The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansub) announced that amendments related to brine discharge regulations, including the 'Water Environment Conservation Act Enforcement Rules' and the 'Sewerage Act Enforcement Rules,' will be enforced starting from the day of proclamation on March 20 to ensure proper treatment of secondary battery waste. Additionally, amendments to the 'Regulations on Ecotoxicity Proof by Brine (National Institute of Environmental Research)' will also be enforced on the same day.

The brine discharge system refers to a system that applies marine ecotoxicity standards (marine organisms such as luminescent bacteria) instead of freshwater ecotoxicity standards (freshwater water fleas) when discharging the main component of seawater, salt, into the ocean.

The amendments were made in response to concerns about confusion in the application of brine discharge regulations for secondary battery waste due to ambiguities in toxicity tests on marine organisms and the definition of brine. The key points of the amendments are as follows:

First, the various marine ecotoxicity tests applied inconsistently in previous brine discharge applications have been unified to include only luminescent bacteria and copepods. This is expected to allow for more precise consideration of marine ecological impacts and shorten the review period by the National Institute of Environmental Research (within 30 days).

Second, in the past, companies seeking brine discharge permits were required to receive improvement orders from the relevant administrative agency (local government or regional environmental agency) for exceeding ecotoxicity discharge standards before applying. However, the amendments now allow applications during the pre-operational testing phase even if the ecotoxicity discharge standards are exceeded.

Third, if marine ecotoxicity issues persist during inspections by local authorities (or regional environmental agencies) and are not resolved within 30 days, the brine discharge permit may be revoked.

As a result of these amendments to the brine discharge system, the Ministry of Environment has provided guidelines such as the 'Brine Discharge Guidebook' and the 'Guidelines for Proper Inflow Standards for Public Treatment Facilities for Brine Waste' on its website since December last year to help companies and local governments better understand the regulations.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment plans to provide technical support to companies facing difficulties in treating secondary battery brine waste and, in collaboration with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, will intensively monitor areas where secondary battery brine discharge occurs, such as Saemangeum and Yeongil Bay, from this year onwards.