Gyeonggi Province will conduct inspections on wastewater discharge facilities during the rainy season.
Gyeonggi Province is set to crack down on wastewater discharge businesses ahead of the full-scale rainy season.
The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police announced on the 25th that from July 1 to 12, they will conduct intensive inspections targeting 360 wastewater discharge businesses across the province for illegal activities.
The main inspection items include ▲ installation and operation of unauthorized or unreported wastewater discharge facilities ▲ installation of facilities that discharge pollutants without inflow and treatment through prevention facilities or that can discharge pollutants ▲ water pollution acts in public water bodies such as rivers ▲ violations of hazardous chemical handling standards, among others.
Under the current Water Environment Conservation Act, installing or operating unauthorized wastewater discharge facilities is punishable by imprisonment of up to 7 years or a fine of up to 70 million KRW; installing or operating unreported wastewater discharge facilities and installing facilities that discharge pollutants without inflow and treatment through prevention facilities are punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW; and leaking, spilling, or dumping specific harmful substances into public water bodies such as rivers is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.
Additionally, the Chemical Substances Control Act stipulates that violations of hazardous chemical handling standards are punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW.
A Gyeonggi Province official stated, "Especially with the rainy season expected to cause unauthorized wastewater discharge and other water pollution acts, we will intensively crack down on illegal activities in wastewater discharge businesses and hazardous chemical handling industries to ensure the creation of safe and clean rivers."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
