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Cases / Oil, gas and coal operations · China · 2016–2018

Chinese appeal court did not make chemical firms pay remediation at Changzhou

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

In 2018 the Jiangsu Higher People's Court did not require chemical firms to pay remediation costs at the Changzhou toxic land site, and the state carried out the clean-up. Separately, China's environment ministry said the Guigang treatment plant had sent 13,600 tonnes of sludge to unsuitable sites and falsified more than 30 documents before inspection.

What?
The chemical firms at Changzhou were not ordered to pay remediation costs, and the state carried out the clean-up, Beijing News reported. Beijing News (新京报)
Where?
Changzhou, Jiangsu province, China; and the Guigang treatment plant, China.
When?
Ruling in December 2018; ministry statement in October 2018. Beijing News (新京报)
Who?
Gained
  • Changzhou chemical firms — No remediation cost imposed; paid an apology and 230,000 yuan in costs Beijing News (新京报)
Lost
Harmed
  • Land and water near the unsuitable sludge sites — Sludge placed in unsuitable locations, per the ministry
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Remediation liability was not passed to the chemical firms at Changzhou; at Guigang, sludge was placed in unsuitable locations and documents were falsified before inspection.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In December 2018 the second-instance ruling in the Changzhou toxic land case did not impose remediation costs on the chemical firms; they paid an apology and 230,000 yuan in costs (Beijing News).

The state carried out the remediation of the site, according to the same report.

In October 2018 the environment ministry reported that the Guigang treatment plant had placed 13,600 tonnes of sludge in unsuitable locations and falsified more than 30 documents before an inspection.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2018-12Defendant won
      Changzhou toxic land case (second instance)
      Jiangsu Higher People's Court · Civil · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Chemical firms at the Changzhou site

      The court did not impose remediation costs on the firms; they paid an apology and 230,000 yuan in costs, and the state carried out the remediation. Beijing News (新京报)

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The claimant in the Changzhou case is not named in the sources reviewed.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: in 2016 hundreds of children fell ill at a school near the Changzhou site, and NGOs sued two clean-up firms.
    • Unclear Whether the Guigang plant operator faced any penalty is not stated.
    • None on record No personal penalties for officials or managers are recorded.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. 新京报: 常州毒地案二审宣判
      Beijing News (新京报) · 2018-12

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