This year the Ministry of Environment(MOE) made a fifth amendment to the Sewerage Act, which was enacted in August 1966. The first objective of this amendment is to introduce small public sewerage system that is designed to treat wastewater produced in rural areas. Before small public sewerage system was introduced to the Act through this amendment, only urban areas were covered by public sewerage system. Because small sewerage system was introduced, wastewater generated in urban areas as well as rural areas can now be treated by public sewage treatment plants. In addition to this, some authorities on sewerage affairs were moved from the MOE to local governments by this amendment in order to enhance the power and responsibility of local governments in relation to sewerage affairs. Also, this amendment enabled local governments to entrust the authority to establish and manage sewage treatment plants to private companies, and enabled the MOE to organize an advisory committee on sewerage to review economic and technical aspects ofsewage treatment plants. This amendment went into effect September 8, 1997.