Case lodged by the People’s Procuratorate of Suining County of Jiangsu Province against the Environmental Protection Bureau of Jiangsu Province for non-performance of its supervisory duties in environmental protection

The People’s Procuratorate of Suining County filed an administrative public-interest lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Bureau of Jiangsu Province for failing to perform its supervisory duties after 130 tons of hazardous oil sludge were illegally dumped in Suining County. The Bureau argued that the waste originated outside its jurisdiction and therefore was not responsible for substitute disposal. The court held that the competent environmental authority in whose jurisdiction the hazardous waste is located must perform statutory duties to organize substitute disposal regardless of the waste’s source, as non-performance risks secondary pollution and prolonged environmental harm. The court confirmed the illegality of the Bureau’s failure to act in time and clarified that supervisory duties in hazardous waste management are defined by location of pollution, not by origin of pollutants. This case established a benchmark for clarifying administrative supervisory obligations in environmental protection.