Pohang City Strives to Ensure Environmental Stability in Blue Valley National Industrial Complex

Accelerated Implementation of National Industrial Complex Public Wastewater Treatment Facilities and Zero-Discharge System

Securing Leadership in the Largest and Most Innovative Global Secondary Battery Industrial Complex in Korea

Pohang City announced on the 19th that it will make every effort to ensure environmental stability by promptly promoting the establishment of a 'salt-exclusive public wastewater treatment facility' and a 'zero liquid discharge system (MVR)' to address the issue of saline wastewater within the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex, where secondary battery companies are concentrated.

Bird's-eye view of the public wastewater treatment facility.

The city plans to take swift action with these measures to dispel residents' concerns about the large amounts of saline wastewater generated during the production process, a characteristic of the secondary battery industry, as companies are clustering in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex, which has been designated as a specialized secondary battery complex.

Pohang City intends to quickly build the salt-exclusive public wastewater treatment facility with support from national and provincial funds, and will actively encourage tenant companies to introduce their own zero liquid discharge systems (MVR).

Currently, in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex, secondary battery material companies such as Ecopro and POSCO Future M have decided to build factories, with some already under construction or planned, and further investments from related secondary battery companies are expected in the future.

Given the urgency, the city will ensure that until the related treatment facilities are installed, saline wastewater generated during the production process is treated to meet discharge standards before being released into coastal waters through underground pipelines.

Additionally, as part of its environmental monitoring plan, the city is actively requesting that the Ministry of Environment promptly establish a 'salt certification' guideline that clarifies the standards for handling high-concentration saline wastewater.

Furthermore, the city will strengthen ongoing environmental monitoring by installing and operating automatic water quality measurement devices (TMS), regularly check compliance with water pollutant discharge standards for saline wastewater in cooperation with North Gyeongsang Province, and conduct quarterly water quality inspections.

In particular, the city will conduct post-environmental impact assessments every quarter, form an environmental monitoring team centered on residents living near coastal discharge points, and regularly visit local companies to directly monitor environmental activities and discharge status, expressing a strong commitment to encouraging companies to voluntarily take the lead in environmental protection.

Kwon Hyukwon, Director of the Job and Economy Bureau, stated, "By promptly promoting the salt-exclusive public wastewater treatment facility and zero liquid discharge system, we aim to improve the living environment of local residents and support companies in conducting stable business activities, thereby securing leadership in the nation's largest and most innovative global secondary battery industrial complex."