Yongin City to Charge Groundwater Usage Fees from September... 201 Sites Including Golf Courses

[Asia Economy (Yongin) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province will impose a groundwater usage fee starting this September on business and industrial facilities that develop and use groundwater.

Yongin City announced on the 11th that it will begin collecting fees for the usage in August in accordance with the "Ordinance on the Imposition and Collection of Groundwater Usage Fees in Yongin City."

The targets are 201 business and industrial facilities within the city, such as golf courses, factories, and bathhouses, with a daily pumping capacity exceeding 100 tons. Household, agricultural, school, social welfare facility uses, and simple water supply in areas not covered by tap water are excluded.

The fee is set at 85 KRW per ton, applying 50% of the "Han River Basin Water Usage Fee" announced by the Ministry of Environment. However, if the usage amount is less than 2,000 KRW (approximately less than 23 tons), no fee will be charged.

The city expects to generate about 154 million KRW in non-tax revenue annually through this measure.

The city plans to use the related revenue for systematic conservation and management of groundwater and for restoration projects of abandoned groundwater facilities, which are the main sources of groundwater pollution.

A city official stated, "We planned to implement this policy by enacting the related ordinance in 2020, but postponed the enforcement date to avoid increasing the burden on small business owners who were struggling due to COVID-19. As this policy is part of efforts to preserve groundwater, a public resource, for future generations, we ask for active cooperation."

Meanwhile, if there is no flow meter, groundwater users must install one themselves. Replacement of flow meters or reporting of groundwater development, usage, and termination should be done at the construction department of each district office.

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