Decision of the State Council on Amending and Abolishing Certain Administrative Regulations — Full English Translation (2026)

Adopted at the 93rd Executive Meeting of the State Council on July 31, 2026; promulgated by State Council Order No. 843 on August 8, 2026

Effective: August 15, 2026

The Decision of the State Council on Amending and Abolishing Certain Administrative Regulations, adopted at the 93rd Executive Meeting of the State Council on July 31, 2026, is hereby promulgated and shall come into force on August 15, 2026.

Premier: Li Qiang
August 8, 2026

In order to comprehensively and effectively implement the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China and to ensure that the system of ecological and environmental legal rules is logically unified and coordinated, the State Council has reviewed the administrative regulations concerned. Upon review, the State Council has decided to:

1. Amend certain provisions of 12 administrative regulations (Annex 1).

2. Abolish 3 administrative regulations (Annex 2).

This Decision shall come into force on August 15, 2026.

Annexes:

1. Administrative Regulations Amended by the State Council

2. Administrative Regulations Abolished by the State Council

Annex 1 — Administrative Regulations Amended by the State Council

1. In Article 1 of the National Pollution Source Census Regulations, the words “the Statistics Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China and the Statistics Law of the People’s Republic of China”.

2. In paragraph 1 of Article 56 of the Interim Regulations on Express Delivery, the words “the Standardization Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China and the Standardization Law of the People’s Republic of China”.

3. In Article 42 of the Yellow River Water Quantity Dispatching Regulations, the words “the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Flood Control Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China, the Yellow River Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Flood Control Law of the People’s Republic of China”.

4. Sub-item (4) of paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Regulations on the Biosafety Administration of Pathogenic Microorganism Laboratories shall be amended to read: “(4) conducting an ecological and environmental impact assessment in accordance with the law.”

5. In paragraph 1 of Article 22 of the Regulations on the Administration of Water Supply and Use for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the words “key water pollutant discharge units” shall be replaced with “units subject to key administration of pollutant discharge permits”.
In Article 25 and paragraph 1 of Article 50, the words “the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China”.

6. In Article 1 of the Groundwater Administration Regulations, the words “the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China and the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China”.
In sub-item (2) of paragraph 1 of Article 41, the words “chemical production enterprises and industrial clusters” shall be replaced with “chemical industrial parks and chemical projects”, and in sub-item (3), the words “gas stations, etc.” shall be replaced with “gas stations, oil extraction plants, etc.”; paragraph 2 shall be deleted.
In paragraph 1 of Article 45, the words “the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China”.
In Article 55, the words “the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China and the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China”.
In Article 60, the words “a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan” shall be replaced with “a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan”.

7. In paragraph 2 of Article 18 and paragraph 3 of Article 22 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Inspection of Import and Export Commodities, the words “solid wastes that may be used as raw materials” shall be deleted.
Paragraph 1 of Article 22 shall be deleted.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 49 shall be deleted.

8. In paragraph 1 of Article 42 of the Regulations on Ecological and Environmental Monitoring, the words “order the suspension of production or business” shall be replaced with “may order restriction of production or suspension of production for rectification”.
In Article 43, the words “order the suspension of business” shall be replaced with “order, upon approval by the people’s government with the approval authority, suspension of business or closure”; sub-item (4) shall be amended to read: “(4) using, in the provision of monitoring services, monitoring facilities or equipment that do not comply with the provisions of laws, administrative regulations and national standards, or failing to comply with the ecological and environmental monitoring norms and standards such that monitoring data are distorted”; and a paragraph shall be added as paragraph 2 to read: “Where the circumstances specified in sub-item (4) of the preceding paragraph exist and the offender refuses to make corrections, in addition to the penalties imposed in accordance with the preceding paragraph, its permit shall be revoked if it holds one.”
In Article 44, the words “order the suspension of production or business” shall be replaced with “order restriction of production or suspension of production for rectification”.
In paragraph 1 of Article 45, the words “prohibited from engaging in monitoring services” shall be replaced with “prohibited from engaging in monitoring services, and, upon approval by the people’s government with the approval authority, ordered to suspend business or be closed”; and in paragraph 2, the words “where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law, and the offender shall be prohibited from engaging in monitoring services for life” shall be deleted.

9. In paragraph 2 of Article 24 of the Regulations on Urban Drainage and Sewage Treatment, the words “drainage households listed in the catalogue of key pollutant discharge units” shall be replaced with “drainage households subject to key administration of pollutant discharge permits”.
In Article 30, the words “shall not dump, pile up, discard or scatter sludge without authorization” shall be replaced with “shall not dump, pile up, discard, scatter, litter or incinerate sludge without authorization”.
Paragraph 2 of Article 53 shall be amended to read: “Where, in violation of these Regulations, sludge is dumped, piled up, discarded, scattered, littered or incinerated without authorization, the competent urban drainage department shall order the offender to cease the illegal act, take control measures to eliminate the pollution, confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 2,000,000 yuan; shall impose a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan on the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons; where the circumstances are serious, shall order restriction of production or suspension of production for rectification; where serious consequences are caused, shall impose a fine of not less than 2,000,000 yuan but not more than 5,000,000 yuan; and where the offender refuses to take control measures, shall designate a unit with the capability to do so to carry out control on its behalf, with the expenses incurred borne by the offender.”
In Article 58, the words “the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China”.

10. Sub-item (4) of Article 37 of the Regulations on Energy Conservation in Civil Buildings shall be renumbered as paragraph 2 and amended to read: “Where, in violation of these Regulations, a construction unit, design unit or construction unit uses technologies, processes, materials or equipment prohibited or eliminated under the relevant catalogues or lists of the State, the competent construction department of the people’s government at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections, confiscate the illegal gains and impose a fine of not less than one time but not more than five times the value of the goods; where the circumstances are serious, it shall, upon approval by the people’s government with the approval authority, order suspension of business or closure.”
The words “or uses technologies, processes, materials and equipment listed in the catalogue of prohibited use” in Article 39 shall be deleted.
Sub-item (3) of Article 41 shall be deleted.

11. Article 24 of the Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading shall be amended to read: “Where a key emitting unit fails to fully surrender its carbon emission allowances within the prescribed time limit, the competent ecological and environmental department shall order it to make corrections within a prescribed time limit and impose a fine of not less than 1,000,000 yuan but not more than 5,000,000 yuan; where the surrender is not completed within the time limit, it shall impose a fine of not less than five times but not more than ten times the average market transaction price for the month preceding the surrender deadline for the carbon emission allowances that have not been surrendered, and may order suspension of production for rectification.”
In Article 26, the words “a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan” shall be replaced with “a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan; and a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed on the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons”.

12. In Article 1 of the Regulations on the Administration of Ozone-Depleting Substances, the words “the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution” shall be replaced with “the Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China”.
In Article 40, the words “a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan” shall be replaced with “a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan; and a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed on the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons”.

Annex 2 — Administrative Regulations Abolished by the State Council

1. Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of the Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment by Land-Based Pollutants (promulgated by Order No. 61 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on June 22, 1990)

2. Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of the Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment by Coastal Construction Projects (promulgated by Order No. 62 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on June 25, 1990; first revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of the Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment by Coastal Construction Projects of September 25, 2007; second revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending and Abolishing Certain Administrative Regulations of March 1, 2017; third revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending and Abolishing Certain Administrative Regulations of March 19, 2018)

3. Interim Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in the Huaihe River Basin (promulgated by Order No. 183 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on August 8, 1995; revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Abolishing and Amending Certain Administrative Regulations of January 8, 2011)