Research On Technology-based Effluent Standards In NPDES

Chinese pollutant discharge standard is a technical legal norm.The essence of Pollutant Discharge Permit is that discharge pollutant reaches technical standard.In 1972,experiencing the failure of water quality standard management solely,The United States switched from water quality standards which was based on the self-purification capacity to technology-based effluent standards,and the effluent standards was implemented nationwide through NPDES.This pioneering work has effectively improved the severe water pollution in the United States.The effluent standards of China's water pollution are applied to the same objects as America's technology-based standards.But,the two different approaches are equally satisfactory results in terms of overall framework of construction.From the classification of pollutants to the construction of standards,and even "water quality standards",they are all small similarities and big differences.Although China's two-level and four-category effluent standards system have clear hierarchy and multiple subjects,they are not effective under the operating Pollutant Discharge Permit.China and the United States have similar topography,hydrological environment,technological conditions,and both went through a similar phase of water pollution control,so the American model is worth learning,especially the idea of "technology forcing".Through comparative study,it can be concluded that Chinese implementation of effluent standards has many difficulties,such as vague legal attributes,rough content of effluent standards,lack of fairness in formulating procedures,small boundaries of pollution control responsibility of pollutant dischargers,and inadequate standards implementation guarantee.The cause of these difficulties is rooted in the long-term influence of the Total Amount Control System on Chinese Pollutant Discharge Permit.It is necessary for China to turn to “technology-forcing” as the guidance to construct the effluent standard system.Shifting to effluent standards with guidance of “technologyforcing”,China can be improved from the legitimacy and greening of effluent standards,the refinement of effluent standards content,the scientificalization of standard-making procedures,the expansion of pollution control responsibility boundaries,and the enhancement of standards implementation guarantee.