Basic Law

Water Pollution Control Act is the basic law related to water pollution control and countermeasures, it’s enacted in 1974 for the following objectives. And it’s recently revised in June 2018.

Water Pollution Control Act

[Objectives] Preventing water pollution, ensuring the cleanliness of water resources, maintaining ecological systems, enhancing the living environment and advancing public health.

The law stipulates about compliance of effluent standards, collection of surcharges (water pollution control costs) and submission of the water pollution control measures plan.

Article 7 states that, those enterprises，sewage systems or building sewage treatment facilities that discharge wastewater or sewage into surface water bodies shall comply with effluent standards. In addition, special municipality, county and city competent authorities may add or strengthen effluent standards regarding total quantity or concentration, control items and methods for water bodies under their jurisdictions that have special environmental characteristics or that require special protection. However, such additions and strictness require approval by central competent authority (Environmental Protection Administration).

Article 11 stipulates that water pollution control fees should be collected from enterprises and sewage systems that discharge wastewater or sewage into surface water bodies. And Article 13 stipulates that prior to establishment or modification, enterprises shall submit water pollution control measures plans and related documents to the special municipality, county or city competent authority or the central competent authority.

 

Basic System

Standards for effluent

For effluent standard, please check the content of original text (the URL of original text is posted in the “6-2 Regulation List”). In addition, there is also an abstract translation for the regulation, please refer to “6-3 Regulation Abstract”.

Charges

Article 11 states that “water pollution control fees shall be collected from enterprises and sewage systems that discharge wastewater or sewage into surface water bodies based on their discharge water quality and water volume or based on their discharge water quality and water volume as determined through a calculation method designed by the central competent authority. The water pollution control fees are used for national water pollution control matters. Article 11 specified that, it will be used for the “remediation of the pollution of surface water bodies” or “improvement of water quality in drinking water source quality control zones” and etc. As a related law for water pollution control fees, there is “Levy Measures for Business and Sewage System Water Pollution Control Fees” (Levy Measures for Water Pollution Control Fees) (For the detail, please refer to the Regulation Abstract).

Water Pollution Control Measure Plan

As mentioned above, Article 13 in the Water Pollution Control Act stipulates the submission of water pollution control measure plans. Article 13 Paragraph 2 states that the type, scope and scale of the target business operator shall be designated by the central competent authority in consultation with the target business competent authority. The detailed contents are stipulated in the announcement “Type, scope and scale of business for which the water pollution control measure plan should be notified”. The announcement was enacted on June 29,1999, and the it was lately revised in June 2018.

The procedure for submitting a water pollution control measure plan is stipulated in the “Water Pollution Control Measure Plan and Permit Application Examination Act”. According to Article 5 of the Act, the application / examination procedure differs depending on various situations such as the business operator specified in the previous announcement or the case where wastewater (sewage) flows into the sewage sewerage system.

In addition, according to Article 6, the business operator designated by the announcement, can take the water-related measures only after submitting the water pollution control measure plan to the issuing organization and obtaining the examination permission at the establishment stage. In addition, if the conditions listed in Article 4 of the Act and Appendix 2 are met, it is necessary to apply for a discharge permit for discharging water to the surface water system.