The Phase-2 Air Pollution Control Fee (hereinafter referred to as the “Air Pollution Fee” has been imposed since 1998; the relevant collection system and supporting measures have been well established and operated. In order to integrate air pollution control and management work as well as to provide more convenient public services, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since July, 2007 gradually transferred the execution of reporting, auditing, and calculation affairs related to the collection of Air Pollution Fee to the competent authorities of special municipalities and cities and counties with the aim to adjust the labor division between the central and local governments for better effectiveness. In order to develop better collection system of Air Pollution Fee, strengthen monitoring mechanism of external auditing, and provide more convenient public services, priority works for the year include: 1. Review and amend the relevant rules governing the collection system of fixed pollutant sources; 2. Examine, inspect, and consult relevant operations; 3. Evaluate and audit the effectiveness of operations carried out by local governments’ environmental protection bureaus (EPBs); 4. Review the management system of personnel screening and establish talent databank; 5. Develop integrated network reporting platform and strengthen the authority management mechanism for the online reporting system of Air Pollution Fee; and 6. Execute accounting auditing operation. This project completed the development of simplified VOCs reporting system and carried out new functions such as e-billing payment services and online payment sheet printing. In October, 2014, the said system was officially launched online to dramatically improve the convenience of reporting and bill payment of the private and public organizations. Additionally, 227 cases of quality screening of Air Pollution Fee reported by local EPBs, 37 on-site inspection and consultation, and the inspection of air pollution fees paid by five continuous automatic inspection and monitoring facilities were executed. After the 22 on-site consultations given to local EPBs, the drawbacks were comprehensively reviewed. With the review seminars, the guidance for local EPBs to follow in their auditing operations was given.To effectively reduce the gap of staff quality of local EPBs, this project continuously promoted the accreditation system of Air Pollution Fee auditors and completed the editing and compiling of training materials. In October, two seminars on the training and result testing of application of auditing technology were completed and the auditing talent databank of the existing phase was developed. In terms of the reviews of the collection system, the emission coefficient of flaring was amended and announced. The calculation method of equipment component and exemption of simplified control and prevention amendment draft is now pending. In order to expand the scope of economic incentives for reduced emission, we completed the evaluation of adjustment strategy of Air Pollution Fee ratio and the calculation method and principle for the collection of particle pollutants to come out with a more comprehensive collection system of Air Pollution Fee.

Air Pollution Control Fee, Reviews of the Collection system, Supervision