09/01/2018
In the Government and Prime Minister’s work plan in 2017, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) was assigned to develop a draft Decree of revising and complementing the Decrees providing guidance on implementing the LEP 2014 (draft).
1. RATIONALE FOR ISSUING THE DECREE
In the past years, environmental protection has been paid due attention by the Party and State and considered as one of the three pillars for sustainable development. In this vein, state management of environmental protection from central to local levels have made progress and achieved some first important results. However, pollution continues to rise. Some serious pollution cases have affected people’s livelihoods and production. The main cause is limited awareness and responsibilities of sectors, management levels, businesses and community. Many localities have pursued upfront economic benefits and paid undue attention to environmental protection. Roles and responsibilities of community and social organization have not highlighted. Environmental regulations remain shortcomings and infeasibility.
A review of current legal system shows that the majority of necessary regulations have been issued. However, due to a wide range of scope, some regulations are infeasible, contain overlaps and conflicts among regulations while have gaps in regulating social relations arisen from sustainable use of natural resources and environmental protection.
For regulations on EIA, environmental protection plan and environmental protection program
For initial EIA: overlaps remain between the LEP 2014 (Point a, Clause 2, Article 25) and Investment Law (Article 33, 34) causing difficulties for local authorities in developing procedures for investment projects
For subjects responsible for carrying out EIA: Project type and scale requirements for developing EIA are inappropriate, hence it is necessary to review this list.
For time required for revising and complementing EIA reports: The time for revising and resubmitting EAI reports to appraisal councils is not yet regulated.
For compliance with revisions in approved EIA reports: It is necessary to regulate the cases in which revisions need approvals and detailed approval procedures for such revisions.
For piloting environmental protection works: Procedures for asking for extensions of piloting environmental protection works is not yet regulated.
Environmental protection programs and environmental protection options: With current regulations, it is impossible to completely deal with cases of noncompliance with requirements for EIA and environmental protection plans. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to address these violations. In the meantime, according to Article 68 LEP 2014, facilities shall develop and comply with environmental protection options. However, positions and contents of environmental protection options are not specified yet.
Waste management regulations
Normal solid waste management: Verification of meeting environmental protection requirements for normal industrial solid waste is not yet regulated. Other necessary but unregulated points include siting and rehabilitation and upgrading of normal industrial solid waste treatment facilities, responsibilities of owners of facilities using industrial solid waste as their production input, research and development for industrial solid waste treatment in laboratories and reviewing and appraising solid waste technologies. Regulations on domestic scraps are yet to be issued.
Wastewater management: Typical features of aquaculture sector of producing a large volume of recycling water are yet to be considered. Regulations on thresholds of receiving wastewater from facilities within industrial zones for centralized treatment also are not issued yet.
Emission management: Procedures for registration, inventories and licensing industrial emission are not yet issued.
Scrap import: Regulations at Clause 1, Article 59 of Decree 38/2015/ND-CP are inappropriate because in some cases, import procedures are complete but due to insufficient time for deposit, the import cannot be cleared.
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| General Director of Vietnam Environment Administration, Nguyễn Văn Tài delivered speech at the Consultation Workshop on Decree to revise and complement Decrees on implementing LEP 2014 in Ho Chi Minh City on September 8, 2017 | |
For qualifications of organization requesting being certified as meeting with requirements of environmental monitoring service providers
Stipulations at Form No.2 of Decree 127/2014/ND-CP is incompatible with Prime Minister’s Directive 17/CT-TTg dated 20/6/2014 on some measures for addressing an abuse of requesting certified copies of documents and reducing administrative costs for individuals and organizations.
For environmental rehabilitation and restoration requirements: It is necessary to clarify regulations on restoration, rehabilitation and deposit for environmental restoration in mining operations. Regulations on environmental restoration of mineral processing and industrial facilities after their closing or dissolution.
For dealing with serious polluting facilities: regulations on checking and assessing results and certifying the accomplishment of measures for radically dealing with serious polluting facilities have not been available yet.
2. POINT VIEWS AND OUTLINE OF THE DRAFT
The draft was developed to address current shortcomings, in particular those related to state management tools and measures for technical control and supervision of enterprises’ emission. The draft was developed with the principles of: legalizing view points and directions of the Party, in particular Prime Minister’s Directive 25/CT-TTg dated 31/8/2016 on some urgent tasks and solutions for environmental protection; considering pollution and environmental degradation prevention as the main task; ensuring systematic, comprehensive, scientific and feasible features of environmental regulations; enhancing proactive responsibilities of state authorities in environmental protection; make state management on environmental protection transparent and democratic to heighten community roles; strengthening socialization and attracting social resources for environmental protection and focusing on measures for enhancing environmental compliance.
This draft decree has 5 chapters, 103 Articles and 3 annexes with the following main contents
Chapter 1. Regulations on SEA, EIA and environmental protection plans (from Articles 1-14): Revising and complementing Decree 18/2015/ND-CP dated 14/2/2015 on environmental planning, SEA, EIA, in which requirements for implementing SEA are specified; appraising SEA reports; objects, timing and forms of reporting, appraisal contents of initial EIA; EIA consultation; requirements for EIA report service providers; EIA appraisals, EIA redoing; piloting environmental protection works; and checking and certifying environmental protection works.
Chapter 2. Environmental restoration and rehabilitation of production, trade and service facilities (from Articles 15-39): Revising and complementing Decree 19/2015/ND-CP dated 14/2/2015 on detailing some contents of the LEP 2014 which specifies facilities not subject to requirements of making environmental protection options as regulated by Mineral Law; environmental deposits in mining operations; general requirements for environmental quality improvement and management; requirements of used ship dismantling facilities; environmental protection options; dealing with serious polluters; preferential in environmental protection; and environmental quality improvement and management.
Chapter 3. Regulations on waste and scrap management (Articles 40-49): Revising and complementing Decree 38/2015/ND-CP dated 24/2/2015 on waste and scrap management. This specifies waste management planning in environmental protection planning; investment in hazardous waste management, domestic solid waste, normal solid waste, domestic waste management, domestic scrap management; normal industrial waste; waste treatment technology assessment; industrial emission licensing; mining waste management; scrap management and disposal of preferential cars.
Chapter 4. Regulations on requirements for environmental monitoring service providers (Articles 100-102): Revising and complementing Decree 127/2014/ND-CP dated 31/12/2015 on requirements for environmental monitoring service providers. This revises Section IV, Part A, Form 2 and point 2, Section I, Part B, and Form 2.
Chapter 5. Implementation arrangements: the draft revises and complements Annexes of Decree 18/2015/ND-CP, complementing Annex of Decree 19/2015/ND-CP (serious polluting facilities); and revising and complementing Anex of Decree 38/2015/ND-CP.
At present, the draft is available on Government, MONRE and VEA webpages to seek comments from Ministries, sectors, Provincial People’s Committees, political and social organizations and citizens. The MONRE will submit the draft to Prime Minister in November, 2017.
Nguyễn Thu Hà, Deputy Director
Department of Policy and Legislation, Vietnam Environment Administration
