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Abstract This paper calculated the differences in the regional operating costs using data from 227 sewage treatment plants, covering eastern, central and western regions of China. A thorough comparison of the operating cost structure and the standard of the regional sewage treatment charge-taking into account the treatment plant location, indicate that the sewage treatment charge levied currently only covers the partial cost, not the total whole-of-life cost, that are estimated to be 1.38yuan/t on average. Via cost-benefit analysis, research findings show that average sewage treatment charge of samples is 0.80yuan/t, average income is 3.24yuan/t, average profitability is 2.09yuan/t, most of which does mainly come from the financial subsidies. Furthermore, the paper discusses the insufficiencies of the sewage treatment charge and therefore, proposes that the levy standard of sewage treatment charge should be based on the operating cost of sewage treatment plants under scientific discharge standard, while premised on polluter-pays principle and local conditions.
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Received: 20 May 2015
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