美国排污许可制度管理经验——以水污染控制许可证为例

A Review on Environmental Permit System in the U. S. :A Case Study of the NPDES

随着公众对环境问题的关注和对环境质量的要求日益提升,环境保护在中国面临巨大的压力和挑战。因此,迫切需要建立更加系统和完善的环境保护管理体系。美国的排污许可证制度已成功应用于水、大气等多个重要的环境领域,其管理体系相对完善。以美国针对水污染管控的国家污染物排放消除系统(NPDES)为例,从许可证的功能定位、管理体系、适用范围、类型及流程、费用、信息公开、公众参与、未来发展动向等方面系统地介绍了美国排污许可证制度的做法和经验,以期对中国发展排污许可制度提供参考和借鉴。

With environmental issues increasingly concerned in China and public requirements in terms of environmental quality increasingly rising, environmental protection, in China, confronts enormous pressures and severe challenges. Therefore, to establish systematic and completed environmental protection and management systems is urgently required. Successfully implemented in many important environmental fields such as air and water pollution control, the environmental permit system of U. S. has been treated as an effective environmental management system. By taking the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System （NPDES） in the U. S. as an example, this paper first reviewed the core functions of permit systems, and then explored the management system of NPDES and introduced its coverage, types of permits, whole process and costs. In addition, this paper also highlighted the information disclosure, public participation and future development of the system in order to provide reference for China.