Sejong, May 8 - The Ministry of Environment pre-announced legislation of the subordinate statutes of the "Act on the Promotion of Production and Use of Biogas using Organic Waste" from April 28 to June 9, 2023, for 43 days. The subordinate statutes will include the long-term production target of biogas and the scope of mandatory biogas producers in the private sector.

Promulgated in December 2022, the Biogas Act obligates the public and private sectors to produce biogas for a certain amount. The subordinate statutes will determine the detailed production targets and the scope of mandatory biogas producers in the private sector. 

According to the draft of the subordinate statutes, mandatory producers in the public sector will be given a target production rate of 50% in 2025 and 80% in 2045. Mandatory producers in the private sector will be given a target production rate of 10% in 2026 and 80% in 2050. Considering the time necessary for the mandatory producers to adapt to the system and build related infrastructure, including plants, the initial target will be maintained for the first five years.

Mandatory producers in the private sector include those who discharge livestock excreta with more than 20,000 or more pigs, livestock excreta disposal facilities with a daily capacity for treatment of 100 tons or more supported by the central or local governments, and those who discharge food waste with an annual emission of 1,000 tons or more. 

The Minister of Environment will designate and publicly announce the details of the mandatory producers in the private sector every year starting in 2025, one year before implementing the production target system. 

A mandatory producer will be imposed a penalty surcharge if they fail to meet their production target. However, if an unavoidable circumstance such as a natural disaster, facility maintenance, or malfunction occurs, the penalty surcharge may be decreased for that period.

The Ministry of Environment plans to establish a comprehensive information system on biogas before the implementation date (January 1, 2025) of the production target system in the public sector to carry out biogas-related tasks more systemically, such as setting production target rates, managing implementation, and managing statistics. The system will integrate and systematically manage key information such as the amount of organic waste generated, biogas production, and transaction volume of production performance.

The Ministry of Environment plans to publish the details of the legislation of subordinate statutes of the Biogas Act on the Ministry website (me.go.kr). During the pre-announcement of legislation, the Ministry will also get feedback from stakeholders and experts and reflect them in the Act. The subordinate statutes will undergo an examination of regulations and legislation after the pre-announcement of legislation, and it will enter into force from December 31, 2023. 

Ryu Yeon-gi, Director-General of the Water Environment Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Environment, said, "With the subordinate statutes, it will be possible to establish a more concrete legal foundation for the expansion of organic waste gasification." He added, "The Ministry will work to improve related systems and expand the financial support to ensure the successful implementation of the production target system."

[Source: Press Release (me.go.kr)]