​ To effectively prevent and control soil erosion that may be caused by railway construction, the General Office of the Ministry of Water Resources and the General Office of the National Railway Group issued a notice on related matters on January 3, 2023 with the Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Water Resources on Strengthening the soil and water conservation work of Railway construction Projects (No. 2023).

Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Water Resources on Strengthening the work of soil and water conservation in railway construction projects

Water protection Office (2023) No. 3

River basin management agencies, water conservancy (Water) departments (bureaus) of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, Water Conservancy Bureau of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, railway bureau Group companies, railway companies, and relevant units:
Railway construction has the characteristics of long lines, wide surface disturbance range, large amount of soil and rock, and so on. Soil and water conservation of railway construction projects is an inevitable requirement for implementing new development concepts, promoting ecological protection and high-quality development.​ The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:
First, deepen the demonstration of soil and water conservation in the early stage of the project
1. Improving the quality of water and soil conservation programs. The water and soil conservation plan shall be submitted to the water administrative department with the corresponding authority for examination and approval after the approval of the project feasibility study report and before the commencement of construction. Relevant departments of China Railway Group should strengthen the macro-guidance, strengthen the linkage mechanism between the soil and water conservation plan preparation unit and the main design unit, effectively implement the soil and water conservation work requirements into the main project design, and ensure that the project soil and water conservation plan meets the requirements of the soil and water conservation law and relevant laws, regulations and standards, and meet the actual construction of the project. Railway construction units shall organize soil and water conservation plan preparation units and design units to carry out on-site comprehensive site selection and survey of slag disposal sites, and fully communicate with relevant management departments of natural resources, forestry and grass, agriculture and land ownership units or individuals on temporary land use to implement the feasibility of land use and avoid the change of slag disposal sites due to inability to occupy land during implementation.
(2) Strengthening the demonstration of soil and water conservation in the feasibility stage. In the feasibility study stage, the site selection and construction layout of the project should be compared and optimized according to the requirements of soil and water conservation, and the scale of large temporary projects such as soil collection and slag disposal site, beam production (storage) site, rail laying base, prefabrication site, mixing station and construction walkway should be reasonably controlled to minimize surface disturbance and vegetation damage. Implement the requirements of green railway construction, take the utilization rate of earth and stone as an important index for evaluating green railway construction, and comprehensively promote the reduction and resource utilization of waste slag.
(3) Deepening soil and water conservation requirements at the design stage. In the preliminary design stage, a chapter on soil and water conservation should be formulated according to the soil and water conservation plan and relevant standards and specifications, and the design of soil and water conservation measures should be deepened, the investment in soil and water conservation should be fully included in the project budget, and the "one scene and one map" design of soil collection and slag disposal fields and the typical design of soil and water conservation measures of construction road should be fully implemented. The technical review unit of China Railway Group shall simultaneously review the contents of the chapter on soil and water conservation, and clarify the review opinions on soil and water conservation. At the design stage of the construction drawing, it is necessary to clarify the layout of soil and water conservation measures, the amount of works and the construction organization, refine the standard design of soil and water conservation measures for the construction walkway under different conditions, clarify the topsoil stripping and protection, ecological restoration and temporary protection measures, determine the protection measures for the slag dump, and ensure the safety of the slag dump project.
Second, strengthen the implementation of soil and water conservation programs
(4) The main responsibility of the compacted railway construction unit. Railway construction units should strengthen the organization and management, incorporate soil and water conservation work into the project construction management system, establish and improve the soil and water conservation work system, clarify the responsible departments, implement the soil and water conservation responsibilities of the participating parties such as soil and water conservation monitoring, supervision and construction, guarantee the capital investment, strengthen the assessment and evaluation, and ensure that the approved soil and water conservation plan is fully implemented.
(5) Standardize soil and water conservation construction. The construction unit shall carry out construction in strict accordance with the soil and water conservation plan and design requirements, carry out the temporary project design such as the transfer point of waste slag and the construction living site, standardize the construction behavior, optimize the construction technology, and implement various soil and water loss prevention measures simultaneously with the main project. Strictly control the scope of construction disturbance, strengthen the protection of topsoil stripping and temporary protection of construction, restore vegetation in time, and resolutely put an end to random digging and dumping, slope slagging and out-of-range disturbance.
