Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permitting

Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permitting


Order of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China

(No. 32)

The Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permitting, as deliberated and adopted at the 2023 4th executive meeting of the Ministry of Environmental Protection on December 25, 2023, are hereby issued, and shall come into force on July 1, 2024.

Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment

April 1, 2024

Measures for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permitting

Table of Cases

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Content of Pollutant Discharge Permits and Pollutant Discharge Registration Forms

Chapter III Application and Approval

Chapter IV Management of Pollutant Discharges

Chapter V Supervisory Inspection

Chapter VI Supplemental Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 For the purpose of regulating the administration of pollutant discharge permitting, these Measures are developed in accordance with the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, laws on the prevention and control of atmosphere, water, solid waste, soil, noise, and other pollution, and the Regulation on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permitting ("Regulation").

Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the application for and the approval and implementation of pollution discharge permits and the supervision, administration and other conduct relating to pollutant discharge permitting.

Article 3 An enterprise, a public institution, or any other producer or operator which is under the administration of pollutant discharge permitting according to law ("pollutant discharging entity") shall apply for a pollutant discharge permit according to law and discharge pollutants in accordance with the provisions of the pollutant discharge permit; without a permit, pollutants may not be discharged.

An enterprise, a public institution, or any other producer or operator required by law to file a pollutant discharge registration form ("pollutant discharge registrant") shall register pollutant discharge with the National Pollutant Discharge Permitting Administration Information Platform.

Article 4 Based on factors such as pollutant production volume, discharge volume, and the impact on the environment, enterprises, public institutions and other producers and operators shall be under priority pollutant discharge permitting administration, summary pollutant discharge permitting administration and pollutant discharge registration 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 specific scope of pollutant discharge registrants under pollutant discharge registration administration shall be developed and issued by the ecology and environment authority of the State Council.

Article 5 The ecology and environment authority of the State Council shall be responsible for the unified supervision and administration of nationwide permitting of pollutant discharges.

Districted city-level and provincial-level ecology and environment authorities shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of permitting of pollutant discharges in their respective administrative areas.

Article 6 Ecology and environment authorities shall place the discharge of air pollutants, water pollutants, industrial solid waste, industrial noise and other pollutants by pollutant discharging entities under comprehensive permitting administration.

Article 7 The ecology and environment authority of the State Council shall place pollutant discharging entities and their production facilities, production prevention and control facilities and outlets under unified coding administration.

Article 8 The ecology and environment authority of the State Council shall be responsible for building, operating, maintaining and managing the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform.

Application, acceptance, examination, approval decision, modification, extension, deregistration, cancellation, and public information disclosure, among others, related to pollutant discharge permits shall be conducted on the National Pollutant Discharge Permitting Administration Information Platform. A pollutant discharging entity may also apply for a pollutant discharge permit in writing by mail or other means.

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 information stated in the original and duplicate of pollutant discharge permits according to law.

Article 9 The volume of pollutants actually discharged as stated in a report on compliance with the pollutant discharge permit may serve as the basis for annual ecological and environmental statistics, the evaluation of the total volume of key pollutants discharged, the preparation of a list of discharges from pollution sources, and other work.

A pollutant discharge permit shall be used as a certificate of pollutant discharge rights and as a management vehicle for trading such rights.

Chapter II Content of Pollutant Discharge Permits and Pollutant Discharge Registration Forms

Article 10 A pollutant discharge permit consists of an original and a duplicate.

The local ecology and environment authorities at and above the districted city-level may add statements to a pollutant discharge permit as required by local regulations.

Article 11 The original of a pollutant discharge permit shall state the basic information specified in Article 13(1) and (2) of the Regulation, while the duplicate of the pollutant discharge permit shall state all the information specified in Article 13 of the Regulation.

The requirements for controlling the discharge of air pollutants, water pollutants, industrial solid waste, industrial noise and other pollutants specified by laws and regulations which a pollutant discharge entity is required to comply with, prohibitions or restrictions on the discharge of pollutants during special periods such as severe pollution days, and the requirements for the control of the discharge of toxic and harmful substances from and investigation and self-monitoring of potential soil pollution by entities under priority supervision for soil pollution shall be stated in the duplicate of the pollutant discharge permit.

Article 12 Any more stringent pollutant discharge limit a pollutant discharging entity undertakes to comply with shall be specified in the duplicate of its pollutant discharge permit.

Article 13 A pollutant discharge registration form shall state the following:

(1) Basic information of the pollutant discharge registrant including its name, unified social credit code, place of production and operation, industry, legal representative or actual person in charge.

(2) The destination of pollutant discharges, the pollutant discharge standards implemented and the pollution prevention and control measures taken, among others.

Chapter III Application and Approval

Article 14 A pollutant discharging entity shall, before pollutant discharge, apply for a pollutant discharge permit to the ecology and environment authority of the local people's government at or above the city level ("approval authority") in its place of production and operation.

If a marine engineering pollutant discharging entity applies for a pollutant discharge permit, the relevant laws and administrative regulations shall apply.

Article 15 If a pollutant discharging entity discharges pollutants from two or more production and operation venues, it shall respectively apply for a pollutant discharge permit to the approval authorities of its places of production and operation.

Article 16 Before submitting the first application or re-application materials for a pollutant discharge permit, a pollutant discharging entity under priority pollutant discharge permitting administration shall publicly disclose basic information and matters subject to permission to be applied for on the National Pollution Discharge Permits Administration Information Platform, and submit an explanation. The public disclosure period shall not be less than five working days.

Article 17 A pollutant discharging entity shall, when filling in an application form 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 18 A pollutant discharging entity shall submit materials specified in Articles 7 and 8 of the Regulation, and may provide supplementary explanations to application materials and submit them to the approval authority together.

When a pollutant discharging entity applies for permitted discharge volume, it shall also submit the process of calculating the discharge limit. If a total quantity control quota on key pollutant discharges is acquired through pollutant discharge rights trading, supporting materials for the quota on the trading shall also be submitted.

If a pollutant discharging entity has built a pollutant outlet, it shall submit an explanation on the compliance of the ......