Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BXD guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Government Decree No. 80/2014/NĐ-CP dated August 6, 2014 on drainage and wastewater treatment.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 80/2014/NĐ-CP dated August 6, 2014 of the Government on Drainage and Wastewater Treatment

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 80/2014/NĐ-CP dated August 6, 2014 on Drainage and Wastewater Treatment;

Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2013/NĐ-CP dated June 25, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

At the proposal of the Director of the Technical Infrastructure Department;

The Minister of Construction issues this Circular guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 80/2014/NĐ-CP dated August 6, 2014 of the Government on Drainage and Wastewater Treatment,

Article 1. Management of Non-Centralized Wastewater Treatment

1. The application objects of non-centralized wastewater treatment solutions must comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 23 of Decree No. 80/2014/NĐ-CP dated August 6, 2014 of the Government on Drainage and Wastewater Treatment.

2. Non-centralized wastewater treatment solutions:

a) On-site decentralized wastewater treatment: usually applied to individual drainage units with a total wastewater volume of less than 50m³/day-night, the wastewater treatment equipment/plant is located within the premises of the drainage unit;

b) Cluster-based decentralized wastewater treatment: usually applied to drainage units located close to each other with a total wastewater volume from 50m³/day-night to 200m³/day-night. Depending on specific conditions, the wastewater treatment plant may be located within the premises of one drainage unit or at a separate location convenient for collecting wastewater from the drainage units;

c) Area-based decentralized wastewater treatment: usually applied within a defined administrative boundary with a total wastewater volume from 200m³/day-night to 1000m³/day-night, the location of the wastewater treatment plant/facility according to the approved urban planning or drainage planning by the competent authority.

The People's Committee of the province shall base its decision on the source of discharge, receiving water body, economic conditions, topography, management capacity, and operational capacity of the drainage system in the locality to select appropriate non-centralized wastewater treatment solutions.

3. Criteria for Selecting Technology for Non-Centralized Wastewater Treatment

a) Capacity of the wastewater treatment plant/facility;

b) Composition and characteristics of the generated wastewater, degree of pollution, receiving water body's carrying capacity, discharge point of treated wastewater from the source of discharge;

c) Energy consumption required for collection and treatment;

d) Requirements according to technical standards and regulations on the quality of treated wastewater;

đ) Technical, financial conditions, and management and operation capacity of the wastewater treatment plant/facility;

e) Climatic, topographic, geological, and hydrogeological conditions;

g) Potential for expansion or increase in capacity and connection to centralized wastewater treatment systems in the future;

h) Other environmental factors related.

4. Technologies Applied for Non-Centralized Wastewater Treatment:

a) Septic tank;

b) Anaerobic filter with partition;

c) Improved septic tank with partition and upflow anaerobic filter;

d) Anaerobic pond, anaerobic-aerobic pond, stabilization pond;

đ) Constructed wetland;

e) Batch reactor;

g) Other technologies.

5. The Project Investor for the Drainage System bases their decision on urban planning or drainage planning, and specific local conditions to choose appropriate non-centralized wastewater treatment technology.

Article 2. Management of sludge from drainage systems

1. Methods for treating sludge from drainage systems:

a) Treating sludge at wastewater treatment stations/plants that have sludge treatment areas within the plant's premises;

b) Treating sludge at designated sludge treatment areas or solid waste disposal facilities according to approved planning schemes.

Drainage units shall base their selection of sludge treatment methods on the volume of sludge to be treated, the location of the treatment area/disposal facility, treatment technology, and local economic-technical conditions.

2. Sludge treatment from drainage systems includes the following contents:

a) Preliminary water separation, stabilization of sludge, removal of easily decomposing organic substances;

b) Initial sludge treatment, enhancing sludge's water release capacity;

c) Drying sludge;

d) Transporting sludge, detoxifying sludge;

đ) Reusing sludge for various purposes;

e) Treating sludge and sludge water to meet technical standards.

3. Technologies applied for sludge treatment:

a) Landfilling;

b) Anaerobic digestion with biogas recovery;

c) Biological stabilization in reservoirs and planted filter beds;

d) Composting;

đ) Direct or indirect drying of sludge;

e) Sludge incineration, energy regeneration, and utilization of ash;

g) Other technologies.

Investors shall select appropriate sludge treatment technologies based on sludge composition and properties, economic, technical, environmental conditions, and specific local conditions.

4. Reuse of treated sludge must:

a) Be based on the actual needs of products derived from sludge materials;

b) Consider different purposes, ensuring relevant technical standards for products made from sludge materials;

c) Determine the proportion of sludge usage according to its purpose, environmental soil standards, heavy metal content in soil, annual residual metal ratio, pollution limit values of sludge, quantity and nutrient composition absorbed by crops.

5. The quality of treated sludge must comply with related technical standards including:

a) Odor regulations;

b) Physical and chemical index and nutritional requirements (pH, water content, total nutrient content and organic substances, phosphorus, potassium);

c) Safety criteria according to pollution limit values and hygiene safety;

d) Heavy metal concentration limits in sludge (total chromium, arsenic, nickel, zinc, copper, mercury, cadmium, alkali...) and organic pollutants;

đ) Hygiene safety criteria according to pathogen limit values during sludge use;

e) Sampling, testing, and monitoring regulations.

6. Criteria for selecting sites for using treated sludge:

a) Terrain criteria: Favorable terrain conditions, avoiding high slope areas, erosion-prone zones, and implementing appropriate erosion control measures while preventing surrounding recontamination during rainy days;

b) Soil criteria: Suitable soil types for sludge application such as clay soils, low to moderate permeability soils, neutral or alkaline soils, well-draining soils...;

c) Groundwater level criteria: Data on groundwater levels by season to avoid sludge causing groundwater contamination;

d) Ensuring safe environmental distances from residential buildings, water supply structures, and other facilities according to current technical standards.

