Xinhua News Agency, Beijing 2 Moon 28 With approval from Premier Li Keqiang, the State Council recently issued the "Notice on the Second Batch of Cleanup and Standardization." 192 The “Decision on the Administrative Approval and Intermediary Services of Certain Departments of the State Council” stipulates that another batch of administrative approval and intermediary services provided by departments of the State Council will be further streamlined and standardized. These items will no longer serve as prerequisites for accepting administrative approval applications.

　　This batch of items subject to cleanup and standardization is primarily divided into three categories: The first category consists of items that are completely abolished—after the cleanup and standardization, applicants will no longer be required to provide relevant assessment, argumentation, appraisal, or certification documents. A total of... 94 Item: The second category has been changed from the original applicant entrusting an intermediary agency to provide relevant materials, to the approval authority commissioning technical services based on the needs of the approval process. In total, 53 Item; the third category, after being streamlined and standardized, allows applicants either to prepare the relevant materials themselves or to continue entrusting intermediary agencies to prepare them—altogether. 45 Item.

　　Among the intermediary services subject to this cleanup and standardization, those involving the field of land and resources include: 10 Item: One is “ Verification and Public Notice of Mining Rights Transfer ” Applicants will no longer be required to entrust mining rights trading institutions with verification and public notice. Instead, the provincial-level departments of natural resources and land will be responsible for publishing information on the transfer of mining rights and issuing opinions confirming that no objections have been raised during the public notice period.

　　Second is “ Preparation of Geological Reports for Mineral Resource Extraction ” Applicants may prepare the geological report for mineral resource extraction themselves as required, or they may entrust a relevant institution to prepare it. The approval authority shall not, in any form, require applicants to engage specific intermediary agencies to provide services. The existing technical assessment, review, and filing of geological reports by the approval authority shall be retained.

　　Third is “ Performance Testing of Chemical Oil Dispersants for Offshore Oil Exploration and Development ” The requirement for applicants to provide performance test reports for chemical oil dispersants has been lifted; the approving authorities will carry out supervision and inspections as required.

　　Fourth is “ Preparation of the Feasibility Study Report for Engineering Construction Projects within the Protection Zone of Territorial Sea Baseline Points ” Applicants may prepare the project feasibility study report themselves as required, or they may entrust a relevant agency to prepare it. The approval authority shall not, in any form, require applicants to engage specific intermediary agencies for such services. The existing technical evaluation and review of project feasibility study reports conducted by the approval authority shall be retained.

　　Five is “ Preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Antarctic Expedition Activities ” Applicants may prepare the environmental impact assessment report themselves as required, or they may entrust a relevant agency to prepare it. The approval authority shall not, in any form, require applicants to engage specific intermediary agencies to provide services. The existing technical evaluation and review of environmental impact assessment reports conducted by the approval authority shall be retained.

　　Six is “ Reclamation Project Completion and Acceptance Survey ” The applicant may prepare the completion acceptance survey report for the reclamation project independently as required, or may entrust a relevant agency to prepare it. The approval authority shall not, in any form, require the applicant to engage a specific intermediary agency to provide such services. The existing technical assessment and review of completion acceptance survey reports for reclamation projects conducted by the approval authority shall be retained.

　　Seven is “ Marine Area Use Justification ” Applicants may prepare the marine area use feasibility study report themselves as required, or they may entrust a relevant institution to prepare it. The approval authority shall not, in any form, require applicants to engage specific intermediary agencies to provide services. The existing technical assessment and review of marine area use feasibility study reports by the approval authority shall be retained.

　　Eight is “ Waste Characteristic and Composition Testing ” The requirement for applicants to provide waste characteristic and composition test reports has been removed; instead, the approval authority will commission relevant institutions to conduct such tests.

　　Nine is “ Preparation of the Report on the Selection of Temporary Marine Disposal Areas ” The requirement for applicants to submit reports on the selection of temporary marine disposal areas has been removed; instead, the approving authority will commission relevant institutions to conduct feasibility studies for the selection of such areas.

　　Ten is “ Inspection of Oil-Containing Drilling Mud and Drill Cuttings Samples from Offshore Oil Exploration and Development ” Applicants will no longer be required to provide inspection reports for oil-containing drilling mud and drill cuttings samples. Instead, the approval authority will commission relevant institutions to conduct inspections of these samples.