In compliance to the promulgation of the Hot Spring Act and in response to the close proximity of almost half of the domestic hot spring areas to the drinking water source quality and quantity protection areas, the Environmental Protection Agency in Executive Yuan proceeds to construct a protocol of environmental regulations concerning hot spring industry through this project. The protocol will direct the establishment of waste water management programs and measures in the hot spring industry in order to preserve the water quality and natural ecology of rivers in the hot spring areas and to promote the sustainable management of the industry. In this project, the currently completed environmental regulations and protocols concerning hot spring industry are: 1.Industry categorizations and definitions in the Water Pollution Control Act (which were announced in December 6, 2005), 2.Protocol amendment clauses (partial) of the management program in the Water Pollution Control Measures for industries, 3.Protocol amendment clauses of application and evaluation in the Water Pollution Control Measure Program for industries, and 4.Protocol amendment clauses of the advance implementation inspection of Water Pollution Control Measure Program for the application and alteration of industry type, scope, and size. In December 6, 2005, the definition of hot spring industry has been announced to be included formally in the environmental management industries. Other related protocols of water pollution control regulations are being drafted at this time. They are estimated to be announced in 2006, and to be executed no later than July 31, 2007. According to the hot spring waste water control framework, this project encourages owners of hot spring businesses to adopt dividing pipe discharge to handle the greater amount of purely bathing waste water with treatment facilities. The purely bathing waste water either has to meet the temperature, COD, and coliform standards for effluent or it has to be discharged to its original surface water body. If it is discharged to water bodies other than its original surface water body, it has to be treated to meet all the effluent water quality standards before it can be discharged. Depend upon the discharge watershed, regulations can allow discharge to be made after simple water treatment is applied in order to encourage owners of hot spring businesses to move toward dividing pipe discharge in treating hot spring waste water. This is done in the hope of effectively reducing the pollution loads and ecological impacts in rivers in the hot spring areas.

Hot spring Act,Hot spring wastewater, Hot Spring