Does anyone know the information on rectification of cooking oil fume pollution across the country?

Difficulties and Countermeasures in Environmental Administrative Law Enforcement in the Catering Industry

With the rapid development of social economy, the tertiary industry is also booming. Due to the serious lag in the planning, construction and management of the catering industry, most catering companies are built under residential buildings, and the fumes and noise pollution generated seriously affect the normal lives of surrounding residents. Therefore, the problem of fumes and noise pollution in the catering industry that disturbs residents has become an environmental issue in recent years. One of the most common environmental issues complained by petitioners. For example, among the more than 120 complaints received from the public in Huli District of Xiamen City in February, oil smoke and noise pollution accounted for about 80%. However, such complaints are difficult to handle and are common.

One of the difficulties: Inadequate laws and regulations on environmental management of the catering industry

Although the fumes and noise pollution in the catering industry have become one of the environmental issues most complained about by urban residents, However, so far, laws and regulations regarding environmental management in the catering industry have not been perfected. Although Article 26 of the "Fujian Provincial Environmental Protection Regulations" stipulates: "Urban catering service establishments should install oil fume purification devices to achieve emission standards. The height and position of the discharge outlet of the oil fume purification devices should not affect the living environment of surrounding residents.", However, there is no corresponding legal responsibility and administrative penalties cannot be implemented accordingly. At present, in law enforcement practice, the environmental protection administrative department implements the "Regulations on Environmental Protection Management of Construction Projects" promulgated and implemented by the State Council in 1998, and treats the catering industry as a construction project. According to the "Construction Project Environmental Protection Classified Management Directory (First Batch)", the catering industry must fill out the "Environmental Impact Report Form" or "Environmental Impact Registration Form" based on the size of the business area and whether the location is in a sensitive area. This is not difficult for the environmental protection administrative department, but for the owners of the catering industry, it is not so intuitive and simple to understand these provisions. Even the owners who understand these provisions use the excuse that the legal provisions are not clear to violate the law. Behavioral justification. Therefore, in real life, more than 90% of the catering industry does not have environmental impact assessment approval procedures, let alone environmental pollution control supporting facilities and completion acceptance. The resulting environmental pollution that disturbs the people is an inevitable result.

Difficulty No. 2: Lack of effective cooperation mechanism between administrative law enforcement departments

During field research, we learned that owners in the catering industry generally believe that they all have industrial and commercial administrative departments. The business license issued by the company, the health license issued by the health administrative department and the tax registration certificate issued by the tax administrative department. They believe that since these government departments have issued them the "three certificates", it means that the government allows them to operate, and they are legal owners. At the same time, they have also paid taxes to the country, made contributions to the country, and are now open for business. Environmental Protection Director However, the department believes that they are operating illegally and will impose administrative penalties on them. They cannot understand and cannot accept it. During the administrative penalty process, they argued that no department told them to go through environmental protection procedures when applying for the "three certificates". Since they were all government departments, why couldn't they be informed of all the procedures they should go through at once? ? Only today did I know that violations of the "Construction Project Environmental Protection Management Regulations" will result in administrative penalties; if they had known earlier, they would not have opened this restaurant illegally, or gone through the environmental protection-related procedures like other procedures. It is true that restaurant owners do not know the environmental protection laws and regulations, which does not excuse them from not complying with the law. They must bear legal responsibility for their illegal activities, but the reasons for their defense are also worthy of our reflection. In some areas, while the environmental protection administrative departments are dealing with environmental pollution problems in the catering industry, the phenomenon of industrial and commercial administrative departments continuing to issue business licenses to restaurants that have not gone through environmental protection approval procedures still exists. This reflects the lack of an effective cooperation mechanism between administrative law enforcement departments, and thus the environmental pollution problems in the catering industry cannot be controlled from the source. The result is lagging environmental administrative penalties, which further aggravates the difficulty of environmental management and law enforcement costs in the catering industry. .

Difficulty No. 3: Environmental administrative litigation is time-consuming, costly and ineffective

