The MBR Book: Principles and Applications of Membrane
The MBR Book: Principles and Applications of Membrane
The MBR Book: Principles and Applications of Membrane
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8 <strong>The</strong> <strong>MBR</strong> <strong>Book</strong><br />
wastewater treatment plant classification <strong>and</strong> operator certification <strong>and</strong> on-site<br />
sewage treatment systems, amongst a whole raft <strong>of</strong> other issues.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se are merely examples <strong>of</strong> pertinent legislation since a full review <strong>of</strong> all global<br />
legislation, regulations <strong>and</strong> guidelines is beyond the scope <strong>of</strong> this book. However,<br />
they give some indication <strong>of</strong> the regulatory environment in which <strong>MBR</strong> technology<br />
stakeholders are operating. <strong>The</strong>re is also every reason to suppose that legislation will<br />
become more stringent in the future in response to ever depleting water resources<br />
<strong>and</strong> decreasing freshwater quality.<br />
1.4.2 Incentives <strong>and</strong> funding<br />
Alongside legislative guidelines <strong>and</strong> regulations has been the emergence <strong>of</strong> a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiatives to incentivise the use <strong>of</strong> innovative <strong>and</strong> more efficient water technologies<br />
aimed at industrial <strong>and</strong> municipal organisations. <strong>The</strong>se have an important<br />
impact on affordability <strong>and</strong> vary in amounts <strong>and</strong> nature (rebate, subsidy, tax concessions,<br />
etc.) according to national government <strong>and</strong>/or institutional/organisational<br />
policy but are all driven by the need to reduce freshwater dem<strong>and</strong>.<br />
In the UK in 2001, the HM Treasury launched a consultation on the Green Technology<br />
Challenge. <strong>The</strong> Green Technology Challenge is designed to speed up technological<br />
innovation <strong>and</strong> facilitate the diffusion <strong>of</strong> new environmental technologies<br />
into the market place (HM Treasury, 2006). <strong>The</strong> initiative is intended to accompany<br />
tax credits previously available to SMEs to encourage research <strong>and</strong> development <strong>and</strong><br />
to <strong>of</strong>fer further tax relief on investment in environmentally-friendly technologies in<br />
the form <strong>of</strong> enhanced capital allowances (ECAs). Under the system water efficient<br />
technologies (e.g. those delivering environmental improvements such as reductions<br />
in water dem<strong>and</strong>, more sustainable water use <strong>and</strong> improvements in water quality)<br />
are eligible for claiming ECAs. <strong>The</strong> tax incentive allow organisations to write <strong>of</strong>f an<br />
increased proportion <strong>of</strong> its capital spending against its taxable pr<strong>of</strong>it over the period<br />
in which the investment is made. Similar tax incentives are <strong>of</strong>fered to businesses in a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> other countries to encourage investment in environmentally-friendly <strong>and</strong><br />
innovative technologies. In Australia, Canada, Finl<strong>and</strong>, France, the Netherl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />
Switzerl<strong>and</strong>, this takes the form <strong>of</strong> accelerated depreciation for investment in equipment<br />
aimed at different forms <strong>of</strong> pollution. Denmark <strong>of</strong>fers a subsidy-based scheme<br />
for investments directed towards energy-intensive sectors, <strong>and</strong> Japan also <strong>of</strong>fers the<br />
option <strong>of</strong> a tax credit for the investment: from April 1998 to March 2004, suction<br />
filtration immersed membrane systems for <strong>MBR</strong>s were the object <strong>of</strong> “Taxation <strong>of</strong><br />
Investment Promotion for Energy Supply Structure Reform”, allowing a 7% income<br />
tax deduction for Japanese businesses.<br />
In the USA, state funding is also in place to encourage innovation in new water<br />
technology. <strong>The</strong> Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) (which replaced the<br />
Construction Grants scheme <strong>and</strong> which is administered by the Office <strong>of</strong> Wastewater<br />
Management at the US Environmental Protection Agency) is the largest water quality<br />
funding source, focused on funding wastewater treatment systems, non-point<br />
source projects <strong>and</strong> watershed protection (USEPA, 2006c). <strong>The</strong> programme provides<br />
funding for the construction <strong>of</strong> municipal wastewater facilities <strong>and</strong> implementation