Chương III Nghị định 08/2022/NĐ-CP : Phân vùng môi trường, đánh giá môi trường chiến lược, đánh giá tác động môi trường , giấy phép môi trường , đăng ký môi trường

Chapter III

ENVIORNMENTAL ZONING, STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASESSMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSES, ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRATION

Section 1. ENVIORNMENTAL ZONING, STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASESSMENT

Article 22. General regulations on environmental zoning

1. Environmental zoning by strict protection zone, low-emission zone and other zones shall comply with criteria concerning environmental sensitivity and vulnerability to impacts of environmental pollution in order to minimize impacts of environmental pollution on the life and normal development of humans and creatures.

2. Strict protection zone includes:

a) High density residential areas in urban areas include inner cities and inner district-level towns of special urban areas, urban areas of grades I, II and III according to regulations of law on urban classification;

b) Surface water used for domestic purpose in accordance with regulations of law on water resources;

c) Wildlife sanctuaries prescribed by regulations of law on biodiversity, forestry and fisheries;

d) Protection zones 1 of historical and cultural sites/monuments prescribed by regulations of law on cultural heritage;

dd) Core zone of the natural heritage site (if any) prescribed by regulations of the LEP.

3. Low-emission zone includes:

a) Buffer zone of strict protection zones specified in clause 2 of this Article (if any);

b) Important wetlands defined as prescribed by law;

c) Safeguard zones of surface water used for domestic purpose in accordance with regulations of law on water resources;

d) High density residential areas which are inner cities and inner district-level towns of urban areas of grades IV and V according to regulations of law on urban classification;

dd) Water recreation areas under decision of the provincial People’s Committee;

e) Other areas with environmental sensitivity and vulnerability to impacts of environmental pollution that need to be protected.

4. Other zones which are remaining areas in an administrative division.

Article 23. Determination of strict protection zones and low-emission zones

1. Defining strict protection zones and low-emissions zones in the national environmental protection planning is prescribed as follows:

a) Carry out overall investigation and assessment of areas with environmental sensitivity and vulnerability to impacts of environmental pollution prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 22 of this Decree;

b) Set objectives for environmental protection of areas with environmental sensitivity and vulnerability to impacts of environmental pollution prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 22 of this Decree;

c) Plan locations, size and boundaries of strict protection zones and low-emission zones.

2. Defining strict protection zones and low-emission zones in the provincial planning is prescribed as follows:

a) Carry out overall investigation and assessment of areas with environmental sensitivity and vulnerability to impacts of environmental pollution prescribed in clause 3 Article 22 of this Decree within provinces;

b) Determine objectives for environmental protection of areas with environmental sensitivity and vulnerability to impacts of environmental pollution prescribed in clauses 2 and 3 Article 22 of this Decree within provinces;

c) Determine plans regarding locations, size and boundaries of strict protection zones and low-emission zones within provinces.

3. The provincial People’s Committee shall issue a decision on determination of locations and boundaries of strict protection zones and low-emissions zones within its provinces already determined in the provincial planning during the planning period.

4. Requirements for environmental protection based on environmental zoning:

a) Technical regulations on wastewater and emissions shall provide for permissible limits of pollutants in conformity protection requirements required by environmental zoning for strict protection zones and low-emission zones without adversely affecting the life and normal development of human and creatures;

b) Projects on investment in and projects on increase in size and capacity of strict protection zones and low-emissions zones in shall comply with environmental protection requirements as prescribed in point a of this clause;

c) Any business that fails to satisfy the environmental protection requirements set out in point a of this clause shall convert its type of business, production or service, renovate its technology and implement other environmental protection measures in compliance with the environmental protection requirements based on environmental zoning.

5. The provincial People’s Committee shall introduce a roadmap to businesses operating within strict protection zones and low-emissions zones already determined within its province in compliance with the regulations set forth in clause 4 of this Article.

Article 24. List of national and regional strategies for industry and field development, national sector planning and technical and specialized planning subject to SEA

The list of national and regional strategies for industry and field development, national sector planning and technical and specialized planning subject to SEA is provided in the Appendix I enclosed herewith.

Article 25. Environmental criteria and classification of investment projects

1. Scale of an investment project is prescribed as follows:

a) Scale of an investment project shall be classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment, including projects of national importance, projects of groups A, B and C, except for the regulations specified in points b, c and d of this clause;

b) Regarding the area of land used and land with water surface of the project, the scale of the project shall be classified into 03 types: large, medium and small;

c) Regarding the sea area used, the scale of the project shall be classified into 02 groups according to the power to issue permits for ocean dumping, sea area assignment and assignment of sea area for land reclamation in accordance with regulations of law on natural resources, and environment of sea and islands;

d) Regarding the exploitation of natural resources, the scale of the project shall be classified into 02 groups according to the power to issue mineral mining licenses, licenses for extraction and use of water resources in accordance with regulations of law on minerals and water resources.

2. Capacity of an investment projects involved in a type of production, business or services that is likely to cause environmental pollution specified in the Appendix II enclosed herewith is defined in the proposal for investment project, feasibility study report, economic-technical report or equivalent document of the project classified into 03 types: large, medium and small.

3. Types of production, business or services include:

a) Types of production, business and services that are likely to cause environmental pollution specified in the Appendix II enclosed herewith;

b) Other types of production, business and services other than those likely to cause environmental pollution.

