Measures for Pollutant Discharge Permitting Administration (For Trial Implementation)

· Document Number：Order No. 48 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection

· Area of Law： Environmental Protection

· Level of Authority： Departmental Rules

· Date issued：01-10-2018

· Effective Date：01-10-2018

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Ministry of Environmental Protection

Order of the Ministry of Environmental Protection
(No. 48)
The Measures for Pollutant Discharge Permitting Administration (For Trial Implementation), as deliberated and adopted at the executive meeting of the Ministry of Environmental Protection on November 6, 2017, are hereby issued, and shall come into force upon issuance.
Li Ganjie Minister of Environmental Protection
January 10, 2018
Annex
Measures for Pollutant Discharge Permitting Administration (For Trial Implementation)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 For the purposes of regulating the pollution discharge permitting administration, these Measures are developed under the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Implementation Plan for the Permit System for Controlling Pollutants Emission as issued by the General Office of the State Council.
Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the application for and the issuance and enforcement of pollution discharge permits and the regulation, punishment and other conduct relating to pollutant discharge permitting.
Article 3 The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall develop and issue according to law a classification administration list of pollutant discharge permitting for fixed pollution sources and specify the scope under pollutant discharge permitting administration and the application time limit.
The enterprises, public institutions and other producers and businesses (hereinafter referred to as the "pollutant discharging entities") on the list shall apply for and obtain a pollutant discharge permit according to the prescribed application time limit; and those not on the list are required to do so for the time being.
Article 4 A pollutant discharging entity shall hold a pollutant discharge permit as legally required and discharge the pollutant as provided in the pollutant discharge permit.
Without a required pollutant discharge permit, no pollutant may be discharged.
Article 5 Pollution discharging entities generating or discharging high-volume pollutants or highly detrimental to the environment shall be placed under priority pollutant discharge permitting administration, and the others shall be placed under summary pollutant discharge permitting administration.
The specific scope of pollutant discharging entities under priority pollutant discharge permitting administration or those under summary pollutant discharge permitting administration shall be governed by the classification administration list of pollutant discharge permitting for fixed pollution sources. The content and requirements of the application of priority administration and summary administration shall be governed by the relevant technical specifications and guidelines relating to pollutant discharge permitting as described in Article 11 of these Measures.
The local environmental protection authorities at and above the level of city divided into districts shall determine the pollutant discharging entities subject to priority pollutant discharge permitting administration as priority pollutant discharging entities.
Article 6 The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall be responsible for the implementation and supervision of the national pollutant discharge permitting rules. Each provincial environmental protection authority shall be responsible for the organization of the implementation and supervision of the local pollutant discharge permitting rules.
The environmental protection authorities at the level of city divided into districts in the places of production and business of pollutant discharging entities shall be responsible for issuing pollutant discharge permits, unless otherwise provided by local rules.
Article 7 An pollutant discharging entity under a same corporate entity or any other organization, having more than one place of production and business, shall, in the name of the corporate entity or other organization, apply for a pollutant discharge permit with the environmental protection authority having the issuing power (hereinafter referred to as the "issuing environmental protection authority") in each of the production and business venues.
Where the place of production and business and the outlet are in different administrative regions, the issuing environmental protection authority in the place of production and business shall be responsible for issuing the pollutant discharge permit provided that, before doing so, it shall solicit the opinions of the environmental protection authority at the same level in the place of the outlet.
Article 8 As required by the relevant laws, the environmental protection authorities shall subject the discharge of water pollutants, air pollutants, and other various pollutants by pollutant discharging entities to comprehensive permitting administration.
For pollutant discharging entities that have obtained construction project environmental impact assessment approval opinions on or after January 1, 2015, the main content regarding pollutant discharge in the environmental impact assessment documents and approval opinions shall be included in the pollutant discharge permits.
Article 9 The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall place pollutant discharging entities subject to pollutant discharge permitting administration and their production facilities, production prevention and control facilities and outlets under unified coding administration.
Article 10 The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall be responsible for building, operating, maintaining and managing the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.
The application for and its acceptance, review, issuance, modification, renewal, deregistration, revocation, and re-issuance as a result of loss of a pollutant discharge permit shall be conducted on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform. The self-monitoring and enforcement reports of the pollutant discharging entities and the information on the regulation and law enforcement from the environmental protection authorities shall be entered in and made public according to these Measures through the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.
The electronic information relating to pollutant discharge permits recorded in the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform shall have the same effect as the original and duplicate of pollutant discharge permits according to law.
Article 11 The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall develop technical specifications of application and issuance of pollutant discharge permits, technical specifications of environmental management ledgers and pollutant discharge permits enforcement reports, technical guidelines on the self-monitoring by pollutant discharging entities, guidelines on feasible pollution prevention and control technologies, and other pollutant discharging permitting policies, standards and specifications.
