Eighty-two fish farmers have won their lawsuit against the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), which rejected their request that the Zhejiang of Environmental Protection Bureau handle a pollution case.

The farmers in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, suffered heavy economic losses after their fish farms were polluted in 2003 by untreated sewage from a nearby development zone. An investigation by the local environmental watchdog identified the development zone as the culprit and reported the case to the provincial environmental protection authorities.

With no decision coming from the provincial watchdog, the farmers appealed to SEPA for help, but their request was snubbed.

Although the farmers have won the case, a final solution to their problems remains a long way off. This may just be the start of a protracted battle.

The provincial environmental watchdog will probably fine the development zone. But will the fine be heavy enough to pressurize the zone into building a sewage treatment plant? Even if such a facility is constructed, it will probably be left to rust in order to cut costs.

It is quite clear that the development zone is to blame. It was not supposed to allow its enterprises to start production before the construction of a sewage plant. Under these circumstances, the local environmental protection authorities were supposed to have the power to intervene. But they are under the auspices of the local government and would be in a quite embarrassing situation if the latter gave the enterprises permission to commence production.

If we suppose that the local government did not, it would be easy to reach the conclusion that the zone should be held entirely responsible. Then it could be fined and made to compensate the farmers.

However, the fact that the local government had tried to bring the situation under control by paying these farmers 13,500 yuan (US$1,600) for each hectare of fish farm polluted suggests that the zone got the green light to put its enterprises into operation.

Environmental watchdogs are trapped in a dilemma of being supposed to have the power to punish polluters, but only to find their attempts fettered by local governments' thirst for growth.

SEPA is quite aware of its embarrassing role, having decided in April to establish environmental watchdog offices for major regions. The new offices are supposed to have immediate control over their local watchdogs without any interference from local governments, but they are yet to materialize.

This case, the first of its kind to bring SEPA to court, is not so much a preliminary victory for those fish farmers as an example that can be followed by environmental pollution victims to sharpen the teeth of environmental watchdogs.

More cases of this nature will hopefully assist the battle against pollution.

(China Daily July 20, 2006)