The Yeongpung Seokpo Refinery in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, has been caught for illegal discharge of wastewater and installation of unlicensed pipes, leading to a 58-day operational halt from February 26 to April 24 next year.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Environment and North Gyeongsang Province announced that they imposed administrative penalties, including a one-month shutdown for illegal wastewater discharge and a 30-day shutdown for unlicensed pipe installation, on the Yeongpung Seokpo Refinery, where violations of the Water Environment Conservation Act have been finally confirmed.
This penalty stems from the detection of violations of the 'Water Environment Conservation Act' by the Ministry of Environment's Central Mobile Inspection Unit in April 2019. North Gyeongsang Province issued an operational suspension in December 2020. However, Yeongpung filed a cancellation lawsuit, and the Supreme Court confirmed the government's victory on October 31, leading to the final measures.
The Ministry of Environment and North Gyeongsang Province determined the timing and methods of the operational suspension, prioritizing the prevention of environmental pollution and safety accidents during the shutdown. They assessed that halting operations in winter could lead to secondary environmental contamination or safety incidents due to issues such as freezing. They concluded that it would be more effective for water quality management to halt operations in spring (the dry season), considering that contaminated groundwater and rainwater, which are fully utilized as process water, cannot be used during the operational suspension.
During this operational suspension period, the activities, such as producing zinc ingots by processing zinc concentrate, will be strictly prohibited. However, environmental management and safety management activities not related to product production will be permitted. The zero-liquid discharge system (ZLD) will continue to operate during the shutdown, treating approximately 500 tons of contaminated groundwater and rainwater daily. In the future, the government plans to inspect the quality of the treated water before discharge, prohibiting discharge if it exceeds the standards.
Meanwhile, the Seokpo Refinery recently received an additional operational suspension for violating integrated permit conditions by operating with seven sulfur gas detectors turned off. If the Seokpo Refinery contests this as well, the matter will be referred to the court.