Chapter II Content of Pollution Discharge Permits
Article 12 A pollutant discharge permit consists of an original and a duplicate copy, and while the original specifies the basic information, the duplicate contains the basic information, registration items, permitting items, undertaking, etc.
The local environmental protection authorities at and above the level of city divided into districts may add more contents that need to be included in the pollutant discharge permit under local environmental protection rules.
Article 13 The following basic information shall be included in both the original and the duplicate of a pollutant discharge permit:
(1) Name, registered address, legal representative or principal person in charge, persons in charge of technology, address of the place of production and business, industry category, unified social credit code, and other basic information of the pollutant discharging entity.
(2) The validity period, issuing authority, issuing date, serial number, QR code, and other basic information of the pollutant discharge permit.
Article 14 The following registration items shall be declared by pollutant discharging entities and specified in the duplicate of the pollutant discharge permits:
(1) Main production facilities, main products and capacity, and main and accessory raw materials, etc.;
(2) Pollutant generating and discharging links and pollution prevention and control facilities, etc.;
(3) Environmental impact assessment approval opinions, the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants broken down and assigned to the entities in accordance with the law, and the records of onerous use of and trading in the right of pollutant discharge, etc.
Article 15 The following permitting items shall be applied for by pollutant discharging entities and, upon the review of the issuing environmental protection authorities, specified in the duplicate of a pollutant discharge permit:
(1) The locations and number of outlets, the manners and destination, among others, of pollutant discharge, and the locations and number of fugitive emission sources of air pollutants.
(2) The types of pollutants from outlets and fugitive emissions, permitted pollutant concentrations, and permitted quantity of pollutants discharged.
(3) Environmental management requirements which shall be complied with after the pollution discharge permit is obtained.
(4) Other permitting items as prescribed by laws and regulations.
Article 16 The issuing environmental protection authorities shall determine the permitted concentrations of pollutants from the outlets or fugitive emissions of pollutant discharging entities according to the local and national pollutant discharging standards.
Any more stringent pollutant concentrations a pollutant discharging entity undertakes to comply with shall be specified in the duplicate of its pollution discharge permit.
Article 17 The issuing environmental protection authorities shall determine the permitted quantity of pollutant discharged by pollutant discharging entities according to the methodology to calculate the permitted quantity of industry priority pollutant discharged as described in the technical specifications of application and issuance of pollutant discharge permits and the requirements for environmental quality improvement.
With respect to a pollutant discharging entity to which the total quantity control indicators of priority pollutants has been broken down and assigned in accordance with the law before the implementation of these Measures, the issuing environmental protection authorities shall determine the permitted quantity of pollutant discharged according to the methodology to calculate the permitted quantity of industry priority pollutant discharged, the requirements for environmental quality improvement, and total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants.
For a pollutant discharging entity that obtained environmental impact assessment approval opinions on or after January 1, 2015, if the quantity of pollutant discharged determined in the environmental impact assessment documents and approval opinions is more stringent than that as determined under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the issuing environmental protection authorities shall determine the quantity according to the environmental impact assessment documents and approval opinions.
If any plan for environmental quality coming up to standard within a specified period, or the heavy air pollution response measures, developed by the local people's governments according to the law, require pollutant discharging entities to comply with more stringent total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants, the requirements shall be specified in the duplicate of a pollutant discharge permit.
The environmental protection authorities shall, upon implementation of these Measures, determine the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants for environmental protection authorities according to the permitted quantity of pollutants discharged as specified in the pollutant discharge permits.
Article 18 The following environmental management requirements shall be specified in the duplicate of a pollutant discharge permit by the issuing environmental protection authorities according to the application materials of pollutant discharging entities, the relevant technical specifications, and regulatory needs:
(1) The requirements for the operation and maintenance of pollution prevention and control facilities and for the control of fugitive emissions, etc.
(2) Self-monitoring requirements, ledger keeping requirements, content and frequency of enforcement reporting, and other requirements.
(3) Requirements for disclosing the information of pollutant discharging entities to the public.
(4) Other items as required by laws and regulations.
Article 19 A pollutant discharging entity shall, when applying for a pollutant discharge permit, prepare a self-monitoring plan according to the self-monitoring technical guidelines.
The self-monitoring plan shall include the following:
(1) Location and sketch of monitoring stations, monitoring indicators, and monitoring frequency.
(2) Adopted monitoring and analysis methodology and sampling methodology.
(3) Monitoring quality assurance and quality control requirements.
(4) Requirements for recording, reorganization and archiving of the monitoring data.
Article 20 A pollutant discharging entity shall, when filling in an application for pollutant discharge permit, undertake that the application materials for the pollutant discharge permit is complete, authentic and lawful; and undertake to discharge pollutants according to the pollutant discharge permit and implement the environmental management requirements contained in the pollutant discharge permit, signed or sealed by the legal representative or the principal person in charge.
