风险社会背景下环境影响评价制度的反思与变革——以常州外国语学校“毒地”事件为切入点

Reflection and Reform of Environmental Impact Assessment System under Background of Risky Society

常州"毒地"事件再次让环境影响评价制度成为众矢之的。然而,建设项目未批先建之程序不合法虽然常常是导致环境污染事件的重要原因,但并不是唯一原因。当源头预防性的规划环评在我国无法得到有效执行时,具体项目环评过程中对周围环境状况的调查与评价成为识别、预防和减少建设项目之间累积效应的最后一道防线。然而,这道防线常常由于现有环评制度对周围环境状况的稳定性认识而惨遭突破。在风险社会的背景下,未来环评制度的改革应当以风险规制为核心,对影响拟议行为的外生性风险进行有效识别,并通过拓展风险预防原则的适用范围,弥合风险规制过程的内部断裂实现环评制度从损害预防到风险规制的制度转向。

The ＂brownfield＂ event of Changzhou Foreign Languages School makes EIA the target of public criticism again. However, although the illegal procedure of construction before approval is often one of the most important reasons for environmental pollution, it is not the only one. While preventive planning EIA does not work well in China, assessing the impacts of ambient environment on proposed project becomes the last ditch to prevent and reduce the accumulative effect of different projects. Unfortunately, this defensive line is often broken through due to the ＂stationarity＂ assumption of current EIA regime. Against the background of risk society, China＇s EIA reform should be centered with risk regulation, identify the impacts of external environmental risks, expand the application scope of precautionary principle and develop the risk regulation process. This will help the EIA regime to transform from harm prevention to risk regulation.