Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of regulation
1. This Law provides on management, protection, exploitation and use of water resources, as well as the prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. Underground water and sea water in exclusive economic zones, continental shelves of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, mineral water, natural hot water are not subject to adjustment of this Law.
Article 2. Interpretation of terms
In this Law, the below terms are construed as follows:
1. Water resources include underground water, surface water, rain water and sea water in territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. Water sources mean accumulation shapes of natural or artificial water which may exploit, use, including rivers, springs, canals, ditches, lakes, ponds, lagoons, seas, underground aquifers; rain, ice, snow and other.
3. Surface water means water existing on surface mainland or islands.
4. Underground water means water existing in underground aquifers.
5. Inter-provincial water sources mean water sources being allocated on area of 02 or more provinces or centrally-affiliated cities.
6. Intra-provincial water sources mean water sources being allocated on area of 01 province or centrally-affiliated city.
7. Inter-country water sources mean water sources flowing from Vietnam’s territory through other country’s territory or vice versa or water sources on border line between Vietnam and neighbor country.
8. River basin means land zone in which surface water, underground water flowing naturally in rivers and escaping out a common gate or escaping out sea.
River basin includes inter-provincial river basin and intra-provincial river basin.
9. Inter-provincial river basin means river basin on area of 02 or more provinces or centrally-affiliated cities.
10. Inter-provincial river basin means river basin on area of 01 province or centrally-affiliated city.
11. Living water means clean water or water that may use for eating, drinking, and hygiene of human.
12. Clean water means water with quality satisfying technical regulation on clean water of Vietnam.
13. Living water sources mean water sources that may supply living water or treated into living water.
14. Water source pollution means changes physical nature, chemical nature and biological component of water that are not suitable to permitted technical regulations and standards, cause bad effects to people and animals.
15. Water source deterioration means depletion on quantity, quality of water sources compared to natural state or to state of Water sources observed in pre-period.
16. Water source depletion means serious depletion on quantity of water sources, causing water sources fail to satisfying demand of exploitation, use and the aquatic ecology preservation.
17. Water sources’ capacity to receive sewage means capacity of water sources receiving additionally a sewage volume and still ensure quality of water sources for use purpose under Vietnamese or foreign technical regulations and standards to which competent state agencies permit to apply.
18. Minimum flow means the flow at the lowest level necessary for maintaining a river or river section, ensuring the normal development of aquatic ecology and the minimum level for water resource exploitation and use by water users.
19. Underground water exploitation threshold means limit permit to exploit underground water aiming to ensure not causing salinization, degradation, water source depletion, land subsidence, subsidence, bad impacts to surface water source and relevant environment.
20. Hygiene Protection Zone of area supplying living water means adjacent area of area supplying living water from water sources being defined for compulsory protection to prevent from, combat against the living water source pollution.
21. Function of water source means certain purposes of using water based on benefit values of water source.
22. Protection corridor of water source means the limited land part being along water source or surrounding it defined by competent state agencies.
Article 3. Principle of management, protection, exploitation and use of water resources, as well as the prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water
1. Management of water resources must ensure uniform with river basin, water sources, combining with management based on administrative area.
2. Water resources must be managed in general, uniform of water quantity and quality, between surface water and underground water; water on mainland and water on gate river area, internal waters, and territorial waters; between upstream and downstream, combining with management of other natural resources.
3. Protection, exploitation and use of water resources, as well as the prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water must comply with strategy, master plan on water resources have been approved by competent state management agencies; linked with environmental protection, protection of natural landscapes, historic - cultural vestiges, scenic places and other natural resources; assurance of national defense and security, social order and safety.
4. Protection of water resources is duty of all agencies, organizations, individuals and taking prevention as main duty, combining with protection, development of forest, capacity of recycling water resources, combining with protection of water quality and aquatic ecology, overcoming and restraining pollution, deterioration, depletion of water sources.
5. Exploitation, use of water resources must be in saving, safety and effectiveness; ensure to synthetic use, for multiple objectives, be fair, reasonable, harmonious on benefit, equal on interests and duties among organizations, individuals.
6. Prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water must have active plan and measure; ensure harmonious combination of national benefits, regional benefits and branch benefits; combination between modern science and technology with traditional experiences of people and suitable to socio-economic conditions.
7. Master plan on protection, exploitation and use of water resources, as well as the prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water must contribute to develop society - economy and have measures ensuring life of inhabitants, national defense and security, protection of historic - cultural vestiges, scenic places and enviroment.
8. Master plans, plans. Programs, projects on development of society-economy, national defense and security must associate with water sources, water resource protection; ensure maintaining minimum flow on rivers not exceeding exploitation threshold with respect to aquifers and have measure ensuring life of inhabitants.
9. Assurance of territory sovereignty, national benefits, equality and reasonable in protection, exploitation, use and develoment of water resources, as well as the prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water with respect to inter-country water sources.
Article 4. State’s policies on water resources
1. To ensure water resources being managed, protected, exploited, use resonablely, in saving and effectiveness, satisfying demand of socio-economic sustainable development and assurance of national defense and security.
2. To invest and organize basic survey, master plans on water resources; to build system of observation, overseeing water resources, information system, the water resource database, to improve capacity of forecast on water resources, pollution of water sources, floods, drought, salinization, sea-level rise and other harmful effects caused by water; to assist for development of water sources and development of infrastructure relating to water resources.
3. To prioritize to invest in research, explore, exploit water sources, have incentive policy for investment projects on water exploitation in order to solve living and production water for people in mountainous areas, areas of ethnic minority groups, border areas, inslands, areas in difficult socio-economic conditions, areas in extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, areas where fresh water is scarce.