(6) Strengthening supervision and monitoring responsibilities. Soil and water conservation supervision units and personnel should fully implement on-site supervision, strengthen the coordination and interaction with the main project supervision, urge the construction unit to implement various soil and water conservation requirements and measures, and promptly stop and urge the treatment of soil and water conservation problems in construction. Soil and water conservation monitoring units should strengthen the "process control" and "quantitative analysis" of soil and water loss, carry out monitoring three-color evaluation according to regulations, and carry out video surveillance of grade 3 and above slag disposal sites, so as to provide basis and support for construction units to prevent soil loss and water administrative departments to implement supervision.
(7) Strictly control the change of the plan. Once approved, water and soil conservation plans must be strictly implemented. If it is necessary to adjust it due to special circumstances, it shall go through the approval procedures for the change in a timely manner. If a slag dump site is newly established in the slag dump site determined by the soil and water conservation plan, or the grade of the slag dump site is increased due to the increase in the amount of slag dump, the railway construction unit shall carry out the demonstration of the reduction and resource utilization of slag dump, and handle the approval formalities for change according to the procedures.
Third, strengthen the acceptance of soil and water conservation facilities
(8) Standardize facility acceptance and reporting. The railway construction unit shall, in strict accordance with the acceptance conditions and standards determined by the soil and water conservation standards, organize the independent acceptance of soil and water conservation facilities, and complete the acceptance report before the project is put into operation. Involving more than one construction subject, it shall be clear that the lead unit unified organization to carry out the independent acceptance of water and soil conservation facilities, go through the reporting procedures. If it is opened in sections, it may carry out independent acceptance and report of water and soil conservation facilities in sections. Without the receipt of the acceptance report of water and soil conservation facilities issued by the water administrative department, it shall not be put into operation.
(9) Strengthen the management of facility acceptance. River basin management agencies and local departments of water administration at all levels shall carry out acceptance and verification of water and soil conservation facilities in accordance with regulations, and any project found not to meet the prescribed procedures or the acceptance standards and conditions shall be deemed to have failed to pass the acceptance inspection of water and soil conservation facilities, and shall be investigated and dealt with in accordance with laws and regulations. Relevant departments of National Railway Group and railway bureau group companies should give full play to the advantages of overall management of national railway construction projects, strengthen scheduling, urge railway construction units to timely carry out the acceptance of soil and water conservation facilities according to the progress of project construction, organize the management and maintenance of soil and water conservation facilities, and urge railway construction units to complete rectification within a time limit for the problems found in the acceptance and verification of water administrative departments. And investigate the responsibility of relevant units according to relevant requirements.
Fourth, promote coordinated regulation of water and soil conservation
10. Building a coordinated regulatory framework. The Ministry of Water Resources and the National Railway Group have established a regular consultation mechanism to dynamically dispatch the progress of review and approval of soil and water conservation plans for major railway construction projects, and ensure the construction of national major railway projects. Provincial water administration departments, railway bureau group companies and railway companies should strengthen coordination and communication through meetings, discussions, joint research and other means from time to time to promote the solution of key and difficult problems in soil and water conservation projects. Establish and improve the railway construction annual plan, project soil and water conservation management ledger, supervision and other information sharing mechanism to provide support for collaborative supervision. Establish a linkage supervision mechanism, and form a synergy of supervision through joint inspections and special inspections. Strengthen the application of supervision results, river basin management agencies and provincial water administration departments found in the supervision and inspection of soil and water conservation violations, to be copied to the National Railway Group and railway bureau group companies in accordance with the project management authority, and jointly urge the railway construction unit to complete the rectification within a time limit; For construction projects whose quality or credit assessment of railway projects is excellent, river basin management agencies and water administration departments can reduce the frequency of on-site inspection.
(11) Implementing departmental supervision responsibilities. The National Railway Group and the railway bureau group companies should strengthen the organization and leadership, bring soil and water conservation into the scope of daily supervision of the project, and deploy, inspect and assess with the main project. Strengthen the quality evaluation of soil and water conservation design work, the credit evaluation of construction and supervision units and the assessment of construction units, and strengthen the implementation and management of soil and water conservation programs. Summarize and popularize typical experience and practices in time to comprehensively improve the level of soil erosion prevention and control in railway construction projects.
12. Strengthen supervision and guidance. Water administration departments at all levels and river basin management institutions should actively support the construction of railway projects, urge and guide the projects to do a good job in soil and water conservation, and strengthen the supervision and management of soil and water conservation according to law. Advance intervention in key projects, active service, open up green channels. For projects that conscientiously fulfill the obligation of soil erosion prevention and control and have outstanding prevention and control effects, it is recommended to evaluate the "National soil and water conservation Demonstration Project for production and construction projects". Projects found to have violations of soil and water conservation shall be investigated and dealt with according to law and regulations.

Ministry of Water Resources General Office State Railway Group General office

January 3, 2023