Article 21 A pollutant discharge permit shall take effect on the date when the permitting decision is made. The validity period of an emission permit issued for the first time shall be three years, and the validity period of a renewed emission permit shall be five years.
For any outdated technological equipment, or outdated products, which the industry policy list issued by the comprehensive and macro economic regulation department of the State Council in conjunction with the other relevant departments of the State Council purports to eliminate, the validity period of the pollutant discharge permit shall not exceed the purported time limit for the elimination.
Article 22 The environmental protection authorities shall not collect any fees for issuing pollutant discharge permits or conducting supervisory inspection of the enforcement of pollutant discharge permits.
Chapter III Application and Issuance
Article 23 The provincial environmental protection authorities shall, under Article 6 of these Measures and the classification administration list of pollution discharge licensing for fixed pollution sources, determine and announce the issuing environmental protection authorities responsible for accepting the applications for pollutant discharge permits in their respective administrative regions, application procedures, and other relevant matters.
If a region decides to subject part industries to pollutant discharge permitting administration in advance as required for the improvement of environmental quality, the provincial environmental protection authority in the region shall do so after filing with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and make an announcement.
Article 24 A pollutant discharging entity that has already been established and discharged pollutants before the time limit as provided in the classification administration list of pollution discharge licensing for fixed pollution sources shall apply for a pollutant discharge permit within the time limit; and a pollutant discharging entity established after the time limit shall do so before launching the production facilities or discharging pollutants.
Article 25 A pollutant discharging entity under priority administration shall disclose its undertaking, basic information, and permitted items under the purported application to the public before submitting the application materials for pollutant discharge permitting. The disclosure shall be made through the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform or in any other manner easily accessible to the public, and the disclosure shall not last less than five working days.
Article 26 A pollutant discharging entity shall complete and submit its application for a pollutant discharge permit on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform and submit the written application package generated through the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform to the issuing environmental protection authority.
The application package shall include the following:
(1) The application form for a pollutant discharge permit, mainly containing: the basic information of the pollutant discharging entity; main production facilities, main products and capacity, and main and accessory raw materials; exhaust gas, waste water, and other pollutant generating and discharging links and pollution prevention and control facilities; locations and number of the outlets under the application, discharging manner, and discharging destination; the types of pollutants discharged under the application by outlets, production facilities or workshops, pollutant concentrations, and quantity of pollutant discharged; and governing discharging standards.
(2) The self-monitoring plan.
(3) The undertaking signed or sealed by the legal representative or principal person in charge of the pollutant discharging entity.
(4) Statements regarding the standardization of outlets made by the pollutant discharging entity.
(5) The approval document number for the construction project environmental impact assessment document, or the supporting documents relating to the disposition, rectification or regulation conducted by the local people's government according to the relevant provisions to the extent of meeting the requirements.
(6) The form of statements of the information disclosure before the application for a pollutant discharge permit.
(7) An operating and managing entity of centralized sewage treatment facilities shall also provide the scope of sewage received, the list of sewage receiving or discharging entities, pipe networks, final destination of discharge, and other materials.
(8) If, for a construction, reconstruction or expansion project of a pollutant discharging entity, upon the implementation of these Measures the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants is obtained through substitution or reduction by maintaining or cutting the quantity of pollutants discharged, and the pollutant discharging entity alienating the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants has already obtained a pollutant discharge permit, providing the materials relating to the completion of the modification of the pollutant discharge permit by the pollutant discharging entity alienating the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants.
(9) Other materials as required by any law, regulation or rules.
The pollutant discharging entity shall indicate main production facilities, main products and capacity, or any other registration items involving a trade secret.
Article 27 The issuing environmental protection authority shall, upon receipt of the application package submitted by a pollutant discharging entity, review the integrity and standard compliance of the materials and process it according to the following circumstances:
(1) if no pollutant discharge permit is required under these Measures, notify the pollutant discharging entity forthwith or within five working days that no permit is required.
(2) if the application is outside its remit, decide not to grant acceptance and notify the pollutant discharging entity to apply to the authority having the issuing power, forthwith or within five working days.
(3) if the application package is incomplete or does not conform to the provisions, issue a notice forthwith or within five working days to inform the pollutant discharging entity of all the supplements and corrections, and if correction may be made forthwith, allow the pollutant discharging entity to do so.
(4) accept the application if the application is within its remit, the application materials are complete and conform to the provisions, or the pollutant discharging entity has submitted all the supplements and corrections as required.
The issuing environmental protection authority shall decide whether or not to accept the application on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform and issue a notice of acceptance or rejection sealed and dated to the pollutant discharging entity.
The issuing environmental protection authority shall notify the pollutant discharging entity of the necessary supplements and corrections. If it fails to do that, it shall be deemed to have granted acceptance upon receipt of the written application materials.
