Regulations on the Issuance of Pollutant Discharge Permits for Solid Waste Management Have Been Released.

Release Date:

2019-09-07

Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the “Technical Specification for Application and Issuance of Pollutant Discharge Permits: Industrial Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste Management” (hereinafter referred to as the “Technical Specification”), which places general industrial solid waste storage and disposal facilities, hazardous waste storage facilities, and hazardous waste landfills under key solid waste management and sets forth comprehensive environmental management requirements throughout the entire process.

The Technical Specifications apply to the application for and issuance of discharge permits for the storage and disposal of general industrial solid waste, the utilization of hazardous waste (excluding medical waste), and the disposal of hazardous waste (including medical waste). They set forth requirements for completing basic information in permit applications, determining permitted emission limits, calculating actual emissions, and assessing compliance, as well as environmental management obligations such as self‑monitoring, maintaining environmental management records, and submitting discharge permit implementation reports. In addition, the Specifications propose feasible technical measures for preventing and controlling pollution in the treatment of industrial solid waste and hazardous waste.

According to a responsible official from the drafting group of the Technical Specification, China generates an enormous volume of industrial solid waste, which exhibits great diversity and complex compositional characteristics due to factors such as industrial production processes. Based on survey findings, more than ten commercially operated facilities for the storage and disposal of general industrial solid waste have been established nationwide, with most serving enterprises within industrial parks. In addition, hazardous waste originating from industrial sources in China is both diverse in type and substantial in quantity, with a complex generation profile; it predominantly stems from sectors such as chemical raw material manufacturing and nonferrous metal smelting.

According to Zheng Yang, a researcher at the Technical Center for Solid Waste and Chemicals Management of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the latest statistics show that in 2018 there were 3,091 licensed hazardous waste management facilities, an increase of 440 compared with 2017, or 16.6%. The approved annual processing capacity totaled 102.12 million tons, up 20.34 million tons year-on-year, a growth of 24.9%. Nationwide, licensed facilities collectively treated and disposed of 26.40 million tons of hazardous waste. In terms of the regional distribution of licensed facilities and their operations, they are predominantly concentrated in the eastern coastal provinces; among them, 14 provinces—including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hunan—each have more than 100 licensed facilities, accounting for 74.5% of the national total.

It is worth noting that, with respect to permitted emission levels, the Technical Specification stipulates that the permitted emissions of gaseous pollutants are calculated based on the three-year average flue gas volume at each emission outlet, the applicable pollutant concentration limits, and the annual operating hours. For facilities engaged in the treatment of industrial solid waste and hazardous waste that employ multiple utilization and disposal processes, the facility shall separately calculate the permitted emissions for each process during the accounting phase. As for permitted emissions during special periods, the calculation base is the enterprise’s actual emissions from the preceding year rather than its permitted emissions, and the reduction ratio is determined according to the reduction rates applied during responses to severe pollution episodes or winter air‑pollution control measures.

With regard to the wastewater generated, the Technical Specification stipulates that the annual permitted discharge volume for the main discharge outlet of directly discharged wastewater shall be determined based on the permitted discharge concentration, the three-year average annual effluent flow rate prior to the integrated wastewater treatment facility, and the annual production hours.

With respect to the discharge of solid waste, discharging entities shall, in accordance with relevant national laws, regulations, standards, technical policies, and other applicable provisions, ensure the proper storage, utilization, and disposal of the solid waste they generate, and shall not arbitrarily dump, pile up, discard, or scatter such waste. The annual permitted discharge volumes for newly generated general industrial solid waste and hazardous waste are both set at “0.”

In terms of record‑keeping management, the Technical Specification, taking into account the industry’s specific characteristics, expands upon the requirements of HJ 944 by adding entries such as inbound information for external general industrial solid waste and hazardous waste, hazardous waste receipt records, outbound records for in‑stock hazardous waste, landfilling status reports, hazardous waste sample analysis data, a table of raw and auxiliary material consumption, a table documenting the implementation of uncontrolled emission control measures, and groundwater monitoring result tables.

With regard to the implementation measures and recommendations for the standard, the drafting group of the Technical Specification stated that, first, the management of discharge permits for facilities engaged in the utilization and disposal of hazardous waste must be closely coordinated with the management of hazardous waste operation permits. The basic information of the discharging entity, its production facilities, pollution prevention and control facilities, and monitoring requirements are common to both the operation permit and the discharge permit and should remain consistent.

Second, to facilitate the guidance and standardization of pollutant control in the industrial solid waste and hazardous waste management sectors, it is recommended to expedite the revision of relevant emission standards, thereby meeting the requirements for refined and scientifically sound management of pollutant emissions.

Third, accelerate the integration with the construction of the pollutant discharge permit management information platform, and, in accordance with the provisions of this standard, promptly establish a system for the application and issuance of discharge permits within this sector, facilitating its use by both polluting entities and the competent ecological and environmental authorities, thereby promoting the effective implementation of this standard.

Fourth, it is recommended to conduct further research into various production processes and pollution-generating stages, analyze the types and levels of emitted pollutants, and assess their environmental impacts, with a view to promptly issuing technical guidelines on pollution prevention and control for the industrial solid waste and hazardous waste management sectors, as well as technical guidelines for self-monitoring.

Source: China Chemical Industry News

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