations.
Whoever dumps wastes in the sea must pay dumping fees in accordance with the State regulations.
Pollutant discharge fees and dumping fees levied in accordance with the provisions of this Law must be used for the prevention and control of marine environment pollution and may not be appropriated for any other purposes. Specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 12 In case of any pollutant discharge in excess of the standards, or failure to accomplish the pollutant discharge reduction task within a limited period of time, or any fault resulting in serious marine environment pollution damage, a deadline for remedy shall be prescribed.
The deadline for remedy shall be determined in accordance with the limits of power prescribed by the State Council.

Article 13 The State shall strengthen the research and development of science and technology in the field of prevention and control of marine environment pollution damages and shall put into practice an elimination system with regard to any out-of-date production techniques and equipment that cause serious marine environment pollution damages.
Enterprises shall give priority to the introduction of clean energies and clean production technology with higher resources utilization ratio and less pollutant discharges, so as to prevent pollution to the marine environment.

Article 14 The State administrative department in charge of maritime affairs shall manage in accordance with the State environmental monitoring and supervisory norms and standards the investigation, monitoring and supervision of the nation-wide marine environment and work out specific measures of implementation, and shall organize, in conjunction with the relevant departments, nation-wide marine environment monitoring and supervision network, conduct regular assessment of marine environment quality and release regular sea cruise supervision dispatches.
Departments empowered by this Law to conduct marine environment supervision and control shall be responsible for the monitoring and supervision of the water areas under their respective jurisdiction.
Other relevant departments shall, in accordance with the division of work under the nation-wide marine environment monitoring network, be respectively responsible for the mouths of rivers that empty into the sea and the main pollutant discharge outlets.

Article 15 Relevant departments of the State Council shall provide the administrative department in charge of environment protection under the State Council with the marine environment monitoring data necessary for the compilation of national environment quality bulletins.
The administrative department in charge of environment protection shall provide relevant departments with data relating to marine environment supervision and administration.

Article 16 The State administrative department in charge of maritime affairs shall, in accordance with the environment monitoring and supervision information management system formulated by the State, be responsible for the management of the comprehensive marine information system and render services to the supervision and control over the marine environment protection.

Article 17 Any unit or individual that has caused or may possibly cause marine environment pollution because of an accident or any other contingency must immediately adopt effective measures, promptly inform all parties that are potentially endangered, report to the department empowered by this Law to conduct marine environment supervision and control and accept investigation and treatment.
Coastal local people's government at or above the county level must, whenever the offshore environment within their administration is seriously polluted, adopt effective measures to relieve or mitigate the pollution damage.

Article 18 The State shall, in accordance with the necessity to prevent marine environment pollution, draw up State contingency schemes to cope with major marine pollution accidents.
The State oceanic administrative department shall be responsible for drawing up a State contingency scheme to cope with any major oil spill accidents on the sea caused by offshore oil exploration and exploitation and report to the administrative department in charge of environment protection under the State Council for the record.
The State administrative department in charge of maritime affairs shall be responsible for drawing up a contingency scheme to cope with any nation-wide major vessel oil spill accidents on the sea and report to the administrative department in charge of environment protection under the State Council for the record.
All units in the coastal areas where marine environment pollution accidents may happen shall draw up in accordance with the State regulations contingency schemes to cope with pollution accidents and report to the local administrative departments respectively in charge of environment protection and maritime affairs for the record.
The coastal people's governments at or above county level and the relevant departments thereunder shall relieve or mitigate damages in accordance with the contingence schemes in case of any major marine pollution accidents.

Article 19 Departments empowered by this Law to conduct marine environment supervision and control may conduct joint law enforcement operations on the sea.
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