Selangor Zero Discharge Policy: LUAS Checks Factories Door to Door, 14 Days to Apply for a Licence
LUAS is visiting industrial areas across Selangor's nine districts to find factories without Zero Discharge Policy licences. Premises found get 14 days to apply. What owners, tenants and buyers should check.
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Key Takeaways
- Selangor's Zero Discharge Policy (ZDP) is now being enforced door to door: the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) is visiting industrial areas in all nine districts to find premises that still need a licence, The Star reported on 20 October 2026.
- Premises identified in these visits receive a notice and have 14 days to respond and apply for the relevant licence.
- Almost 7,000 licences have been issued so far, and LUAS says about 30% to 40% of the targeted areas have been covered, with five to six more years of visits ahead.
- Industrial premises need two LUAS licences: a Discharge of Return Water Licence (AK) and an Entry or Discharge of Waste and Pollutants Licence (BP). For the industry category, LUAS lists a RM150 registration fee, RM200 a year for AK and RM750 a year for BP, plus return-water charges based on the volume discharged.
- LUAS has also started checking whether existing licence holders meet their conditions; the common failures are breaching conditions and not sending in the required water quality reports.
What happened
At a Zero Discharge Policy information session held during the Selangor Industrial Park Expo 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, LUAS chief assistant director Haslina Amer gave the clearest update so far on how the policy is being rolled out. According to The Star's report, she said that on average across industries, about 20% of Selangor's industrial wastewater is now being reused rather than discharged into rivers.
The more important part for factory owners and tenants is the enforcement plan. LUAS officers are going from door to door in industrial areas throughout Selangor to identify premises that require ZDP licences. Haslina said about 30% to 40% of the areas targeted under the exercise have been covered so far, and that because there are so many industrial premises across Selangor's nine districts, the exercise could take another five to six years. Premises identified during the visits are issued notices and given 14 days to respond and apply for the licence they need.
She also said almost 7,000 licences have been issued under the policy, that LUAS is guiding businesses on how to apply and how to monitor their effluent, and that it has begun checking whether existing licence holders comply with their conditions. The common issues found so far are failure to comply with licence conditions and failure to submit the required water quality reports.
The rules behind the policy
The ZDP is not a guideline. It is enforced through the Discharge of Return Water, and Entry or Discharge of Waste and Pollutants (State of Selangor) Licensing Regulations 2024, made under the LUAS Enactment 1999. According to LUAS, the regulations were approved by the State Executive Council on 15 May 2024 and gazetted on 20 June 2024 for the whole of Selangor, replacing the 2012 pollutant discharge regulations. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari launched the policy in August 2024.
The regulations cover 13 scheduled activities, and "industry" is one of them, alongside sewage treatment, solid waste management, earthworks, abattoirs, sand mining and several farming activities. Every premise under these activities needs both licences:
| Licence | What it controls | Industry: registration fee | Industry: annual licence fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discharge of Return Water Licence (AK) | How much wastewater is discharged | RM150 | RM200 |
| Entry or Discharge of Waste and Pollutants Licence (BP) | What the discharged water contains | (same registration) | RM750 |
On top of the licence fees, industries pay a return-water charge based on how much water they discharge, under the "polluter pays" principle: the less you discharge, the less you pay. Applications and renewals go through LUAS's Licensing of Effluent Discharge System (LEDS) at elesen.luas.gov.my. If a licensed premise breaches its conditions, LUAS lists compounds, extra charges, licence revocation and prosecution among its options.
Why it matters
Selangor has a hard reason to push this. The last major unscheduled water cut across seven regions of the Klang Valley, on 23 July 2024, followed the shutdown of four water treatment plants after odour pollution in Sungai Kundang and Sungai Sembah. The Star notes the pollution was traced to a leak of poly(methacrylic acid) into Sungai Kuang, a tributary of the Sungai Selangor basin, and that the factory owner was convicted under the Environmental Quality Act 1974, jailed three months and fined RM240,000.
In August, state public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin was reported as saying there had been no treatment plant shutdowns caused by industrial pollution from 2025 up to 30 July 2026, partly because of the ZDP. With results like that, the state has every reason to keep the door to door checks going until every industrial area has been visited, including the older estates around Klang, Shah Alam and Rawang.
What it means for factory owners, tenants and buyers
Owners who run their own plant. If your process uses water (washing, cooling, food processing, plating, dyeing, printing, chemical blending), assume an officer will reach your area. It is cheaper to apply before the notice arrives than to have 14 days to sort out paperwork, drawings and sampling. Keep your effluent treatment records and water quality reports in order, because the second phase of enforcement is about conditions, not just licences.
Tenants. The licence follows the activity, so in most leases it is the operator's job. Check your tenancy agreement for who is responsible for statutory licences and for the treatment system, and get it in writing before you install new wet processes. If the landlord's building already has a treatment plant, ask who maintains it and who sends the reports.
Buyers. Add the LUAS licences to your checklist when you buy a factory that has been used for a wet process. Ask the seller for the AK and BP licences, recent water quality reports and any LUAS notices, and check that the treatment system on site matches what was licensed. Our factory due diligence checklist shows where this fits next to the title, CCC and KTK checks.
Landlords. A factory with a working, documented effluent system is easier to let to food and manufacturing tenants. Keep copies of past licences and reports for the next tenant.
ZDP licences sit alongside, not instead of, your local council licence. In Klang, that is the council's industrial licence from MBDK, covered in our MBDK factory licence guide.
Practical next steps
- Find out whether your activity falls under one of the 13 scheduled activities; if in doubt, ask LUAS directly.
- Register on elesen.luas.gov.my and apply for both AK and BP through LEDS.
- Gather your discharge volumes, treatment system details and latest water test results before you apply.
- If you receive a notice, respond within the 14 days stated, even if your application is still being prepared.
- Diary the annual renewals and the water quality reports your licence conditions require.
If you are looking for a factory with the right drainage and treatment set-up, especially in older Klang estates such as Telok Gong, tell us the process you run and we will shortlist suitable units through our find me a factory service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Selangor's Zero Discharge Policy?
It is a Selangor state policy, run by LUAS, that pushes premises to reuse and recycle wastewater instead of discharging it into rivers. It is enforced through the Selangor Licensing Regulations 2024, gazetted on 20 June 2024. Premises under 13 scheduled activities, including industry, must hold two LUAS licences and pay charges based on what they discharge.
Which licences does a factory need under the ZDP?
A factory in a scheduled activity needs a Discharge of Return Water Licence (AK), which controls how much wastewater it discharges, and an Entry or Discharge of Waste and Pollutants Licence (BP), which controls what that water contains. For industry, LUAS lists a RM150 registration fee, RM200 a year for AK and RM750 a year for BP. Return-water charges based on discharge volume are on top.
What happens if LUAS finds my premises without a licence?
According to LUAS, premises identified during its door to door visits are issued a notice and given 14 days to respond and apply for the relevant licence. LUAS says it is guiding businesses through the application. For licensed premises that breach conditions, LUAS can impose compounds, extra charges, revoke the licence or prosecute.
Does a tenant or the landlord apply for the ZDP licence?
The licence is tied to the activity that produces the wastewater, so in practice the operator usually applies. Your tenancy agreement should say who handles statutory licences and the treatment system. Agree this in writing before you start a wet process in a rented factory.
FactoryHub is dedicated to helping every client find the right factory or warehouse. For factories and warehouses in Klang and Selangor, call Peter Tan (REN 12771) at 016-666 6872.
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