The Shanxi Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Shanxi Department of Ecology and Environment issued the 2020 Battle Plan for Ultra-Low Emissions in the Steel Industry of Shanxi Province (the “Plan”) to the 11 Municipal Bureaus of Industry and Information Technology and Bureaus of Ecology and Environment. The Plan requires all relevant provincial departments to accurately benchmark the ultra-low emission targets of the steel industry, and to promote industrial structure adjustment to achieve ultra-low emissions in the steel industry. The Plan identified Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, four cities in the surrounding areas, four cities in Fenwei Plain, and the “1+30” key area in Taiyuan and surrounding areas as the main battlefields to heavily promote industrial structure adjustment in order to achieve ultra-low emissions in the steel industry.
The Plan clearly states that the entire steel industry (including the steel conglomerates, independent ironmaking industry, independent pellet industry, casting (pellet) or blast furnaces, and ferroalloy industry) in the province must complete the ultra-low emission targets by October 1, 2020. According to the 2019 Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment, certain industries must simultaneously complete the target of transitioning to clean transportation of 80% of their bulk materials and products through railway, pipeline, tubular conveyor belt, etc., while continued use of automobile transportation will require the use of new energy vehicles or vehicles that meet China V emissions standards or above.
The law will be strictly supervised and enforced. Enterprises that exhibit serious illegal sewage discharge or do not implement the ultra-low emissions reform will be forced to suspend production for rectification or shutdown, according to the law.
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