Legislators review draft decision on revising marine environment law

Legislators on Tuesday deliberated a draft revision to the Marine Environment Protection Law, which proposes harsher penalties for violators.

The revised provisions were submitted to legislators for a second reading at the bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Provisions in the draft decision suggest violators, who are implicated in major pollution of ocean waters, could face fines of up to 30 percent of the direct losses caused by the pollution, compared with the current maximum fine of 300,000 yuan (about 44,000 U.S. dollars).

The revision also clarifies that violators must compensate for causing pollution, in addition to the proposed fines.

Some articles in the current law will also be modified so that they chime with the Environmental Protection Law, which took effect last year, according to the draft decision.

Hailing the revision as necessary, legislators suggested that it should be approved at the current session, which began Monday,

The Marine Environment Protection Law was enacted in 1982 and revised in 1999. Endi