JP Sewerage Act — Discharge Standards for Factory and Business Site Wastewater
ENFORCEMENT TIMELINE
Statutory regulation in effect (Periodic updates to effluent standards)
Overview
Wastewater regulation under the Sewerage Act sets discharge standards for wastewater released from designated business sites into the public sewerage system, aimed at maintaining the function of terminal treatment plants and preventing damage to sewerage infrastructure such as corrosion of pipes. Working alongside the Water Pollution Control Act, this regulation imposes direct water quality standards specific to sewerage systems, covering parameters such as pH, BOD, suspended solids, and animal and plant fats and oils.
Enforcement Timeline
1958: The Sewerage Act is enacted.
1970: A major revision to the Sewerage Act during the so-called Pollution Diet session establishes discharge standards for designated business sites in law.
Ongoing: Local governments, as sewerage administrators, continue to establish supplementary local ordinances and conduct periodic on-site inspections and water quality testing.
Business Impact
Every designated facility that discharges factory wastewater into the public sewerage system, including food processing, metal surface treatment, chemical, and machinery businesses, is required to install and properly maintain pretreatment facilities, such as oil-water separators, pH neutralization equipment, and coagulation-sedimentation systems, to comply with the standards set by the local sewerage administrator.
Exceeding the standards carries the legal risk of an order from the sewerage administrator to install pretreatment facilities or a temporary discharge suspension order.