Enterprises must assume primary responsibility for pollution control, a demand made clear by Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, during his inspection tour in Ningxia.
From July 11 to 12, Huang visited Yinchuan, Shizuishan, and Guyuan, conducting on-site checks on a range of ecological and environmental topics. At the Pingluo County Industrial Park in Shizuishan, he reviewed pollution control facility operation logs and emission data from coking, ferroalloy smelting, and carbon production enterprises, and observed the performance of waste gas treatment and automatic monitoring equipment.
Huang stated that regulators must strengthen day-to-day oversight and guide enterprises to rapidly address deficiencies in pollution control. Meanwhile, illegal acts such as falsifying automatic monitoring data, excessive emissions, and unlicensed discharge should be severely penalized. He also emphasized the need to carry out thorough investigations and rectifications in key industries and industrial clusters, establish long-term mechanisms by drawing inferences from one case, and promote sustained improvement in regional air quality.
Industrial solid waste disposal was another focus of the inspection. Huang visited an illegally stacked coal gangue site to understand risk control, rectification progress, and follow-up disposal plans. He stressed that governance and restoration measures must be improved, with ongoing monitoring of surface water, groundwater, and soil quality to ensure full-process control and prevent impacts on the surrounding ecology. The principles of reduction, resource utilization, and harmless treatment should be followed to accelerate the handling of accumulated problems and firmly uphold the bottom line of ecological and environmental safety.
Rural environmental governance also received attention. In Mazhuang Village and Taozhuang Village in Guyuan, Huang inspected the progress in domestic sewage treatment and livestock pollution prevention. He called for stronger supervision of sewage treatment facility operations and third-party maintenance, with a focus on eliminating black and odorous water bodies. In the livestock sector, manure collection and storage must be standardized, resource utilization should be enhanced, and a sustainable model integrating planting and breeding with agricultural and pastoral cycles should be accelerated.
The final part of the inspection focused on ecological value realization and biodiversity protection. At Yejia Village in Jingyuan County and the Liupan Mountains Biodiversity Exhibition Hall in Guyuan, Huang learned about the mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products, the establishment of ecological civilization demonstration zones, and the conservation of biodiversity in the Liupan Mountains. He stressed the importance of leveraging local ecological resources and improving value realization mechanisms to achieve integrated ecological, economic, and social benefits. Furthermore, he emphasized integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, implementing major biodiversity projects, and strengthening surveys, monitoring, and assessments, so as to enhance the diversity and stability of ecosystems and build a critical ecological security barrier for northwest China.
Participants in the inspection included responsible officials of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region government, heads of relevant departments and dispatched agencies of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the principal officials of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Ningxia.