4. Determination of whether a project has environmentally sensitive factors specified in point c clause 1 Article 28 of the LEP is prescribed as follows:

a) The project which is involved in a type of production, business or services that is likely to cause environmental pollution specified in the Appendix II enclosed herewith is located in an inner city or inner district-level town of an urban area in accordance with regulations of law on urban area classification;

b) The project discharges wastewater to surface water used for domestic purpose in accordance with regulations of law on water resources;

c) The project uses land or land with water surface of a wildlife sanctuary as prescribed by regulations of law on biodiversity, forestry and fisheries; special-use forest, protection forest or natural forest as prescribed by regulations of law on forestry; marine protected area or protected area of aquatic resources as prescribed by regulations of law on fisheries; significant wetlands and other natural heritage sites established and recognized as prescribed in this Decree (except for projects on construction of works serving management and protection of forests, nature and biodiversity conservation, forest fire prevention and fighting prescribed by regulations of law on biodiversity, natural heritage sites and silviculture which are approved by a competent authority);

d) The project uses land or land with water surface of a historical and cultural site/monument or scenic landscape ranked as prescribed by regulations of law on cultural heritage (except for projects on preservation, renovation, restoration and conservation of historical and cultural sites/monuments, scenic landscapes, construction of works in service of environmental hygiene and management, protection of historical and cultural sites/monuments, scenic landscapes and other maintenance and repair projects intended for ensuring traffic safety);

dd) The project requests repurposing of land meant for growing wet rice during 02 or more cropping seasons within the power prescribed by regulations of law on land; project requests repurposing land or land with water surface of a wildlife sanctuary, natural heritage site, biosphere reserve, significant wetland, natural forest or protection forest (except for projects on construction of works serving forest management and protection, nature and biodiversity conservation, forest fire prevention and fighting and silviculture which are approved by the competent authority);

e) The project requests relocation within the power prescribed by regulations of law on public investment and investment and law on construction.

5. The detailed lists of investment projects of group I, II and III are provided in the Appendices III, IV and V respectively enclosed with this Decree.

Article 26. Consultation during EIA

1. Consultees include:

a) Residential communities and individuals under direct environmental impact of the investment project activities, including residential communities, individuals living and carrying out business operations on land, water surface or land with water surface, sea area occupied for investment in projects; residential communities and individuals under direct impact of wastewater, emissions, dust, noise, solid waste and hazardous waste caused by projects; communities and individuals affected by subsidence, landslides, riverbank and coastal sedimentation caused by projects; other affected residential communities and individuals identified during EIA.

Consultation with residential communities and individuals under direct impact shall be conducted by holding a meeting to seek opinions;

b) Agencies and organizations directly related to investment projects, including communal People’s Committees, Vietnamese Fatherland Front Committee of communes where the projects are executed; management boards or investors in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters located in the boundaries under their management; regulatory bodies managing hydraulic structure with respect to projects discharging wastewater to hydraulic structure or appropriating hydraulic structure; regulatory bodies assigned to manage areas with environmentally sensitive factors (if any); Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security or provincial Military Command, provincial Police with respect to national security and defense-related projects (if any).

Consultation with agencies and organizations directly related to investment projects shall be held in writing.

2. Other consultation contents specified in point dd clause 3 Article 33 of the LEP include plans for environmental improvement and remediation for mineral mining projects or waste burial projects and biodiversity offsets schemes for projects having biodiversity offsets schemes as prescribed by law.

3. Consultation methods:

a) Holding a consultation by publishing its contents on website:

Before submitting an EIA report (EIAR) to a competent authority for appraisal, the project owner shall send contents of EIAR consultation specified in clause 3 Article 33 of the LEP to the website manager of the authority appraising the EIAR to consult the consultees specified in clause 1 of this Article, except for information classified as state secrets and secrets of enterprises as prescribed by law. Within 05 days from the date of receiving the project owner’s request for publishing consultation contents, the appraising authority’s website manager shall publish contents of the consultation. The consultation shall be conducted within 15 days; upon expiry of the time limit for consultation, the website manager shall send consultation results to the project owner;

b) Holding a consultation by organizing a meeting to seek opinions:

The project owner shall preside over and cooperate with the People’s Committee of the commune where the project is executed in posting the EIAR at the communal People’s Committee and notifying time and place of the meeting intended to seek opinions of the consultees specified in point a clause 1 of this Article at least 05 days before the meeting. The communal People’s Committee shall post the EIAR from the date of receiving the EIAR to the end of the meeting.

The project owner shall present contents of the EIAR at the consultation meeting. Opinions of the attendees, feedback and commitment of the project owner must be sufficiently and truthfully presented in the consultation meeting according to the form prescribed by MONRE;

c) Holding a written consultation:

The project owner shall send the EIAR of the project to the consultees as specified in point b clause 1 of this Article enclosed with the consultation document prepared using the form in the Appendix VI hereof.

The consultees shall give their written response according to the form in the Appendix VII hereof within 15 days from the date of receiving the consultation document. In case no response is given within the prescribed time limit, it is considered that such consultees agree to the consultation contents.

4. Responsibility of every investment project owner for holding consultation:

a) Adopt the consultation methods specified in clause 4 Article 33 of the LEP and consult the consultees specified in clause 1 of this Article, except for the cases in points e, g and h of this clause;

b) Regarding projects that involve ocean dumping of materials and matter; investment projects that discharge at least 10,000 m³ of wastewater per day (24 hours) or directly discharge wastewater into an inter-provincial river or a river bordering provinces or directly discharge wastewater into coastal sea, the project owners shall also consult with the People’s Committee of province having the inter-provincial river, the river bordering provinces or coastal sea to cooperate in dealing with environmental protection issues in the region;

c) Regarding the projects specified in the Appendix II hereof that directly discharge at least 10,000 m³ of wastewater per day (24 hours) or at least 200,000 m³ of emissions per hour, the project owners shall consult with at least 05 experts, scientists related to operating field of the project and environmental experts. Regarding the remaining projects specified in the Appendix II hereof, the project owners shall consult with at least 03 experts, scientists related to operating fields of the projects and environmental experts;

d) For the projects at risk of sedimentation, erosion or saltwater intrusion of which investment guidelines are decided by the National Assembly or the Prime Minister; project involving ocean dumping of dredged materials and matter with a total volume of 5,000,000 m³ or more; projects that discharge at least 10,000 m³ of industrial wastewater per day (24 hours) (except for cases of connection of wastewater to the centralized wastewater treatment system, cooling water and wastewater of the aquaculture project) or at least 200,000 m³ of emissions per hour, the project owners must consult with a specialized organization about the calculation results given by the applied model;

dd) For the investment projects that request repurposing land of a wildlife sanctuary or core zone of the biosphere reserve with an area of 01 ha or more, the project owners must consult with a specialized organization about impacts of project execution on biodiversity;

e) For projects on construction of traffic infrastructure, telecommunications infrastructure and inter-provincial and inter-district transmission lines, the project owners shall only hold a consultation as prescribed in point a clause 3 of this Article and a written consultation with the provincial People’s Committees if such projects are located in at least 02 provinces or district-level People’s Committees if such projects are located in at least 02 districts;

g) For the investment projects located within territorial waters or continental shelf to which responsibility of the communal People’s Committee for administrative management are yet to be assigned, the project owners shall only hold a consultation as specified in point a clause 3 of this Article and a written consultation with the People’s Committee of the province which receives the projects’ waste transported ashore;

h) For the projects located within a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster, the project owners shall only hold a consultation as prescribed in point a clause 3 of this Article and also consult with the management boards, investors in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of such dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster;

i) The project owner shall truthfully consolidate and specify all opinions and recommendations of the consultees; receive and respond to consultation results and complete the EIAR before submitting it to a competent authority for appraisal; take legal responsibility for contents and results of the consultation mentioned in the EIAR.

