China delegates environmental impact assessments

BEIJING - The Ministry of Environmental Protection on Thursday delegated more environmental impact assessments to lower levels.

Provincial departments will now be responsible for assessing the impact of more major projects, including thermal power stations, steam power plants, iron mills and national expressways.

The ministry had earlier delegated such power on 25 kinds of construction projects to local governments.

Cheng Lifeng, head of the department of environmental impact assessment under the ministry, said that the move is part of a government-wide effort to streamline administration and delegate power to the lower levels.

"Delegating power does not mean shirking responsibilities," Cheng said, emphasizing that the ministry will intensify supervision of local environmental protection departments, and information about each assessment will be made public, he added.