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Chapter Law Content

Title: Water Pollution Control Act CH
Category: Ministry of Environment(環境部)
Chapter 2 Basic Measures
Article 5
In order to avoid jeopardizing the uses of a water body, those that use a water body to receive or convey effluent may not exceed the carrying capacity of the water body.
Article 6
The central competent authority shall delineate water zones and determine water body classifications and water quality standards based on the special characteristics and on-site conditions of water bodies.
The central competent authority may delegate the delineation of water zones and the determination of water body classifications and water quality standards in the foregoing paragraph to special municipality, county or city competent authorities.
The competent authority in consultation with units related to the use of water bodies shall make determinations for the delineation of water zones.
Article 7
Those enterprises, sewage systems or building sewage treatment facilities that discharge wastewater or sewage into surface water bodies shall comply with effluent standards.
The central competent authority in consultation with the relevant industry competent authorities shall determine the effluent standards in the foregoing paragraph; said effluent standards shall include the scope of application, control methods, items, concentration or total quantity limits, formulation criteria and other binding matters. Special municipality, county and city competent authorities may add or strengthen effluent standards regarding total quantity or concentration, control items and methods for water bodies under their jurisdictions that have special environmental characteristics or that require special protection; the central competent authority shall approve these additional or strengthened effluent standards after consultation with the relevant industry competent authorities.
Article 8
Sludge produced through wastewater or sewage treatment by enterprises, sewage systems and building sewage treatment facilities shall be properly treated and may not be arbitrarily stored or dumped.
Article 9
For a water body, in whole or in part, in one of the following circumstances, the special municipality, county or city competent authority shall implement controls using total quantity control methods for the discharge of wastewater or sewage based on the carrying capacity of the water body.
I. Those circumstances in which the use of effluent standards still fails to meet water quality standards for said water body due to the density of enterprises or sewage systems
II. Those circumstances in which the competent authority determines that special protection is required
The total quantity control methods in the foregoing paragraph shall be drafted by the special municipality, county or city competent authority and shall be approved by the central competent authority after consultation with the relevant industry competent authority; in those circumstances in which a water body, in whole or in part, involves two special municipality, county or city competent authorities, or involves a special zone administered by more than one central industry competent authority, the central competent authority in consultation with the relevant industry competent authorities shall determine the total quantity control methods in the foregoing paragraph.
Article 10
Competent authorities at all levels shall install water quality monitoring stations, and issue official announcements of monitoring results at regular intervals and adopt appropriate measures.
The sampling frequency of the water quality monitoring stations mentioned in the foregoing paragraph shall be determined in accordance with the pollution characteristics whether to be on a monthly basis or seasonal and, when necessary, shall be shortened.
Locations, items, and frequency of the water samplings shall be taken into consideration by the geographic characteristics of the watersheds, the quality and current situation of the water bodies, and shall also be revised regularly by competent authorities at all levels according to the water monitoring report of every year and the need for water pollution remediation as well. The central competent authority shall establish the monitoring stations and determine the monitoring criterion mentioned in Paragraph 1.
Competent authorities at all levels may commission relevant agency and analysis laboratories permitted by the central competent authority to perform water quality monitoring in Paragraph 1
Relevant industry competent authorities shall monitor the yields of heavy metal, toxic chemicals, and argricultural chemicals in edible plants, fish, shrimps, shellfish, and sediments when the official announcement of testing results in Paragraph 1 failed to meet water body classifications and water quality standards, and measures to prohibit harvest and consumption of aquatic animal and plants shall be adopted when there is concern of the endangerment of human health, agricultural or aquacultural production.
Article 11
The central competent authority shall collect water pollution control fees from enterprises and sewage systems (excluding public sewage systems and community sewage systems) that discharge wastewater or sewage into surface water bodies based on their discharge water quality and water volume or based on their discharge water quality and water volume as determined through a calculation method designated by the central competent authority.
Local governments shall collect water pollution control fees from households that are located in the sewage system zones announced in accordance with the Sewerage Law and fail to discharge sewage into sewage systems.
The water pollution control fees in the preceding two paragraphs shall be provided exclusively for national water pollution control matters; the disbursement items of these fees shall be the following.
I. Water pollution control fees collected in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1:
(1)Remediation of the pollution of surface water bodies and monitoring of water quality;
(2)Improvement of water quality in drinking water source quality protection areas;
(3)Improvement of water quality in water pollution total quantity control zones;
(4)Water pollution control technology research and development, acquisition and strategy research and development;
(5)Employment of personnel required for implementation of fee collection work; and
(6)Other relevant water pollution control work.
II. Water pollution control fees collected in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 2:
(1)Construction of primary and secondary public sewage system main pipes;
(2)Construction of wastewater treatment plants and wastewater and sewage interception facilities;
(3)Construction of nightsoil dumping stations and nightsoil treatment plants;
(4)Construction of centralized treatment facilities for sludge produced by wastewater and sewage treatment facilities;
(5)Public sewage system operation and maintenance fees;
(6)Employment of personnel required for implementation of fee collection and management of public sewage system construction; and
(7)Other fees relevant to household sewage treatment work.
Disbursements for Item 5, Subparagraph 9 of the preceding paragraph shall not be higher than 10% of each corresponding classification of disbursements.
Water pollution control fees in Paragraph 1 shall be distributed to the central and local governments and the distribution principle shall be determined by the central competent authority after taking into account the requirements of each special municipality, county or city competent authority for pollution control.
Competent authorities shall set up a special fund consisting of water pollution control fees in Paragraph 1. The regulations for income, expenditure, custody and use of the fund shall be determined separately by Executive Yuan, the special municipality, county or city competent authority.
Local governments shall set up a special fund consisting of water pollution control fees in Paragraph 2. The regulations for income, expenditure, custody and use of the fund shall be determined separately by local governments.
The water pollution fees in Paragraph 1 may be collected in stages; the central competent authority shall determine collection times for each stage, collection targets, collection methods, calculation methods, fee payment procedures, fee payment deadlines, use for each stage, and other binding fee collection regulation matters. Water pollution control implementation performance shall be reevaluated annually and reported to and filed for future reference with the Legislative Yuan.
Local governments shall determine collection times, collection targets, collection methods, calculation methods, fee payment procedures, fee payment deadlines, and self-government regulations providing for other binding matters. Water pollution control fee rates shall be in consistent with sewer usage fee rates.
For the water pollution fees in Paragraph 1, the central competent authority shall establish a fee rate review committee for water pollution control fees; the central competent authority shall determine establishment regulations for this committee.
Article 12
Sewage system infrastructure and wastewater treatment facilities shall comply with the requirements of water pollution control policies.
The central competent authority shall determine water pollution control programs in consultation with the special municipality, county and city competent authorities and report implementation progress to the Legislative Yuan annually.