The "Hubei Water Pollution Control Ordinance", which Hubei people have eagerly been looking forward, was passed at the closing session of the second session of the 12th Hubei People\'s Congress and would be put into effect on July 1, 2014.

　　It was formulated after surveying 200,000 public views, consulting more than 700 NPC members, over 20 times modifications, conducting feasibility studying of over 60 experts and 4 times application for approval.

　　Li Hongzhong, Secretary of Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Director of Provincial People\'s Congress Standing Committee, said it was the first time that Hubei Province has submitted the major legislative matters related to the provincial economic and social development to the Provincial People\'s Congress, which has important strategic meaning.

　　Hubei’s advantages lie in its abundant water resources. It is the intersection point of the Yangtze River and Han River and home of thousands of lakes and rivers. Hubei’s disadvantages are also water-related due to the serious pollution. All kinds of sewage discharges cause deterioration of water quality, and among the lakes being monitored, the water quality of half of them is under the fourth category.

　　Let clear water flow in the "province of a thousand lakes" is the common aspiration of Hubei people. To this end, the Standing Committee of Provincial People\'s Congress started legislative work of Water Pollution Control Ordinance in early 2012 and decided to submit the legislation to the Provincial People\'s Congress for approval.

　　"The ordinance builds the province\'s most stringent pollution control system." Li Chunming, Secretary and Deputy Director of Standing Committee Party Group of Provincial People\'s Congress, introduced that the ordinance confirmed by the plenary session to severely control and punish pollution discharge, taking maximum penalties for water pollution and enforcing "consecutive fines day by day".

　　The ordinance stipulates that the maximum fine for unauthorized underground pipe discharge is 500,000RMB, the maximum fine for units who concealed the sewage discharge accident is 300,000RMB and the maximum fine for cultivating pearls in the lake is 100,000RMB.

　　During the conference deliberation, the representatives put forward a total of 260 opinions and suggestions. Accordingly, changes have been made to the ordinance, such as more stringent accountability of the administrative leader; the newly-added provision “taking the blame and resign”; the increased minimum punishment for concealing or delayed report; making clear the provision that the government should strengthen the construction of discharge networks and so on.

　　the ordinance was approved by the Congress Standing Committee meeting and the congress session.

　　Li Guangbing, Associate Professor of Environmental Law Expert of Wuhan University, said “Several provisions of the Ordinance are first applied throughout the country, such as the implementation of chief executive responsibility for the system, target responsibility system and environmental damage water lifelong accountability system. The establishment of corporate “credit archives of environmental protection” is also first used nationwide. The archives are open to the public and used as an important basis for business credit load.”

　　Informed of the pass of the Ordinances, Ke Zhiqiang, a famous environmental volunteer in Wuhan, said that in the past decade, he reported some restaurants discharge of sewage to the lake to administrative department, but they were beyond the management because the water pollution prevention and control laws and regulations were not yet perfect. Today, the Ordinances stimulate that restaurants discharging sewage directly into the water can be fined up to 50,000RMB. He cheered that “Environmental volunteers have better legal weapons.”

　　Informed of the approval of a law for protecting water at hometown, Mei Jie, a Beijing writer who was born in Hubei is very pleased: “Hubei is the water source of ‘South Water to North Project’ and the water environment draws the national attention. I must share this good news to more people in Beijing and Tianjin.” (Reporter Zhang Xiaofeng, Yang Hongbin, Correspondent Wang Yiyuan, Chen Bo)