Article 28 Under any of the following circumstances, the issuing environmental protection authority shall not issue a pollutant discharge permit:
(1) A region where construction is banned by any law or regulation.
(2) Any outdated technological equipment, or outdated products, of which the industry policy list issued by the comprehensive and macro economic regulation department of the State Council in conjunction with the other relevant departments of the State Council expressly order elimination or immediate elimination.
(3) Other circumstances under which the application shall be disapproved as provided by any law or regulation.
Article 29 The issuing environmental protection authorities shall review the application materials of the pollutant discharging entities and issue pollutant discharge permits to those that meet the following conditions:
(1) Obtaining as legally required the approval opinions on the construction project environmental impact assessment document, or the supporting documents relating to the disposition, rectification or regulation conducted by the local people's government according to the relevant provisions to the extent of meeting the requirements.
(2) Using or taking pollution prevention and control facilities or measures capable of meeting the concentration requirements for permitted discharge.
(3) The discharge concentrations conform to Article 16 of these Measures and the discharge quantity conforms to Article 17 of the same.
(4) The self-monitoring plan conforms to the relevant technical specifications.
(5) If, for a construction, reconstruction or expansion project of a pollutant discharging entity, and upon the implementation of these Measures the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants has been obtained through substitution or reduction by maintaining or cutting the quantity of pollutants discharged, the pollutant discharging entity alienating the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants has already completed the modification of the pollutant discharge permit.
Article 30 Where corresponding feasible pollution prevention and control technology is applied, or a pollutant discharging entity of a construction, reconstruction or expansion project applies the pollution prevention and control technology as required by the environmental impact assessment approval opinions, the issuing environmental protection authority may consider the pollution prevention and control facilities or measures used or taken by the pollutant discharging entity to be capable of meeting the concentration requirements for permitted discharge.
In a case not mentioned in the preceding paragraph, a pollutant discharging entity may provide monitoring data as proof. The monitoring data shall be obtained through monitoring equipment in conformity with the relevant monitoring and measurement certification provisions and technical specifications issued by the state; and for pollution treatment technology first applied in China, project experimental data shall be provided as proof.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall revise the guidelines on feasible pollution prevention and control technology in good time according to the execution of pollutant discharge across the country.
Article 31 The issuing environmental protection authority shall decide whether to grant a permit within 20 working days of accepting an application. The issuing environmental protection authority shall issue a pollutant discharge permit sealed by it to the pollutant discharging entity within ten working days after it is decided to grant the permit.
If the issuing environmental protection authority fails to make a decision within 20 working days, it may, with the approval of the person in charge of it, have an extension of ten working days and notify the pollutant discharging entity of the reasons of the extension.
If a hearing, inspection, testing, or expert assessment is required in accordance with the law, the time required shall not be included in any period as mentioned in this Article. The issuing environmental protection authority shall notify the pollutant discharging entity of the required time in writing.
Article 32 Where the issuing environmental protection authority decides to grant a permit, it must submit the approval results to the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform and obtain a nationally unified serial number for the pollutant discharge permit.
In the same case, it shall announce the basic information, permitting items, and its undertaking in the original and duplicate of the pollutant discharge permit in the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.
If the issuing environmental protection authority decides to disprove the application, it shall prepare a written decision of disapproval, notify the pollutant discharging entity of the reasons for the disapproval in writing and its right to apply for administrative reconsideration, or bring an administrative action, in accordance with the law, and make an announcement in the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.
Chapter IV Implementation and Supervision
Article 33 Tampering with pollutant discharge permits shall be prohibited. The illegal alienation of pollutant discharge permits by lease, lending, sale or any other means shall be prohibited. A pollutant discharging entity shall place its pollutant discharge permit in the place of its production and business convenient for public supervision.
Article 34 A pollutant discharging entity shall, according to the provisions in its pollutant discharge permit, install or use monitoring equipment in conformity with the relevant monitoring and measurement certification provisions and the technical specifications issued by the state, maintain the monitoring facilities as required, conduct self-monitoring, and keep original monitoring records.
A pollutant discharging entity subject to priority pollutant discharge permitting administration shall, according to the provisions in the pollutant discharge permit, install automatic monitoring equipment connected to the monitoring equipment of the environmental protection authorities.
If no feasible pollution prevention and control technology is applied, self-monitoring shall be heightened, and the feasibility that the pollution prevention and control technology reaches standard shall be assessed.
Article 35 A pollutant discharging entity shall keep records according to the requirements relating to ledger keeping in the pollutant discharge permit, based on the characteristics of its production and pollutant discharge, by outlets or fugitive emissions. The records shall mainly include the following:
(1) The information on the operation of main production facilities relating to pollutant discharge; if an abnormal situation takes place, the reasons and the measures taken shall be recorded.
