Chương X Luật Bảo vệ môi trường 2005: Quan trắc và thông tin về môi trường

Chapter X

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND INFORMATION

Article 94: Environmental Monitoring

1. The current state of the environment and environmental impacts are monitored through the following environmental monitoring programmes:

(a) Monitoring of the current state of the environment at national level;

(b) Monitoring of environmental impacts caused by activities of sectors and areas;

(c) Monitoring of current state of the environment at provincial level;

(d) Monitoring of environmental impacts caused by activities of production, business and service units and their centered areas;

2. Responsibilities of environmental monitoring shall be defined as follows:

(a) The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall organize the monitoring of the current state of the environment at national level;

(b) Ministries, ministerial level agencies and other Government bodies shall organize the monitoring of environmental impacts caused by activities of sectors and areas under their management;

(c) Provincial level People’s Committees shall organize the monitoring of the current state of the environment at provincial level;

(d) Managers and operators of production, business and service units and their centered areas shall have the responsibility to perform the monitoring of environmental impacts caused by their activities.

Article 95: Environmental Monitoring Systems

1. The systems of environmental monitoring shall include:

(a) Sampling and measuring stations for performing environmental monitoring;

(b) Laboratories and centers for sample analysis and environmental monitoring data processing and management;

2. Systems of environmental monitoring must be planned and established in a well matched manner to comply with the monitoring requirements in order to generate and provide information for environmental management and protection.

3. Organizations and individuals that are qualified in terms of their professional capacity and technical facilities shall be eligible to participate in environmental monitoring activities.

Article 96: Planning of Environmental Monitoring Systems

1. The planning of environmental monitoring systems shall include the following contents:

(a) Investigation and research to identify monitoring objects and data required to be collected for the purpose of environmental protection;

(b) Identification of the density, size and performance of sampling stations of environmental monitoring systems.

(c) Arrangement of equipment systems employed during environmental monitoring;

(d) Identification of monitoring schedules and resources;

(e) Training of human resources to be adequately capable of performing environmental monitoring tasks.

2. Responsibilities for the development and approval of environmental monitoring system planning shall be defined as follows:

(a) The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall develop and submit to the Prime Minister of the Government a national master planning of environmental monitoring system for approval; and direct the establishment and management of environmental monitoring data in a standardized manner;

(b) Specialized agencies of environmental protection at provincial level shall develop and submit to the People’s Committees of the same level the local planning of environmental monitoring systems for approval;

(c) Organizations and individuals that manage centered production, business and service areas shall, within the extent of their management, organize the establishment and management of environmental monitoring networks.

Article 97: Environmental Monitoring Programmes

1. Environmental monitoring programmes include a programme on monitoring the current state of the environment and a programme on monitoring environmental impacts caused by socio-economic activities. Environmental monitoring programmes must be performed in a standardized and well matched manner.

2. The programme on monitoring the current state of the environment shall consist of the following activities:

(a) Periodical collection of analytical samples and prediction of changes in the quality of soil, water and air;

(b) Surveillance of changes in the quantity, composition and the state of natural resources;

(d) Surveillance of changes in the quality, quantity, composition and the state of ecosystems, species of organisms and genetic resources.

3. The programme on monitoring environmental impacts shall consist of the following activities:

(a) Surveillance of the quantity and the current state of, and changes in sources that cause adverse impacts on the environment;

(b) Surveillance of changes in the quantity, composition and hazardous levels of solid, gaseous and liquid wastes;

(e) Identification and assessment of transboundary impacts on the environment of the country.

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall provide guidance for planning, and organize the implementation, of environmental monitoring programmes.

Article 98: Environmental Indicators

1. Environmental indicators are basic parameters that reflect characteristics of the environment, and are used to serve the assessment and surveillance of changes in the quality of the environment, and the preparation of reports on the state of the environment.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall promulgate a set of national environmental standards for application nationwide.

Article 99: The State of the Environment Report at Provincial Level

1. The State of the Environment Report at provincial level shall consist of the following contents:

(a) The state and changes in the quality of soil environments;

(b) The state and changes in the quality of water environments;

(c) The state and changes in the quality of air environments;

(d) The state and changes in the quantity and quality, of natural resources;

(e) The state and changes in the quality of ecosystems; and the quantity and composition of organism species and genetic resources;

(f) The state of the environment in urban centers, centered residential areas, centered production, business and service areas and craft villages;

(g) Polluted and degraded environment areas and lists of establishments that seriously pollute the environment;

(h) Urgent environmental issues and their major causes;

(i) Measures for environmental pollution and degradation remedy and environmental improvement;

(j) Evaluation of local environmental protection performance;

(k) Plans, programmes and measures required to comply with environmental protection requirements.

