Chương VII Luật Bảo vệ môi trường 2005: Bảo vệ môi trường biển, nước sông và các nguồn nước khác

Chapter VII

PROTECTION OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT, RIVER WATER AND OTHER WATER RESOURCES

SECTION 1. PROTECTION OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Article 55: Principles of Marine Environment Protection

1. The protection of the environment must become one of contents of the marine economic development master plan with the goal of mitigating adverse impacts on marine environment and increasing the efficiency of marine economics.

2. Prevention and reduction of wastes discharged from land based and maritime activities; and taking proactive and coordinated preparedness and responses to marine environmental incidents;

3. The protection of marine environment must be integrated with the functional zoning of marine natural resources conservation and use;

4. The protection of marine environment must be integrated with the integrated natural resources and environmental management to serve sustainable development.

Article 56: Conservation and Rational Use of Marine Natural Resources

1. Marine natural resources must be investigated and assessed in terms of their reserves, regenerativeness and economic values to serve marine environmental management and protection.

2. Aqua cultural activities, exploitation of marine natural and other resources and other activities related to marine natural resources exploitation and use must be implemented in accordance with the approved natural resources use planning.

3. Activities taken place within marine nature reserves, mangrove forests and natural heritage must observe rules set forth by their management boards, the regulations of the law on environmental protection, and the other provisions of the relevant law.

4. Use of destructive measures, means and tools in the exploitation of marine natural and other resources must be strictly prohibited.

Article 57: Marine Environmental Pollution Control and Treatment

1. Sources of wastes discharged from mainland, production, business and service units, urban centers and residential areas in coastal zones, on the sea and islands, must be investigated, inventoried and assessed, and measures must be taken to prevent and restrict their adverse impacts on marine environment.

2. Wastes and other polluting factors generated from production, business and service, construction, transport and exploitation activities on the sea must be controlled and treated in compliance with the environmental standards.

3. Waste oils, greases, drilling solutions, chemicals and other toxic substances used in marine natural resources prospecting and exploitation activities must be collected and stored with specialized equipment, and must be treated in accordance with the regulations on hazardous waste management.

4. Dumping wastes under all forms in the waters of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam must be strictly prohibited.

Article 58: Organization of Marine Environmental Incident Prevention and Response

1. Organizations and individuals engaged in mineral exploitation activities, and owners of vessels to transport gasoline, oils, chemicals, radioactive substances and other toxic substances on the sea must develop plans of, and provide human resources, equipment and facilities for, marine environmental incident prevention and response.

2. National rescue and marine police forces must be provided with training, equipment and facilities to ensure the response to marine environmental incidents;

3. Owners of vessels and storehouses of goods on the sea that are likely to cause environmental incidents must by any means, notify the forces as stipulated in Paragraph 2 of this Article, and other organizations and individuals of the risks, and must work out solutions to prevent environmental incidents.

4. Ministries, ministerial level agencies, Government bodies, People’s Committees of coastal provinces shall, within the extent of their functions, duties and powers, have the responsibility to detect, warn, and notify timely of, natural disasters and marine environmental incidents, and organize the response to, and remedy of the consequences.

SECTION 2. PROTECTION OF RIVER WATER

Article 59: Principles of River Water Protection

1. The protection of river water is one of fundamental contents of water resources extraction, use and management planning within river basins.

2. Localities within river basins shall be jointly responsible for protecting water environments within river basins; proactively coordinating the exploitation of resources yielded by water in river basins, and ensuring benefits for local residential communities.

Article 60: Water Environmental Pollution Control and Treatment in River Basins

1. Sources of wastewater within river basins must be investigated, inventoried and assessed, and solutions must be worked out to control and treat waste before discharging into rivers.

2. Wastes discharged from production, business, service, construction, transport and riverbed mineral exploitation activities and domestic wastes discharged from households living along rivers, must be controlled and ensured to comply with the requirements for environmental protection before discharging into the rivers.

3. The development of new production, business and service units, urban centers, centered residential areas within river basins must be reviewed in alignment with the integrity of river basins, taking into account flows, hydrological regimes, carrying capacity and self- purification factors of rivers, and the current state of production, business and service and urban development basin-wide.

4. The review of environmental impact assessment reports of projects on the development of new production, business and service areas, urban centers, centered residential areas, new large-scale production, business and service establishments within river basins, must gather comments from the People’s Committees of provinces where the rivers run through.