(2) The information on the operation and management of pollution prevention and control facilities; if an abnormal situation takes place, the reasons and the measures taken shall be recorded.
(3) The actual concentrations and quantity of pollutant discharged; if a pollutant is discharged by exceeding standards, the reasons and the measures taken shall be recorded.
(4) Other information required to be recorded according to the relevant technical specifications.
The ledger shall be retained for at least three years.
Article 36 The actual quantity of pollutant discharged shall be calculated by the outlets of exhaust gas or sewage, production facilities or workshops, respectively, as specified in the pollutant discharge permit, according to the following methodology, in the following order:
(1) If automatic pollutant monitoring equipment in conformity with the provisions and monitoring specifications issued by the state has been installed and has been in use in accordance with the law, the calculation shall be made according to the automatic pollutant monitoring data.
(2) If the law does not require the installation of automatic pollutant monitoring equipment, the calculation shall be made according to the manual pollutant monitoring data in conformity with national provisions and monitoring specifications.
(3) If the methods as described in (1) and (2) herein do not apply, or automatic pollutant monitoring equipment has not been installed as legally required, or the automatic pollutant monitoring equipment does not conform to provisions, calculation shall be made according to the pollutant generating and discharging coefficients and material balance methodologies as provided for by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Article 37 A pollutant discharging entity shall prepare a pollutant discharge permit enforcement report according to the content and frequency of enforcement reporting as specified in the pollutant discharge permit.
Such a report may be made on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.
A pollutant discharging entity shall complete, submit, and disclose to the public an annual pollutant discharge permit enforcement report on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform and submit a hard-copy enforcement report generated through the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform to the issuing environmental protection authority. The hard-copy enforcement report shall be signed or sealed by the legal representative or principal person in charge.
A monthly or quarterly enforcement report shall at least include the following:
(1) Stating the actual concentrations and quantity of pollutant discharged and the standard compliance analysis according to the self-monitoring results.
(2) Stating the information that the pollutant discharging entity discharged pollutants by exceeding the standards, or on the abnormality of pollution prevention and control facilities.
An annual enforcement report may be substituted for the enforcement report for the current month or quarter, with the following added:
(1) The basic information of the pollutant discharging entity.
(2) The operational information of the pollution prevention and control facilities.
(3) The information of implementation of self-monitoring.
(4) The information of the keeping of the environmental management ledger.
(5) Information disclosure.
(6) The information of development and operation of the environmental management system of the pollutant discharging entity.
(7) The information on the enforcement of other provisions in the pollutant discharge permit.
The main content of a construction project completion environmental protection acceptance check report relating to pollutant discharge shall be contained by the pollutant discharging entity in the annual pollutant discharge permit enforcement report for the year when the acceptance check of the project is completed.
When a pollution accident takes place, the pollutant discharging entity shall make a timely report according to the relevant laws, regulations and rules.
Article 38 A pollutant discharging entity shall be responsible for the authenticity and integrity of the submitted ledgers, monitoring data and enforcement reports and accept the supervisory inspection by the environmental protection authorities in accordance with the law.
Article 39 The environmental protection authority shall make a law enforcement plan and determine regulatory priorities and inspection frequency in law enforcement, taking into account the environmental credit records of a pollutant discharging entity.
In the supervisory inspection of a pollutant discharging entity, the environmental protection authority shall inspect the implementation of the permitting items as specified in the pollutant discharge permits in priority, by law enforcement monitoring, examination of ledgers and self-monitoring data, and other monitoring means, verify the authenticity of pollutant discharge data and enforcement reports, decide the compliance with the permitted concentrations and quantity of pollutants discharged, and inspect the implementation of environmental management requirements.
The environmental protection authorities shall enter the time, content and results of on-site inspections and punishment decisions on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform and release the monitoring law enforcement information and the lists of pollutant discharging entities without pollutant discharge permits, or violating the provisions in the pollutant discharge permits, in the same according to the law.
Article 40 The environmental protection authority may, by means of government procurement of services, organize or commission a technical institution to provide technical support for pollutant discharge permitting administration.
The technical institution shall be responsible for the technical reports it submits, without charging a pollutant discharging entity any fees.
Article 41 The superior environmental protection authority may conduct supervisory inspection and guidance of the issuance of pollutant discharge permits by its subordinate environmental protection authorities and, if discovering any violation as described in Article 49 of these Measures, revoke it according to law.
Article 42 The public and the press are encouraged to supervise the pollutant discharge by pollutant discharging entities. A pollutant discharging entity shall disclose the relevant pollutant discharging information to the public in a timely manner and voluntarily accept public supervision.
A citizen, legal person, or any other organization that discovers any violation of these Measures by a pollutant discharging entity shall have the right report it to the environmental protection authority.
The environmental protection authority receiving the report shall process it in accordance with the law, provide feedback on the investigation results according to the relevant provisions, and keep the informant confidential.
