Fujian criticized for coastal sea pollution

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Tuesday told the government of east China's Fujian Province that it was concerned about the lack of control over pollution near its shore.

According to a recent SOA inspection group, there are a total of 2,678 outlets across the province that discharge pollution from inland to the sea, 799 of which discharge sewage from the animal husbandry industry.

Some sewage treatment plants were even built inside a wetland nature reserve, while the outlets of some other plants failed to meet the requirements of Fujian's marine function zoning.

Of 262 permitted land reclamation projects, 61 did not implement tracking supervision over the environment.

The group also criticized the Fujian government for its lack of supervision of marine reserves, as problems existed including illicit businesses on beaches, occupation of sea areas and establishment of docks without permission.

Ineffective control of the sources of floating waste at sea, and illicit exploitation of uninhabited islets were also among the environmental problems.

Moreover, the SOA has criticized the provincial government for other issues such as inadequate implementation of the country's policies on land reclamation, non-standard approvals of land reclamation programs and weak law enforcement and monitoring.

The Fujian government was thus told to submit a plan for rectification within 30 working days and report on progress in six months. Enditem