• Issuing Authority： Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
• Document Number： Order No. 31 of the President
• Date Issued： 08-29-2015
• Effective Date： 01-01-2016
• Level of Authority： Laws
• Area of Law：Environmental Protection

Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No. 31)
The Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, as revised, has been adopted at the 16th session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on August 29, 2015, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on January 1, 2016.
President of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping
August 29, 2015

Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China
(Adopted at the 22nd session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 5, 1987, amended according to the Decision on Amending the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China as adopted at the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on August 29, 1995, revised for the first time at the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 29, 2000, and revised for the second time at the 16th session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on August 29, 2015)

Table of Contents

Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Standards and Plans for Reaching Standards within the Prescribed Time
Chapter III Supervision and Administration of Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control
Chapter IV Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Measures
Section 1 Prevention and Control of Pollution from Burning Coal and Other Energy
Section 2 Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control
Section 3 Prevention and Control of Pollution from Motor-driven Vehicles and Vessels
Section 4 Prevention and Control of Dust Pollution
Section 5 Prevention and Control of Agricultural and Other Pollution
Chapter V Joint Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution in Key Areas
Chapter VI Response to Heavy Air Pollution Weather
Chapter VII Legal Liabilities
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is developed for the purpose of protecting and improving the environment, preventing and controlling atmospheric pollution, safeguarding the health of the general public, enhancing ecological civilization, and promoting the sustainable development of economy and society. 　
Article 2 Atmospheric pollution prevention and control shall aim at improving the quality of the atmospheric environment, adhere to regulation from the source, make plans first, transform the economic development mode, optimize industry structure and layout, and adjust the energy structure. 　
Atmospheric pollution prevention and control shall strengthen the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution from coal, industry, motor-driven vehicles and vessels, dust, and agriculture, promote joint prevention and control of regional atmospheric pollution, and conduct cooperative control of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gas such as particles, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, and ammonia, etc.
Article 3 The people's governments at and above the county level shall include atmospheric pollution prevention and control in the national economic and social development planning and increase financial support for it. The local people's governments at all levels shall be responsible for the quality of the atmospheric environment of their respective administrative regions, make plans, take measures, control or gradually reduce the discharge of atmospheric pollutants, and make the atmospheric environment quality reach the prescribed standards and gradually improve it.
Article 4 The environmental protection administrative department under the State Council shall, jointly with other relevant departments under the State Council, evaluate the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government regarding the achievement of goals of improving the quality of atmospheric environment and the completion of key atmospheric pollution prevention and control tasks. The people's governments of each province, autonomous region and municipality directly under the Central Government shall evaluate the achievement of goals of improving the quality of atmospheric environment and the completion of key atmospheric pollution prevention and control task within their respective administrative regions. The evaluation results shall be made available to the general public. 　
Article 5 The environmental protection administrative departments of the people's governments at and above the county level shall oversee and regulate the atmospheric pollution prevention and control in a unified way. Other relevant departments of the people's governments at and above the county level shall oversee and regulate the atmospheric pollution prevention and control within the scope of their functions.
Article 6 The state encourages and supports the scientific and technological research of atmospheric pollution prevention and control, analyzes the sources and development trends of atmospheric pollution, promotes the use of advanced and applicable technologies and equipment for atmospheric pollution prevention and control, enhances the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and gives play to the supporting role of science and technology in atmospheric pollution prevention and control. 　
Article 7 Enterprises, public institutions, and other business entities shall take effective measures to prevent or reduce atmospheric pollution and shall assume legal responsibility for the damage they have caused. Citizens shall increase their awareness of protecting the atmospheric environment, take to low-carbon and economical lifestyles, and voluntarily fulfill their obligations of protecting the atmospheric environment.

Chapter II Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Standards and Plans for Reaching Standards within the Prescribed Time

