Chương 1 Nghị định 88/2007/NĐ-CP: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Governing scope and subjects of application

1. This Decree provides for water drainage activities in urban centers and industrial parks, economic zones, export processing zones, hi-tech parks (below referred to as industrial parks for short); rights and obligations of organizations, individuals and households involved in water drainage activities in the Vietnamese territory. For rural population quarters where conditions permit the construction of concentrated water drainage systems, the application of this Decree is encouraged.

2. This Decree applies to Vietnamese organizations, individuals and households, and foreign organizations and individuals that are involved in water drainage activities in the Vietnamese territory.

3. Where treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party contain provisions different from those of this Decree, the provisions of those treaties prevail.

Article 2.- Interpretations of terms

1. Water drainage activities are those related to water drainage, including planning, designing consultancy, construction investment, management, operation, exploitation and use of water drainage systems.

2. Water drainage service means activities of managing and operating according to law water drainage systems in order to satisfy the rain water and wastewater drainage and wastewater-treatment requirements of those that have demands for water drainage.

3. Water drainage charges means environmental protection charges for waste water applicable to urban centers and industrial parks with concentrated water drainage systems. Water drainage charges are set by People’s Committees of provinces or centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level People’s Committees for short) after they are submitted to People’s Councils of the same level for passage with a view to incrementally maintaining and developing water drainage services in localities.

4. Water drainage units mean organizations or individuals that provide water drainage services under contracts on management and operation of water drainage systems.

5. Water drainage households cover households, non-business administrative units, establishments providing services on discharge of rain water or wastewater into a water drainage system.

6. Individual water drainage households mean those that discharge rain water and waste water directly into the environment.

7. Wastewater means water whose characters and nature have altered due to the use thereof or to human activities discharged into a water drainage system or the environment.

8. Daily-life waste water means water discharged from humans’ daily-life activities such as eating and drinking, bathing and washing, personal hygiene.

9. Other wastewater means used water other than daily-life wastewater.

10. Water drainage systems include networks of culverts, water-collecting and -conducting canals, regulating lakes, key works (pump stations, treatment plants, and sluice gates) and other support facilities, aiming to collect, conduct and drain rain water, waste water and treat waste water. Water drainage systems are classified into the following types:

a/ Common water drainage systems, which are systems assorted wastewater and rain water are collected into the same systems;

b/ Separate water drainage systems, which are separate systems for rain water drainage or waste-water drainage;

c/ Semi-separate water drainage systems, which are common water drainage systems with surrounding culvert lines for separation and carriage of wastewater to treatment plants.

11. Rain water drainage systems include networks of culverts, rain water-collecting and -conducting, regulating lakes, key works (pump stations, sluice gates...) and other support facilities for rain water collection and drainage.

12. Wastewater drainage systems include networks of culverts, wastewater-collecting and -conducting, regulating lakes, key works (pump stations, treatment plants, sluice gates,...) and other support facilities for collection, drainage and treatment of waste water.

13. Surrounding culverts mean main culvert lines with wastewater-separating wells to gather the entire wastewater, when there is no rain, and part of wastewater which is mixed, when there is rain, in common water drainage systems from different basins and carried to pump stations or waste water treatment plants.

14. Systems of regulating lakes include natural or artificial lakes to receive water and regulate water drainage for water drainage systems.

15. Connection points mean water discharge points of households for draining water into a water drainage system.

16. Discharge, points mean places of a water drainage system or individual water drainage households where water is discharged into the environment.

17. Water drainage basins mean certain areas where rain water or waste water is collected and carried to one or a number of points for discharge into receiving sources.

18. Receiving sources means parts of the environment, including sources of constantly or periodically flowing water such as ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, canals, groundwater, sea.

19. COD means the chemical oxygen demand for oxidization of chemicals existing in water.

Article 3.- Policies on investment in development of water drainage

1. Water drainage service is categorized as public-utility activity which is given attention and investment priority by the State in order to increasingly raise its efficiency and service quality, ensure sustainable development and meet socio-economic development demands.

2. All economic sectors and social communities are encouraged to participate in investment development and management of water drainage activities.

Article 4.- Responsibility for state management of water drainage activities

1. The State performs the unified state management of water drainage activities in the Vietnamese territory; promulgates, and directs the implementation of, strategies and orientations on water drainage development at the national level.

2. The Ministry of Construction is responsible for performing the state management of water drainage in urban centers and industrial parks nationwide:

a/ To study and formulate water drainage mechanisms and policies and submit them to the Prime Minister for promulgation or promulgate them according to competence;

b/ To formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation and organize the implementation of, national programs and plans on water drainage development;

c/ To promulgate regulations, standards and techno-economic norms on water drainage;

d/ To guide, direct and inspect water drainage activities nationwide.

3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for performing the state management of environmental protection and pollution control in water drainage activities.

4. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for performing state management of exploitation and protection of irrigation works; grants and revokes permits for wastewater discharge into irrigation works.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment:

a/ To balance the demands for investment capital from state budget sources under water drainage development programs and plans already approved by the Prime Minister;

b/ To study and formulate mechanisms and policies to encourage and mobilize domestic and foreign capital sources for investment in water drainage works;

c/ To act as a coordinator in mobilizing ODA capital sources for investment in water drainage development according to the priority order already approved by the Prime Minister.

6. The Ministry of Finance:

a/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in balancing investment capital from state budget sources and to study and formulate mechanisms and financial policies to encourage and mobilize sources of domestic and foreign capital for investment in water drainage development;

b/ To perform the unified financial management of ODA capital sources for investment in water drainage development;

c/ To coordinate with the Construction Ministry in guiding, inspecting and supervising the collection and use of water drainage charges nationwide.

7. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, coordinate with the Construction Ministry in performing the state management of urban and industrial-park water drainage.

8. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, perform the state management of water drainage activities in areas under their management; define the functions and tasks of, and decentralize the management of water drainage activities to, professional agencies and People’s Committees at lower levels Construction Services of provinces and Transport and Public Works Services of centrally run cities shall act as professional bodies to advise and assist provincial-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of water drainage in their localities.

9. People’s Committees of urban centers shall organize the formulation of plannings on, and investment in, construction of water drainage systems and organize the provision of water drainage services in areas under their management suitable to the community development and participate in regional plannings on water drainage, select units for management and operation thereof, conclude contracts and supervise the performance thereof.

Article 5.- Principles of combining water drainage works with other technical infrastructure works

1. The planning blueprints and investment projects on other technical infrastructure works (traffic, irrigation,..) must ensure their synchronism with the related urban and industrial-park water drainage systems and be considered and consented in writing by local water drainage management bodies before they are submitted to competent authorities for approval.

2. When renovating, expanding or building technical infrastructure works, especially traffic works related to urban and industrial-park water drainage systems, investors shall formulate schemes to ensure normal water drainage and renovate, restore or build synchronous related water drainage items according to planning.

3. Local water drainage state management bodies and water drainage units assigned to manage and operate water drainage systems have the rights and obligations to participate in overseeing the process of building water drainage items of investment projects on construction of relevant technical infrastructure works. Water drainage units may refuse to accept water drainage works if their construction quality fails to reach prescribed standards.

Article 6.- Provisions on wastewater standards

1. Wastewater discharged from urban and industrial-park water drainage systems and individual water drainage households into receiving sources must meet the environmental standards set by competent state bodies. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall promulgate standards of waste water discharged into receiving sources.

2. Wastewater discharged from water drainage households into urban and industrial-park water drainage systems must meet the standards of waste­water discharged into water drainage systems, which are set by competent state bodies. The Construction Ministry shall promulgate standards of wastewater discharged into urban and industrial-park water drainage systems.

Article 7.- Management of systems of points where wastewater is discharged into the environment

1. The discharge of wastewater into receiving sources must comply with the provisions of law on protection of the environment and water resources, exploitation and protection of irrigation works and relevant legal documents.

2. The design and construction of discharge points must ensure anti-reinfiltration from receiving sources and urban flooding.

3. The discharge of wastewater into receiving sources is uniformly managed according to domains. Provincial-level People's Committees shall define the decentralization of, and key bodies for, the unified management of discharge points, supervise the wastewater quality of water drainage systems and individual water drainage households in their provinces according to receiving source basins and coordinate with relevant localities in organizing the management of discharge points, quality of wastewater discharged into regional basin-based receiving sources according to the provisions of law on environmental protection.

Article 8.- Management of water drainage-related elevations

1. Management of urban foundation elevations

a/ Urban foundation elevations are determined in construction planning blueprints according to the national standard elevation system and must meet the requirements of rain water and waste water drainage requirements and approved by competent authorities;

b/ Construction planning management agencies according to decentralization shall manage and supply information on urban foundation elevations to organizations and individuals at their request;

c/ Organizations and individuals investing in the construction of works must abide by the supplied urban foundation elevations;

d/ Agencies competent to appraise base designs or grant construction permits at all levels shall examine the compatibility between designed construction elevations and urban foundation elevations.

2. Management of elevations of water drainage systems:

Water drainage units have the responsibilities:

a/ To determine and manage the water levels of regulating lakes, water drainage canals with a view to ensure the maximum capacity to drain and regulate rain water, combat flooding and protect the environment;

b/ To manage the elevations of main culverts and waste water and rain water collection culverts;

c/ To supply elevations of water drainage systems for organizations and individuals at their request.

3. Agencies or units assigned to manage rivers, lakes or canals related to urban water drainage shall coordinate with water drainage units in meeting the elevation requirements in order to drain water and combat urban floods.

Article 9.- Participation of communities

1. To oversee the construction investment, management and operation of water drainage systems.

2. To detect, prevent and propose competent bodies to handle law violations in water drainage activities.

Article 10.- Propagation, dissemination and education of the law on water drainage

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, People’s Committees at all levels and water drainage units shall, within the ambit of their responsibilities, coordinate with mass media agencies, associations, mass organizations and schools ill popularizing, educating and guiding people to protect water drainage works and abide by legal provisions on water drainage.

2. Political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political and professional organizations shall, within the ambit of their responsibilities, coordinate with state management agencies in charge of water drainage in propagating and mobilizing people to strictly abide by legal provisions on water drainage.

Article 11.- Prohibited acts

1. Destroying works of water drainage systems.

2. Violating regulations on protection of water drainage systems.

3. Obstructing the examination and inspection of water drainage activities.

4. Declining to comply with regulations on construction foundation elevations when building, renovating or upgrading urban works.

5. Discharging rain water, wastewater which is not up to the quality standards of waste water discharged into water drainage systems or receiving sources.

6. Discharging substances other than wastewater, rain water into water drainage systems.

7. Diluting waste water to achieve wastewater quality standards or transferring pollution volume to other environments such as air and soil.

8. Making connections with water drainage systems without permission or in contravention of agreement

9. Supplying untruthful information, thus affecting the lawful rights and interests of other organizations or individuals in water drainage activities.

10. Abusing positions and powers to cause troubles to or harass for bribes other organizations or individuals in water drainage activities.

11. Other acts against the law on water drainage.