Interpretation | Strengthen the supervision of river outlets and fight the battle of clear water in depth

On November 1, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of River Outlets" (hereinafter referred to as the "Administrative Measures"), which made specific provisions on the definition, classification, setting, registration, monitoring, supervision and inspection, standardized construction, and information disclosure of river outlets, further clarifying the division of responsibilities for the establishment and supervision and management of river outlets, and providing a basis for ecological and environmental departments at all levels to strengthen the supervision of river outlets in accordance with the law. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will resolutely implement the provisions of the "Administrative Measures" based on the division of responsibilities, perform the duties of approval and supervision and management of the establishment of river outlets within the scope of authorization, expand the supervision and supervision of the whole chain of "receiving water bodies, sewage outlets, sewage channels, and pollutant discharge units", and do a good job of pollutants in the Haihe River Basin into the river gate. Fight the battle of clear water in depth and continue to promote the construction of beautiful rivers and lakes.

1. The "Administrative Measures" improve the regulatory system and synergize with the standards

In order to implement the "Implementation Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Strengthening the Supervision and Management of Sewage Outlets into Rivers and Seas", the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has continuously promoted the construction of the supervision and management system of river outlets, and has successively issued a series of technical guidelines for the supervision and management of sewage outlets into rivers and seas, providing standardized guidance for the classification, traceability, rectification, and standardized construction of river outlets. The Administrative Measures refine the relevant provisions of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Water Law of the People's Republic of China, complete the construction of regulations and regulations on river outlets, and together with a series of technical guidelines for the supervision and management of sewage outlets into rivers and seas, they form a complete system of laws and regulations, and departmental rules and technical standards are connected and complement each other.

2. The "Management Measures" detail all aspects of setup and management, and strictly approve and check

The river outlet connects the water and the shore, and is the last gate for pollutants to enter the water environment. The "Administrative Measures" make detailed provisions from the approval authority, approval procedures, setting up approval application materials, setting up demonstration report content, decision content, registration management and other links, clarifying the situation of prohibiting and restricting the establishment of river outlets, and fully reflecting the principle of strengthening pollution source control. The provisions on the approval authority of river outlets further clarify the scope of authority of the ecological environment supervision and management agency in the river basin, and reflect the principle of hierarchical approval. The provisions of the approval procedures for the establishment of river outlets further clarify the procedures for application, acceptance, review, and decision, and provide a basis for ecological and environmental departments at all levels to standardize the approval of river outlets. The content clauses of setting up approval application materials and setting up demonstration reports further clarify the materials and formats that need to be prepared for the application for the installation of river outlets, and create conditions for the applicant to efficiently handle the setup procedures.

3. The "Administrative Measures" clarify the requirements for supervision and inspection and consolidate the responsibilities of all parties

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment organized and carried out the "investigation, measurement, traceability, treatment and management" of sewage outlets into the river work, and the number of sewage outlets into the river is large. Up to now, more than 37,000 have been investigated in the Haihe River Basin alone, and strengthening the supervision and inspection of sewage outlets into the river in the later stage is the key to ensuring sewage discharge in accordance with laws and regulations. The Administrative Measures provide a basis for the ecological environment supervision and management agencies and ecological and environmental authorities at all levels to carry out monitoring, supervision and inspection work, and clarify the regulatory responsibilities of the regulatory authorities. In particular, it is stipulated that the ecological environment supervision and management agencies in the river basin should increase the supervision and inspection of the sewage outlets into the river, and report the problems to the relevant units in a timely manner, so as to give full play to the regulatory role at the river basin level and effectively discover and promote the solution of the problem of "darkness under the lamp" in some places. The "Administrative Measures" also clarify the main responsibilities of the unit setting up the river outlet from the aspects of maintenance and management, standardized construction, emergency response, information disclosure and disclosure.

At present, the supervision and monitoring coverage of river outlets in the Haihe River Basin is low, and most of them are mainly included in the scope of approval, and the supervision level of ecological and environmental authorities at all levels needs to be improved. Daily supervision found that due to insufficient supervision and monitoring, problems such as excessive discharge of sewage outlets, sewage discharge from rainwater outlets, and omission of new outlets were not discovered and investigated in a timely manner. The Haibei Bureau will further strengthen the supervision of approved river sewage outlets and river outlets in key areas within its authority, and guide local ecological and environmental authorities to implement the regulatory requirements stipulated in the "Administrative Measures".

Source: Ministry of Ecology and Environment