Article 27. Responsibility of investment project owner during completion of EIAR after receiving written request for modification; preparation and execution of projects before their operation in case of changes to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result

1. Within 12 months from the receipt of the written request for modification of the EIAR appraising authority, the investment project owner shall complete the EIAR and send it to the EIAR appraising authority. After this deadline, the appraisal of EIAR shall be carried out as prescribed in Article 34 of the LEP.

2. During the preparation and execution of an investment project before being put into operation, the investment project owner shall carry out EIA in case of change(s) to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result as specified in point a clause 4 Article 37 of the LEP. To be specific:

a) Increasing scale and capacity of the project to an extent that it is necessary to follow procedures for approval for adjustment of the investment guidelines or procedures for adjustment of the investment registration certificate in accordance with regulations of law on investment;

b) Changing production technology of the project resulting in discharging waste beyond the capacity for waste treatment of environmental protection works specified in the scheme in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result;

c) Changing waste treatment technology of the project likely to adversely affect the environment specified in the scheme in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result;

d) Changing the location of the project, except where the location of the investment project executed in the dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster is changed in conformity with the planning for zoning of dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster which is approved by the competent authority;

dd) Changing the location of direct discharge of treated wastewater into a source of water with more stringent requirements for waste discharge or changing the receiving body resulting in an increase in pollution, landslide or subsidence.

3. The responsibility specified in point b or point c clause 4 Article 37 of the LEP shall be fulfilled.

Section 2. ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRATION

Article 28. Main contents of report on proposal for issuance of environmental license

1. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of the environmental license with respect to the investment project to which the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result has been issued before its trial operation include:

a) General information about the investment project: names of the project and project owner; location of the project; authorities appraising the construction design, issuing environment-related licenses and approving the project; decision on approval of result of appraisal of the project’s EIAR; document about changes (if any); project execution process; scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), capacity, technology, products manufactured, amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, receiving body of wastewater, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information relating to the project;

b) Conformity of the investment project with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity (if any);

c) Results of completion of environmental protection works and measures (works transferred and accepted between the investor, contractor and construction supervision unit in accordance with regulations of law on construction): works and equipment for collecting and treating wastewater, dust and emissions; works for storing and treating normal industrial solid waste, domestic solid waste and hazardous waste; works and measures for minimizing noise and vibration; works for environmental emergency prevention and response and other environmental protection works. Primary information, including: scale, capacity and operation process; chemicals and biological preparations used for waste treatment; chemicals and catalysts used to treat dust and exhaust gases; equipment for synchronous and packaged waste treatment, automatic and continuous monitoring equipment (if installation thereof is required) and other treatment equipment (accompanied by its CO/CQ); basic specifications; applicable standards and regulations.

For a project on centralized solid waste treatment and hazardous waste treatment, specify the works, equipment and vehicle for collecting and treating waste.

For an investment project that uses scrap imported abroad country as raw materials for production, specify the production technology; warehouses and yards for scrap storage; recycling equipment; impurity treatment scheme; scrap re-export scheme in conformity with the decision on approval of the EIAR appraisal result.

For an investment project that discharges wastewater into hydraulic structures, specify the satisfaction of requirements for environmental protection of hydraulic structures;

d) Plan, schedule and result of implementation of the environmental remediation and improvement, biodiversity offsets scheme (if any);

dd) Proposal for change(s) to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result (if any) enclosed with environmental impacts of such change(s);

e) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the LEP;

g) Plan and expected time for trial operation enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to evaluate efficiency of the waste treatment work (aggregate and single sampling); if a packaged waste treatment work/equipment or waste treatment work belongs to a project with small capacity as prescribed in Appendix II enclosed herewith, only take single samples for monitoring purpose; plan to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies during trial operation and when the project is put into operation;

h) Proposed contents of waste monitoring (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any).

2. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of the environmental license with respect to the investment project of group II not subject to EIA include:

a) General information about the investment project: names of the project and project owner; location of the project; authorities appraising the construction design, issuing environment-related licenses and approving the project; scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), capacity, technology, products manufactured, amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, receiving body of wastewater, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information related to the project;

b) Conformity of the investment project with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity (if any);

c) Evaluation of state of environment in the area where the investment project is located (except for investment projects located in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters); evaluation of selected production and waste treatment technologies and other selected environmental protection works; evaluation and prediction of project’s impacts (if any) on biodiversity and natural heritage sites, flow, landslide, sedimentation, saltwater intrusion and society;

d) Proposed plan and measures for waste treatment enclosed with a description and alternative for construction design (fundamental design or construction drawing design (if the project only requires one single design step) of environmental protection works, waste treatment work items, equipment for synchronous and packaged waste treatment, automatic and continuous monitoring equipment (if installation thereof is required) and other treatment equipment (accompanied by its CO/CQ, if any), plan for environmental emergency prevention and response, works for waste storage and related works and equipment; plan for construction, installation, operation, maintenance and management of discharge works and waste treatment works, enclosed with an estimate of costs of construction of environmental protection and implementation of measures to minimize adverse effects on the environment;

dd) Specific environmental protection contents: for a project on mineral mining or waste burial, an environmental improvement and remediation plan is required. For a project on extraction of sand, gravel and other minerals on rivers, streams, canals, reservoirs, estuaries and coastal areas, contents of assessment of the impacts on the bed, banks, river terrace and flow are required. For an investment project that causes biodiversity loss or decline, a biodiversity offsets scheme is required. For an investment project that discharges wastewater into hydraulic structures, the assessment of impacts and measures for environmental protection of sources of water for hydraulic structures are required;

e) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the LEP;

g) Plan and expected time for trial operation enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to evaluate efficiency of the waste treatment work (aggregate and single sampling); if a packaged waste treatment work/equipment or waste treatment work belongs to a project with small capacity as prescribed in Appendix II enclosed herewith, only take single samples for monitoring purpose; plan to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies during trial operation and when the project is put into operation;

h) Proposed contents of waste monitoring (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any).

3. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of environmental license to an operating business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster satisfying the environmental criteria equivalent to those applicable to a project of group I or group II include:

a) General information about the business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster: its name, address or location where the project is located; document about appraisal of the construction design, environment-related licenses and project approval; decision on approval of result of appraisal of the project’s EIAR as specified in clause 2 Article 171 of the LEP and component environmental license (if any); scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), capacity, technology, products manufactured, amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, receiving body of wastewater, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information related to the business. For a business that uses scrap imported abroad country as raw materials for production, specify the production technology; warehouses and yards for scrap storage; recycling equipment, impurity treatment scheme and scrap re-export scheme that fails to satisfy the standards conforming to the decision on approval of the EIAR appraisal result or a document equivalent to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result as prescribed in clause 2 Article 171 of the LEP (including a file enclosed with the equivalent document);

b) Conformity of the business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity (if any);

c) Sources of waste generated, including: scale, weight and type of solid waste; scale, flow rate and pollution parameters of dusts, emissions, noise and vibration; scale, flow rate and pollution parameters of wastewater, receiving bodies of wastewater; environmental protection works and measures completed as prescribed in point c clause 1 of this Article;

d) Plan, schedule and result of implementation of the environmental remediation and improvement, biodiversity offsets scheme (if any);

dd) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the LEP;

e) Results of environmental monitoring carried out in the 02 previous years in the case where waste monitoring is required as prescribed or result of additional waste sample monitoring under the guidance of MONRE in the case where the component environmental license is available, thereby not required to undergo waste monitoring;

g) Latest results of inspection and handling of violations against regulations on environment given by the competent authority, enclosed with decisions and conclusions (if any);

h) Proposed contents of waste monitoring (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any).

4. Main contents of report on proposal for issuance of environmental license to a project of group III include:

a) General information about the investment project: names of the project and project owner; location of the project; scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), capacity, technology, products manufactured, amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, receiving body of wastewater, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information related to the project;

b) Conformity of the investment project with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity (if any);

c) Description of state of environment in the area where the investment project is located (except for investment projects located in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters); description of the production technology to be selected;

d) Proposed plan and measures for waste treatment enclosed with a description and alternative for construction design (fundamental design or construction drawing design (if the project only requires one single design step) of environmental protection works, waste treatment work items, equipment for synchronous and packaged waste treatment, automatic and continuous monitoring equipment (if installation thereof is required) and other treatment equipment (accompanied by its CO/CQ, if any), plan for environmental emergency prevention and response, works for waste storage and related works and equipment; plan for construction, installation, operation, maintenance and management of discharge works and waste treatment works; measures for environmental protection of sources of water for hydraulic structures with respect to the investment projects discharging wastewater into hydraulic structures;

dd) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the LEP;

e) Plan and expected time for trial operation enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to evaluate efficiency of the waste treatment work as prescribed; environmental emergency prevention and response; proposed contents of waste monitoring as prescribed by law.

5. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of environmental license to an operating business satisfying the environmental criteria equivalent to those applicable to a project of group III include:

a) General information about the business: its name, address and location where the project is located; related environmental documents; scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), capacity, technology, products manufactured, amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, receiving body of wastewater, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information related to the business;

b) Conformity of the business with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity (if any);

c) Sources of waste generated, including: scale, weight and type of solid waste; scale, flow rate and pollution parameters of dusts, emissions, noise and vibration; scale, flow rate and pollution parameters of wastewater, receiving bodies of wastewater; environmental protection works and measures completed as prescribed in point c clause 1 of this Article;

d) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the LEP;

dd) Results of environmental monitoring carried out in the 01 previous year in the case where waste monitoring is required as prescribed or result of additional waste sample monitoring under the guidance of the MONRE in the case where the component environmental license is available, thereby not required to undergo waste monitoring as prescribed; latest results of inspection and handling of violations against regulations on environment given by the competent authority, enclosed with decisions and conclusions (if any);

e) Proposed contents of waste monitoring prescribed by law.

6. Forms of reports on proposal for issuance of environmental license to the subjects mentioned in clause 1 to 5 of this Article is provided in the Appendix VIII, IX, X, XI and XII hereof respectively.

Article 29. Applications and procedures for issuing environmental licenses

Applications, procedures and time limit for issuing environmental licenses to investment project, businesses, dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters (hereinafter referred to as “investment projects and businesses”) are specified in Article 43 of the LEP. Several contents are elaborated as follows:

1. Legal and technical documentation specified in point c clause 1 Article 43 of the LEP are prescribed as follows:

a) For an investment project not subject to EIA: a copy of the feasibility study report or document equivalent to the investment project’s feasibility study report in accordance with regulations of law on investment, public investment, PPP investment and construction;

b) For an investment project or business other than that specified in point a of this clause, the project or business owner is not required to submit legal and technical documentation together with the application for issuance of environmental license.

2. Time of submission of the application for issuance of environmental license is prescribed as follows:

a) The owner of the investment project not subject to EIA shall submit an application for issuance of environmental license after completing the waste treatment work for the entire project or for each investment phase of the project (if the project is divided into investment phases) or for the independent waste treatment work item of the project;

b) The owner of the investment project not subject to EIA shall decide the time of submission themself after having a sufficient application as prescribed;

c) The investment project owner specified in clause 2 Article 39 of the LEP that is conducting trial operation of the waste treatment work as prescribed by law before the effective date of the LEP shall decide the time of submission of application for issuance of environmental license themself to ensure that an environmental license has to be obtained after the trial operation but at least 45 days if the environmental license is issued by a ministerial agency and 30 days if the environmental license is issued by the provincial People’s Committee or district-level People’s Committee before the date on which the environmental license has to be obtained.

