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A huge and expanding area of polluted mud that is so big it can be seen from a satellite orbiting the Earth is encroaching on a beautiful landscape in central China’s Hunan Province.

Feitian Mountain, known for its distinctive Danxia landform, was once described by Chinese explorer Xu Xiake (1587-1641) as “unique in every inch of land.” But a wastewater treatment station of a local power plant has been legally discharging waste to the region since 2007, after the area failed to be listed within the local geopark, a newspaper reported.

Because it was outside the park, the facility was approved after an environmental impact assessment 10 years ago.

Despite complaints from local residents and volunteer environmental protectors, no moves have been taken to correct the situation, with officials suggesting they are powerless to act because of the plant’s legal status.

An investigation by the local government has just started, and the power company claims they are trying to improve the environment by planting reeds.

Danxia landform is a unique petrographic geomorphology in China and a treasure for both geological study and tourism. It is often described as “consisting of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs.” Though it resembles karst topography, the rocks forming a Danxia landform are usually sandstone and conglomerates, while karst mountains are limestone.

The landform is named after Danxia Mountain in Guangdong Province, where such a form was first studied. The region between Xiaohetang Village and Gaoyi Hills Village of Chenzhou City in Hunan Province also enjoyed great Danxia scenery before the No. 2 Plant of the Huarun Electric Power Company was built there in 2007.

Three dams were erected to form a closed reservoir for waste discharge. An 11-kilometer pipe connecting the plant and the reservoir continuously discharges coal dust mixed with wastewater, forming a small waterfall of polluted water.

The accumulated dust and mud has already filled natural ravines in the region and formed a huge fan-shaped mud lake, which contrasts with the red mountains and green waters nearby. The mud lake was just as astonishing as the beautiful landscapes nearby when amateur outdoorsman Han Ying came upon it at the end of 2013.

She reported to the local environmental protection bureau, stating that the lake was seriously polluted, probably by a plant in the upper reaches. But her report was overridden, just like that of many local residents and volunteer environmental activists had been over the years.

The bureau’s response said the Huarun No. 2 Plant has environmental approvals and the area is not included as part of the Feitian Mountain scenic spot. It also emphasized that all the wastewater is recycled before being discharged, posing no threat to the surrounding area.

Li Xiaoyong, a director at the No. 2 Plant, also stressed that the company had all the necessary approvals to use the dams and reservoir.

David Cao, an environmental activist who received a copy of the environmental impact assessment of the plant, agreed that the waste-discharging facility does seem legal on paper.

Valuable for science study

However, a government official who refused to be named told the East Morning Post that the environmental impact assessment approved about 10 years ago was actually being pushed through by superior departments.

“The assessment at the time was just a formality,” a staffer at the Chenzhou Environmental Science Academy told the East Morning Post.

The Danxia landform in Gaoyi Hills where the No. 2 Plant is located is valuable both for science study and tourism, according to Dr Liu Jianglong of the Central South University of Forestry and Technology.

Liu participated in a reassessment of all 240 of China’s national geoparks in 2010, a process initiated because of suspected defects in previous planning.

Valuable as it is, the Danxia landform region at Gaoyi Hills was not included in the Feitian Mountain National Geopark due to limitation at the time, according to Liu. “The park was set by drawing a circle on the map, and the Gaoyi Hills were not included,” said Liu. “The dams are definitely improper. I hope that the local government will take moves to protect the precious landform.”

However, with all the legal procedures and documents, it is quite difficult to correct the mistakes from years ago, according to Liu Shuai, director of the supervising department of Hunan’s environmental and resource protection commission, who discovered the problems in Chenzhou during an investigation this September.

Huang Kewu of the local water resources bureau told the Oriental Morning Post that everyone in charge of the wastewater-plant approval had left their posts already, and no related materials could be found.

Liu and others are very concerned that the facility is already damaging local water resources. Shao Yingbi, who lives in Yajiang Village at the lower reach of the plant, was forced to plant turf years ago, as no rice or vegetables have grown well since the dams were put into use in 2007.

Some 700 mu (46.9 hectares) of farmland has been influenced similarly, according Tang Zhenfu, Party secretary of Yajiang Village.

Most of the villagers who used to grow rice as their major crop shifted to turf planting for a living.

Their drinking water resources were cut since the dams were built, and the villagers have to tap springs from the top of the mountain. This can barely satisfy their drinking needs, let alone water their crops, according to Shao.

And as observed by Li Balin of Yangchong Village, who used to do fish farming at the Yangchong Reservoir, there used to be seven or eight species of fish in the reservoir. He said none of them survived since the dams were built.

No reply has been made to the villagers’ compensation request.

Li of the No. 2 Plant still believed that no pollution is discharged into the reservoir. He insisted that all the mud in the reservoir was discharged from 2007 to 2009 with primitive equipment and that little has been added since then.

However, in a 225-milliliter bottle of sample water collected near the drain outlet, at least 1 centimeter of mud settled at the bottom within half an hour.

Li said that they had considered collecting and re-using the mud but decided that was too risky for the safety of the dams.

“The management right is with the superior company, so we cannot take moves without their permission,” Li pointed out.

A staffer charge of this at the Huarun Electric Power Company said the firm has succeeded in planting reeds at the mud lake and is planning to expand the planting area to improve the environment.

An official with the Hunan Environment Protection Bureau said it has started an investigation of the No. 2 Plant’s influence on the environment, promising a result to be announced later.