With the continuous improvement and improvement of my country's socialist democratic legal system, the "People's A series of administrative laws and regulations such as the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China require administrative agencies to strictly abide by the law. Administration, on the other hand, must protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, fully embodying the concept of people-oriented, strengthening service, and the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and effectively promotes the process of governing the country according to law in our country. However, in the process of environmental law enforcement in the catering industry, grassroots environmental law enforcement officers have a different experience. First of all, according to the provisions of Article 37 of the "Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China", for the investigation and evidence collection of illegal restaurants, there must be no less than two environmental law enforcement personnel; according to the provisions of Article 31, the administrative Before imposing an administrative penalty, the agency shall inform the parties of the facts, reasons and basis for the administrative penalty, and inform the parties of the rights they enjoy in accordance with the law; according to the provisions of Article 42, if the party requests a hearing, the administrative agency shall notify the party seven days before the hearing. , notify the parties of the time and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be presided over by an investigator designated by the administrative agency other than the investigator of the case, and a transcript shall be made of the hearing. According to the provisions of Article 38, heavier administrative penalties shall be imposed on complex or serious illegal acts. The heads of administrative agencies shall make decisions through collective discussion. Secondly, according to the provisions of Article 40 of the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, if the party concerned is dissatisfied with the administrative penalty decision, he may, within 15 days from the date of receiving the penalty notice, submit a complaint to the authority that made the penalty decision. The higher-level authority applies for reconsideration; if you are dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision, you may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within 15 days from the date of receipt of the reconsideration decision. According to Article 58 of the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China, if the party concerned is dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment of the People's Court, he or she has the right to appeal to the higher people's court within 15 days from the date of delivery of the judgment. . If the party concerned fails to apply for reconsideration within the time limit, does not file a lawsuit with the People's Court, and fails to implement the penalty decision, the authority that made the penalty decision shall apply to the People's Court for enforcement. Furthermore, although Article 44 of the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the execution of specific administrative actions will not be suspended during the litigation period, the catering industry does not implement the penalty decision, and the environmental protection administrative department does not The power of enforcement cannot do anything about the environmental pollution caused during this period. Even if the parties know that their actions are illegal, they can still make full use of the time limit for investigation and evidence collection and administrative litigation to conduct illegal business and pollute the environment. For example, the environmental administrative lawsuit against Xin Hakka Restaurant in Siming District, Xiamen City went through all the procedures including investigation and evidence collection, administrative penalties, administrative reconsideration, first instance and second instance of the court, and lasted for 14 months. Although it lost the lawsuit in the end, it was still In the entire process of administrative penalties and administrative litigation, the environmental protection administrative department has spent a lot of manpower, financial resources, energy and time. Relative to the effectiveness, environmental law enforcement consumes a lot of cost and time, but the effect is not ideal.

Difficulty No. 4: Unreasonable planning puts restaurants in an embarrassing situation during rectification

Although many restaurant owners sincerely request that they be given the opportunity and time to make rectifications, in fact, Many restaurants are built in residential areas or on the ground floor of residential buildings. Due to limited conditions, some restaurants cannot be rectified at all. The reason is that cities are growing rapidly and planning cannot keep up with the changes. Especially in recent years, with the boom in real estate development, many original industrial communities, township industrial parks, around some old enterprises, and even some enterprises have changed the nature of the land and built commercial housing. Many restaurants are built on the ground floor of commercial housing. . However, during the design and construction process of these commercial buildings, the environmental pollution problem of restaurants was not considered at all, and no special passages were reserved for oil fume pollution from restaurants. This is also an embarrassing situation commonly encountered at present. At present, most of the hot spots and difficulties in environmental complaints are caused by unreasonable planning issues. Because the catering industry is too close to residential areas, noise and oil smoke pollution seriously affect the physical and mental health of surrounding residents. The public has reacted strongly, resulting in numerous complaints about environmental pollution.

From the above analysis, the environmental pollution problems in the catering industry have different characteristics from those of general construction projects. Generally speaking, the business scale is small but the pollution is serious and the impact is large. However, the cost of environmental law enforcement is high, The statute of limitations for litigation is long and the effect is not good.

To this end, in view of the above-mentioned difficult problems, the following suggestions are put forward:

1. Improve and improve relevant environmental laws and regulations, and control environmental pollution in the catering industry from the source

Laws and regulations The formulation has been continuously improved and developed with the development of society and the needs of the situation. Through years of law enforcement practice, we believe that it is necessary to separate the catering industry from construction project management and legislate according to the characteristics of the catering industry. It can also be done in It will be tried first in local environmental legislation, and then it will be upgraded to national law and promoted nationwide when conditions are mature. For example, Articles 34 to 37 of the "Xiamen Environmental Protection Regulations (Revised)" implemented on June 5, 2003 clearly stipulate the environmental management of the catering industry. Among them, Article 36 clearly stipulates: “Operators who operate catering projects that may produce oil smoke or noise pollution shall disclose it in advance and solicit opinions in writing from surrounding units and residents who may be affected, and then report to the environmental protection administrative director in turn. Only after the department approves its environmental impact assessment document, the health administration department issues a health license, and the industry and commerce administration department issues a business license can the operator operate. "This can block environmental violations in the catering industry from the source and minimize them. The cost of law enforcement is reduced and the law enforcement effect is achieved. This is undoubtedly a very useful breakthrough for the environmental management of Xiamen's catering industry, and also provides experience that can be used for reference across the country. To this end, it is recommended that on the basis of the implementation of the "Xiamen Environmental Protection Regulations (Revision)", when the state revise relevant environmental protection laws and regulations, it can elevate local mature practices and experiences to the height of the law, and truly achieve control from the source. Environmental pollution problems in the catering industry.