In case of failure to submit the application for issuance of environmental license within the time limit specified in this point, the investment project owner shall send a notification of extension of trial operation duration as prescribed in point c clause 6 Article 31 of this Decree to obtain the environmental license after the end of the trial operation;

d) Owner of a business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster shall decide the time of submission of the application for issuance of environmental license themself to ensure that an environmental license has to be obtained as prescribed by the LEP and this Decree but at least 45 days if the environmental license is issued by a ministerial agency and 30 days if the environmental license is issued by the provincial People’s Committee or district-level People’s Committee before the date on which the environmental license has to be obtained.

3. The owner of the investment project or business shall submit an application for issuance of environmental license to the authority issuing environmental license (hereinafter referred to as “licensing authority”) and pay fees for application appraisal as prescribed.

4. Within 05 working days from the receipt of a sufficient application (except for the case specified in clause 8 of this Article), the licensing authority shall:

a) publicize contents of the report on proposal for issuance of environmental license on the website of the licensing authority or authorized authority, except for information classified as state secrets or enterprise’s secrets as prescribed by law;

b) send an enquiry to the regulatory body managing hydraulic structures (in case of discharge of water into hydraulic structures), the investor in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of the dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster (if the investment project or business is located in such dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster), except where the investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and does not change the contents related to wastewater discharge specified in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result.

 The enquired authority shall give a written response to the issuance of environmental license within 07 days from the receipt of the enquiry, except for the case specified in clause 9 of this Article. If such time limit expires and a written response fails to be given, it is considered that such body agrees to the licensing.

Regarding an investment project that directly discharges at least 10,000 m³ of wastewater (except for equipment cooling water, aquaculture water) per day (24 hours) into an inter-provincial river or lake or a river or lake bordering provinces or directly discharges wastewater into coastal sea, the licensing authority shall consult with the People’s Committee of province having the inter-provincial river or lake, bordering river or lake or coastal sea of the bordering province to cooperate in dealing with environmental protection issues in the region, except where the investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and does not change the contents related to wastewater discharge specified in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result. The enquired provincial People’s Committee shall give a written response within 07 days from the receipt of the enquiry. If such time limit expires and a written response fails to be given, it is considered that such body agrees to the licensing

Regarding an investment project that directly discharges at least 10,000 m³ of wastewater (except for equipment cooling water, aquaculture water) per day (24 hours) or at least 200,000 m³ of dust or emissions per hour, the licensing authority shall consult with a specialized organization about the calculation results given by the pollutant dispersion model or environmental emergency (if any), except where the investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and does not change the contents related to wastewater, dust or emission discharge specified in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result. The enquired specialized organization shall give a written response within 20 days from the receipt of the enquiry;

c) Except for the case specified in clause 9 of this Article, the appraisal of the application for issuance of environmental license shall be carried out as follows:

For the investment project which has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal, does not use scrap imported abroad country as raw materials for production or provides hazardous waste treatment services and falls into the case specified in point b clause 4 Article 37 of the LEP, the licensing authority shall establish an appraisal council and shall not carry out a site inspection.

For the investment project which has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and does not fall into the case specified in point b clause 4 Article 37 of the LEP, investment project which uses scrap imported abroad country as raw materials for production, investment project which provides hazardous waste treatment services, the licensing authority shall establish an appraisal team and shall not carry out a site inspection.

For the investment project not subject to EIA, the licensing authority shall establish an appraisal council if the environmental license is issued by MONRE, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense or provincial People’s Committee; establish an appraisal team if the environmental license is issued by the district-level People’s Committee. The appraisal council or appraisal team shall carry out a site inspection in the area where the investment project is expected to be executed.

For an business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster which is operating, the licensing authority shall establish an inspectorate instead of establishing an appraisal council or appraisal team if environmental license is issued by MONRE, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense or provincial People’s Committee; shall carry out a site inspection if the environmental license is issued by the district-level People’s Committee.

The appraisal council and inspectorate shall each be composed of at least 07 members if the environmental license is issued by a central government authority and at least 05 members if the environmental license is issued by the provincial People’s Committee. The appraisal team shall be composed of at least 03 members, including a leader which is the appraising authority’s representative.

The appraisal council and inspectorate shall each be composed of 01 president or chief; 01 deputy president or deputy chief if necessary; 01 secretary; representatives of authorities and organizations concerned; representative of regulatory body managing hydraulic structures, investor in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of the dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster (if any); experts and officials in the field of environmental protection and operating field of the investment project or business.

Every member of the appraisal council, inspectorate and appraisal team shall consider applications for issuance of environmental license, make remarks about the appraisal contents specified in Article 40 of the LEP and take legal responsibility for their remarks.

The expert participating in making the report on proposal for issuance of environmental license of the investment project or business shall not join the appraisal council, appraisal team or inspectorate responsible for appraising application for issuance of environmental license of such investment project or business;

5. According to the appraisal result of the appraisal council and appraisal team or result of the inspectorate or site inspection result, the licensing authority shall consider issuing environmental license to the investment project or business in case of eligibility to be issued with environmental license or send a notification of return of application to the project or business owner specifying reasons for ineligibility to be issued with environmental license.

If the application needs modifying to have sufficient grounds for issuing license, the licensing authority shall send a notification to the project owner clearly specifying the modifications. The licensing authority shall not request the project or business owner to perform tasks other than those specified in the notification.

Response (final result or necessary modifications) must be provided within licensing time limit as prescribed.

6. Except for the case specified in clause 9 of this Article, within 15 days if the environmental license is issued by MONRE, Ministry of National Defense or Ministry of Public Security, 10 days if the environmental license is issued by the provincial People’s Committee and 05 days if the environmental license is issued by the district-level People’s Committee, from the receipt of the modified application for issuance of environmental license (in case where the application has to be modified as requested by the licensing authority), the head of the licensing authority shall consider issuing the environmental license to the investment project or business; in case of failure to issue the environmental license, a written response specifying reasons therefor shall be given.