Chapter V Modification, Renewal and Revocation
Article 43 Where any of the following items relating to a pollutant discharging entity changes within the validity period of its pollutant discharge permit, it shall apply to the issuing environmental protection authority within the given period for modification of its pollutant discharge permit:
(1) Within 30 working days from the date when the name, address, legal representative or principal person in charge, or any other basic information of the pollutant discharging entity contained in the original changes.
(2) Within 30 working days from the date when the permitted items change by reason of the pollutant discharging entity.
(3) If the pollutant discharging entity is required to conduct an environmental impact assessment for its construction, reconstruction, or expansion project on its existing site, within 30 working days between the obtainment of the environmental impact assessment approval opinions and the change of the pollutant discharge.
(4) Within 30 working days pending the implementation of newly set or revised local or national pollutant discharge standards.
(5) Within 30 working days from the change of the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants broken down and implemented in accordance with the law.
(6) Within 30 working days pending the implementation of a plan for standard compliance within given periods as laid down by the local people's government according to the law.
(7) Within 30 working days following the implementation of a contingency plan for heavily polluted air developed by the local people's government according to law.
(8) Modification otherwise required by any law or regulation.
In a case as described in paragraph 1(3) of this Article, if the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants are obtained through substitution or reduction by maintaining or cutting the quantity of pollutants discharged, the pollutant discharging entity alienating the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority pollutants shall have already completed the modification of the pollutant discharge permit before the pollutant discharging entity applies for modification of its pollutant discharge permit.
Article 44 For the modification of a pollutant discharge permit, the following application materials shall be submitted:
(1) An application for modification of the pollutant discharge permit.
(2) The undertaking signed or sealed by the legal representative or principal person in charge of the pollutant discharging entity.
(3) A photocopy of the original of the pollutant discharge permit.
(4) Other materials relevant to the modification of pollutant discharge permitting items.
Article 45 The issuing environmental protection authority shall review the application materials of modification, and, if it decides to approve the modification, it shall specify and seal the content of the modification in the duplicate of the pollutant discharge permit and make an announcement on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform; and, in a case as mentioned in paragraph 1(1), Article 43 of these Measures, also issue a new original of the pollutant discharge permit.
In a case as set forth in paragraph 1, Article 43 of these Measures, the validity period of the pollutant discharge permit shall still begin to run from the date of issuing the former one; and in a case as specified in paragraph 2, Article 43 of these Measures, the validity period of the modified pollutant discharge permit shall begin to run from the date of modification.
In a case as mentioned in paragraph 1(1) of Article 43 of these Measures, the issuing environmental protection authority shall decide whether to approve modification within 10 working days of accepting the application; and in other cases as specified in paragraph 1 of Article 43 of these Measures, a decision as to whether to approve the modification shall be made within 20 working days from the date when the application was accepted.
Article 46 Where a pollutant discharging entity needs to renew its pollutant discharge permit it has lawfully obtained, it shall apply to the original issuing environmental protection authority 30 working days before the expiry of the pollutant discharge permit.
Article 47 An applicant for the renewal of its pollutant discharge permit shall submit the following materials:
(1) An application for renewal of the pollutant discharge permit.
(2) The undertaking signed or sealed by the legal representative or principal person in charge of the pollutant discharging entity.
(3) A photocopy of the original of the pollutant discharge permit.
(4) Other materials relevant to the renewal of pollutant discharge permitting items.
Article 48 The issuing environmental protection authority shall review the application materials for renewal under Article 29 of these Measures and decide whether to renew the permit within 20 working days of accepting the application.
If it decides to renew the permit, it shall issue a pollutant discharge permit sealed by it to the pollutant discharging entity, take back the original of the former one, and make an announcement in the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.
Article 49 Under any of the following circumstances, the issuing environmental protection authority or its superior administrative agency may revoke the pollutant discharge permit and make an announcement on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform:
(1) Issuing a pollutant discharge permit beyond the statutory power.
(2) Issuing a pollutant discharge permit in violation of statutory procedure.
(3) An employee of the issuing environmental protection authority issuing a pollutant discharge permit by abusing power or neglecting his/her duties.
(4) Granting administrative licensing to an applicant disqualified for application, or not meeting the statutory conditions.
(5) Other circumstances in which a pollutant discharge permit may otherwise be revoked in accordance with the law.
Article 50 Under any of the following circumstances, the issuing environmental protection authority shall undergo the formalities for the deregistration of the pollutant discharge permit and make an announcement on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform:
(1) An administrative license expires and has not been renewed.
(2) The pollutant discharging entity terminates according to the law.
(3) Deregistration is otherwise required.
