The National People

The remediation action for issues related to rural domestic sewage treatment facilities such as "sun exposure, abnormal operation, built but not used," has officially begun!

This follows the "Environmental Water Circle" previously mentioned, "the nation is slowing down the pace of rural sewage treatment". Localities have begun to urge the normal operation of the finished facilities and put forward new requirements for the operation and maintenance of rural pollution facilities.

Recently, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Sichuan Province and other departments issued a notice on the "Sichuan Province Rural Domestic Sewage Treatment Facility Operation and Maintenance Management Measures" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"). The Measures have been implemented sinceMarch 1, 2024, with a five years validility period.

The "Measures" are divided into six chapters and 29 articles, which clearly regulate various aspects of rural domestic sewage treatment facilities, including the types of inflow, effluent quality, sludge treatment and disposal, operating management model, operation and maintenance supervision and assessment, division of responsibilities among functional departments, and financial security mechanism.

In terms of the type of inflow, Article 4 stipulates that "The inflow types of rural domestic sewage treatment facilities are strictly limited".

Waste water produced by homestays and rural catering businesses can enter the rural domestic sewage treatment facilities after it is proven to meet relevant requirements. Industrial wastewater and other non-domestic wastewater are not allowed to be dispensed into these treatment systems.

Regarding effluent quality, Article 13 mentions that the operation and maintenance unit should regularly monitor the effluent quality of rural domestic sewage treatment facilities. The mandatory items for effluent discharge are chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) and ammonia nitrogen.

Among them, facilities with a treatment scale of below 20 tons/day are regularly sampled at a certain proportion. Those with a treatment scale of 20 tons/day (inclusive) to 500 tons/day are monitored once per half year. Facilities with a design treatment scale of 500 tons/day (inclusive) and above are monitored in accordance with the requirements of sewage discharge permits.

For the issue that everyone is most concerned about, "abnormal operation of rural pollution facilities", Articles 15 and 16 emphatically state that "operation and maintenance units shall not arbitrarily shut down rural domestic sewage treatment facilities".

· If shutdown is indeed necessary due to maintenance or other reasons, a written report should be submitted to the corresponding department for the operation and maintenance of rural sewage treatment facilities at the county (city, district) level and the Department of Ecology and Environment 15 days in advance, explaining the reason for shutdown, shutdown period, and emergency measures etc.

· If a failure occurs or abnormal operation occurs due to force majeure, the operation and maintenance unit should report to the rural sewage treatment facility operation and maintenance management department and the Department of Ecology and Environment at the county (city, district) level within 24 hours and activate the emergency plan to deal with the issue with a time manner.

As it shown, the "Measures" have imposed brand new requirements on the operation status and maintenance quality of already built rural pollution facilities.

At least for the next five years, in Sichuan Province, if you still want to carry out "facade projects" on rural sewage treatment facilities, prioritize "quantity over quality" for political achievements, and focus on "construction over operation"... it's advisable to think twice before acting.

 During the The National People's Congress, Huang Miansong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, proposed that the taskof rural domestic sewage treatment to be included within the responsibility scope of governments officials at all levels, serving as an important part of assessments for relevant leaders and cadres.

The "Measures" not only provide clear rules for the operation of rural pollution facilities but also impose strict requirements on operation and maintenance management and later supervision tasks and personnel.

It proposes to undertake the main body responsibility for the operation and maintenance (O&M) management of rural domestic sewage treatment facilities, and specifies the county (city, district) rural sewage treatment facility O&M supervisors, O&M management model, and O&M units. For example,

· City (prefecture) and county (city, district) Departments of Ecology and Environment are responsible for the supervision and management of the operation status of rural sewage treatment facilities within their administrative areas, as well as the compliance of water quality in the inflow and outflow.

In the case of sewage treatment facilities is abnormal or the water quality is below certain standered, the operation and maintenance units should be investigated and dealt with the according law, and measures should be taken to complete the rectification with a time manner.

 The People's Government of the county (city, district) should include the necessary funding in the fiscal budget to ensure the long-term operation of the sewage treatment facilities. A diversified funding guarantee mechanism is being established with government support, public fundraising, and social participation.

The Provincial Development and Reform Commission is responsible for implementing preferential electricity policies for sewage treatment facilities; The Finance Department is responsible for guiding the funding security mechanism for operation and maintenance management...

From technology to funding, from operation to maintenance, from monitoring to scrutiny, from inflow restriction to effluent compliance... Overall, the issue of rural domestic sewage treatment facilities is receiving increasing and tangible attention.

It's worth mentioning that the "Suggestions on Effectively Utilizing the Functions of Rural Sewage Treatment Facilities" proposed by Hu Xiaoling, a representative of the National People's Congress during The National People's Congress last year, were taken into the consideration of documents and work deployment arrangements draftngs by the Ministry of Ecology and Environmen such as the "Guiding Opinions on Further Advancing Rural Domestic Sewage Treatment" at that time.

Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xbViZ3McdS47wonQahjYww