Beijing mulls strict sewage discharge plans

(cri)
Updated: 2008-08-22 11:13

Beijing will crack down on companies causing heavy pollution and plans to impose a vehicular pollution discharge fee after the Olympic Games, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau announced at a meeting on Wednesday.

According to the Beijing News, Zhao Fengtong, vice mayor of Beijing, said that the air quality in China's capital city has remained well within Olympic standards since the Olympics kicked off at the beginning of this month.

After the games, Beijing's environmental protection work will focus on those high-polluting companies. If they can't reach the standards within the time limit, they will be shut down.

Beijing will also enhance controls on auto exhaust emissions and establish a new regulatory system for motor vehicle users.

Foggy days a week ahead of the opening of the Olympics raised concerns over Beijing's air quality, so the municipal environmental protection authority immediately implemented temporary pollution control measures to counteract the weather conditions.

Neighboring Tianjin Municipality, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region helped reduce smog over the capital by closing major factories, removing high-emission cars from roads, and restoring vegetation on the grasslands.