Enforce the Antipollution Measures on Nakdong River

The National Assembly Environmental and Labor Committee unanimously passed three special bills on managing three major rivers, including the `Bill on the Water Management of the Nakdong Basin System and the Supporting of the Residents` (Special Bill on Nagdong River), on 30th. The three bills have drifted for one and half year.

After passing the bills in the National Assembly plenary session, the bills will be implemented in the beginning of next year and will come into effect around July 2002.

Therefore, the plan to improve the water quality of the four major rivers, which has driven by the government with the enforcement of the special bill on Han River in 1999, is getting under way. However, there will be many restrictions in the upstream areas, such as the limitations of development and factory management.

If these bills are enacted the antipollution measures, designation of the river area and regulation of the total amount of pollutions, etc., will be introduced in the riparian areas of the Nakdong, Kum, and Yongsn-Sumjin rives. Especially, the industrial complex near the Nakdong River system, which is severely polluted, should construct the buffer tanks for the waste water treatment.

The bills also prepared a supporting measure for the residents of the restricted areas. The local governments will charge the water use taxes to the water users of the downstream residents and will support the upstream residents who will face disadvantages because of the restrictions.

Although the Ministry of Environment submitted the special bill on the Nakdong River on June 23, 2000, and the special bills on the Kum and Yongsan-Sumjin Rivers on April 19, 2001, to the National Assembly, they have drifted due to the conflict of interests between the residents of upper and down streams.

Young-A Soh sya@donga.com