Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Protection of Lakes
　　(Adopted at the Eleventh Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People’s Congress of Jiangsu Province on August 20, 2004, and amended according to the Decisions on the Amendment of Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Protection of Lakes made at the Twenty-sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh People’s Congress of Jiangsu Province on January 12, 2012)
　　Article 1 These Regulations are enacted, in accordance with the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Flood Prevention Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and other related laws and administrative regulations, in light of the specific situation of this Province, and for the purposes of strengthening the protection of lakes, giving full play to the function of lakes, rationally developing and utilizing lake resources, maintaining lake ecological environment and preventing damages caused by water.
　　Article 2 These Regulations shall apply to exploration, utilization, protection and administration of the lakes on the List of Lakes under Protection in Jiangsu Province.
　　The Provincial people’s government shall list any lake with an area of 0.5 square kilometers or above, or located in the urban areas of a city, or being the source of drinking water, into the List of Lakes under Protection in Jiangsu Province, and shall determine and promulgate such a list before implementation of these Regulations.
　　The People’s Government of the Province may, according to the situation in implementing these Regulations, adjust the List of Lakes under Protection, and shall promulgate the adjustment.
　　Article 3 The protection of lakes shall observe the principles of overall consideration, scientific utilization, protection first and coordinated development.
　　The local people’s governments at various levels shall increase investment, adopt economic and technological policies and measures advantageous to lake protection, strengthen protection of lake resources, regulate exploration and utilization of lakes, prevent diminution of the existing lake areas, enhance water passage ability and storage capacity, prevent pollution of lake water and improve ecological environment of lakes.
　　Article 4 The local people’s governments at various levels and the departments concerned shall strengthen scientific research on lake protection, give full publicity to it, and intensify people’s consciousness of lake protection; units or inPiduals making outstanding achievement in the protection of lakes shall be awarded and commended.
　　Article 5 The departments of water conservancy administration of the local people’s governments at or above the county level (hereinafter referred to as water conservancy administrative departments at or above the county level) are the competent organs for the supervision of lakes located within their administrative areas, and are responsible for the management and protection of such lakes.
　　The relevant departments such as the environmental protection, fishery, transportation, construction, planning, national land resources, and forestry of the local people’s governments at or above the county level, shall accomplish their work in management and protection of the lakes according to their Pision of responsibilities.
　　The riparian township governments shall do their related work according to the actual requirement of lake protection.
　　Article 6 Such lakes within this Province as Hongze Lake, Tai Lake, Luoma Lake, Weishan Lake, lakes and ponds in the abdominal region of Lixia River, Baima Lake, Gaoyou Lake, Baoying Lake, Shaobo Lake, Ge Lake, Changdang Lake, Shijiu Lake, and Gucheng Lake are under administration of the provincial competent administrative department of water conservancy, except for those that are under direct administration of the river basins administrative agencies set up by the Ministry of Water Resources.
　　Other lakes are under the administration of the competent administrative departments of water conservancy of cities with districts or counties (cities or districts, the same below), and lakes located in the urban areas of cities are administered according to the current limit of authority for administration. .
　　A lake crossing more than one administrative area is under administration of the joint competent administrative department of water conservancy at a higher level or of the competent administrative department of water conservancy it has authorized. 
　　Article 7 A protection plan shall be formulated respectively for each lake on the List of Lakes under Protection according to the general arrangement for flood control and water resource deployment.
　　Lake protection plans shall include such contents as lake protection boundary, areas where sand -excavating, earth-fetching and quarrying are prohibited (hereinafter referred to as lake excavating-prohibited area), projects with limitation on exploration or utilization, flood and waterlogging control requirement, water function zoning and water quality protection target and  measures, control target for planting and cultivation areas, plan of lake restoration by recession of planting (fishing) areas or embankments, silt removing measures, and so on.
　　Lake protection plans shall be formulated by the competent administrative departments of water conservancy at or above the county level jointly with other departments concerned within their limit of authority for lake administration, and shall be reported to the local people’s government at the corresponding level for approval before implementation. Formulation of lake protection plans shall be completed within one year after the effective date of these Regulations. The competent administrative departments of water conservancy shall make amendments and adjustments to the lake protection plans according to the change of actual situation, and report them to the original approving organ for approval.
　　Lake protection plans shall be the basis for protection, exploration, utilization and management of lakes. No units or inPiduals shall, in violation of the provisions specified in the plans, engage in activities of exploration and utilization such as cultivation of aquatic products, urban construction, real estate development and tourist resources exploration.
　　Article 8 Lake protection boundary refers to the area below the designed flood level for the lake, including the lake water area, lake basin, lake islet, lake shoal, lake island, and inlet and outlet of lake water, and such facilities as embankment and its protection, culvert and sluice for entrance and exit of lake water, and pump stations.