4. To invest and have mechanism to encourage organizations, individuals for investment in research, advanced science and technology application in order to manage, protect, develop water sources, exploit, use in saving, effectiveness for water resources, handle sewage meeting technical regulations and standards in order to reuse, process saline water, brackish water into fresh water, collect, use rain water, supply artificial underground water, recover water sources polluted,deteriorated, depleted , prevent, combat against and overcome harmful effect caused by water.
5. To ensure state budget for operations of basic survey, master plan on water resources, water resource protection, prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water.
Article 5. Dissemination and education of water resources
1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People’s Committees at levels within their duties, powers shall coordinate with mass information agencies and training, educational facilities to disseminate, educate on water resources, guide people for implementing measures of water resource protection, use water in saving, effectiveness and comply with provisions of law on water resources.
2. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and organizations being its member within their duties, powers shall coordinate with state management agencies of water resources to disseminate, mobilize People to participate in water resource protection, using water in saving, effectiveness and comply with provisions of law on water resources, supervising protection, exploitation, use of water resources, prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effect caused by water.
Article 6. Taking opinions of inhabitant community and relevant organizations, individuals in exploitation, use of water resources, discharge of sewage into water sources
1. Organizations, individuals that invest projects in which include construction of works on exploitation and use of water resources or have operations of discharge of sewage into water sources affecting seriously to production and living of people in localities shall coordinate with local authorities to implement the following operations:
a) To take opinions of representative of inhabitant community and relevant organizations, individuals in areas influenced on project’ s contents relating to plan on exploitation, use of water resources, and discharge of sewage into water sources; to sum up, make reception, explanation and send enclosing dossier of project when submitting to competent state agencies to decide investment;
b) To publicity information on project’s contents relating to exploitation, use water resources, discharge of sewage into water sources and influences possible causing before implementation;
c) Funds to implement operations specified in this clause shall be paid by organizations, individuals investing in project.
2. If investment project has water transfer, in addition to implement provisions in clause 1 of this article, the investor being organization or individual must take opinions of People’s Committee, river basin regarding scale of, plan on water transfer before making investment project. Collection of opinions is prescribed as follows:
a) The relevant People’s Committee in communes, wards, towns (hereinafter referred to as the communal People’s Committee), People’s Committee in districts, provincial-affiliated towns, cities (hereinafter referred to as the district-level People’s Committee) for project with water transfer in intra-provincial river basin.
b) The relevant People’s Committee in provinces, centrally-affiliated cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial People’s Committee) and river basin organization for project with water transfer not subject to case specified in point a, this clause.
3. If investment project build lake, dam on river in inter province river basin without water transfer, in addition to implement provisions in clause 1 of this article, before making investment project, the investor being organization or individual shall:
a) Collection opinions of the relevant provincial People’s Committees and river basin organization for scale, plan on proposal for construction of works on main flow;
b) To previous inform to the relevant provincial People’s Committees and river basin organization of scale, plan on proposal for construction of works on sub-flow;
4. The Government details collection of opinions and publicity of information specified in this article.
Article 7. List of river basins, list of water sources
1. List of river basins and list of water sources are basis in order to implement contents of water resource management in according to river basin, water sources.
2. List of river basins includes:
a) The inter-provincial river basin;
b) The intra-provincial river basin;
3. List of water sources includes:
a) Inter-provincial water sources;
b) Intra-provincial water sources;
c) Inter-country water sources.
4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment organizes making list of inter-provincial river basin to submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation; makes, promulgates list of intra-provincial river basin, list of inter-provincial water sources, inter-country water sources.
5. Provincial People’s Committees make, promulgate list of intra-provincial water sources in localities.
Article 8. Archival, use of water resource information
1. Archival of documents relating to water resources are sector-specialized archival and be implemented as prescribed by law on archival.
2. Agencies in charge of task on state management on water resources shall supply information on water resources for organizations, individuals when requested as prescribed by law.
3. Organizations, individuals using information on water resources must pay charge for using information as prescribed by law on charges, fees.
Article 9. The strictly prohibited acts
1. To discharge wastes, rubbish, discharge or leak toxic substances into water sources and other acts causing pollution, deterioration, depletion for water sources.
2. To discharge sewage, bring waste into Hygiene Protection Zone of area supplying living water, discharge sewage not yet processed or processed but not met technical regulations and standards into water sources.
3. To discharge toxic exhaust directly into water sources; to discharge sewage into soil through drilling wells, digging wells and other forms aiming to bring sewage into subterranean; have frauds in discharging sewage.
4. To put obstacles, built architecture works, to plant trees unlawfully obstructing flood drainage, water circulation in rivers, springs, lakes, cannels, ditches.
5. To exploit unlawfully sand, gravel on rivers, springs, canals, ditches, reservoirs; to exploit minerals, drill, dig, build houses, architecture objects, works and other acts in protection corridor of water sources causing landslide riversides, springs, canals, ditches, reservoirs or causing serious influence threatening stabilization, safety of rivers, springs, canals, ditches, reservoirs.
6. To destroy works for protection, exploitation, use, obversation, supervision of water resources, works for prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water.
7. To obstruct operation of water resource basic survey, the lawful right of exploitation, use of water resources of organizations, individuals.
8. To explore, exploit, use water resources, to discharge sewage into water sources and practice drilling of underground water unlawfully.
9. Not to obey process on operation of reservoirs, inter-reservoirs promulgated by competent state agencies.
10. To build reservoirs, dams, works exploiting water contrary to master plan on water resources.
Tìm kiếm
Luật tài nguyên nước 2012 (Bản Word)
Luật tài nguyên nước 2012 (Bản Pdf)