Prosecutors in Shandong have filed a lawsuit against a county department of China’s environmental protection ministry, the country’s first such public interest suit against a government department, Reuters reported, citing a statement on the website of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. Prosecutors in Shandong’s Qingyun county had investigated a local sewage firm over allegations that it lacked environmental protection facilities, according to China’s top prosecutor, which said the department had imposed only nominal administrative punishments and committed “illegal acts”. The work of environmental departments has come under greater scrutiny in China due to public discontent over the environment.