In order to implement the requirements of laws and regulations such as the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permits, and the Guiding Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention and Control, Guiding various regions to carry out on-site supervision and inspection of automatic monitoring facilities for pollution sources in a standardized manner, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has organized the revision of the "Technical Guidelines for On site Supervision and Inspection of Automatic Monitoring Facilities for Pollution Sources" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") (Environmental Protection Office [2012] No. 57), which is now open for comments. The deadline is January 24, 2024.

At present, there are over 60000 key polluting units that are connected to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for automatic monitoring, and over 100000 water and gas monitoring points are connected. Ecological and environmental departments at all levels are gradually promoting the transformation of fixed pollution source supervision from "human defense first" to "technical prevention first". The normal and stable operation of pollution source automatic monitoring facilities and the authenticity and accuracy of automatic monitoring data are particularly important.

Revision content:

（1） Linking with newly revised laws and regulations

The revision of the Guidelines this time has supplemented and improved the specific situations of 13 types of illegal and irregular behaviors related to automatic monitoring of pollution sources, which have been clearly defined in laws and regulations since 2015. The problems discovered during on-site supervision and inspection have been focused and classified, facilitating subsequent transfer, filing, investigation and handling.

（2） Content that is not compatible with current regulatory requirements has been removed

The revision of the Guidelines this time has removed controversial "abnormal operation" situations and content such as qualification inspections that do not meet the requirements of the national "streamlining administration and delegating powers" reform, reducing the burden on enterprises and supervisory and inspection personnel.

（3） Clarify and optimize the comparison and verification program methods

The revision of the Guidelines this time has refined the procedural methods of the three forms of comparative verification (standard sample verification, law enforcement comparison, and comparative monitoring), and optimized the discrimination conditions for "obvious data distortion" in accordance with the principle of "benefiting administrative counterparties" and referring to experience and practices such as atmospheric supervision and assistance, in order to improve the efficiency of on-site supervision and inspection.

The Guidelines stipulate the basic work procedures and main contents for conducting supervision and inspection of automatic monitoring facilities for pollution sources; The basic principles, methods, and result evaluation of comparative verification have been clarified, as well as various manifestations of suspected illegal activities of automatic monitoring facilities. This will be applicable to institutions at all levels of ecological and environmental administrative authorities that exercise the responsibility of on-site supervision and inspection of automatic monitoring facilities for pollution sources. In accordance with relevant national regulations, they will carry out on-site supervision, inspection, and handling of the operation of automatic monitoring facilities for pollution sources in their jurisdiction.