(Promulgated by the National Environmental Protection Agency on May 9, 1988)

Article 1 Pursuant to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, this Measures is formulated for the purpose of strengthening the management of sewage treatment facilities, bringing their efficiency into full play and protecting the water environment.

Article 2 This Measures is applicable to sewage treatment facilities of all units including those of Sinoforeign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative and foreign sole investment enterprises.

Article 3 Sewage treatment facilities include industrial wastewater purification facilities; facilities for sewage comprehensive utilization, repeated utilization and closed circulation; urban sewage treatment facilities; medical sewage treatment facilities; and sewage treatment facilities of restaurants and hotels.

Article 4 Units that own the sewage treatment facilities shall ensure that:

(1) Quality of the water after treatment by the facilities shall meet the state or local discharge standards or targets;

(2) Quantity of the water treated by the facilities shall not be less than what the corresponding production system shall treat;

(3) Sludge resulted from the sewage treatment shall be properly treated and disposed of; and

(4) Management of the facilities shall be incorporate into the management system of the unit, special operators and management staff shall be allotted, and rules of post responsibility, operation regulations, accounting of operation cost, supervision and monitoring established and perfected.

Article 5 Sewage treatment facilities with any of the following situations shall be reported to the local environmental protection departments for examination and approval:

(1) Its operation shall be temporarily suspended;

(2) It shall be dismantled or left idle; or

(3) It shall be reconstructed or updated.The competent departments of environmental protection administration shall, within five days upon receiving the report for temporary suspense and one month for others, reply to the application. In the case that no reply is made after this time, it can be deemed that the application is approved.

Article 6 In the case that operation of the sewage treatment facilities suspends as a result of accident, measures shall be taken promptly, and discharge of wastewater suspended, and the case shall be promptly reported to the local competent department of environmental protection administration.

Article 7 The competent departments of environmental protection administration of the People's governments at all levels are responsible for the supervision and management of the sewage treatment facilities, and shall carry out examination of the operation of the facilities.

Article 8 The competent departments of environmental protection administration of the People's governments at all levels are authorized to carry out inspection and monitoring of the operation and utilization of the sewage treatment facilities, and the units under inspection shall truthful report the situation, provide relevant data, and shall not refuse the inspection or hinder its execution. 

Article 9 The competent departments of environmental protection administration can collect pollution discharging fee as stipulated in relevant rules from units with any of the following misdeeds, and can impose a fine not exceeding 5,000 yuan at the same time in accordance with the circumstances:

(1) The sewage treatment facilities have been required to be improved within a limited time, and this is not accomplished before the deadline comes;

(2) Quantity of water treated by the facilities is less than what the corresponding production system shall treat;

(3) Sludge resulted from the treatment is not properly treated or disposed of;

(4) Refusing to report or submitting a false report on the condition of the sewage treatment facilities;

(5) Dismantling or leaving idle the facilities without approval;

(6) Refusing on-the-spot inspection by the environmental protection departments or resorting to fraud or trickery in the inspection; or

(7) Stopping the operation of the facilities and causing pollution and damages without reporting to the environmental protection departments. 

Article 10 The competent departments of environmental protection administration shall give praise and reward to units and individuals in following circumstances:

(1) Putting forward improvement proposals or carrying out technical reform of the sewage treatment facilities and achieving obvious benefits; 

(2) Coming up with innovation or invention in the design or manufacture of sewage treatment facilities, and achieving obvious benefits; or

(3) Coming up with innovation or invention in the scientific research of the technology and equipment of sewage treatment facilities.

Article 11 This Measures shall be interpreted by the National Environmental Protection Agency.

Article 12 This Measures shall enter into force on the date of promulgation.