Wastewater Discharge Facility Installation Permit, Installation Report and Change Report — 0.1 m³ per Day Threshold and 30-Day or 2-Month Change Report Deadlines

Procedure

1. 1. Check whether the facility is a wastewater discharge facility

   A facility discharging wastewater containing specified water pollutants is a wastewater discharge facility if its maximum daily wastewater volume is 0.01 m³ or more, and a facility without such pollutants if it is 0.1 m³ or more (Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Attached Table 4). However, cases such as feeding wastewater of 20 m³ or less per day that contains no mineral oils into a public sewage treatment facility are excluded. Industry classifications and exclusions are checked facility by facility in the same table.

2. 2. Distinguish permit facilities from report facilities

   A permit is required for facilities discharging specified water pollutants above the standard, facilities in special countermeasure areas or areas where installation is restricted, and facilities in a water source protection zone or within 10 km downstream distance upstream of its boundary (or within 15 km upstream of an intake facility where no protection zone is designated) (Enforcement Decree of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 31(1)). Other facilities, and certain facilities that entrust all wastewater for treatment or send all of it to a public wastewater treatment facility, are subject to an installation report (same Article, Paragraph 2).

3. 3. Submit the application or report with attachments

   Submit the installation permit application or installation report with a location map and wastewater discharge process flow chart, a statement of raw material and water use with an estimate of expected water pollutants, and a statement and drawings of the prevention facilities (Enforcement Decree of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 31(5); Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 36). For an installation report, the prevention facility drawings may be replaced by a layout plan. Acceptance of an installation report is notified within 10 days, and if no notice is given within that period the report is deemed accepted (same Act, Article 33(4) and (5); Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 38-2).

4. 4. Install prevention facilities and report the start of operation

   A business operator who has obtained a permit or filed a report must install water pollution prevention facilities that can treat wastewater to within the permissible discharge standards (Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 35(1)). Before starting operation, submit an operation start report with the original installation permit or installation report certificate (same Act, Article 37; Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 46). The trial operation period is 50 days for biochemical treatment (70 days if operation starts between November 1 and January 31 of the following year) and 30 days for physical or chemical treatment (Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 47).

5. 5. Manage change permit and change report deadlines by reason

   For a permitted facility, a change permit is required if wastewater volume increases by 50 percent or more of the permitted level (30 percent for facilities discharging specified water pollutants) or by 700 m³ or more per day, or if a new pollutant exceeding the permissible discharge standards arises (Enforcement Decree of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 31(3)). A change report must be filed before the change for a 50 percent or greater increase in wastewater volume, a change of treatment process or partial closure, within 2 months for a change of representative or name, and within 30 days for a change of location, leasing of facilities, change of the entrusted treatment company or full closure (Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 38). Acceptance of a change report is notified within 5 days (Enforcement Rule of the same Act, Article 38-2).

Required documents

• Wastewater discharge facility installation permit application or installation report (Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Form No. 12)
• Location map of the discharge facility and wastewater discharge process flow chart
• Statement of raw material use (including water), product output and expected water pollutants
• Statement and drawings of the water pollution prevention facilities (a layout plan may be used for an installation report)
• Wastewater discharge facility change permit application or change report (Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Form No. 13; when making changes)
• Wastewater discharge facility installation permit or installation report certificate (for a change permit or change report)
• Documents proving the change (for a change report)
• Operation start report (Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Form No. 16; before operation)

Fees

The costs of designing and building water pollution prevention facilities and of measuring water pollutants are paid separately to the companies concerned. Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on whether a permit or a report is required, the number of discharge and prevention facilities and the type of change; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 33
• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 35
• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 37
• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 75
• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 76
• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 82
• Enforcement Decree of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 31
• Enforcement Decree of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Attached Table 18
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 36
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 38
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 38-2
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 46
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 47
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Attached Table 4

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-25

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• A 50 percent or greater increase in wastewater volume, a change of treatment process, installing prevention facilities at a facility that had none, or partial closure must be reported before the change, not after (Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 38(4)1), so file the report before scheduling equipment work.
• Making an important change to a permitted facility without a change permit is not treated as a missed change report but carries the same penalty as operating without a permit (imprisonment of up to 7 years or a fine of up to 70,000,000 won) (Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 75, Subparagraph 1), so first check whether the expansion meets the change permit threshold.

Frequently asked questions