The halt marked a major victory for the environmental watchdog agency, regarded by many as toothless, in its fight against major environmental law violators including the Ministry-level Three Gorges Project Corp. which is building the world's largest hydropower station on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Construction of these projects, mostly in the power sector, had all begun without passing an environmental impact assessment, which is required by Chinese law.

The projects include Xiluodu Hydropower Station on the upper Yangtze River, second largest next only to the Three Gorges hydropower station, the underground power station at the Three Gorges Dam and the Three Gorges project power supply station operated by the Three Gorges Project Corp.

The SEPA issued on Jan. 18 an edict ordering the 30 projects tohalt, and construction of 27 of them soon stopped, except the three under the Three Gorges Project Corp. Then, the SEPA threatened to take legal action against the powerful company.

"The leading officials of the company have communicated with the SEPA and said they had had a more accurate and more comprehensive understanding of the environmental assessment law," said Pan Yue, deputy director of the SEPA.

The officials promised that construction on the preliminary projects attached to the Xiluodu hydropower station will wait until after an environment assessment report on the preliminary project is made and approved, Pan said.

Separate assessments also need to be made and approved for other projects linked to the power station, including an impact report on endangered fish habitat in a state sanctioned nature reserve along sections of the Yangtze River, he said.

The company will also halt construction on the Three Gorges underground power station and the Three Gorges project electrical power supply plant until impact reports are made, he added.

Observers here see the crackdown on the projects as a major effort by the SEPA to increase its power and turn around some 25 years of spectacular economic growth in China that has largely come with scant environmental regulation.

Last Thursday, the SEPA blacklisted 46 coal-fired power plants, ordering them to install desulfurization equipment as required and warning that legal action would be taken against them if they failed to do so.

China's air and water quality remain some of the worst in the world. The crackdown has emerged as the central government tries to rein in growth and curb investment, especially in the power sector, for sustainable economic growth.

Pan urged local environmental protection bureaus around the country to sharpen their teeth in the fight against pollution, and said that public participation in the battle was welcome.