Regulations on Planning Environmental Impact Assessment

Document No.: Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No. 559

Regulations on Planning Environmental Impact Assessment

**Chapter General Provisions

**In order to strengthen the environmental impact assessment of planning, improve the scientificity of planning, prevent environmental pollution and ecological damage from the source, and promote the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of economy, society and environment, this regulation is formulated in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China.

**The relevant departments of the State Council, local people's governments at or above the city level with districts, and their relevant departments shall conduct environmental impact assessments on the land use plans and the construction, development and utilization plans of regions, watersheds, and sea areas (hereinafter referred to as comprehensive plans) formulated by them, as well as the relevant special plans for industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, energy, water conservancy, transportation, urban construction, tourism, and natural resource development (hereinafter referred to as special plans).

The specific scope of the plan that should undergo environmental impact assessment in accordance with the provisions of paragraph * * of this article shall be formulated by the competent department of environmental protection under the State Council in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, and shall be implemented after approval by the State Council.

Article 3: Environmental impact assessment of planning shall follow the principles of objectivity, openness, and impartiality.

Article 4: The state shall establish a system for sharing information on planning environmental impact assessments.

County level and above people's governments and their relevant departments shall implement information sharing on the materials required for planning environmental impact assessments.

Article 5: The expenses required for planning environmental impact assessments shall be included in the fiscal budget in accordance with the provisions of budget management, strictly managed for expenditure, and subject to audit supervision.

Article 6: Any unit or individual has the right to report to the planning approval authority, planning preparation authority, or environmental protection department any behavior that violates the provisions of these Regulations or has a significant adverse environmental impact during the implementation of the plan. After receiving a report, relevant departments should investigate and handle it in accordance with the law.