Article 51 Where a pollutant discharge permit is missing or damaged, the pollutant discharging entity shall apply to the issuing environmental protection authority for another pollutant discharge permit within 30 working days; in the former case, it shall release a declaration of loss on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform before the application; and in the latter case, it shall return the damaged pollutant discharge permit at the application.
The issuing environmental protection authority shall issue a new pollutant discharge permit within ten working days of receiving the application and make an announcement on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.
Chapter VI Legal Liability
Article 52 Where the environmental protection authority commits any of the following conducts during acceptance, issuance and regulation and law enforcement of pollutant discharge permits, its superior administrative agency or the supervisory authority shall order it to take corrective actions and take an administrative action against the person in charge directly liable or any other directly liable person according to law; if it is criminally punishable, the offender shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law:
(1) Failing to accept an application that meets the acceptance requirements in accordance with the law.
(2) Failing to issue a pollutant discharge permit in accordance with the law, or failing to make a decision to issue a pollutant discharge permit within the statutory period, to one that meets the permitting conditions.
(3) Issuing a pollutant discharge permit to one that does not meet the permitting conditions, or issuing a pollutant discharge permit beyond the statutory power.
(4) Collecting fees without authorization when implementing pollutant discharge permit administration.
(5) Failing to disclose the information regarding pollutant discharge permitting in accordance with the law.
(6) Failing to discharge supervisory duties in accordance with the law, or conducting ineffective supervision, causing serious consequences.
(7) Other circumstances in which liabilities should be investigated.
Article 53 Where a pollutant discharging entity conceals relevant information or provides false documents in applying for an administrative license, the issuing environmental protection authority shall reject or disapprove the application and issue a warning to it.
Article 54 Anyone who, as in violation of Article 43 of these Measures, fails to apply for modification of its pollutant discharge permit in a timely manner, or anyone who, as in violation of Article 51 of these Measures, fails to apply for a new pollutant discharge permit in a timely manner, shall be ordered by the issuing environmental protection authority to take corrective actions.
Article 55 Where a priority pollutant discharging entity fails to disclose according to law or fails to faithfully disclose the relevant environmental information to the public, the environmental protection authority at or above the county level shall order it to disclose, impose a fine on it as legally required, and make an announcement.
Article 56 Where any of the following conduct is committed as in violation of Article 34 of these Measures, the environmental protection authority at or above the county level shall, under the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, order the violator to take corrective actions and fine it 20,000 yuan up to 200,000 yuan; and, if it refuses to do so, order it to suspend business for rectification in accordance with the law:
(1) Failing to monitor as required the industrial exhaust gas, or toxic and injurious air pollutants or water pollutants discharged, or failing to retain the original monitoring records.
(2) Failing to install automatic air or water pollutant monitoring equipment as required, or failing to connect it to the monitoring equipment of the environmental protection authority as required, or failing to ensure the normal operation of the monitoring equipment.
Article 57 Where a pollutant discharging entity discharges any pollutant without a pollutant discharge permit under the following circumstances, the environmental protection authority at or above the county level shall, under the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, order it to take corrective actions, carry out production in a limited manner, or suspend production for rectifications and fine it 100,000 yuan up to one million yuan; if the circumstances are serious, with the approval of the competent people's government, order it to shut down:
(1) Failing to apply for a pollutant discharge permit as legally required, or discharging any pollutants pending an application for a pollutant discharge permit.
(2) Failing to apply for the renewal of a pollutant discharge permit before its expiry, or discharging any pollutants notwithstanding the disapproval of the application for renewal by the issuing environmental protection authority.
(3) Discharging any pollutants upon lawful revocation of its pollutant discharge permit.
(4) Other circumstances as provided for by any law or administrative regulation.
Article 58 Where a pollutant commits any of the following violations of its pollutant discharge permit, the environmental protection authority at or above the county level shall, under the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, order it to take corrective actions, carry out production in a limited manner, or suspend production for rectifications and fine it 100,000 yuan up to one million yuan; if the circumstances are serious, with the approval of the competent people's government, order it to shut down:
(1) Discharging any water or air pollutants in excess of the discharge standard or the total quantity control indicators of the discharge of priority air or water pollutants.
(2) Discharging any air pollutants furtively, or by tampering with or forging monitoring data, suspending production for the purpose of evading on-site inspection, opening emergency discharge channels under non-emergent conditions, operating air pollution prevention and control facilities in an abnormal manner, or any other means of evading regulation.
(3) Discharging any water pollutants through drainage wells, drainage pits, ditches, or karst caves, or by laying any concealed pipeline without authorization, tempering with or forging monitoring data, operating water pollution prevention and control facilities in an abnormal manner, or any other means of evading regulation.
(4) Other circumstances of discharging pollutants in violation of the pollutant discharge permit.