　　The competent administrative department of water conservancy at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with other departments concerned, delimit the specific protection scope according to the lake protection plan and set up protection marks.
　　Article 9 The competent administrative department of water conservancy shall, in conjunction with the departments of transportation, national land resources, and fishery, and on the basis of scientific authentication, delimit the lake excavating-prohibited area and has it promulgated according to the requirements for flood control and water resources protection.
　　Article 10 The competent administrative department of water conservancy at or above the county level shall work out a plan for lake water allocation so as to meet the needs of citizens and villagers for domestic water, take into consideration the water for planting, cultivation and industry, and guarantee the water for lake ecological environment.
　　Measures shall be taken for water replenishment when there is a shortage in lake storage. It is prohibited to Pert lake water outward without authorization when the water level is below the dead water level; if such outward Persion is really necessary, the competent administrative department of water conservancy with jurisdiction shall report to the local people’s government at the corresponding level for approval.
　　Article 11 It is forbidden to construct buildings and structures impeding flood discharge within the lake protection boundary. It is forbidden to construct or reconstruct buildings or structures irrelevant to flood control, water environment or scenery within the protection scope of lakes located in the urban areas.
　　When constructing engineering projects or setting up structures with approval obtained in accordance with the law within the lake protection boundary, no circumstances as follows shall occur:
　　(1) diminishing the lake area;
　　(2) affecting the water flow stability, storage capacity of the lake water and the safety of other engineering facilities;
　　(3) affecting water quality protection target specified by water function zoning;
　　(4) deteriorating lake ecological environment.
　　Where engineering structures need to be built across lakes, through lakes, through dykes or beside lakes within the lake protection boundary, formalities for approval shall be conducted as formulated in the Flood Control Law of the People’s Republic of China.
　　Article 12 Following activities are prohibited within the lake protection boundary:
　　(1) discharging industrial waste water which is not treated or treated but not up to the standard;
　　(2) dumping or burying waste;
　　(3) piling up or storing solid waste or other pollutants on the lake shoal or embankment.
　　A round-the-lake network of sewage pipes for pollutant retention shall be set up for the lakes located within the urban areas and shall be incorporated into the urban waste water treatment system. The urban domestic waste water within the lake protection boundary shall be conducted into and treated in the urban network of sewage pipes for pollutant retention.
　　Article 13 The competent administrative department of water conservancy at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with the competent administrative departments of agriculture and fishery and other departments concerned, delimit water areas in the lake for planting and cultivation in accordance with the lake protection plan and flood control requirement, and shall report to the local people’s government at the corresponding level for approval.
　　It is prohibited to enclose any part of a lake with net or fence for cultivation in lakes within the urban areas.
　　The competent administrative department of agriculture and fishery shall, in line with the delimited water area for planting and cultivation, work out planting and cultivation plans according to law, and determine specific areas, varieties, density, modes and overall arrangement for planting and cultivation.
　　Planting and cultivation projects shall be carried out pursuant to the legally approved planting and cultivation plan, and shall be subject to the need for lake water storage and flood control. Those already existing cultivation projects located beyond the planned cultivation areas, shall be terminated stage by stage and batch by batch within five years since approval date of the plan. The termination plan shall be worked out by the local people’s government at or above the county level.
　　Article 14 Exploration of tourist resources within the lake protection boundary shall conform to the requirement set up by the lake protection plan and be submitted for approval according to the law.
　　Various facilities which are approved to set up for tourist sights, water sport, meals and beverage, recreation and vacation amusement, shall not impede flood discharge, and shall well match surrounding natural landscape.
　　Article 15 Sand-excavating, earth-fetching or quarrying is prohibited in the lake excavating-prohibited area.
　　To mine in the lake protection boundary, or to excavate sand, fetch earth or quarry beyond the lake excavating-prohibited area, the procedures for approval shall be conducted as prescribed by related laws and regulations, and the place, period of time, total quantity, mode and depth shall be observed as approved.
　　Where a project of earth fetching beyond the lake excavating-prohibited area is to be conducted by weir building and water draining together with silt removing, planning and authentication work shall be done and a scientific silt removing and earth-fetching plan shall be worked out to prevent deterioration of lake ecological environment, and the formalities for approval shall be completed according to the prescribed procedures. The construction work shall assure safety and be subject to the general arrangement of flood control. When the construction work is finished, the lake bottoms shall be trimmed in good time, weirs shall be demolished and the relevant acceptance of completed project shall be carried out.
　　Article 16 Urban construction and development shall not occupy lake areas. The lakefront limit for urban planning shall be determined by the competent administrative department of water conservancy with jurisdiction jointly with the planning department. 
