Wedoany.com Report on Feb 3rd, the Water Resources Department of China's Henan Province issued the "Henan Province On-site River Sand Mining Management Regulations," which will take effect on February 1, 2026. The "Regulations" provide specific requirements for various aspects of on-site sand mining management, including purpose and basis, scope of application, division of responsibilities, supervision duties, preconditions, on-site setup, sand mining equipment requirements, separation of mining and storage, sand storage yard setup, sand storage yard requirements, transport roads, transport vehicle requirements, ecological restoration, daily supervision, mining requirements, prohibited mining period requirements, safety production, information-based supervision, and water administrative law enforcement, totaling 27 articles.
First, there are general provisions, consisting of 4 articles, specifying the purpose, basis, and scope of application. Second, there are mining provisions, totaling 12 articles, covering preconditions, on-site setup, sand mining equipment requirements, sand storage yard setup, sand storage yard requirements, separation of mining and storage, transport roads, transport vehicles, mining requirements, prohibited mining period requirements, and safety production. Third, there are supervision and management provisions, comprising 11 articles, detailing the division of responsibilities, supervision duties, daily supervision, information-based supervision, ecological restoration, electronic mining and transport documentation, and water administrative law enforcement supervision.
The regulations clarify that prominent locations at sand mining sites must display a sand mining permit announcement board, an on-site setup diagram board, a safety warning board, and a "four responsible persons" publicity board.
The regulations specify that the period from June 15 to August 20 each year is the province-wide prohibited mining period. Except for flood control and emergency rescue operations, all river sand mining activities are prohibited. Sand mining operators must concentrate their sand mining vessels at unified designated mooring points specified by county-level people's governments, remove sand mining equipment from the river management area, promptly level sand pits, clear sand and gravel materials, eliminate safety hazards, and ensure river flood discharge safety.
Furthermore, an electronic sand mining and transport management document system will be implemented. The licensing department must designate personnel responsible for reviewing information related to river sand mining, transportation, etc., and is accountable for the authenticity and accuracy of the issued electronic sand mining and transport management documents. Sand mining operators must establish work logs, improve work diaries, and accept inspections by relevant departments. Sand mining operators must entrust carriers with legal transportation qualifications to transport river sand. Sand transport vehicles (vessels) without an electronic sand mining and transport management document are not permitted to leave the sand storage yard.
Sand mining vessels, sand mining equipment, and sand transport vessels (vehicles) must be equipped with satellite positioning devices. The licensing department must establish an information-based supervision platform for river sand mining to receive real-time information from the sand mining operators' electronic monitoring facilities, sand mining machinery, and sand transport vehicles, enabling comprehensive supervision of the mining sites.
