China sets Action Plan on Noise Control for 14th Five-Year Plan period

On Jan. 5, 2023, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, other government departments and state-owned company jointly announced the Action Plan on Noise Pollution Control for the 14th Five-Year Plan period. China has recently introduced many policies for noise pollution control, beginning with the revised Noise Pollution Control Law, which came into force June 5, 2022. The latest action plan includes increased control of noise sources including industrial companies, as well as stricter industrial noise control through the pollutant discharge permit system.

Increased control of noise sources

• In the development or revision of territorial spatial planning, large-scale transportation infrastructure, heavily industrialized zones and areas where noise-sensitive buildings are concentrated should be properly placed in relation to one another.
• When a noise-sensitive building is constructed near an industrial company or other specific things, a planning requirement should be provided to leave enough space between them.
• In an environmental impact assessment for a construction project, the impact of noise and vibration should be assessed, and noise pollution control measures should be taken actively.
• In construction projects, noise pollution control facilities should be designed, built and put into use simultaneously with the main facilities.
• The National List of Key Industrial Products for Quality and Safety Oversight will be updated as necessary. Spot checks will be performed on key products with a noise limit specified by a national standard, and the results will be made public.

Stricter industrial noise control

• A “pollutant discharge permit technical standard” for industrial noise will be issued for stricter industrial noise control. A draft of this technical standard was already published Dec. 26, 2022, for public comments. Refer to the “Related Articles” section below for details.
• Ecology and environment departments of local governments at the prefecture-level or above will prepare a list of key noise generating entities in their jurisdiction. Entities on this list must implement automated noise monitoring in accordance with relevant laws, and connect to the online monitoring system of the ecology and environment department.

The action plan (in Chinese) is available at
https://www.mee.gov.cn/xxgk2018/xxgk/xxgk03/202301/t20230109_1012074.html