Order of the  President of thePeople’s Republic of China

No.87

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, revised and adopted at the 32nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on February 28, 2008, is hereby promulgated and shall go into effect as of June 1, 2008.

Hu Jintao

President of the People’s Republic of China

February 28, 2008

Law of the  People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

(Adopted at the 5th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the

 Sixth National People’s Congress on May 11, 1984, revised in

 accordance with the Decision on Amending the Law of the People’s

 Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

 made at the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth

 National People’s Congress on May 15, 1996, and revised at

 the 32nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth

National People’s Congress on February 28, 2008)

Contents

Chapter　I　　 General Provisions

Chapter　II    Standards and Plans for Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

Chapter　III   Supervision in Respect of Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

Chapter　IV    Measures for Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

　Section 1    General Stipulations

　Section 2    Prevention and Control of Industrial Water Pollution

　Section 3    Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in Cities and Towns

　Section 4    Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in Agriculture and the Rural Areas

　Section 5    Prevention and Control of Water Pollution Caused by Vessels

Chapter　V     Protection of Drinking Water Sources and Other Special Water Bodies

Chapter　VI    Response to Water Pollution Accidents

Chapter　VII   Legal Liability

Chapter　VIII  Supplementary Provisions

Chapter　I

General Provisions

Article　1　This Law is enacted for the purpose of preventing and controlling water pollution, protecting and improving the environment, guaranteeing drinking water safety, and promoting all­round, balanced, and sustainable development of the economy and society.

Article　2　This Law shall be applicable to prevention and control of pollution of rivers, lakes, canals, irrigation channels, reservoirs and other surface water bodies and of ground water bodies within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

To prevention and control of pollution of the marine environment, the Marine Environment Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China shall be applicable.

Article　3　In prevention and control of water pollution, the principles of putting prevention first, combining prevention and control and administering comprehensive treatment shall be followed, priority shall be given to protection of drinking water sources, industrial pollution and pollution by urban household waste shall be kept under strict control, and efforts shall be made to prevent and control agricultural non­point source pollution, promote construction of ecological control projects, and prevent, control and mitigate pollution of the water environment and damage of the ecology.

Article　4　People’s governments at or above the county level shall incorporate protection of the water environment into their plans for national economic and social development.

Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall adopt policies and measures to prevent and control water pollution, and take responsibility for the quality of the water environment in their respective administrative areas.

Article　5　The State shall introduce the goal responsibility system and assessment system for water environment protection, and make achievement of the goal for water environment protection one of the yardsticks in assessing the performance of local people’s governments and their leading persons.

Article　6　The State shall encourage and support scientific and technological research on prevention and control of water pollution as well as the wide use of advanced applicable technologies, and enhance dissemination of the knowledge about water environment protection.

Article　7　The State shall, by means of fiscal transfer payment, etc., establish a sound compensation mechanism for protection of the ecology of the water environment located in drinking water source reserves and the upper reaches of rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Article　8　The competent environment protection departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level shall exercise unified supervision in respect of prevention and control of water pollution.

Maritime authorities of the competent communications departments shall exercise supervision in respect of prevention and control of water pollution caused by vessels.

Departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level in charge of water administration, land resources, health, construction, agriculture, fishery, etc., as well as institutions in charge of protection of the water resources of the basins of major rivers and lakes shall, within the scope of their respective duties, exercise supervision in respect of prevention and control of water pollution.

Article　9　The water pollutants discharged shall not exceed the limits set by the State or local authorities or the control quotes on total discharge of major water pollutants.

Article　10　All units and individuals shall have the obligation to protect the water environment and the right to inform against any pollution of or damage to the water environment.

People’s governments at or above the county level and their competent departments shall commend and reward the units or individuals that achieve outstanding successes in prevention and control of water pollution.

Chapter　II

Standards and Plans for Prevention

 and Control of Water Pollution

Article　11　The competent environment protection department of the State Council shall establish national standards for water environment quality.

The people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may establish local standards for the items that are not specified in the national standards for water environment quality and submit the same to the competent environment protection department of the State Council for the record.

Article　12　The competent environment protection department of the State Council, in conjunction with the competent water administration department of the State Council and the relevant people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in light of the utilization functions determined by the State for the water bodies of the basins of major rivers and lakes as well as the economic and technological conditions of the related areas, establish standards for water environment quality to be applied to the water bodies of the said basins located along the borders of provinces, and such standards shall be enforced upon approval by the State Council.

Article　13　The competent environment protection department of the State Council shall, on the basis of the national standards for water environment quality and the economic and technological conditions of the country, set the national limits for the discharge of water pollutants.

The people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may set their local limits for the items that are not specified in the national limits for the discharge of water pollutants. With regard to the items that are already specified in the said national limits, they may set more stringent local limits than the national limits. All local limits shall be submitted to the competent environment protection department of the State Council for the record.

Where pollutants are to be discharged into water bodies for which there are already local limits for the discharge of water pollutants to go by, such limits shall be met.

Article　14　The competent environment protection department of the State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in a timely manner, amend their respective standards for water environment quality and their limits for the discharge of water pollutants, in compliance with the requirements for prevention and control of water pollution and in light of the national or local economic and technological conditions.

Article　15　Unified plans shall be made for prevention and control of water pollution on the basis of different basins and areas. The plans for prevention and control of water pollution of the basins of major rivers and lakes, which are designated as such by the State, shall be formulated by the competent environment protection department of the State Council in conjunction with the departments for comprehensive macro­economic regulation, water administration, etc. of the State Council and with the people’s governments of the related provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and shall be submitted to the State Council for approval.

The plans for prevention and control of water pollution of the basins of the rivers and lakes other than the ones specified in the preceding paragraph, which run across provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, on the basis of the plans for prevention and control of water pollution of basins of major rivers and lakes, which are designated as such by the State, and in light of the actual local conditions, be formulated by the competent environment protection departments of the people’s governments of the related provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, in conjunction with the water administration departments at the same level as well as the people’s governments of the cities or counties concerned, and the plans shall be submitted to the State Council for approval after being examined by the people’s governments of the related provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

The plans for prevention and control of water pollution of the basins of the rivers and lakes that run across counties in provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, on the basis of the plans for prevention and control of water pollution of the basins of major rivers and lakes, which are designated as such by the State, and in light of the actual local conditions, be formulated by the competent environment protection departments of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government, in conjunction with the water administration departments at the same level and other departments, and shall be submitted to the State Council for the record upon approval by the said people’s governments.

The plans for prevention and control of water pollution, once approved, shall serve as the essential basis for prevention and control of water pollution, and any modification of such plans shall be subject to approval by the original departments that approved the plans.

Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the plans for prevention and control of water pollution of the basins of the rivers and lakes, which are approved pursuant to law, organize formulation of the plans for prevention and control of water pollution in their own administrative areas.