　　Article 17 It is prohibited to build dykes for cultivation within the lake protection boundary. It is prohibited to reclaim land from lakes within the lake protection boundary, or to take lake shoals or shallows as land used for balancing occupation and compensation in terms of the total amount of arable land.
　　If such reclamation or dyked aquiculture already exists, the local people’s government that approved the lake protection plan shall, according to the requirement of the flood control plan and the need for restoration of lake ecological environment, work out plans for restoring the lake from the reclaimed land or dyked aquiculture, determine the compensation standards, and specify the responsibilities and Pision among the related departments and the lakeside township people’s governments. Funds needed for settlement or compensation in the lake restoration plan shall be integrated into the budget of the local people’s government at the corresponding level, and the superior government shall give necessary financial support to the economically underdeveloped regions.
　　Before the lake restoration plan is carried out, the lakeside township people’s government shall, in the light of the requirement for flood control and waterlogging drainage, build up water-entering facilities in the dyked area or dismantle dykes section by section. 
　　For the dykes which are already used for aquiculture, they shall not be further heightened or widened, or used for other purposes.
　　Article 18 The local people’s governments at various levels shall take measures to protect and improve the lake ecological system and intensify the protection of lake everglade.
　　The local people’s governments at various levels shall organize the departments such as water conservancy, fishery, environmental protection, forestry, and construction, on the basis of scientific authentication and in a planned way, to grow plants and breed benthonic creatures and fishes that are contributed to the purification of water bodies, and to remove various residues of water plants in time.
　　Article 19 The local people’s governments at various levels shall take measures and organize periodical removal of lake silt and the fund needed shall be arranged by the local people’s governments at various levels according to their financial ability. The land to be used temporarily for removing silt shall be arranged by the people’s government of the city or county at the locality.
　　Any unit or inPidual causing silt in lakes shall be responsible for removal of such silt; the competent administrative department of water conservancy shall organize the removal of silt, and all the expenses shall be borne by the unit or inPidual if the unit or inPidual fails to do so.
　　For removing silt in order to improve water environment, the silt-removing machinery or facilities of environment protection type shall be used.
　　Article 20 The local people’s government that approves the lake protection plan shall carry out inspection on the implementation of the plans and report to the standing committee of the people’s congress at the corresponding level.
　　Article 21 Where an administrative organ or its staff member commits one of the following acts, the person directly in charge and other person directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions by the administrative supervision department or by the higher competent organs; if such an act constitutes a crime, the persons concerned shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law:
　　(1) approving a project for lake exploration and utilization project in violation of the lake protection plan;
　　(2) failing to investigate or deal with such law-breaking acts as reclaiming land from lakes or building dykes for cultivation;
　　(3) granting administrative licenses in breach of the prescribed conditions and procedures, or failing to perform duty of supervision;
　　(4) neglecting duties, engaging in malpractice for personal gains or abusing powers.
　　Article 22 Where a unit or an inPidual, in violation of these Regulations, reclaims land from lakes, or build dykes within the lake protection boundary, the competent administrative department of water conservancy at or above the county level shall order it/him to stop the illegal act and to restore to its original state, and may impose a fine of not less than RMB 1,000 yuan but not more than RMB 10,000 yuan; if the case is serious, the department shall impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 yuan but not more than RMB 50,000 yuan; if the unit or inPidual refuses to carry out the restoration, the competent administrative department of water conservancy at or above the county level shall designate a unit concerned to make the restoration instead, and all the expenses shall be borne by the party responsible. 
　　Article 23 Where a unit or an inPidual, in violation of these Regulations, quarries or fetches earth within the lake preserving boundary, the competent administrative department of water conservancy at or above the county level shall order it/him to stop the illegal act, and may impose a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 5,000 yuan; if such activities impede the operation or safety of the water works, the department shall temporarily seize the machines and appliance engaged in the illegal activities, confiscate the illegal income and concurrently impose a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.
　　Where a unit or an inPidual, in violation of these Regulations, excavate sand within the lake preserving boundary, the competent administrative department of water conservancy administration at or above the county level shall order it/him to stop the illegal act, temporarily seize the machines and appliances engaged in the illegal activities, and may impose a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan; if the sand excavating is for business operation, the department may confiscate the illegal incomes and concurrently impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan.
　　Article 24 The departments concerned such as water conservancy, construction, environmental protection, transportation, planning, land and resources, fishery shall, according to the provisions of the related laws and regulations, impose penalties on acts in violation of the provisions of these Regulations.
　　Article 25 Where laws and regulations provide otherwise for the administration of lakes within planned urban areas or scenic areas, these provisions shall prevail.
　　Article 26 These Regulations shall come into effect as of March 1, 2005.