Comments Sought on the Technical Specification for Application and Issuance of Pollutant Discharge Permits for the Phosphate Fertilizer Industry and Others
The General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment ("MEE") has recently issued the Technical Specification for Application and Issuance of Pollutant Discharge Permits: Industries of Phosphate Fertilizers, Potash Fertilizers, Compound Fertilizers, Organic Fertilizers and Microbial Fertilizers (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek opinions from the units concerned by July 15, 2018.
The Draft for Comment provides for requirements on filling in and reporting the basic information about pollutant emission entities in the industries of phosphate fertilizers, potash fertilizers, compound fertilizers, organic fertilizers and microbial fertilizers in respect of the application and issuance of pollutant discharge permits, methods to determine the permitted emission limits, methods to calculate the amount of pollutants discharged in effect, methods to judge compliance, self-monitoring, environmental management standing books and implementation reports on pollutant discharge permits, and other requirements on environmental management, and also sets out the requirements on feasible technologies used to prevent and clean up pollution created in the aforesaid industries. In particular, the Draft for Comment expressly states that a pollutant emission entity shall provide and submit the information requested in the Application Form for Pollutant Discharge Permits via the application system of the pollutant discharge permit management information platform, and that among the basic information requested is the name of the entity, whether it needs to take corrective actions, and the administrative category of the pollutant discharge permit.