Sichuan Nanchong: 238 Projects' Environmental Impact Assessments Efficiently Implemented, Ecological Protection for 30 Billion RMB Investment

On February 27th, the Nanchong Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau held a press conference to report on the city's measures to optimize the business environment in the ecological environment sector and promote high - quality economic development in 2024. Data shows that the city efficiently approved environmental impact assessment (EIA) documents for 238 construction projects, involving a total investment of 30 billion RMB. The EIA approval efficiency was increased by over 70%, and flexible law enforcement measures exempted enterprises from 33 million RMB in fines, achieving coordinated progress in ecological protection and economic development.

Zhang Xu, a member of the bureau's leadership team and chief engineer, introduced that the city has focused on deepening the "decentralization, management, and service" reform to solve bottlenecks in the EIA process. By delegating approval authority for 54 major items and 145 minor items to counties (cities, districts), the city has enabled enterprises to "handle matters nearby." The approval deadlines for environmental impact assessment reports and forms have been shortened to 20 and 6 working days, respectively. The city has also piloted innovative models such as "commitment - based approval" and "bundled approval," realizing "approval before review" to help projects land and start production sooner.

For key projects, Nanchong has established a "provincial and municipal key project EIA service guarantee list" and formed special teams to provide full - process services. It has implemented "tolerance - based acceptance" for projects lacking minor materials and launched a pre - review mechanism for complex projects. The city has coordinated and resolved more than 100 difficulties related to total emission indicators and EIA preparation throughout the year.

While strictly guarding the ecological red line, Nanchong has explored differentiated regulatory paths. Zhao Zhiming, head of the city's ecological environment law enforcement detachment, said that in 2024, through measures such as "non - on - site inspection" and "error - tolerance and correction," the city pushed 1,586 abnormal information alerts to enterprises, precisely investigated and dealt with 15 illegal cases, and exempted 24 enterprises from 33 million RMB in administrative penalties. In addition, the city organized 35 environmental protection training sessions, provided guidance to more than 150 enterprises, and resolved more than 90 environmental issues, promoting a shift in law enforcement from "heavy - on - punishment" to "heavy - on - service."

Nanchong has strengthened mid - and post - EIA supervision, strictly controlling three key aspects: environmental access, EIA quality, and law enforcement supervision. The city has rejected projects that do not meet environmental requirements throughout the year and strictly investigated illegal activities such as "construction without approval" and "discharge without a permit." Liu Mingxing, director of the Economic Development Zone Branch of the Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau, said that as the main battlefield for industrial economy, the Economic Development Zone has provided full - process support for green transformation from pre - project consultation, in - process tracking to post - production services. Typical cases include coordinating with experts to solve technological challenges in new material projects, achieving a win - win situation for industrial upgrading and ecological protection.

Ecological protection and economic development are never mutually exclusive choices. When the business environment and green mountains and clear waters complement each other, the answer to high - quality development will naturally be full of vitality and hope. From "decentralization and empowerment" to "flexible law enforcement," from "element guarantee" to "source control," Nanchong will continue to adhere to the "1558" working approach and the strategy of "industry - driven city and industry - based city," promoting high - quality economic development with high - level ecological environment protection, and injecting green energy into the construction of the Chengdu - Chongqing Economic Circle. (By Yi Qinghai and Tang Min)