Typical case of compensation for ecological environment damage caused by illegal cement quarrying in Chengjiang, Yunnan

Establishing and improving the compensation system for ecological environment damage is an important part of the construction of ecological civilization system and a major decision made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council. In order to summarize and refine effective experiences and practices that can be used for reference and promotion, and give full play to the exemplary and guiding role of typical cases, the Office of the Leading Group for the Reform of the Compensation System for Eco-environmental Damage in Yunnan Province organized the selection of "the first batch of typical cases of consultation on compensation for eco-environmental damage in Yunnan Province". After case collection, formal review, expert review and comprehensive evaluation, 10 typical cases, such as "typical cases of compensation for ecological environment damage caused by illegal quarrying in a cement limited liability company in Chengjiang, Yunnan Province", were selected as "the first batch of typical cases of consultation on compensation for ecological environment damage in Yunnan Province". Typical case of

compensation for ecological environment damage caused by illegal quarrying in a cement limited liability company in Chengjiang,

Yunnan (1) Basic information of

the case 1. Clue source

In February 2022, the People's Procuratorate of Kunming issued a document to the Municipal Natural Resources and Planning Bureau. In the process of verifying the second batch of central ecological environment protection supervision clues transferred by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the People's Procuratorate of Yunnan Province step by step, it was found that a cement company in Chengjiang, Yunnan, had exceeded the time limit, exceeded the scale and exceeded the scope of illegal mining in No.3 and No.4 quarries of Jianfengshan. It causes damage to the ecological environment and conforms to the situation of bringing compensation for damage to the ecological environment.

2. Investigation and evaluation

After investigation, the mining license of Jianfengshan No.3 quarry of Chengjiang Cement Co., Ltd. in Yunnan Province approved the mining scale of 242100 tons per year, the approved mining area of 8.63 hectares and the reserves of 3.8699 million tons; The approved mining scale of No.4 quarry is 242,100 tons/year, the approved mining area is 4.98 hectares, and the reserves are 4,830,500 tons. The mining licenses of the two quarries are valid from March 19, 2016 to March 19, 2017. Due to insufficient safety distance and other reasons, the extension registration approval was not passed after the expiration of the mining right. During the period from June 2016 to March 2017, the two quarries failed to obtain the original mining license beyond the plane and under the lowest mining elevation of the mining license according to the legal procedures, resulting in the destruction of the topography and geomorphology of the overexploited area, the aggravation of soil erosion and the clearing of surface vegetation. As a result, the ecological environment service function in the overexploited area is damaged and the ecological environment is damaged. At the end of 2019, the Yangzonghai Management Committee of Kunming issued the Notice and decided to close the two mines. Yunnan Academy of Eco-environmental Sciences was entrusted

by Kunming Natural Resources and Planning Bureau and Yunnan Chengjiang Cement Co., Ltd. to appraise the scope of damage and the amount of loss, and the total loss of ecological environment function caused by cross-layer and cross-border mining of Jianfengshan No.3 and No.4 quarries in Yangzong Town was 5.6965 million yuan. Among them, the cost of the restoration project is 4.9758 million yuan, and the cost of damage during the period of ecological environment service function is 720.7 million yuan.

3. Before the

formal consultation, Kunming Natural Resources and Planning Bureau and a cement company in Chengjiang, Yunnan, communicated on the issues involved in damages. On November 9, 2022, Kunming Natural Resources and Planning Bureau organized a consultation meeting, which was attended by Kunming People's Procuratorate, Kunming Ecological Environment Bureau, Yangzonghai Management Committee and other departments. After consultation, the company has no objection to the facts and claims identified by the investigation. Both parties have reached an agreement on the compensation for the ecological environment damage of Jianfengshan No.3 and No.4 quarries. The company shall bear the full amount of the ecological environment function loss of 5.6965 million yuan caused by the cross-layer and cross-border mining of Jianfengshan No.3 and No.4 quarries in Yangzong Town, Chengjiang City.

4. A cement company in Chengjiang,

Yunnan Province, has worked out the design of mine geological environment restoration and control and the planning and design scheme of land reclamation project, and completed the ecological environment restoration project according to the design of mine geo logical environment restoration and control and the planning and design scheme of land reclamation project, with a project cost of 4.9758 million yuan. The project has passed the acceptance of experts. The damage fee during the period of ecological environment service function is 720700 yuan, and the ecological environment damage appraisal fee is 400000 yuan.

(2) Main practices

1. Strengthen the linkage between departments. The case originated from the second batch of central ecological environment protection supervision clues in the second round, and was transferred to the administrative organs by the People's Procuratorate in accordance with the relevant provisions on the connection between ecological environment damage compensation and procuratorial public interest litigation. Through strengthening communication and coordination with the procuratorate, realizing resource sharing and information sharing, exploring and establishing a linkage mechanism for the people's procuratorate to support the administrative organs to carry out ecological environment damage compensation, giving full play to the supervision and guidance functions of the people's procuratorate.

2. Set up an ad hoc group in time. This case is the first case of ecological damage compensation for illegal quarrying in Kunming. Kunming Natural Resources and Planning Bureau has set up a special group to thoroughly implement the ecological environment damage compensation system, perform the duty of ecological environment protection according to law, and ensure that the case handling procedures are legitimate and the ecological damage compensation is properly handled.

3. Give full play to the advantages of the legal team. The case is highly professional, and it is urgent for professionals who are familiar with the laws and regulations of mineral resources management and the compensation system for ecological environment damage, and who are skilled in civil mediation and litigation procedures to provide guidance for the determination of the facts of ecological environment damage involved in the case, the clarification of the scope of damage compensation and the determination of the way of liability. In addition, the legal documents and normative documents involved in the handling of the case also require professional legal personnel to conduct compliance review. In order to promote the consultation on compensation for ecological damage in accordance with the law and regulations, the Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning has selected Yunnan Geyuan Law Firm as a special legal service institution through public procurement procedures in accordance with the law. To provide legal services for the whole process of handling the case, such as legal consultation, document drafting, document review, agency consultation and negotiation.

4. Strengthen communication before the meeting and effectively promote consultation. The first negotiation failed to reach an agreement because the compensation obligor raised objections to the amount of compensation. Before the second consultation, the ecological environment department took the form of communication meeting to strengthen communication with compensation obligors, listen to opinions and explore solutions to problems. Actively supervise and guide the compensation obligors to complete the ecological restoration work. At the meeting, the Municipal Procuratorate, the Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, the Yangzonghai Management Committee and other departments were invited to participate in the consultation. After consultation, an agreement was reached with the obligor of compensation, and a compensation agreement was signed at the meeting.

(3) Typical significance

In the investigation and handling of ecological damage compensation cases, Kunming Natural Resources and Planning Bureau has communicated with compensation obligors many times and jointly entrusted third-party appraisal and evaluation agencies to carry out damage appraisal and assessment. At the same time, we should guide and urge the obligors to work out the design of mine geological environment restoration and control and the planning and design of land reclamation projects, and actively carry out the work of ecological environment restoration in accordance with the plan. Before the formal consultation meeting, the compensation obligor has completed the repair work and passed the acceptance of experts organized by the administrative organs, which laid the foundation for the smooth appraisal and consultation work.