Ganghwa County Operates Voluntary Disclosure Period for Illegal Groundwater Facilities

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Ganghwa County is operating a six-month voluntary disclosure period until May 3 next year for illegal groundwater facilities that have been indiscriminately developed and used without reporting or obtaining permits prior to the enactment of the Groundwater Act.

Owners or users of unregistered groundwater may submit required documents such as groundwater development and usage report forms to the Construction Division (Construction Administration Team) at the county office or the relevant eup or myeon offices within the deadline. Following legal review, the facilities will be registered and legalized.

In particular, to encourage voluntary disclosure of illegal groundwater use, the registration procedure for voluntary disclosure will be significantly simplified, and penalties and fines will be waived for those who voluntarily report during this period. Additionally, performance bond payments, water quality testing, facility installation attachments, and completion reports—all normally required for groundwater development and usage reports—will be exempted.

A county official stated, "After the voluntary disclosure period, we plan to implement strict measures including fines and administrative penalties. During the reporting period, since we are greatly simplifying the registration procedure, we urge you to report without worry of disadvantages."