Recently, the Ministry of Environmental Protection ("MEP") has issued the Administrative Measures for Pollutant Discharge Licensing (for Trial Implementation) (the "Measures") which take effect immediately as of the issue date.
The Measures, based on the Interim Provisions for the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Licenses, adjust what is presented on a pollutant discharge license, clarify methods applicable to calculate the permitted concentration and volume of discharged pollutants, adjust the authority of issuing such licenses, give more details on five specific systems in respect of the undertakings of enterprises, self-monitoring, ledger records, implementation reports, and information disclosure; also, a new chapter headed Legal Liability is added, and the procedures and relevant requirements for enterprises with unsolved problems from the past to apply for pollutant discharge license are added to the Supplementary Provisions. According to the Measures, a pollutant discharge license shall be valid for three years, when issued for the first time, but will remain valid for another five years after it has been renewed. Furthermore, the Measures clearly specify the respective legal liability of environmental protection authorities issuing the licenses and of pollutant discharging units, and set out provisions on penalties imposed on pollutant discharging units under five circumstances, such as discharging pollutants without a license or not in line with requirements stated on the license, providing false materials, having violations when carrying out self-monitoring activities, failing to disclose information as required.