Article 61: Water Environmental Protection Responsibilities of Provincial Level People’s Committees in River Basins

1. People’s Committees of provinces within river basins shall have the responsibility to:

(a) Publicize information on sources of wastes discharged into rivers;

(b) Control sources of waste discharged into rivers and deal with cases of violation against the environmental standards;

(c) Collaborate with concerned agencies in identifying objects that cause damages to the environment, and settling the compensation for environmental damages in case that affected objects belong to other localities within river basins;

2. People’s Committees of provinces upstream of rivers shall, in collaboration with People’s Committees of provinces downstream of rivers, have the responsibility to investigate, detect and identify sources of polluting river water, and take measures to deal with.

In case of causing environmental damages, People’s Committees of provinces where such damages occur, shall be responsible for collaborating with concerned agencies in organizing the investigation, assessing the extent of damages, and requesting objects that cause such damages to pay compensation therefor.

3. People’s Committees of provinces where waste sources are identified, shall be responsible for taking measures to enforce objects that cause local environmental pollution to fulfill their obligations to remedy and compensate for damages in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 62: Organization of Water Environment Protection in River Basins

1. The coordination of water environmental protection activities in river basins covering multiple provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the Prime Minister of the Government.

2. People’s Committees of provinces within river basins shall have the responsibility to take measures to protect water environments in river basins.

3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall direct and guide the compliance with the regulations of the Government Prime Minister.

SECTION 3. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF OTHER WATER RESOURCES

Article 63: Environmental Protection of Water Resources in Lakes, Ponds, Canals and Ditches

1. Water resources in lakes, ponds, canals and ditches must be investigated and assessed in terms of their reserves and quality, and must be protected to regulate water resources.

2. Lakes, ponds, canals and ditches in urban and residential areas must be planned, improved and protected; organizations and individuals must not intrude into, and construct new structures and houses on, water surface or along banks adjacent to water surface of the planned lakes, ponds, canals and ditches; and the filling up and leveling of lakes and ponds in urban and residential areas shall be restricted to the maximum.

Project proponents engaged in blocking flows in canals and ditches; and in filling up and leveling lakes, ponds, canals and ditches, must prepare environmental impact assessment reports in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. Discharges of soil, rock, sand, gravel, solid waste and wastewater without treatment to meet the environmental standards, and of other wastes into surface water resources of lakes, ponds, canals and ditches must be prohibited.

4. Provincial level People’s Committees shall have the responsibility to organize the investigation and assessment of reserves and quality of lakes, ponds, canals and ditches, and develop plans to protect and regulate their water regimes; develop and implement plans of improving or relocating quarters and clusters of housing and structures constructed over lakes, ponds, canals and ditches that cause environmental pollution, blocked flows, wetland ecosystem degradation and loss of urban aesthetic values.

Article 64: Environmental Protection of Reservoirs for Irrigation and Hydropower Purposes

1. The construction, management and operation of reservoirs for irrigation and hydropower purposes must be integrated with environmental protection.

2. Intrusion into areas of reservoirs; and discharges of solid waste, soil, rock and wastewater without treatment into reservoirs must be prohibited.

3. Water environments in reservoirs for irrigation and hydropower purposes must be routinely monitored in order to predict changes in water quality and hydrological regimes to regulate water resources, and to protect the environment.

4. Agencies in charge of the management of reservoirs for irrigation and hydropower purposes shall have the responsibility to comply with the provisions of this Law and the other provisions of the relevant law.

Article 65: Environmental Protection of Ground Water Resources

1. The protection of the environment in groundwater resources exploration and extraction activities shall be stipulated as follows:

(a) Groundwater extraction projects with a capacity of 10.000 cubic meters or more per day shall be subject to the preparation of environmental impact assessment reports;

(b) Only chemicals included in the list established by the competent State agencies shall be used in groundwater exploration and extraction activities;

(c) The introduction of chemicals of all categories, toxic substances, wastes, microorganisms without testing, and other toxic agents that harm human beings and living organisms must be strictly prohibited.

(d) Measures must be taken to prevent groundwater pollution through drilled wells for ground water exploration and extraction; units engaged in the extraction of groundwater shall have the responsibility to rehabilitate the environment in areas where groundwater exploration and exploitation activities taken place; and groundwater exploration and exploitation boreholes that are no longer used must be properly filled up in accordance with technical procedures to avoid groundwater pollution.

2. Mineral exploitation and other projects that use toxic chemicals and radioactive substances must take measures to ensure the avoidance of leakage and spillage of toxic chemicals, wastes, radioactive wastes and infectious organisms into groundwater resources.

3. Chemical storehouses, hazardous waste treatment facilities and landfills must be constructed to ensure technical safety, and measures must be taken to prevent the seepage of toxic chemicals into groundwater resources.

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall have the responsibility to direct the organization of investigation, assessment and periodical monitoring of groundwater reserves and quality.