Environmental impact assessment must be made public

The commercial hub of Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province recently witnessed a second wave of public anger against Xiaping landfill, the largest in the city, because its first environmental impact assessment has yet been made public. According to the latest revision of China's environmental law in April, the full text of all environmental impact statements should be published for public supervision.

The local authorities, ignoring mounting public complaints and the environmental watchdog's stern warning, refuse to publish the report on the landfill, which has literally created a stink in the neighborhood for more than two years. The Shenzhen habitation and environment commission and the urban management authorities have been blaming each other for the "delay".

Residents allege that the authorities have been citing clumsy excuses to withhold the content of the report from the public to cover up some of their irreversible mistakes.

Many say the Xiaping landfill, which reportedly handles nearly 30 percent of Shenzhen's household garbage, has not acquired the legal sanction to operate its second phase that started operations two years ago. Even if it passed the environmental test, the two supervisors - the habitation and environment commission and the urban management authorities - cannot deny the stench generated by the landfill. This has led credence to residents' view that the landfill could face immediate suspension after its environmental impact report, if it really exists, is made public.

Yet halting work at such a giant landfill will create problems for the city's waste disposal and cause considerable financial loss to its operators. Where will almost one-third of Shenzhen's daily household refuse be dumped? If left unattended, the garbage will "raise stink" across the city.

A landfill is supposed to bury and recycle rubbish, instead of generating more pollution. In this sense, the Xiaping landfill reflects the failure of the previous technical environmental assessment. It also shows that environmental experts didn't do their job properly and could be pulled up for their failure.