2. Establish an administrative law enforcement information network and form an effective service mechanism

Generally speaking, the vast majority of enterprises hope to operate in compliance with the law by completing legal procedures. The catering industry No exception. However, due to some reasons such as weak environmental awareness of some catering industry owners, and some lacking knowledge of environmental laws, they have indeed taken many detours. The good news is that they all hope that the government department will give them an opportunity to make rectifications within a time limit, and request the environmental protection administrative department to guide them on how to rectify their problems. Developing the economy is our first priority, and enterprises are the cells of the economy and the main body of economic development. As a functional department of the government, it is our responsibility and obligation to provide services to enterprises. However, the existing management mechanisms are all vertical, with everyone taking care of their own affairs, but what enterprises need is horizontal information. Therefore, it is recommended to use the project as the main line and title to establish an administrative law enforcement information network among various government departments, form an effective departmental joint law enforcement mechanism, and make the relevant matters of administrative approval of various projects public online. For example, by searching online, you can know what laws and regulations you need to know about starting a catering business, what procedures and steps there are, what procedures you need to go through in which departments, what materials you need, etc. This is not only a basic requirement for administration in accordance with the law and governing for the people, but also an effective means to implement project-driven strategies, improve administrative efficiency, and reduce administrative law enforcement costs. Xiamen City has implemented a notification and commitment system for the catering and entertainment industries since April 1, 2004. Some attempts have been made in this regard and certain results have been achieved, which can be gradually improved and promoted.

3. Reasonable planning and establishment of catering concentration areas

Starting with planning is the key to combining the elimination of blockages and preventing environmental pollution problems in the catering industry from the source. For example, Article 34 of the "Xiamen Municipal Environmental Protection Regulations (Revised)" stipulates that the renovation of old cities and the development of new areas should plan and build concentrated catering industry operations areas, and buildings that allow catering industry should set up dedicated passages for catering industry. Article 35 clarifies the locations where new catering projects are prohibited: residential buildings; buildings within 10 meters of residential buildings; buildings without special flues for catering; commercial and residential complex buildings adjacent to residential floors ;Other locations where the Municipal People's Government explicitly prohibits the establishment of catering businesses. These regulations are of great practical significance. Although there are certain difficulties in the implementation process, the Xiamen Municipal Environmental Protection Administration takes the initiative to help enterprises choose reasonable catering business locations, continuously strengthens the construction of catering concentration areas, and strives to start from the source of planning. We have achieved certain results in solving the problem. Taking Huli District of Xiamen City as an example: the built catering concentration area is 68,000 square meters, namely: Jiangtou Tiandi Food City of 36,000 square meters, the third floor of SM City of 8,000 square meters, the original Heshan Town Agricultural Machinery Factory of 4,000 square meters and the Bamboo The Keng Road catering street covers an area of ??20,000 square meters; the catering concentration area under construction is about 30,000 square meters; the concentration area to be built is about 80,000 square meters.

The above-mentioned catering concentration areas that have been built, are under construction, and are to be built are approximately 178,000 square meters. Xiamen City’s successful experience in rational planning and establishment of catering concentration areas deserves to be promoted nationwide.

4. Integrate with the creation of green communities and strengthen the publicity and popularization of environmental laws and regulations

In real life, most environmental pollution problems in the catering industry occur in communities. For example, China-Hong Kong Garden and Yongsheng New Town in Xiamen are hot spots for complaints. Article 8 of the "Fujian Provincial Environmental Protection Regulations" stipulates: "Citizens have the right to enjoy a good environment and the obligation to protect the environment. Any unit or individual has the right to report and accuse units and individuals that pollute and damage the environment; the right to Demand compensation for environmental pollution damage." Environmental rights and obligations are complementary to each other. It is recommended to combine legal education and green community activities, give full play to the role of neighborhood committees, property companies and other units, widely publicize environmental protection laws and regulations, and mobilize all sectors of society to publicize and protect everyone** * A certain environment, forming a good atmosphere in which everyone is responsible for environmental protection and everyone participates in environmental protection, so that the people can produce and live in a good environment. While the public participates in supervising the law-abiding operations of the catering industry, it also protects everyone's common living environment. The environmental protection administrative departments should gradually make the concept of environmental protection known to every household, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and become a conscious action of every citizen by increasing publicity efforts. [Written by Guan Yanzhu, Xiamen Municipal Party Committee]