Article 8 When developing atmospheric environment quality standards, the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council or the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall aim at safeguarding the public health and protecting the ecological environment, adapt to economic and social development, and ensure that they are scientific and reasonable. 　
Article 9 When developing atmospheric pollutant discharge standards, the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council or the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall take atmospheric environment quality standards and the economic and technical conditions of the state as basis. 　
Article 10 In the development of atmospheric environment quality standards and atmospheric pollutant discharge standards, it is required to organize experts for examination and demonstration and solicit the opinions of relevant authorities, industry associations, enterprises, public institutions, and the general public. 　
Article 11 The environmental protection administrative department of a people's government at or above the provincial level shall publish atmospheric environment quality standards and atmospheric pollutant discharge standards on its website for the access of the general public and download free of charge. 　
Article 12 The implementation of atmospheric environment quality standards and atmospheric pollutant discharge standards shall be evaluated on a regular basis, and revisions shall be made according to the evaluation results when necessary. 　
Article 13 In the development of quality standards for products containing volatile organic compounds, such as coal, petroleum coke, biomass fuel, and coatings, fireworks and firecrackers, boilers, etc., the atmospheric environment protection requirements shall be specified. Fuel quality standards shall comply with the atmospheric pollutant control requirements of the state and shall be consistent and simultaneously implemented with the atmospheric pollutant discharge standards of the state for motor-driven vehicles and vessels and non-road mobile machinery. The term “non-road mobile machinery” as mentioned in the preceding paragraph means mobile machines and transportable industrial equipment with engines.
Article 14 The people's governments of cities failing to reach the national atmospheric environment quality standards shall timely make plans for reaching atmospheric environment quality standards within the prescribed time and take measures to reach atmospheric environment quality standards within the time limit specified by the State Council or the provincial people's governments. 　
In the making of plans for reaching atmospheric environment quality standards within the prescribed time, it is required to solicit the opinions of relevant industry associations, enterprises, public institutions, experts, and the general public.
Article 15 A plan made for a city to reach atmospheric environment quality standards within a prescribed time shall be made public. The plan made for a municipality directly under the Central Government or a districted city for reaching atmospheric environment quality standards within a prescribed time shall be submitted to the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council for recordation. 　
Article 16 When reporting the environment condition and the achievement of environmental protection goals to the people's congress at the same level or the standing committee thereof, the people's government of a city shall report the implementation of the plan for reaching atmospheric environment quality standards within the prescribed time and shall make such information available to the public. 　
Article 17 The plan of a city to reach atmospheric environment quality standards within the prescribed time shall be evaluated and revised according to the atmospheric pollution prevention and control requirements and the economic and technical conditions when necessary. 　

Chapter III Supervision and Administration of Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control

