On Discharge Permit System

Our discharge permit system has a history of more than a decade, and is still too imperfect. It is always tied together with and drowned in such systems as total-pollutant control, permit trading and so on. But the fact is that the cost of administrating these systems will be too great and far more than expected if the discharge permit system has too many defects. In this article, therefore, the author attempts to probe into its theoretical meaning based on Environmental Law, display its defects and suggest some ways to perfect it by comparing our present discharge permit system with its counterpart in the USA.Chapter I is concerned about the analysis of this system in the light of Environmental Law and the newly-promulgated Administrative Permit Act. "Right to discharge" is not a "concept in acts", but a jurisprudence concept about individual environmental interests. Any person in nature has the "right to discharge", but the acts in our society don't and can't defend such kind of right. "Power to permit discharge" is the right entrusted by the people to the environmental protection agency for social environmental interests. To some extent, the agency has1 the right enforced in order to serve the people better. Among these rights there must be many conflicts. The discharge permit system is developed from their compromise and has lessened their conflicts.In Chapter II, by comparing Chinese water pollutants discharge permit system with the American counterpart, The author points out the defects of Chinese discharge permit system. First, the legislation about this system isn't enough. Second, the main aim of the system is not so certain. Third, the scope of permit should be enlarged. Fourth, the system lacks the public participation procedures. Fifth, the sanctions in the present system are too weak and too simple to back up the enforcement of it.Chapter III gives some advice on how to perfect the system: to enact new acts to make the legislation about the system comprehensiveand systematic, to add procedures to give more chances for the public to express their environmental interests and ensure that they can participate in the environmental government, to empower the national environmental protection agency to administer directly the local discharge permit, modeling on American ways, to increase use of criminal sanctions and adjust the administrative sanctions, and so on.This system will be much better if the whole nation struggle to perfect it.