BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature Tuesday began its third review of a draft law on the protection of oil and natural gas pipelines, which spells out the responsibilities of pipeline companies.
The draft requires companies to take safety measures while constructing pipelines, ensure the quality of construction materials, have regular inspections and place warning signs near pipelines.
The deliberation of the draft law comes at a time when the Gulf of Mexico oil leak,the worst oil discharge in U.S. history, has prompted governments worldwide to reconsider the protection of natural resources.
Legislators agreed that land resources should be used in an efficient way and environmental appraisal must be carried out to ensure the construction of pipelines conformed to environmental standards.
Government departments should coordinate major issues regarding pipeline protection and supervise companies in fulfilling their responsibilities of protecting pipelines, lawmakers agreed.
Legislators proposed to apply the draft law only to oil and natural gas pipelines on land as they are more prone to human disturbance.
Lawmakers have requested the State Council, or Cabinet, formulate special regulations regarding the protection of pipelines at sea.
Reviews of a draft law on mediation and draft amendments to the law on officers in reserve service are also on the agenda of the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature.
The draft amendment to the law on reserve officers, which aims at strengthening the country's reserve forces, modifies the retirement age for reserve officers and amends provisions on incentives for reserve officers.
A draft amendment to China's Administrative Supervision Law was also submitted to the top legislature for a second reading Tuesday.
Aiming to encourage tip-offs on official corruption, the draft amendment strengthens protection of informants.
Those who reveal an informant's personal information or issues he or she reports would be prosecuted under the law, it says.
Also on the agenda of the four-day meeting is a review for a consular treaty with Cambodia and discussions of draft amendments to the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees, which considers giving rural people greater powers to remove village committee members and to convene their own meetings to decide village affairs.
Lawmakers are also scheduled to discuss the 2009 central budget submitted by the State Council, or Cabinet, an audit report of the budget and reports on the implementation of the laws on women's rights protection and science and technology progress.
The Standing Committee of the 11th NPC Tuesday opened its bimonthly session, presided over by NPC Standing Committee chairman Wu Bangguo.