2.3.1 National Level

Categories: 2.3.Policies and Regulations
Time of issue: 2022-04-28 17:40:44
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China attaches great importance to rural environmental protection, and has successively issued a series of policies in rural wastewater treatment. The details are shown as follows:

A.In 2016, the State Council issued the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for Ecological Environmental Protection"

The entire county promotes unified planning, construction and management of rural wastewater treatment. Actively promote the extension of urban wastewater and garbage treatment facilities and services to the countryside, and carry out the harmless renovation of rural toilets. Construct wastewater and garbage collection, treatment and utilization facilities, and promote the rural wastewater treatment in cascades, so that 90% of the domestic waste in administrative villages is treated.

B.In 2016, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on the Full Implementation of the River Chief System"

Focus on the treatment of domestic wastewater and domestic garbage, improve the rural water environment comprehensively, and promote the construction of beautiful villages.

C.In 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for the Comprehensive Improvement of the National Rural Environment"

Rural domestic garbage and wastewater treatment-construction content: focus on areas with high village density and large populations to carry out rural domestic garbage and wastewater pollution control. The main construction content includes: the construction of domestic wastewater treatment facilities, including wastewater collection pipeline networks, centralized wastewater treatment facilities or constructed wetlands, oxidation ponds and other decentralized treatment facilities. In the renovated villages, the domestic wastewater treatment rate should be bigger than 60%.

D.In 2018, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on the Implementation of the Rural Revitalization Strategy"

Implement a three-year action plan for the improvement of rural human settlements, focus on the treatment of rural garbage, wastewater and improve the appearance of the village, integrate various resources, strengthen various measures, and steadily and orderly advance the governance of outstanding problems in the rural human settlements. Unremittingly promote the "toilet revolution" in rural areas, carry out the construction and transformation of rural household sanitary toilets, simultaneously implement fecal pollution control, accelerate the realization of full coverage of harmless sanitary toilets in rural areas, and strive to make up for shortcomings that affect the quality of life of farmers. Summarize and promote rural wastewater treatment modes applicable to different regions, and strengthen technical support and guidance.

E.In 2018, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Three-year Action Plan for the Improvement of Rural Human Settlement Environment"

Advance the treatment of rural domestic wastewater in cascades. According to different rural location conditions, the degree of population concentration in the village, and the scale of wastewater production, the construction mode and treatment process of combining pollution control and resource utilization, engineering measures and ecological measures, concentration and decentralization, shall be adopted according to local conditions. Promote the extension of the urban wastewater pipe network to the surrounding villages. Actively promote low-cost, low-energy, easy-to-maintain, and high-efficiency wastewater treatment technologies, and encourage the use of ecological treatment processes. Strengthen the reduction of the source of domestic wastewater and the recycling of tail water. Focus on dredging and dredging rivers, ponds and ditches in front of houses and back houses, adopt comprehensive measures to restore water ecology, and gradually eliminate black and odorous water bodies in rural areas. Bring rural water environment governance into the management of the river chief system and the lake chief system.

Improve governance standards and guarantees of the rule of law. Improve the standards and specifications of rural domestic garbage and wastewater treatment technology, construction, operation and maintenance. All regions should distinguish drainage methods, discharge destinations, etc., and formulate standards for rural domestic wastewater treatment and discharge.

F.In 2018, multiple departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Advancement of Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution Control in the Yangtze River Economic Zone"

Strengthen the treatment of domestic wastewater in rural areas. According to relative factors such as the location of the village, the size and density of the population, and topographical conditions, the management mode combining concentration and decentralization, engineering measures and ecological measures, pollution control and resource utilization shall be adopted according to local conditions. Actively promote the extension of the urban wastewater pipe network to the surrounding villages. Strengthen the reduction of the source of domestic wastewater and the recycling of tail water. Focus on dredging and dredging of river ponds and ditches in front of and behind houses, adopt comprehensive measures to restore water ecology, and gradually eliminate black and odorous water bodies in rural areas.

G.In 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the "Action Plan for Pollution Control in Agriculture and Rural Areas"

Advance the treatment of rural domestic wastewater in cascades. All provinces should distinguish drainage methods, discharge destinations, etc., speed up the formulation and revision of rural domestic wastewater treatment and discharge standards, select practical technologies and facilities for rural domestic wastewater treatment, and adopt wastewater treatment technologies and models suitable for the region. With county-level administrative regions as the unit, implement unified planning, unified construction, and unified management of rural domestic wastewater treatment. Carry out coordinated governance, promote the extension of urban wastewater treatment facilities and services to the countryside, strengthen the effective connection between toilet renovation and rural domestic wastewater treatment, and incorporate rural water environment management into the management of river chiefs and lake chiefs. Ensure the long-term operation of rural pollution control facilities.

H.In 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "Notice on Accelerating the Establishment of Local Rural Domestic Wastewater Discharge Standards"

The formulation of the discharge standards for rural domestic wastewater treatment should be based on different rural location conditions, the degree of population concentration in the village, the scale of wastewater generation, the discharge direction and the improvement needs of the human settlement environment, according to the divisional classification, the leniency and the strictness, the priority of reuse, the focus on actual results, and the ease of supervision. According to the principle, the control indicators and discharge limits are determined by classification.