7. Responsibilities of drainage units for managing sludge from drainage systems:

a) Must collect, transport, and treat sludge from drainage systems under their management;

b) Establish records for managing sludge from drainage systems. Basic record contents include:

Layout of drainage systems and locations of key structures;

Plans for dredging and collecting sludge;

Scheduled dredging and collection of sludge according to periodic plans;

Volume of sludge dredged, collected, transported, and treated along each sewer line, canal, and at key structures according to corresponding periods;

Costs for collecting, transporting, and treating sludge.

c) Develop and implement plans for collecting, transporting, and treating sludge as stipulated and according to management operation contracts signed with system owners;

d) Survey and assess the demand and potential for using treated sludge, develop plans for using treated sludge for owner approval;

đ) Coordinate with related units to implement approved plans.

8. Responsibilities of drainage system owners for managing sludge:

a) Organize direction, management, and supervision of activities related to sludge collection, transportation, treatment, and reuse in accordance with regulations;

b) Organize review and approval of plans for using treated sludge (expanding and utilizing treated sludge) suitable for local conditions;

c) Organize reviews and assessments of environmental impacts and effects of using treated sludge;

d) Organize reviews of treated sludge usage standards submitted to competent authorities for supplementation and adjustment;

đ) Propose or establish specific support mechanisms and policies for investment in construction and sludge treatment technology, submitting them to competent authorities for issuance or issuing within their authority.

Article 3. Management of septic tank sludge

1. Requirements for collection and transportation of septic tank sludge:

The means and equipment for suction, collection, and transportation of septic tank sludge must be specialized vehicles permitted to operate according to traffic laws and environmental protection regulations.

2. Responsibilities of units providing services for the collection and transportation of septic tank sludge:

a) Establish customer management files including:

Name of household/unit/number of people;

Address;

Service provision contract;

Size and capacity of the septic tank;

Scheduled septic tank suction schedule;

Other necessary information.

b) Septic tank sludge must be transported to centralized treatment areas that have been planned or locations approved by competent authorities; Encouraging the treatment of septic tank sludge at centralized wastewater treatment plants based on their reception capacity, environmental conditions, and reasonable treatment costs;

c) Costs for suction, transportation, and treatment of septic tank sludge shall be borne by households, administrative agencies, and production and service businesses according to contracts with service providers;

d) Maintain work logs, manage records of septic tank sludge collection and transportation, and report periodically to local state management agencies. They shall be responsible for incidents such as the release or leakage of septic tank sludge causing environmental pollution. Management records of septic tank sludge collection and transportation shall include the following basic contents:

General information about the service provider for collection and transportation;

Number of trips performed daily/monthly/quarterly;

Volume of septic tank sludge suctioned and collected, transported;

Type of septic tanks suctioned and collected (from public sanitation facilities, households, offices...), reasons for suction (blockage, demolition for construction, relocation...);

Discharge location (treatment station, vacant land, designated dumping site...);

Transportation costs, fees;

Other necessary information.

e) Septic tank sludge must be transported using specialized vehicles which meet the following technical safety requirements:

Mechanical and chemical durability during operation;

No leakage or dispersion of sludge or odors into the environment;

Measures to handle incidents during operation.

3. Responsibilities of units treating septic tank sludge:

a) Receive and safely treat septic tank sludge from waste sources and service providers for septic tank sludge collection and transportation based on contracts signed between parties;

b) Maintain periodic records of the volume of septic tank sludge received for treatment. Contents of the management file include:

Basic information about the septic tank sludge treatment unit;

Volume/capacity/number of trucks carrying sludge received;

Quantity of biological agents/chemicals used (if applicable);

Operation log of monitoring systems within the treatment technology chain (including incident handling...);

Volume of solid residue post-treatment.

c) Treatment of septic tank sludge must comply with environmental regulations; all types of exhaust gases, effluents, sludge, ash, and slag must be analyzed and monitored to ensure compliance with prescribed standards.

Article 4. Management and Use of Treated Wastewater

1. The management and use of treated wastewater must aim to conserve water resources, ensure safe usage, meet community health requirements, and maintain environmental sanitation.

2. Treated wastewater is primarily used for the following purposes: agricultural irrigation; watering plants, cleaning roads, washing vehicles; reuse in industry; supplementing water for reservoirs serving recreational purposes; recycling or other purposes. The quality of treated wastewater intended for reuse must comply with national technical standards for water quality corresponding to each purpose and adhere to current regulations.

3. Responsibilities of the owner of drainage works:

a) Organizing direction, developing plans, schemes, and implementing the use of treated wastewater or recycling;

b) Organizing direction to review, assess environmental impacts and effects from the use of treated wastewater; summarizing, evaluating, and drawing lessons from implementation;

c) Organizing monitoring, testing, and periodic analysis of treated wastewater quality in accordance with regulations.

4. Based on current regulations, the People's Committee of the province shall issue mechanisms and policies to provide incentives and support for activities using treated wastewater within its jurisdiction, in line with local conditions; organizing inspections and supervision of the management and use of treated wastewater within their authority.

Article 5. Management and Operation Contracts and Sewage Service Contracts

The model contracts for management and operation and the model sewage service contracts are attached as Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of this Circular.

Article 6. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from May 19, 2015, and replaces Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BXD dated May 21, 2009, issued by the Ministry of Construction detailing certain aspects of Decree No. 88/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2007, of the Government on urban and industrial zone drainage.

2. In case of difficulties or obstacles during implementation, timely feedback should be provided to the Ministry of Construction for research and amendment.