Abstract
The epic proportions of China’s water pollution problems transcend many of the nation’s jurisdictional boundaries. The rapid growth of transboundary water pollution mirrors the ferocious growth that the economy has undergone since the Chinese leadership began a series of economic reforms in 1978. The accumulation and discharge of pollutants into the waters of many upstream regions has wrought environmental havoc in downstream jurisdictions,1 creating inequities in distribution similar to the uneven nature of the nation’s economic development. China’s response to the growing problems of transboundary water pollution reflects the problems and challenges that its nascent environmental legal regime faces, and the attempts to resolve transboundary water pollution disputes have largely been played out as but one part of China’s greater endeavors to adapt its administrative structure and legal regime to the rapid transformation that the country is undergoing. Transboundary water pollution in China therefore provides an excellent window into many issues that span the nation’s reform efforts as well as serving to illustrate both the inadequacies and improvements in China’s regulatory regime for environmental protection. This Note will analyze the law of transboundary water pollution currently in force in China. The foundation for understanding this subset of China’s environmental crisis will be laid by first providing an overview of the basic structure of China’s political and legal structure. Certain systemic challenges and characteristics of the Chinese system that affect virtually all legal, political, and administrative activities will also be addressed to highlight the fact that many of the problems to be dealt with in resolving the phenomenon of transboundary water pollution are not unique to that particular subset of Chinese environmental law, but rather are germane to many of the hurdles China must overcome. This Note then turns to the legal framework for water law, water pollution control, and transboundary pollution, including an analysis of the major problems the current system possesses for dealing with transboundary pollution. Several case studies will be relied upon to illustrate the successes and failures in attempting to control transboundary water pollution. Lastly, this Note will end with a series of recommendations for improving the legal and administrative system for controlling transboundary water pollution in China.