Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Sewage Outlets on Rivers (2024)

Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Sewage Outlets on Rivers (2024)

Order of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China
(No. 35)

The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Sewage Outlets on Rivers, as deliberated and adopted at the 3rd executive meeting of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2024 on July 10, 2024, are hereby issued and shall come into force on January 1, 2025.

Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment
October 16, 2024

Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Sewage Outlets on Rivers

Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Setup Management
Chapter III Supervision and Inspection
Chapter IV Supplemental Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Measures are developed in accordance with the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the Water Law of the People's Republic of China, and other applicable laws and relevant provisions of the State Council for the purposes of strengthening the supervision and administration of sewage outlets on rivers, controlling the discharge of pollutants into rivers, and protecting and improving the water ecology and environment.
Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the approval, registration, and related supervision and administration activities regarding the setup of sewage outlets on rivers.
Article 3 For the purposes of these Measures, the “sewage outlet on a river” means an outlet through which sewage is discharged into a water body such as a river, lake, canal, or reservoir directly or through a sewage channel such as a pipeline, ditch, or channel.
For the purposes of these Measures, “setup of a sewage outlet on a river” includes the construction, reconstruction, or extension of a sewage outlet on a river. “Construction” means the initial construction or use of a sewage outlet on a river. “Reconstruction” means any major change in the location of an existing sewage outlet, in the manner in which sewage is discharged, or any other matter. “Extension” means an increase in the discharge capacity of an existing sewage outlet.
Article 4 The department of ecology and environment of the State Council shall be responsible for guiding the setup, supervision, and administration of sewage outlets on rivers nationwide.
The institution in charge of the supervision and administration of ecology and environment in the river basin of the department of ecology and environment of the State Council (“institution in charge of the supervision and administration of ecology and environment in the river basin”) shall be responsible for guiding the setup of sewage outlets on rivers in river basins and undertake the approval and supervision and administration of the setup of sewage outlets on rivers within the scope authorized by the department of ecology and environment of the State Council.
The local departments of ecology and environment shall be responsible for the approval, registration, and supervision and administration of the setup of sewage outlets on rivers within their respective administrative regions according to their prescribed powers.
Article 5 The responsible entity shall be specified for a sewage outlet on a river. The responsible entity shall be responsible for the treatment of pollution at the source, application for or registration, rectification, standardized construction, and maintenance management of sewage outlets on rivers, among others.
If multiple pollutant discharge entities share a sewage outlet on a river, all pollutant discharge entities shall be held liable and the liability to be borne by them shall be agreed upon by all pollutant discharge entities through negotiation.
Article 6 According to the industries to which responsible entities belong and discharge characteristics, sewage outlets on rivers are classified into four types, industrial sewage outlets, sewage outlets of urban sewage treatment plants, agricultural sewage outlets, and other sewage outlets.
Industrial sewage outlets include sewage outlets and rainwater sewage outlets of industrial and mining enterprises, and sewage outlets and rainwater sewage outlets of sewage treatment plants in industrial and other parks, among others. Agricultural sewage outlets include sewage outlets of large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, and large-scale aquaculture, among others. Other sewage outlets include sewage outlets in large and medium-sized irrigation areas, sewage outlets for livestock and poultry breeding below the designated size, sewage outlets for aquaculture below the designated size, sewage outlets for sewage treatment facilities in rural areas, and scattered sewage outlets of domestic sewage in rural areas, among others.
Article 7 The layout and control requirements for sewage outlets on rivers shall be fully considered in the preparation of any plan for the protection of economy and environment or the division of water function zones of rivers and lakes, among others.
The implementation of provisions on the setup of sewage outlets on rivers shall be taken as an important factor in conducting the environmental impact assessment of any special plan in respect of industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, energy, water conservancy, transportation, urban construction, tourism, and natural resources development.
Article 8 The state shall strengthen basic research on the management of sewage outlets on rivers and the cultivation of professional technicians. The state encourages the R&D, integration, popularization and application of practical technologies and equipment such as remote sensing monitoring, aerial surveys over water surfaces, underwater detection, and pipeline inspection.
Article 9 Local governments are encouraged to increase financial investment and attract social capital to participate in the rectification, standardized construction, and maintenance management of sewage outlets on rivers, among others.
Article 10 Any entity or individual that has made outstanding achievements in the supervision and administration of sewage outlets on rivers may be commended or awarded in accordance with the relevant provisions issued by the state or local authorities.
Chapter II Setup Administration
Article 11 The setup of discharge outlets of industrial and mining enterprises, sewage treatment plants in industrial and other types of parks, and urban sewage treatment plants shall comply with the provisions of these Measures, be reported to the institution in charge of the supervision and administration of ecology and environment in the river basin or the local department of ecology and environment (“approval department”) for approval; and without approval, the discharge of sewage through the aforesaid sewage outlets on rivers is prohibited.
Article 12 The setup of a sewage outlet on a river specified in Article 11 of these Measures that meets any of the following conditions shall be subject to the approval of the institution in charge of the supervision and administration of ecology and environment in the river basin:
(1) The documents on the environmental impact assessment of the construction project are approved by the department of ecology and environment of the State Council.
(2) The project is located in the buffer zone of the provincial boundary.
(3) The project is located in an international river or lake or border river or lake.
(4) There are inter-provincial disputes.
The authority for the approval of the setup of a sewage outlet on a river beyond the s......