Article 18 When building projects that have an impact on atmospheric environment, enterprises, public institutions, and other business entities shall conduct environmental impact assessments and publish the environmental impact assessment documents according to the law; when discharging pollutants to the atmosphere, they shall conform to the atmospheric pollutant discharge standards and abide by the total quantity control requirements for the discharge of key atmospheric pollutants. 　
Article 19 Enterprises and public institutions discharging industrial waste gases or the toxic or hazardous atmospheric pollutants listed in the catalogue specified in Article 78 of this Law, business entities using coal heat sources for central heating facilities, and other entities subject to pollutant discharging licensing administration shall obtain a pollutant discharge license. The specific measures and implementation steps for pollutant discharge licensing shall be determined by the State Council. 　
Article 20 Enterprises, public institutions, and other business entities discharging pollutants to the atmosphere shall set atmospheric pollutant discharge outlets according to the laws, regulations, and the provisions of the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council. It is prohibited to discharge atmospheric pollutants by means of evading supervision such as secretly discharging pollutants, altering or forging monitoring data, suspending production for the purpose of evading on-site inspection, opening emergency discharge channels under non-emergent situations, or operating atmospheric pollution prevention and control facilities in an abnormal manner.
Article 21 The state exercises total volume control over the discharge of key atmospheric pollutants. The total volume control targets for the discharge of key atmospheric pollutants shall be reported by the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council, after soliciting the opinions of relevant departments under the State Council and the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, together with the general administrative department of economics under the State Council to the State Council for approval before being assigned for implementation.
The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, according to the total volume control targets assigned by the State Council, control or cut the total discharge volume of key atmospheric pollutants in their respective administrative regions. The specific measures for determining and disassembling the total volume control targets shall be developed by the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council together with relevant departments under the State Council. The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in view of the atmospheric pollution prevention and control needs in their respective administrative regions, exercise total volume control over the discharge of atmospheric pollutants other than those under the intensified supervision of the state. The state will gradually promote the trading of the right to discharge key atmospheric pollutants.
Article 22 For an area which exceeds the state's total discharge volume control indicators of key atmospheric pollutants or fails to achieve the atmospheric environmental quality objectives assigned by the state, the environmental protection administrative department of the people's government at or above the provincial level shall hold interviews with the chief person-in-charge of the people's government of the area together with relevant departments, and suspend the procedures for approving the environmental impact assessment documents on construction projects in the area that will increase the total discharge volume of key atmospheric pollutants. The interview process shall be made open to the public. 　
Article 23 The environmental protection administrative department under the State Council shall be responsible for developing atmospheric environmental quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring and assessment norms, organizing the building of and managing the national atmospheric environmental quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring net, organizing atmospheric environmental quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring activities, and releasing information about the national atmospheric environmental quality condition in a unified way. The environmental protection administrative department of a local people's government at or above the county level shall be responsible for organizing the building of and managing the atmospheric environmental quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring net for the administrative region, conducting atmospheric environmental quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring, and releasing information about atmospheric environmental quality condition in the administrative region in a unified way.
Article 24 Enterprises, public institutions, and other business entities shall, according to relevant provisions and monitoring norms of the state, monitor the industrial waste gases and the toxic and hazardous atmospheric pollutants listed in the catalogue mentioned in Article 78 of this Law they have discharged, and preserve the original monitoring records. In particular, pollutant discharging entities under intensified supervision shall install and use automatic atmospheric pollutant discharge monitoring equipment, stay connected to the monitoring equipment of the environmental protection administrative departments, ensure the normal functioning of the monitoring equipment, and publish the discharge information according to law. The specific measures for monitoring and the conditions for pollutant discharging entities under intensified supervision shall be determined by the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council. 　
The list of pollutant discharging entities under intensified supervision shall be determined by the environmental protection administrative department of the local people's government at or above the level of districted city by consulting relevant departments in view of the atmospheric environmental carrying capacity, the total discharge volume control indicators for key atmospheric pollutants, and the variety, quantity, and concentration of the atmospheric pollutants discharged by pollutant discharging entities in the administrative region and shall be made public.
Article 25 Pollutant discharging entities under intensified supervision shall be responsible for the veracity and accuracy of automatic monitoring data. If discovering any unusual circumstance in the data transmission of the automatic atmospheric pollutant discharge monitoring equipment of any pollutant discharging entity under intensified supervision, the environmental protection administrative department shall conduct an investigation in a timely manner. 　
Article 26 It is prohibited to misappropriate, destroy, move or alter without approval atmospheric environment quality monitoring equipment or automatic atmospheric pollutant discharge monitoring equipment. 　
Article 27 The state shall apply an elimination system to the techniques, equipment, and products that cause serious pollution to the atmospheric environment. The general administrative department of economics under the State Council shall, together with other relevant departments under the State Council, determine the time limits for elimination of the techniques, equipment, and products that cause serious pollution to the atmospheric environment and include them in the catalogue of comprehensive industrial policies of the state. Producers, importers, distributors, and users shall stop producing, importing, selling or using the equipment and products in the catalogue as mentioned in the preceding paragraph within the prescribed time limits. Technique adopters shall stop adopting the techniques listed in the catalogue as mentioned in the preceding paragraph within the prescribed time limits. Eliminated equipment and products shall not be transferred to anyone else for use.
Article 28 The environmental protection administrative department under the State Council shall, together with other relevant departments, establish an atmospheric pollution damage assessment system and improve it. 　
Article 29 Environmental protection administrative departments, the environmental supervision institutions authorized by them, and other departments with environmental protection regulatory functions shall have the authority to, by means of on-site inspection and monitoring, automatic monitoring, remote sensing monitoring, and remote infra-red photographing, oversee and inspect the enterprises, public institutions, and other business entities that discharge atmospheric pollutants. Entities under inspection shall honestly provide relevant information and necessary materials. Inspecting departments or institutions and the staff members thereof shall keep confidential the trade secrets of the entities under inspection. 　
Article 30 For enterprises, public institutions, and other business entities that discharge atmospheric pollutants in violation of any law or regulation, if it has caused or is likely to cause serious atmospheric pollution, or relevant evidence is likely to be destroyed or concealed, the environmental protection administrative departments of the people's governments at and above the county level and other departments with environmental protection regulatory functions may seize, impound or take other compulsory administrative measures for relevant facilities, equipment, and articles. 　
Article 31 Environmental protection administrative departments and other departments with environmental protection regulatory functions shall publish their tip-off hotlines and e-mail accounts to for the convenience of the general public to make tip-offs. After receiving a tip-off, an environmental protection administrative department or any other department with environmental protection regulatory functions shall timely handle the tip-off and keep the tipster's information confidential. If the tip-off is reported in real name, the tipster shall be informed of the handling result, and if the tip-off is verified as true, the handling result shall be disclosed to the public according to the law and the tipster shall be rewarded. Where a tipster makes a tip-off against his or her employer, the employer shall not retaliate against the tipster by means of rescinding or modifying the employment contract with the tipster.