7. The receipt of applications and return of results specified in point c clause 4 Article 43 of the LEP must be carried out in a simplified manner that reforms administrative procedures and follows administrative procedures online in accordance with the Government’s regulations.

8. The receipt of applications and return of results shall be carried out online using level 4 online public services of the licensing authority within 15 days from the receipt of the valid applications in the following cases:

a) The investment project or business is not required to conduct trial operation of the waste treatment work;

b) The investment project or business connects wastewater to the centralized system for wastewater collection and treatment of the dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster and satisfies the following requirements: it is not involved in the type of production, business or services that is likely to cause environmental pollution; is not required to carry out automatic and continuous emission monitoring and periodic monitoring as prescribed in this Decree.

9. The appraisal of application for issuance of environmental license, and issuance of environmental license in the case specified in clause 8 of this Article shall be carried out through the appraisal team established by the licensing authority with no more than 05 members if the environmental license is issued by MONRE, Ministry of National Defense or Ministry of Public Security; no more than 03 members if the environmental license is issued by the provincial People’s Committee or district-level People’s Committee. The licensing authority shall not carry out a site inspection. The time limit for seeking opinions of the authorities and organizations specified in point b clause 4 of this Article is 05 days from the receipt of the enquiry. The time limit within which the licensing authority considers issuing environmental license to the investment project or business or gives a written response to the project or business owner specifying reasons for failure to issue environmental license as specified in clause 6 of this Article is 05 days.

10. The application form for issuance of environmental license of the investment project owner or business owner shall be made using the form specified in the Appendix XIII enclosed herewith.

11. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall promulgate forms of documents relating to issuance of environmental license, except for the case specified in clause 10 of this Article.

Article 30. Renewal, adjustment, re-issuance and revocation of environmental licenses

1. Renew the environmental license as prescribed in clause 1 Article 44 of the LEP within 10 days from the receipt of application form for renewal of the investment project owner or business owner enclosed with the legal documentation relating to changes.  The licensing authority shall issue a renewed environmental license which will have the same expiration date as that of the old license to the investment project owner or business owner.

The renewal of environmental license shall be carried out online using level 4 online public services of the licensing authority or authorized authority and appraisal fees are not required to be paid as prescribed.

2. The investment project owner or business owner shall adjust the environmental license within its remaining effective period when there is a change as prescribed in point a clause 2 Article 44 of the LEP and changes other than those specified in point b clause 3 and clause 4 of this Article, except for removal of items to be licensed or change to weight or type of hazardous waste generated. In case of removal of an item to be licensed, the change to environmental license shall be only made when requested by the investment project owner or business owner.  In case of a change to weight or type of hazardous waste generated, the investment project owner or business owner shall specify the change in the periodic environmental protection report of the project or business.

The adjustment of environmental license shall be made within 15 days from the receipt of the application form for adjustment from the investment project owner or business owner and made online using level 4 online public services of the licensing authority or authority authorized to issue environmental licenses as prescribed.

3. The adjustment of the environmental license prescribed in point b clause 2 Article 44 and clause 4 Article 46 of the LEP shall be made within 25 days from the receipt of report on result of trial operation from the investment project owner or business owner.  The licensing authority shall rely on the inspectorate’s report on inspection of trial operation of waste treatment work of the investment project or business; results of measurement and analysis of reference waste samples or additional waste monitoring samples (if any) and report on results of trial operation of the investment project owner or business owner in order to adjust the environmental license as follows:

a) Seek opinions of the provincial specialized environmental protection authority, management board of industrial parks of the province (if the investment project is located in the dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision); opinions of some environmental experts, including experts who have joined the appraisal council or inspectorate responsible for appraising application for issuance of environmental license about adjustments;

b) Notify the investment project owner or business owner of adjustments to type and weight of hazardous waste permitted to be treated or weight of scrap permitted to be imported as raw materials for production in order to suit the actual operating capacity of the investment project or business;

The investment project or business shall provide a written explanation for the adjustments (if any) specified in this point to the licensing authority;

c) The licensing authority shall issue an adjusted environmental license which will have the same expiration date as that of the old license to the investment project owner or business owner in order to suit the actual operating capacity of the investment project or business;

4. Subjects entitled to obtain re-issued environmental license and date on which the investment project owner or business owner submits an application for re-issuance of environmental license are prescribed as follows:

a) The subjects specified in point a clause 3 Article 44 of the LEP shall submit the application for re-issuance of environmental license 06 months before the expiry date of the environmental license;

b) Investment projects, businesses, dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters changing their scale, capacity or production technology, except where the investment projects making are not subject to EIA, shall submit the application for re-issuance of environmental license before making the changes and the changes shall be only made after being issued with the environmental license;

c) Dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters adding an industry or business line in which investment is encouraged shall submit the application for re-issuance of environmental license before attracting investment in such industry or business line (except where such industry or business line or investment project involved in such industry or business line, when put into operation, does not generate industrial wastewater subject to mandatory treatment so as to ensure the satisfaction of condition for receipt of wastewater of the centralized wastewater treatment system);

d) Investment projects, businesses, dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters increasing their sources of waste water, dusts and emissions resulting in generation of pollution parameters exceeding the permissible limits specified in the environmental technical regulation on waste; generating new pollution parameters exceeding permissible limits specified in environmental technical regulations on waste; increasing the flow of wastewater, dusts and emissions resulting in generation of pollution parameters exceeding permissible limits specified in environmental technical regulations on waste; changing their wastewater receiving bodies and method for discharge of wastewater into sources of water subject to more stringent protection requirements, shall submit the application for re-issuance of environmental license before making the changes and the changes shall be only made after being issued with the environmental license.

5. The re-issuance of environmental license specified in clause 4 of this Article shall be carried out as follows:

a) The business owner or investor in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster specified in points a and c clause 4 of this Article shall submit an application for re-issuance of environmental license and report on proposal for issuance of environmental license as specified in clause 3 Article 28 of this Decree (except for the contents specified in points a and c clause 5 Article 28 of this Decree) to the licensing authority. Procedures for re-issuance of environmental license shall comply with Article 29 of this Decree.

