The investigation into the environmental violations of Huntsman Textiles & Chemicals (China) Co., Ltd., Huntsman Textiles & Chemicals (Qingdao) Co., Ltd., Huntsman (Thailand) Limited, Huntsman (Singapore) Pte Ltd., Huntsman Chemicals Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Huntsman Advanced Materials (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "six companies") has now been completed.
I. Facts and Evidence of Environmental Violations
An investigation confirmed that these six companies provided false ecotoxicological test reports (numbered S-066-2010 and S-067-2010) during the joint application for the new chemical substance "reaction product of diazotized sodium naphthalene disulfonate with 4-amino-5-hydroxy-2,7-naphthalene disulfon-2-[(3-aminophenyl)sulfonyl]ethyl hydrogen sulfate and 2,4,6,-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine sodium salt" (trade code: FAT40840, RECTIVE RED ROE 358, CAS number: 958872-41-8).
The actions of these six companies violated Article 8 of the "Regulations on Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances" (Order No. 17 of the former State Environmental Protection Administration of China), which stipulates the management system for the declaration of new chemical substances. On December 1, 2010, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China informed these six companies of the facts of their violations, the basis for the penalties, and the proposed penalty decision, and informed them of their right to make statements and defenses. On December 13, 2010, these six companies explicitly stated their acceptance of the administrative penalties.
The above facts are evidenced by our department's "Prior Notice of Administrative Penalty" (Huanfa Zi [2010] No. 74) dated December 1, 2010, and the "Delivery Receipt," as well as your six companies' "Reply Letter to the Prior Notice of Administrative Penalty No. Huanfa Zi [2010] No. 74" dated December 13, 2010.
II. Basis and Types of Administrative Penalties
According to Article 24 of the "Regulations on Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances" (Order No. 17 of the former State Environmental Protection Administration), if an applicant violates these regulations by falsifying information during the application process for a registration certificate, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China shall order rectification and impose a fine of between 10,000 and 30,000 yuan. The Ministry of Environmental Protection of China has decided to order these six companies to rectify their illegal activities and impose a fine of 30,000 yuan on each of them.
III. Methods and Time Limits for Fulfilling Administrative Penalty Decisions
According to the provisions of the Administrative Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China and the Implementation Measures for the Separation of Fine Decision and Fine Collection, these six companies should, within fifteen days from the date of receiving this penalty decision, pay the fine to the Central Treasury by presenting a "General Payment Slip" issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. After paying the fine, a copy of the payment receipt should be submitted to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China for record-keeping. If the fine is not paid within the stipulated time, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China will impose an additional penalty of 3% of the fine amount per day.
IV. Channels and time limits for applying for administrative reconsideration or filing an administrative lawsuit
If these six companies disagree with the penalty decision, they may apply for administrative reconsideration to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China within sixty days of receiving the penalty decision; or they may file an administrative lawsuit within three months of receiving the penalty decision. If they fail to apply for administrative reconsideration, file an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court, or comply with this penalty decision within the prescribed time limit, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China will apply to the People's Court for enforcement in accordance with the law.
–Source: Ministry of Environmental Protection of China
http://www.mep.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/qt/201102/t20110215_200707.htm