Chapter IV Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Measures

Section 1 Prevention and Control of Pollution from Coal and Other Energy
 
Article 32 Relevant departments under the State Council and local people's governments at all levels shall take measures to revamp the energy structure, promote the production and use of clean energy, optimize the use of coal, promote the clean and efficient utilization of coal, gradually reduce the proportion of coal in primary energy consumption, and reduce the discharge of atmospheric pollutants in the production, use, and transformation of coal. 　
Article 33 The state promotes the washing processing of coal for the purpose of reducing the sulfur and ash in coal, and restricting the mining of high-sulfur or high-ash coal. When building a new coal mine, supporting facilities for the washing of coal shall be built simultaneously so as to ensure that the sulfur and ash in coal are within the prescribed limits. For an existing coal mine, supporting facilities for the washing of coal shall be built within the prescribed time, unless the coal mined is low-sulfur or low-ash coal or washing is not required by the relevant coal-fired power plant that has reached the discharge standards. It is prohibited to mine coal with radioactive, arsenic, and other toxic or harmful substances beyond the prescribed limits.
Article 34 The state adopts economic and technical policies and measures conducive to the clean and efficient utilization of coal and encourages and supports the development and popularization of clean coal technology. The state encourages coal enterprises and other business entities to adopt reasonable and feasible technologies and measures to exploit coal seam gas and comprehensively utilize coal gangue. Those engaged in the exploitation of coal seam gas shall discharge coal seam gas in compliance with relevant standards and norms.
Article 35 The state bans the import, sale, and use of coal that fails to meet the quality standards and encourages the use of quality coal. Entities stored with materials such as coal, coal gangue, coal cinder, and coal ash shall take flameproof measures to prevent atmospheric pollution.
Article 36 Local people's governments at all levels shall take measures to strengthen the management of scattered coal for civil uses, ban the sale of coal that fails to meet the quality standards for scattered coal for civil uses, encourage residents to use quality coal and clean coal, and promote energy-saving and environment-friendly stoves. 　
Article 37 Petroleum refining enterprises shall produce fuel oil according to the quality standards for fuel oil. It is prohibited to import, sell or burn petrol coke that fails to meet the quality standards.
Article 38 Urban people's governments may delimit and publish combustion forbidden zones of high-pollution fuels and, in view of the atmospheric environment quality improvement requirements, gradually enlarge such zones. The catalogue of high-pollution fuels shall be determined by the environmental protection administrative department under the State Council. 　 In combustion forbidden zones, it is prohibited to sell and use high-pollution fuels and build or expand facilities burning high-pollution fuels. Those already built shall replace high-pollution fuels with natural gas, shale gas, liquefied petroleum gas, electricity or other clean energy within the time limits as specified by the urban people's governments.
Article 39 In urban construction, overall arrangements and plans shall be made to promote combined heating and power and centralized heat supply. In areas covered by the centralized heat supply network, it is prohibited to build or expand decentralized coal-fueled heat supply boilers, and those existing coal-fueled heat boilers that fail to reach the discharge standards shall be demolished within the time limits as specified by the urban people's governments. 　
Article 40 The quality supervision departments of the people's governments at and above the county level shall, together with the environmental protection administrative departments, oversee and inspect the implementation of environmental protection standards or requirements in the production, import, sale, and use of boilers. Those failing to meet the environmental protection standards or requirements shall not be produced, imported, sold or used. 　
Article 41 Coal-fueled power plants and other coal-fueled entities shall adopt clean production techniques, establish dust removal, desulfurization, denitration, and other supporting devices, or carry out technical transformation or take other measures to control the discharge of atmospheric pollutants. The state encourages coal-fired entities to use advanced dust removal, desulfurization, denitration, demercurilization, and other technologies and devices for the cooperative control of atmospheric pollutants to reduce the discharge of atmospheric pollutants.
Article 42 In electric power dispatch, electricity generated by clean energy shall be fed into the power grid with priority. 　

Section 2 Prevention and Control of Industrial Pollution

Article 43 Steel, building materials, nonferrous metals, petroleum, chemical engineering, and other enterprises that discharge dust, sulfide or nitrogen oxide in the production process shall adopt clean production techniques and build dust removal, desulfurization, denigration, and other supporting devices, or carry out technical transformation or take other measures to control the discharge of atmospheric pollutants. 　
Article 44 In the production, import, sale, and use of raw materials and products containing volatile organic compounds, the content of volatile organic compounds shall meet the quality standards or requirements. 　
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