The time limit for re-issuance of environmental license shall not exceed 30 days if the environmental license is issued by MONRE, Ministry of National Defense or Ministry of Public Security and 20 days if the environmental license is issued by the provincial People’s Committee and district-level People’s Committee, from the receipt of a sufficient and valid application;

b) The investment project owner or business owner specified in points b and d clause 4 of this Article shall submit an application form for re-issuance of environmental license and report on proposal for issuance of environmental license as specified in one of the clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 Article 28 of this Decree (only including the contents that are different from those on the initial environmental license) to the licensing authority. Time and procedures for re-issuance of environmental license shall comply with Article 29 of this Decree.

6. Any investment project or business issued with a renewed, adjusted or re-issued environmental license is not required to conduct trial operation of waste treatment works, except for the cases specified in points b and d clause 4 of this Article.

7. If it is found that the environmental license has to be revoked as prescribed in clause 5 Article 44 of the LEP during the process of imposing penalties for administrative violations, the revocation of the license shall comply with regulations of law on penalties for administrative violations. The environmental license shall be issued as follows:

a) If the environmental license is issued ultra vires, within the time limit for taking remedial measures, the investment project owner or business owner shall follow procedures for issuing environmental license as prescribed in Article 29 of this Decree;

b) If the environmental license contains any content against regulations of law, within 07 days from the receipt of such environmental license transferred by the person competent to impose penalties, the licensing authority shall consider issuing another environmental license with rectified contents to the investment project owner or business owner.

8. If it is found that the environmental license has to be revoked as prescribed in clause 5 Article 44 of the LEP but does not fall into the case specified in clause 7 of this Article, the revocation and issuance of the environmental license shall be carried out as follows:

a) The regulatory body which finds that the environmental license has to be revoked shall send a notification that the environmental license is issued ultra vires or contains a content against regulations of law on environmental protection;

b) The authority issuing the environmental license that has to be revoked shall consider and review the procedures for and contents of appraisal of the application for issuance of environmental license after receiving the notification specified in point a of this clause.

If the environmental license is issued ultra vires as prescribed, authority issuing such environmental license shall instruct the investment project owner or business owner to prepare an application for issuance of environmental license to the licensing authority to obtain a new environmental license as prescribed in Article 29 of this Decree. The authority issuing the environmental license shall revoke the environmental license after the investment project or business has been issued with a new environmental license as prescribed by law.

If the issued environmental license contains any content against regulations of law, the authority issuing the environmental license shall issue another environmental license with rectified contents to the investment project or business. The unconformable license will be revoked when the new license is issued to the investment project owner or business owner.

9. The report on proposal for re-issuance of the environmental license to an operating business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster satisfying the environmental criteria equivalent to those applicable to a project of group I or group II shall be made using the form specified in the Appendix X enclosed herewith; report on proposal for re-issuance of the environmental license to an operating business satisfying the environmental criteria equivalent to those applicable to a project of group III shall be made using the form specified in the Appendix XII enclosed herewith; report on proposal for re-issuance of the environmental license to the investment project specified in points b and d clause 4 of this Article satisfying the environmental criteria equivalent to those applicable to a project of group II shall be made using the form specified in the Appendix IX enclosed herewith; report on proposal for issuance of the environmental license to the investment project specified in points b and d clause 4 of this Article satisfying the environmental criteria equivalent to those applicable to a project of group III shall be made using the form specified in the Appendix XI enclosed herewith; application form for adjustment or re-issuance of environmental license to an investment project owner or business owner and specimen of application form for renewal of environmental license of an investment project owner or business owner shall comply with the form respectively specified in the Appendix XIII and Appendix XIV enclosed herewith.

10. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall promulgate forms related to renewal, adjustment, re-issuance or revocation of environmental licenses, except for the case specified in clause 9 of this Article.

Article 31. Trial operation of waste treatment works after being issued with environmental license

1. Waste treatment works not required to undergo trial operation include:

a) Sedimentation pond of a project on mining of minerals usable as common building materials, limestones;

b) Emergency pond of a wastewater treatment system (except for the emergency pond combined with stabilization pond);

c) Dust and emission release system in the case where dust and exhaust gas treatment systems are not required, including boiler emission control systems using fuel gas and DO; crematoria emissions treatment system;

d) In situ wastewater works and equipment specified in clause 3 Article 53 of the LEP (including septic tanks, grease separators of canteens and packaged wastewater treatment works and equipment satisfying prescribed requirements);

dd) Cooling water treatment systems using chlorine or disinfectant chemicals to kill microorganisms;

e) Waste treatment works of a project on expansion or increase in capacity without any change to the issued environmental license;

g) Waste treatment works of the subjects specified in clause 2 Article 39 of the LEP when applying for adjustment of the environmental license;

h) Waste treatment works of a business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster without any change to the component environmental license or issued environmental license.

2. The investment project owner not subject to EIA but required to obtain an environmental license and have a waste treatment work other than that specified in clause 1 of this Article shall conduct trial operation of such waste treatment work together with trial operation of the entire project or for each investment phase of the project (if the project is divided into investment phases) or for the independent waste treatment work item of the project after completing the following tasks:

a) Construct waste treatment works according to the environmental license; prepare a dossier on completion of the waste treatment work in accordance with regulations of law on construction (enclosed with a transfer and commissioning record between the investor, the construction contractor and the construction supervisor of the waste treatment work) and establish an operating process which satisfies environmental protection requirements. The investment project owner shall take legal responsibility for the dossier on completion of the waste treatment work;

b) Install automatic and continuous wastewater, dust and emission equipment and systems (if the installation is required) in order to supervise quality of wastewater and emissions as prescribed in this Decree.

3. The investment project owner subject to EIA and obtain an environmental license and have a waste treatment work other than that not specified in clause 1 of this Article shall conduct trial operation of such waste treatment work together with trial operation of the entire project or for each investment phase of the project (if the project is divided into investment phases) or for the independent waste treatment work item of the project according to the issued environmental license. If there is any change to the trial operation plan according to the issued environmental license, it is required to fulfill the responsibility specified in clause 5 of this Article.