Article 59 Where a pollutant discharging entity has been fined and ordered to take corrective actions due to illegally discharging any air or water pollutants, and the administrative agency making the punishment decision organizes a re-inspection and discovers that it continues to illegally discharge the air or water pollutants or refuses or obstructs the re-inspection, the administrative agency making the punishment decision may impose on it a fine in the amount of the former fine per diem consecutively from the day after ordering it to take corrective actions.
Article 60 Where a pollutant discharging entity undergoes any abnormal conditions as specified in paragraph 1(2) and (3) of Article 35, or paragraph 4(2) of Article 37, of these Measures, reports them to the issuing environmental protection authority in a timely manner, and takes voluntary measures to eliminate or mitigate the harmful consequences as a result of the violations, the environmental protection authority at or above the county level shall give it a mitigated penalty under the Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic Of China.
The pollutant discharging entity shall state the circumstances, as mentioned in paragraph 1, in the corresponding quarterly or monthly enforcement report.
Chapter VII Supplemental Provisions
Article 61 When pollutant discharge permits are to be issued for the first time, if a pollutant discharging entity that has been in production and operation before the implementation of these Measures falls under any of the following conditions, undertakes to take corrective actions, and prepares a correction plan, the environmental protection authority may issue it a pollutant discharge permit and, specify in the permit its problem, the content of the corrective action it has undertaken to take, and the period of the corrective action.
(1) A construction, reconstruction, or expansion project before the implementation of these Measures does not meet the condition as described in Article 29(1) of these Measures.
(2) Failing to meet the condition as described in Article 29(2) of these Measures.
In the former case, the issuing environmental protection authority shall, under Article 23 of the Regulation on the Administration of Construction Project Environmental Protection, order the pollutant discharging entity to take corrective actions within a specific period and impose a fine on it.
In the latter case, the issuing environmental protection authority shall, under Article 99 of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, or Article 83 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, order the pollutant discharging entity to take corrective actions, carry out production in a limited manner, or suspend business for rectifications, and impose a fine on it.
The content of the corrective action, or that of production in a limited manner or suspension of business for rectifications, which the issuing environmental protection authority orders, as mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be the same as the content of the corrective action contained in the pollutant discharge permit as set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article; and the period of the corrective action, or that of production in a limited manner or suspension of business for rectifications, which the issuing environmental protection authority orders, as mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be the same as the period of the corrective action contained in the pollutant discharge permit as set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article.
The period of corrective action contained in the pollutant discharge permit as set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be three to six months and may not extend beyond one year.
During the period of corrective action, production in a limited manner, or suspension of business for rectifications, the pollutant discharging entity shall discharge the pollutants according to the permit and implement the self-monitoring, ledger keeping and enforcement report rules, and the issuing environmental protection authority shall tighten supervisory inspection according to the provisions in the permit.
Article 62 Where a pollutant discharging entity accomplishes its task for the corrective actions at, or has done so before, the expiry of the period of the corrective actions contained in the pollutant discharge permit as set forth in paragraph 1, Article 61 of these Measures, it may apply to the issuing environmental protection authority for modification of its pollutant discharge permit, which the issuing environmental protection authority shall approve under Chapter V of these Measures.
If the pollutant discharging entity still does not meet the permitting conditions at the expiry of the period of the corrective action contained in the pollutant discharge permit as set forth in paragraph 1, Article 61 of these Measures, the issuing environmental protection authority shall, under Article 99 of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, or Article 83 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, or Article 23 of the Regulation on the Administration of Construction Project Environmental Protection, make a proposal, request the people's government having the approval power to order its shutdown, and deregister its pollutant discharge permit according to Article 50 of these Measures.
Article 63 Where a pollutant discharge permit issued under local rules before the implementation of these Measures remains effective, the environmental protection authority issuing it shall enter its data on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform and obtain a serial number for it; and if it has expired, the pollutant discharging entity shall apply for a pollutant discharge permit subject to these Measures.
Article 64 The format of the pollutant discharge permits in Article 12 of these Measures, the standard text of the undertaking in Article 20, and the format of the application form for a pollutant discharge permit in Article 26 of these Measures shall be developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Article 65 For the purpose of these Measures, "pollutant discharge permitting" means the environmental administration rules by which the environmental protection authorities, on the application and undertaking by pollutant discharging entities, in the form of issuing the legal documents of pollutant discharge permits, regulate and restrict pollutant discharge in accordance with the laws and regulations, specify the requirements for environmental administration, and subject pollutant discharging entities to regulatory law enforcement according to pollutant discharge permits.
Article 66 For the purpose of these Measures, "principal person in charge" means the person in charge who exercises the power on behalf of the unincorporated entity according to the laws and administrative regulations.
Article 67 For a pollutant discharging entity involving any national secret, the application for and its acceptance, review, issuance, modification, renewal, deregistration, revocation, and re-issuance as a result of loss of pollutant discharge permits shall be governed by the confidentiality provisions.
Article 68 These Measures shall come into force upon issuance.