REGULATIONS ON DUMPING AND INCINERATION AT SEA

03/01/2003

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The Environmental Protection Administration (the EPA) has announced its Regulations Gov-erning Dumping and Incineration at Sea. The main points are as follows:

Before dumping or incinerating materials at sea, a public or private entity must obtain a license from the EPA.

A. Dumping at sea

1.A public or private entity intending to carry out dumping at sea must report the intended marine transport route, dumping areas, and dumping times to the local coastguard au-thorities and to the local and central envi-ronmental protection authorities, 24 hours before the vessel is loaded or leaves harbor.

2.A vessel or equipment used for incineration or dumping at sea must have the following documents available for inspection:

(i)an emergency response plan;

(ii)the vessel certificates, or authorization documents issued by the competent authority for the relevant industry; and

(iii)a copy of the vessel or equipment in-surance policy.

3.A vessel or equipment used for dumping at sea must be equipped with an automatic continuous monitoring system with the following functions:

(i) When the engine of the vessel or equipment is started, the system must begin monitoring and recording.

(ii) While the vessel or equipment is under way, the system must automatically record its position once every 15 to 30 minutes using a global navigation sys-tem; while dumping is in progress, it must record the position once every five minutes.

4.A license for the disposal at sea of Class B substances is valid for the period approved by the EPA at its issuance. A license for the disposal at sea of Class C substances is valid for three years. If continued dumping is intended after expiry of the license, the entity should apply to the EPA for a new license within the period of four months starting six months before the expiry date.

B. Incineration at sea

1.Before carrying out incineration at sea, the route of the transporting vessel, the incin-eration areas and the incineration times must be reported to the local coastguard authorities and to the local and central en-vironmental protection authorities, 24 hours before the vessel is loaded or leaves harbor.

2.The equipment used for incineration at sea must comply with the following standards, and must be inspected every two years:

(i)Minimum destruction and removal ef-ficiency 99.9%;

(ii)Minimum combustion efficiency 99.95% ±0.05%; and

(iii)Minimum flame temperature 1250 °C.

3.A license for incineration at sea is valid for two years. If continued incineration is in-tended after its expiry, the entity should apply to the EPA for a new license during the period of four months starting six months before the expiry date of the ex-isting license.