Abstract: The revised "Administrative Penalty Law" of China in 2021 explicitly stipulates in Article 33,Paragraph 1,that "for a first-time offense with minor harmful consequences and prompt correction,an administrative penalty may be exempted." This is academically summarized as the "First-time Offense Exemption" system.To optimize the business environment and implement the concept of prioritizing ecological protection,the "Administrative Measures for Environmental Protection Penalties" revised in China in 2023 explicitly introduced the "First-time Offense Exemption" system into the field of ecological environment.As a new institutional innovation to alleviate the trend of heavy penalties in administrative penalties,the "First-time Offense Exemption" in the ecological environment has significant advantages in optimizing environmental governance methods.The "First-time Offense Exemption" in the ecological environment has its own unique regulatory logic,including a normative logic characterized by static connotation and dynamic application,and a practical logic with incentive-based prevention as the main body and deterrent-based prevention as a safeguard.Correspondingly,the "First-time Offense Exemption" in the ecological environment has structural defects in the normative structure of "broad in front and narrow in back|",and dilemmas in practice such as insufficient deterrent-based prevention effects and the capture of incentive-based prevention effects.In response,it is necessary to set practical and targeted strategies based on its regulatory logic and applicable dilemmas:on the one hand,the normative application system of "First-time Offense Exemption" in the ecological environment should be optimized by focusing on the criteria for discretionary requirements and the construction of discretionary effects;on the other hand,it is appropriate to strengthen the practical operation effects of "First-time Offense Exemption" in the ecological environment by starting with a diverse responsibility system in the ecological environment and internal management-type regulation of involved enterprises.

Key words: ecological environment, "First-time Offense Exemption", administrative penalty, environmental law enforcement