Technical Experts Required When Registering for 'Integrated Permit Agency for Environmental Pollution Facilities'

'Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Pollution Facilities Act' Approved at the Cabinet Meeting

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] From now on, to register for the integrated permit agency business for environmental pollution facilities, at least one senior engineer-level expert must be employed.

The Ministry of Environment announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the "Act on the Integrated Management of Environmental Pollution Facilities," which includes this provision, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 22nd and will take effect from the 1st of next month.

The integrated permit agency registration system was introduced through the amendment of the Environmental Pollution Facilities Act in January to prevent corporate damages such as poor preparation of permit documents.

First, the enforcement decree established the standards for technical personnel and facilities/equipment required for registering as an integrated permit agency. At least one engineer-level expert and four technician-level personnel were required. Additionally, an office and a computer equipped with design drawing software must be provided for registration.

The amendment to the enforcement decree also includes the method for calculating fines imposed in lieu of suspension orders when currently operating businesses fail to obtain integrated permits during the grace period granted by industry type. According to the Environmental Pollution Facilities Act, environmental pollutant emission and prevention facilities within businesses subject to integrated permits but that have not obtained such permits are subject to suspension orders. However, if suspending the facility is expected to cause significant disruption to residents' lives, the national economy, or other public interests, a fine of up to 1 billion KRW may be imposed instead of suspension.

The amended enforcement decree stipulates that fines are calculated by multiplying the number of suspension days by one three-thousand-six-hundredth of the business's annual sales. The Ministry of Environment expects that the calculated amount will be reduced by 30% to 70% per business depending on the progress of the integrated permit procedure.

Furthermore, the amendment relaxes the requirements for changes that require permit modifications to be handled as change notifications. Under the current Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Pollution Facilities Act, minor matters such as the installation of fugitive emission facilities or noise and vibration emission facilities, which are processed as change notifications under existing media-specific laws like the Atmospheric Environment Conservation Act, must also obtain permit modifications. Accordingly, minor changes have been changed to notification matters, aligning with existing media laws such as the Atmospheric Environment Conservation Act.

An official from the Ministry of Environment stated, "With this amendment to the enforcement decree, a foundation will be established to strengthen the expertise and capabilities of integrated permit agencies, and the requirements for permit modifications, which had been strengthened differently by media such as air, will be significantly relaxed, greatly reducing the burden on companies in complying with integrated permits."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.