Vietnam - Mining companies forced to bear responsibility for environment protection

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE), which is compiling the new regulations on the environment restoration after mining activities, has stated that mining enterprises must bear the responsibility for environment protection.

Hoang Duong Tung, Deputy General Director of the Environment Directorate of MONRE, said when opening the draft regulation to the public that the legal document needs to be built up in the way, so that mining enterprises cannot reject their responsibilities in protecting the environment.

Duong said the drafted regulation would clearly stipulate the miners’ responsibilities and the benefits of the miners in association with their responsibilities in the environment protection.

The draft document says individuals and institutions who develop new mining projects must submit to competent agencies, the plans to improve and restore the environment together with the reports on possible environmental impacts.

In case an enterprise has got approved environment improvement plan, but it wants to extend the exploitation, increase the capacity, it would still have to submit a new plan on environment improvement.

The currently applied Decision 71 stipulates that investors pay deposit for the environment protection for every project. Meanwhile, in fact, this may happen that one investor carries out many projects, or one project are implemented by many investors.

Therefore, the draft regulation has clarified that all the institutions and individuals getting involved in the mineral exploitation activities in the Vietnamese territory, and all institutions and individuals licensed to exploit minerals, must submit the plan to restore the environment to competent agencies.

Dau tu has quoted its sources as saying that the draft regulation, if approved, would have very big impacts on mining enterprises. However, to date, not many enterprises have heard about the content of the draft.

Vu Tien Trien, a senior executive of the Thai Nguyen Steel Corporation, said on the newspaper that he has not received any copy of the draft.

Trien complained that though the enterprise always fulfills the duty of paying deposit for the environment protection as required by the laws, but it always meets difficulties in getting the deposit backs after the environment improvement works finish.

According to Tung, the enterprises violating the laws, would be forced to halt the exploitation, or, in the worst case, would have the license revoked.

Tin tuc has reported that the Tuyen Quang provincial people’s committee has released the decision to revoke the license granted before to T&T Trade and Technology Investment Company, because the company did not follow the provisions in the license and caused serious pollution to the environment.

This is the first gold mining company in Tuyen Quang province since 2005 that had its licensed revoked and has to close the mine.

T&T not only broke the commitments relating to the project implementation, but also spontaneously adjusted the environment treatment works, and used chemicals without permission.

Scientists recently have repeatedly called on watchdog agencies to require higher responsibilities of mining enterprises in the environment protection. There are 50 mines and mining areas nationwide with 40 kinds of minerals being exploited by 2000 enterprises. The rapid increase in the number of mining enterprises and the exploitation output has raised the big worries about the devastation to the environment in the future.

Compiled by C. V

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