According to the case, is the disposal of hazardous waste not standardized? Be careful of any criminal implications!
发布时间：2024-02-23Hazardous waste has become a high-risk area for environmental criminal cases. Understanding the legal red line of hazardous waste management, controlling environmental legal risks in operation, identifying the attributes of solid waste and hazardous waste in production have become essential skills and knowledge for enterprise solid waste management. Today, the editor will take you to learn about learning together.
classic case
On October 10, 2022, law enforcement officers received a report from the public that chemical dyes had been thrown along the roadside in Zongtang Village, Nianli Street, Yiwu City. Law enforcement officers immediately rushed to the scene for investigation and found abandoned plastic spray towers and plastic water tanks, as well as scattered paint residues on the muddy ground along the road. After investigation, it was confirmed that the abandoned spray tower and water tank were waste gas treatment facilities replaced by a handicraft company in Yiwu City. The company sold the waste gas treatment facilities and internal paint residue to Wu, an operator without a hazardous waste operation license. Our bureau immediately contacted a company with hazardous waste disposal qualifications to carry out on-site cleaning and weighing, with a total weight of 4.94 tons.
On November 15, 2022, our bureau transferred the suspected environmental crime case to the Yiwu Public Security Bureau. On July 24, 2023, the Yiwu People's Procuratorate made a decision not to prosecute the enterprise. On August 2, 2023, our bureau restarted the administrative penalty process for the case. For the enterprise's behavior of providing hazardous waste or entrusting it to unlicensed units, we ordered immediate correction and imposed a fine of 600000 yuan.
Case analysis
The illegal disposal of hazardous waste exceeding 3 tons is considered a serious environmental pollution behavior and constitutes the crime of environmental pollution. It will be subject to severe judicial sanctions.
Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Environmental Pollution (Fa Shi [2016] No. 29)
First article; The act of implementing the provisions of Article 338 of the Criminal Law shall be deemed as "serious environmental pollution" if it falls under one of the following circumstances: (2) illegally discharging, dumping, or disposing of more than three tons of hazardous waste.
Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste
Article 80, Paragraph 3; It is prohibited to provide or entrust hazardous waste to unlicensed units or other producers and operators for collection, storage, utilization, and disposal activities.
Article 102, Paragraph 1, Item 7, Paragraph 2; Those who violate the provisions of this Law and engage in any of the following behaviors shall be ordered by the competent ecological and environmental department to make corrections, fined, and their illegal gains confiscated; If the circumstances are serious, with the approval of the people's government with approval power, it may be ordered to suspend business or close down: （4） Providing or entrusting hazardous waste to unlicensed units or other producers and operators for business activities
For any of the behaviors mentioned in the third, fourth, tenth, or eleventh items of the preceding paragraph, a fine of not less than three times but not more than five times the required disposal fees shall be imposed. If the required disposal fees are less than 200000 yuan, it shall be calculated as 200000 yuan.
Legal advice
1. Containers and packaging materials for hazardous waste, as well as facilities and sites for collecting, storing, transporting, utilizing, and disposing of hazardous waste, shall be equipped with hazardous waste identification signs in accordance with regulations.
2. Units that generate hazardous waste shall formulate hazardous waste management plans in accordance with relevant national regulations; Establish a hazardous waste management ledger, truthfully record relevant information, and declare the types, production quantities, flow directions, storage, disposal, and other relevant information of hazardous waste to the local ecological and environmental authorities through the national hazardous waste information management system.
Units that generate hazardous waste shall store, utilize, and dispose of hazardous waste in accordance with relevant national regulations and environmental protection standards, and shall not dump or pile up hazardous waste without authorization.
4. It is prohibited to provide or entrust hazardous waste to unlicensed units or other producers for collection, storage, utilization, and disposal activities.
5. The collection and storage of hazardous waste should be classified according to the characteristics of the hazardous waste; Prohibit the mixed collection, storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste with incompatible properties that have not been safely disposed of; Storage of hazardous waste should take protective measures that comply with national environmental protection standards. Prohibit mixing hazardous waste with non hazardous waste for storage; Units engaged in the collection, storage, utilization, and disposal of hazardous waste shall not store hazardous waste for more than one year; If it is necessary to extend the deadline, it shall be approved by the ecological environment regulatory department that issued the permit.
6. For the transfer of hazardous waste, electronic or paper transfer forms for hazardous waste should be filled out and operated in accordance with relevant national regulations; For the transfer of hazardous waste across provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, an application should be made to the ecological environment department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality where the transfer is to be carried out; Unauthorized transfer is not allowed.
