Outline of the Water Pollution Control Law

The Water Pollution Control Law regulates the discharge of water discharged from factories and business sites into public water bodies and the penetration of water that penetrates underground, and promotes the implementation of domestic wastewater measures. In order to prevent pollution of groundwater quality, to protect the health of the people, preserve the living environment, and to protect the health of the people, protect the living environment, and to protect the lives of the people, and to protect the living environment, and to protect the victims.
In order to achieve that purpose, regulations such as the obligation to notify factories or business establishments and regulations such as concentration regulations related to effluent are established.

"Guide to the Water Pollution Control Law (PDF: 1,351KB)" (updated in April 2024) is posted.

Factories or business establishments need to notify when setting up specific facilities. There are the following types of notifications.

Wastewater discharged from specific business establishments (factories or business establishments that have specific facilities) to public water bodies are subject to drainage standards for each drainage outlet.
Specified business sites must not discharge effluent that does not conform to drainage standards at drainage outlets (Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Act).
In addition, it is mandatory for specific business sites to measure, record, and preserve the quality of the discharged water (Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the Act).

The total amount regulation refers to the concentration of population and industries where it is difficult to achieve the three environmental standards of COD (chemical oxygen demand), T-N (nitrogen content), and T-P (phosphate content) with wastewater standards alone. This is a regulation to reduce the amount of pollution load flowing into a wide-area closed sea area (designated areas).
The designated area in Yokohama City is Tokyo Bay, and the target business site is a specific business site that discharges water to Tokyo Bay and public water bodies flowing into it.
Specific business sites in the designated area must comply with the total amount regulation standard (Article 12-2 of the Act).

In order to prevent groundwater contamination, structural standards (standards for structures, facilities, and methods of use) are established for specific facilities that use harmful substances and designated facilities for storage of harmful substances.
Businesses must comply with this structural standard (Article 12-4 of the Act).
In addition, in the standards for the method of use, businesses must formulate management guidelines for handling harmful substances (Article 12-4 of the Act), periodic inspections around the facility itself and floor surfaces, and record the results.・ Storage is required (Article 14, Paragraph 5 of the Act).

Specified business establishments, designated business establishments, or oil storage business establishments fall under the following conditions due to damage to facilities or other accidents, it is necessary to immediately take emergency measures and report the status of the accident and the details of the emergency measures (Article 14-2 of the Act).
・Hazardous substances, designated substances, or oil may flow into public water bodies such as rivers and seas, or penetrate underground
・When there is a risk that the living environment item may exceed the drainage standard (specific business sites only)

We publish list of specific business establishments in the city based on the Water Pollution Control Law (as of the end of the previous fiscal year).