Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has been exploring the management mode of fixed sources of pollution and has formed a system of monitoring fixed sources of pollution with emission permits as the core. It is the responsibility and obligation of enterprises to carry out self-monitoring of pollutant emissions, such as disclosing their self-monitoring data on the national emission permit management information platform.

To regulate the self-monitoring behaviour of emission units, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has issued a series of national standards for self-monitoring technical guidelines for emission units. According to the National Economic Classification and the classification of technical specifications for the issuance of emission permits, a “1+43+1” system of technical guidelines for self-monitoring by emission units has been constructed, with the “Technical Guidelines for Self-monitoring by Emission Units” (HJ 819-2017) as the general rule, 43 key industries and general processes as the main body, and the “Technical Guidelines for Self-monitoring by Industrial Enterprises of Soil and Groundwater” (HJ 1209-2021) as the supplementary elements.

Up to now, a total of 73 technical specifications have been issued for the application and issuance of discharge permits for industries and common processes, which are fully connected with the technical guidelines for self-monitoring by discharge units. A few industries without specific technical guidelines for self-monitoring, such as waste resource processing and daily chemical product manufacturing, can carry out monitoring in accordance with the general rules.

According to ecological and environmental statistics, the “1+43+1” design system can cover most industries with over 95% of major pollutant emissions and can better support the implementation of the emission permit system.