2. Provincial level People’s Committees shall have the responsibility to publish, every five years, reports on the state of the environment in accordance with the term of provincial socio-economic development planning to submit to the People’s Councils of the same level and report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Article 100: Reports on Environmental Impacts by Sectors and Areas

1. The reports on environmental impacts by sectors and areas shall consist of the following contents:

(a) The state and quantity of, and changes in sources that cause adverse impacts on the environment;

(b) The current state of, changes in, composition, and hazardous levels of wastes by sectors and areas;

(c) Lists of establishments that seriously pollute the environment and their dealing with;

(d) Evaluation of environmental protection performance by sectors and areas;

(e) Prediction of environmental challenges;

(f) Plans, programmes, and measures required to comply with environmental protection requirements;

2. Ministries, ministerial level agencies and Government bodies shall, every five years, prepare and submit to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment reports on environmental impacts of sectors and areas under their management in accordance with the five year planning term.

Article 101: National Environmental Reports

1. The national environmental reports shall include the following contents:

(a) Environmental impacts by sectors and areas;

(b) Changes in the quality of the environment nationwide and other urgent environmental issues;

(c) Evaluation of the performance of environmental protection policies, laws, management arrangements and measures;

(d) Prediction of environmental challenges;

(g) Plans, programmes and measures required to comply with environmental protection requirements.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall, every five years, prepare and submit to the Government national environmental reports in accordance with the term of national socio-economic development planning for submittal to the National Assembly; and prepare annually thematic environmental reports.

Article 102: Environmental Statistics, Data and Information Collection and Archive

1. Environmental data obtained from environmental monitoring programmes shall be archived to serve environmental management and protection;

2. The collection and archive of environmental data shall be specified as follows:

(a) The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall, in collaboration with the State management agencies of statistics at central level, establish national environmental databases;

(b) Ministries, ministerial level agencies and Government bodies shall, within the competence of their management, collect and archive environmental data by sectors and areas;

(c) People’s Committees at all levels shall collect and archive environmental data in their localities;

(e) Managers and operators of the production, business and service units or their centered areas shall have the responsibility to collect and archive data on environmental impacts, discharge sources and wastes from their activities.

3. Ministries, ministerial level agencies, Government bodies and People’s Committees at all levels shall have the responsibility to collect, process, synthesize, and archive environmental data, and to apply information technology to the collection and archive of environmental statistics.

Article 103: Publication and Provision of Environmental Information

1. Organizations and individuals engaged in the management of centered production, business and service areas and owners of production, business and service units that are subject to the preparation of environmental impact assessment reports, shall, within the extent of their management, have  the responsibility to report environmental information to specialized agencies of environmental protection at provincial level.

2. Production, business and service units that are not falling under Paragraph 1 of this Article shall have the responsibility to provide environmental information relating to their activities for specialized agencies of environmental protection at district level or officials in charge of environmental protection at communal level where their establishments operate, and publicize environmental information.

3. Specialized agencies of environmental protection at all levels shall have the responsibility to report local environmental information to their directly superior agencies, and publish major information on the environment periodically or on request.

4. Ministries, ministerial level agencies, Government bodies and People’s Committees at all levels shall, on periodical basis, have the responsibility to provide the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the State management agencies of statistics at central level with environmental information relating to sectors and areas within the extent of their management.

Article 104: Disclosure of Environmental Information and Data

1. The following environmental information and data must, except those that are included to the list of national secretes, be disclosed:

(a) Environmental impact assessment reports and decisions on their approval and plans to comply with requirements of which;

(b) Registered commitments to environmental protection;

(c) Lists of, and information on, waste discharge sources and categories that are likely to harm human and environmental health;

(d) Seriously and extremely seriously polluted and degraded environment areas and areas where environmental incidents potentially occur.

(e) Planning of waste collection, recycling and treatment.

(f) Reports on national environment, provincial level current state of the environment and sectoral environmental impacts;

2. Formalities of the disclosure must ensure the accessibility to environmental information for users.

3. Organizations that disclose environmental information shall be responsible for the accuracy, truthfulness and objectivity of disclosed information.

Article 105: Performance of Grassroots Democracy in Environmental Protection

1. Organizations and individuals engaged in the management of centered production, business and service areas, owners of production, business and service units, specialized agencies of environmental protection and officials in charge of environmental protection shall have the responsibility for the disclosure among local people and laborers of their production, business and service units, of information on local environmental situations and measures for adverse impact prevention and restriction and environmental pollution and degradation remedy by taking one of the following forms:

(a) Convening meetings to disseminate information among local people and laborers;

(b) Providing local people and laborers with notices and written announcements;

2. Environmental dialogues must be convened in the following cases:

(a) At the request of parties;

(b) At the request of the State management agencies of environmental protection at all levels;

(c) On the request of the complaints, denunciations and lawsuits of concerned organizations and individuals.

3. Responsibilities for environmental justifications and dialogues shall be specified as follows:

(a) The party of request shall notify, in writing, the requested party of dialogue issues that need to be justified and communicated.

(b) The requested party shall, within five days from the date of receipt of the request, prepare answers, justifications and dialogues;

(c) In case the State management agencies of environmental protection make a request to convene a dialogue, the concerned parties must comply with the provisions set forth by the agencies of request.

4. Environmental dialogues shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of the law and under the chairmanship of the People’s Committees or specialized agencies of environmental protection.

5. Results from the dialogues must be recorded in minutes acknowledging comments and agreements that serve as basis for the compliance with by the responsible parties concerned, for the examination and dealing with infringements of the law on environmental protection or for the compensation for environmental damages.