The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment announced several measures to promote the high-quality development of environmental management in the Lin-gang Special Area on June 4. 

A new environmental impact assessment system will take effect on July 1, according to the measures.

About 60 percent of projects in the Lin-gang Special Area will be exempted from the EIA procedures, which will further shorten the preparation and approval time of EIA documents and significantly improve the efficiency of administrative approval.

The measures are aimed at promoting the high-quality green development of Lin-gang and exploring reform of the environmental management system.

All projects that were required to be put on record in the original environmental impact registration form will be exempted from EIA procedures, and so will projects which have already prepared environmental impact reports.

Construction units may apply for pollutant discharge permits when applying for EIA approval of new projects.

The environmental management system will be optimized, and the EIA approval process will be simplified. If the total additional emissions of a single major pollutant is less than 0.5 ton/year (including 0.5 ton/year), the source statement of the total amount of major pollutants can be exempted. During the compilation and approval of the EIA documents, a five-working day period of public information on the EIA document will be held to solicit public opinion.

In order to promote government services, a green channel for EIA approval of major projects will be established, environmental data will be shared and environmental protection regulations for relevant industries will be formed.

Different forms of environmental supervision will be conducted according to the ecological environment credit of firms.