I.In 2019, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "Technical Standards for Rural Domestic Wastewater Treatment Facilities" GB/T51347-2019

The standard includes the following technical content: 1 general; 2 terminology; 3 basic regulations; 4 design water volume and water quality; 5 wastewater collection; 6 wastewater treatment; 7 construction and acceptance; 8 operation, maintenance and management. Based on this standard, the rural domestic wastewater treatment should adopt the biofilm method (anaerobic biofilm method, biological contact oxidation tank, biological filter, biological turntable, etc.), activated sludge method (activated sludge method, oxidation ditch activated sludge method, membrane Bioreactors, etc.), natural biological treatments (constructed wetlands, stable ponds, etc.) and physical and chemical methods (grids, grit tanks, regulating tanks, and chemical dephosphorization, etc.). The sludge treatment can be natural drying, composting, co-processing with rural solid organic matter or entering the municipal system to be treated together with municipal sludge. Prefabricated devices can be used for household processing. The residence time of wastewater in the septic tank should be 24h-36h.

J.In 2019, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, compiled the "Guidelines for the Compilation of Water Pollutant Discharge Control Specifications for Rural Domestic Wastewater Treatment Facilities (Trial)"

The "Guidelines" is the specific implementation and further clarification of the "Notice on Accelerating the Establishment of Local Rural Domestic Wastewater Treatment Discharge Standards". It puts forward relevant content such as scope of application, classification and grading, determination of control indicators, and control requirements.

K.In 2019, nine departments including the Central Agriculture Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly and so on, issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Treatment of Rural Wastewater Treatment"

Emphasize that rural wastewater treatment should base on China actual situation, take wastewater reduction, classified on-site treatment and recycling as the guide, strengthen overall planning, and clarify the overall requirements and key tasks in the eastern, central and western regions. The key tasks include getting a comprehensive view of the current situation, formulating action plans scientifically, selecting technical models rationally, speeding up the formulation and revision of standards, and improving construction and management mechanisms.

L.In 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council，issued "Opinions on promoting in the Field of "Three Rurals" to ensure the realization of a well-off society in an all-round way as scheduled”

Promote the rural wastewater treatment, and give priority to solving the problems of rural wastewater in townships and central villages. Carry out the treatment of black and odorous water bodies in rural areas. Support farmers to carry out village cleaning and greening actions, and promote the construction of "beautiful homes". Encourage qualified places to subsidize the maintenance of public facilities in rural living environment.

M.In 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued "Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization and Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization"

Implement the five-year action to improve the rural living environment. Coordinate toilet improvement and wastewater, black and odorous water treatment in rural areas, and build wastewater treatment facilities according to local conditions. Improve the management and protection mechanism of rural living environment facilities.

N.In 2021, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Department of the National Rural Development Bureau issued the "Guidelines for Social Capital Investment in Agriculture and Rural Areas (2021)"

Support social capital to participate in the five-year action to improve the rural living environment. Encourage social capital to participate in the construction and operation of projects such as the rural toilet revolution, rural wastewater treatment, and rural domestic sewage treatment. Actively explore public welfare projects with stable income in the agricultural and rural areas, and promote the implementation path and mechanism of the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

O.In 2021, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Five-Year Action Plan for Improvement of Rural Human Settlements (2021-2025)"

Prioritize the treatment of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yellow River Basin, and the control unit areas that need to be improved in water quality, and focus on the improvement of water source protection areas and urban-rural fringes, township government residences, central villages, tourist scenic spots and so on. Carry out pilot projects for rural wastewater treatment in typical areas such as plains, mountains, hills, water shortages, high altitudes and sensitive ecological environments. Guided by resource utilization and sustainable treatment, choose rural wastewater treatment technologies that meet the actual rural conditions, and give priority to promotion treatment technologies with low operating costs and simple maintenance.

P.Relevant standards/technical specifications

(16) Relevant standards/technical specifications

In addition to related policies, the state has also put forward a series of standards/regulations for the treatment of rural domestic wastewater, as shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Related national standards

Number	Name	Standard status
1	GB/T 51347-2019 Technical standards for rural domestic wastewater treatment engineering	Currently valid
2	GB/T 37071-2018 Guidelines for the Treatment of Rural Domestic Wastewater	Currently valid
3	GB 19379-2012 Sanitary Standards for Rural Household Toilets	Currently valid
4	GB 50445-2008 Technical Specifications for Village Renovation	Currently valid
5	HJ 574-2010 Technical Specifications for Rural Domestic Pollution Control	Currently valid
6	HJ 2031-2013 Technical Guidelines for Contiguous Remediation of Rural Environment	Currently valid
7	HJ-BAT-9 Guidelines for Best Available Techniques for Prevention and Control of Domestic Pollution in Villages and Towns (Trial)	Currently valid
8	CJ/T 355-2010 Small-scale domestic wastewater treatment equipment	Currently valid
9	CJ/T 441-2013 Household wastewater treatment device	Currently valid
10	CJJ 124-2008 Technical regulations for town (township) and village drainage engineering	Currently valid
11	CJJ/T 54-2017 Technical Regulations for Natural Wastewater Treatment Engineering	Currently valid

In summary, the policies of rural wastewater treatment continue evolving. Due to the vast territory and the huge differences between different regions in China, the central government adopts the principle of promoting according to local conditions and proceeding step by step. The competent ministries and commissions focus on the top-level design and regulate and guide uniformly the emission standards. At the implementing level, it is emphasized starting with demonstration and promoting gradually. While stressing on the connection with the 13th Five-Year Plan, the 14th Five-Year Plan is focusing on building a long-term development mechanism to ensure the progress and overall results.