4. The owner of the business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster specified in clause 2 Article 39 of the LEP shall conduct trial operation of the waste treatment work of the business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster as specified in this Article after being issued with the environmental license, except where the component environmental license has been obtained.

5. The investment project owner specified in clause 2 of this Article shall notify the plan for trial operation of the waste treatment work or waste treatment work item of the project to the licensing authority at least 10 days before the date of trial operation of the waste treatment work for supervision purpose; if the licensing authority is MONRE, send the plan to the provincial specialized environmental protection authority for cooperation in, inspection and supervision of the implementation thereof.

6. The duration of trial operation of the wastewater treatment work begins from the date of commencing trial operation. To be specific:

a) From 03 to 06 months if the project is a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster and large capacity investment project involved in a type of production, business or service that is likely to cause environmental pollution specified in the Column 3 Appendix II enclosed herewith;

b) The investment project shall decide and be accountable for the duration of trial operation with respect to other projects but such duration must not exceed 06 months and must ensure that effectiveness of the waste treatment work is evaluated as prescribed;

c) If it is required to extend the duration of trial operation, the investment project owner shall send a notification specifying reasons for extension and the duration of extension must not exceed 06 months. For large scale investment projects divided into each investment phase, the duration of trial operation may be extended in accordance with regulations prescribed by the licensing authority.

7. During trial operation of waste treatment works, the investment project owner shall perform several tasks below:

a) Cooperate with the specialized environmental protection authority in the province where the project is executed to inspect and supervise the trial operation. If the project is required to undergo automatic wastewater, dust or emission monitoring, carry out monitoring and supervision of result of automatic and continuous wastewater, dust or emission monitoring using CCTV cameras which connect and transmit data to the specialized environmental protection authority in the province where the project is executed;

b) Carry out monitoring themself by following MONRE’s technical guidance or cooperate with the provider eligible to provide environmental monitoring services to monitor waste and evaluate effectiveness of the waste treatment work. The waste monitoring must comply with environmental standards, technical regulations and law on standards, measurement and quality. The waste monitoring and sampling (single and aggregate sampling) with respect to types of projects shall comply with regulations of MONRE;

c) Be held accountable for contents of the trial operation plan and entire process of trial operation of the waste treatment work;

d) Keep a logbook which fully documents information about trial operation of the waste treatment work. The subjects specified in clause 4 Article 46 of the LEP shall fully document information about weight of hazardous waste and scrap used by each treatment and recycling system and equipment;

dd) Carry out evaluation themself or hire a fully capable organization to carry out evaluation of waste treatment works of projects; aggregate and evaluate waste monitoring data, identify waste and prepare a report on results of trial operation of waste treatment works, and send it to the licensing authority within 10 days from the end of trial operation of the waste treatment works, except for the case specified in clause 4 Article 46 of the LEP; if the licensing authority is MONRE, the investment project owner shall end it to the provincial specialized environmental protection authority.

8. During trial operation of waste treatment works of a project, if the waste released into the environment fails to satisfy environmental technical regulations on waste, the investment project owner shall adopt the following measures:

a) Terminate or reduce capacity of the investment project to ensure the current wastewater treatment works are able to treat types of waste generated in accordance with the environmental technical regulation and environmental license.

b) Review waste treatment works and equipment and process for operating the waste treatment system to identify causes of pollution and introduce remedial measures; renovate and upgrade waste treatment works or build more waste treatment works (if any) to satisfy environmental protection requirements as prescribed;

c) In case of causing an environmental emergency or environmental pollution, the investment project owner shall immediately suspend the trial operation and promptly report it to the licensing authority for instructions; if the licensing authority is MONRE, report it to the provincial specialized environmental protection authority for cooperation in handling environmental issues; take responsibility for remediating the environmental emergency, provide compensation and incur penalties as prescribed by law; 

d) Prepare a plan for trial operation of waste treatment works or each waste treatment work item that fails to satisfy environmental technical regulation on waste to resume the operation. Procedures and duration of resumption of trial operation of a waste treatment work are the same as procedures and duration of the first trial operation.

9. The provincial and district-level specialized environmental protection authority shall cooperate in inspecting and supervising the trial operation of waste treatment works regarding the investment projects located within the province and district at the request of the licensing authority.

10. Responsibilities of the licensing authority:

a) Fulfill the responsibility specified in Article 48 of the LEP;

b) Establish a site inspectorate during trial operation of waste treatment works of a project in the case specified in clause 4 Article 46 of the LEP or assign an official to carry out a site inspection of trial operation of waste treatment works of investment projects in other cases; measure, collect and analyze samples of waste released into the environment. If the waste released into the environment fails to satisfy the environmental technical regulation on waste, treat or transfer files to a competent person for imposition of penalties for the violation as prescribed and request the investment project owner to adopt the measures mentioned in clause 8 of this Article; continue to measure, collect and analyze samples of waste released into the environment during resumption of trial operation by the investment project owner;

c) For the case specified in clause 4 Article 46 of the LEP, the inspection and decision to adjust type or weight of hazardous waste permitted to be treated or weight of scrap permitted to be imported and imposition of penalties for any violation (if any) shall comply with the procedures mentioned in clause 3 Article 30 of this Decree;

d) Receive and handle propositions put forward by the investment project owner about the trial operation of waste treatment works and instruct the project owner to remediate pollution and environmental emergency (if any) during the trial operation.

11. The report on results of trial operation of waste treatment works of the projects specified in clause 4 Article 46 of the LEP shall be made using the form in the Appendix XV hereof.

12. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall promulgate forms of documents relating to trial operation of waste treatment works prescribed in this Decree except for the case specified in clause 11 of this Article.

Article 32. Subjects exempt from environmental registration

1. Investment projects and businesses mentioned in point a clause 2 Article 49 of the LEP.

2. An investment project in case where it is put into operation and the business that does not generate waste or only generates less than 300 kg of domestic solid waste per day which is managed in accordance with the regulations laid down by the local government; or generates less than 05 m³ of wastewater per day or less than 50 m³ of emissions per hour which is treated using an in situ treatment work or equipment or managed in accordance with the regulations laid down by the local government.

3. List of investment projects and businesses exempt from environmental registration specified in the Appendix XVI hereof.