China Pollutant Discharge Permit Administration Regulation

The Pollutant Discharge Permit Administration Regulation is a national regulatory framework governing China's discharge permit system for stationary pollution sources. Based on State Council Decree No. 736 (an administrative regulation effective March 1, 2021), it comprehensively governs permit application, review, and issuance, discharge monitoring, compliance management, reporting obligations, and administrative enforcement. The system is the foundation of China's pollution prevention regime, integrating air pollutant discharge, water pollutant discharge, and facility-level environmental compliance under a unified permit-based management approach. As of its effective date, more than 2.7 million stationary pollution sources nationwide are covered, classified into three tiers based on pollutant generation volume, discharge volume, and environmental impact: "key management," "simplified management," and "registration management" (registration-management facilities alone account for 2.36 million, or 86.5% of the total). The higher-level laws underlying this regulation (the Environmental Protection Law, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and the Solid Waste Law) are all among the ten laws being consolidated into, and repealed by, the Ecological and Environmental Code effective August 15, 2026. The regulation itself (an administrative regulation enacted by the State Council) will not automatically lapse, but after the Code takes effect its references to higher-level laws are likely to shift to the Code, and this should be monitored on an ongoing basis. The regulation aims to unify management of total discharge volumes and environmental compliance for stationary pollution sources, establish a unified pollution-source management system centered on discharge permits, clarify companies' primary responsibility for environmental management, and improve the transparency and effectiveness of administrative enforcement. It covers stationary pollution sources (factories, business establishments, etc.) that discharge pollutants, classified as: (1) key management -- facilities with high pollutant generation/discharge volumes and significant environmental impact; (2) simplified management -- facilities with moderate pollutant generation/discharge volumes and relatively minor environmental impact; and (3) registration management -- facilities with minimal pollutant generation/discharge and negligible impact (no permit required, online registration only). Key requirements include: prior authorization (companies must apply for and obtain a discharge permit online before actual discharge or operation begins); self-monitoring (regular measurement of discharge volume and concentration, with records retained, including installation of automated monitoring equipment and online connection where required); management ledgers (records of discharge activities, operation of pollution control equipment, and chemical raw material usage); and periodic reporting (regular submission and public disclosure of discharge permit compliance reports, annual and quarterly).