Evaluating EIA implementation in China: An empirical study of 161 EIA judicial cases

Abstract

To play EIA's role as a preventative and participatory tool, the 2003 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law was significantly amended in 2016 to optimize EIA approval authority and procedure, raise project developers' violation costs, and clarify public participation rules. This article evaluates how the main provisions of this Law have been enforced in practice by analyzing 161 judicial cases collected. Case analysis reveals the main case typology, plaintiffs, violations concerned, and environmental agencies' losing rate. More specifically, the majority of these 161 cases are brought by project developers, challenging the legality of penalty decisions and disapproval decisions imposed on them. The dominant form of violation is construction without EIA approval, a chronic challenge haunting China's EIA enforcement. The interested parties are admitted with standing in most lawsuits filed against EIA approval, mainly due to the relaxed standing requirements. Nevertheless, the losing rate of environmental agencies in selected EIA cases is higher than that of general environmental cases, raising doubts about the effectiveness of the 2016 EIA Law's efforts to promote a more efficient and prudent approval procedure.