Administrative Measures for the Licensing of Discharge of Urban Sewage into the Drainage Network

Administrative Measures for the Licensing of Discharge of Urban Sewage into the Drainage Network Order of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (No. 21) The Administrative Measures for the Licensing of Discharge of Urban Sewage into the Drainage Network, as deliberated and adopted at the 20th executive meeting of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, are hereby issued, and shall come into force on March 1, 2015. Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development: Chen Zhenggao January 22, 2015 Administrative Measures for the Licensing of Discharge of Urban Sewage into the Drainage Network Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 To strengthen the administration of the discharge of sewage into the urban drainage network, guarantee the safe operation of urban drainage and sewage treatment facilities, and prevent and control urban water pollution, these Measures are developed in accordance with the Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China , the Regulation on Urban Drainage and Sewage Treatment , and other relevant laws and regulations. Article 2 The application for the licensing for the discharge of sewage into the drainage network within the territory of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “drainage licensing”) and the supervision and administration of the discharge of sewage into urban drainage facilities by enterprises, public institutions and individual industrial and commercial households engaging in industry, construction, catering, medical services and other activities (hereinafter referred to as “drainage entities”) shall be governed by these Measures. Article 3 The housing and urban-rural development department of the State Council shall direct and oversee the national drainage licensing work across the country. The housing and urban-rural development departments of people's governments of provinces and autonomous regions shall direct and oversee the drainage licensing work within their respective administrative regions. The urban drainage and sewage treatment departments of people's governments of municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities and counties (hereinafter referred to as “urban drainage departments”) shall be responsible for the issuance, supervision and administration of drainage licenses within their respective administrative regions. Urban drainage departments may authorize special agencies to undertake the specific work on the administration of drainage licensing examination. Article 4 Drainage entities covered by urban drainage facilities shall discharge sewage into urban drainage facilities in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state. Where a drainage entity needs to discharge sewage into urban drainage facilities, it shall apply for a drainage license in accordance with the provisions of these Measures. The drainage entity that has not obtained the drainage license shall not discharge sewage into urban drainage facilities. Urban residents that discharge domestic sewage are not required to apply for the drainage license. Sewage shall not be discharged into rainwater pipelines in the areas that have separate discharge of rainwater and sewage. Article 5 The urban drainage department shall, in conjunction with the environmental protection department, legally determine and announce to the public the drainage entities listed as major pollutant discharge entities. Chapter II License Application and Examination Article 6 A drainage entity shall apply to the local urban drainage department for the drainage license. The urban drainage department shall make a decision within 20 days as of acceptance of the application. Where there are several drainage entities in a building or entity under centralized management, the property right entity or the real estate service enterprise authorized by it shall uniformly apply for the drainage license, and the entity receiving the license shall be responsible for the drainage of the drainage entities. Where drainage is required for all kinds of construction, the construction entity shall apply for the drainage license. Article 7 To apply for a drainage license, the applicant shall truthfully submit the following materials: (1) An application form for a drainage license. (2) The drawings, explanation and other materials on the location and calibers of the drainage entity's internal drainage network, special monitoring wells and sewage discharge outlets. (3) The materials on the construction of sewage pretreatment facilities as required. (4) A report on the completion of a covered drainage project. (5) A drainage quality and volume testing report issued by a water quality testing institution with the measurement certification qualification within one month prior to the acceptance of the drainage license application; and the predicted water quality and volume report submitted by the drainage entity that plans to discharge sewage. (6) A drainage entity listed as a major pollutant discharge entity shall provide the materials on installed equipment that automatically monitors the discharge of major water pollutants. (7) Other materials as prescribed by laws and regulations. Article 8 Where the following conditions are met, the urban drainage department shall issue the drainage license: (1) The setup of sewage discharge outlets satisfies the requirements of the urban drainage and sewage treatment program. (2) The water quality of sewage discharged complies with the relevant national or local standards such as water quality standards on sewage discharged into urban sewers. (3) It has built corresponding pretreatment facilities according to the relevant provisions of the state. (4) It has set up special monitoring wells and measuring equipment convenient for sampling and the measurement of water volume at discharge outlets according to the relevant provisions of the state; and a drainage entity listed as a major pollutant discharge entity has installed the equipment that automatically monitors the discharge of major water pollutants. (5) Other conditions as prescribed by laws and regulations. Where drainage is required for construction, the construction entity shall have built pretreatment facilities, and its drainage shall comply with the standards as set forth in item (2), paragraph 1 of this Article. Article 9 A drainage license shall be valid for five years. Where drainage into urban drainage facilities is required for construction, the validity term of the drainage license shall be determined by the urban drainage department based on the drainage conditions, but it shall not exceed the construction period. Art......