Circular No. 34/2013/TT-BTNMT on the submission, receipt, storage, preservation, and provision of environmental data

CIRCULAR

Regulations on submission, receipt, storage, preservation, and provision of environmental data;

Environmental data provision;g

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Pursuant to the Environmental Protection Law 2005;

Based on the Law on Archives 2011;

Based on Decree No. 80/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 9, 2006, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 102/2008/NĐ-CP, September 15, 2008, on the collection, management, exploitation, and utilization of data on natural resources and the environment;

Pursuant to Decree No. 21/2013/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2013, promulgated by the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

Upon the proposal of the Director General of the Department of Environment and the Head of the Legal Department;

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment issues this Circular to regulate the submission, receipt, storage, preservation, and provision of environmental data;

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular regulates the submission, receipt, storage, preservation, and provision of environmental data;

2. This Circular does not regulate the submission, receipt, storage, preservation, and provision of data related to genetically modified organisms and environmental monitoring data;

3. Environmental data classified as state secrets shall be implemented in accordance with the laws on state secrets;

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals submitting, receiving, storing, preserving, and providing environmental data;

Chapter II

SUBMISSION AND RECEIPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Article 3. Environmental Data

1. Environmental data includes:

a) Results from environmental investigations, surveys, inspections, and checks;

b) Results from programs, projects, tasks, and scientific research topics on the environment;

c) Results from national target programs on sustainable resource use and environmental protection;

d) Activities of international cooperation projects on the environment;

đ) Reports on the current environmental status at various levels (national, sectoral, field, local);

e) Lists of biodiversity conservation sites, natural reserves; lists of wild species, endangered species, extinct species in nature, endemic species, migratory species, alien species, invasive alien species, rare and precious species prioritized for protection, species listed in the Red Book of Vietnam;

g) Reports on comprehensive biodiversity conservation planning, ecosystem safety (land-based, aquatic), and biosafety;

h) Strategic environmental assessment reports, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection plans, and environmental protection commitments;

i) Reports on pollutant sources, waste quantities, pollution sources, general waste, hazardous waste posing risks to the environment; results of environmental remediation and restoration activities in mineral extraction operations: current environmental conditions at mining sites; current environmental conditions at chemical pesticide residue pollution points; projects for treating and restoring environments contaminated by chemical pesticide residues;

k) Reports on the situation of imported waste materials for production, payment of environmental protection fees; results of resolving environmental damage compensation, disputes, complaints, and accusations resolved by competent state authorities;

l) Reports on areas affected by pollution, sensitivity, degradation, environmental incidents; areas at risk of environmental incidents; pollution maps and measures for control, prevention, and reduction of environmental pollution;

m) Lists of serious pollution sources; lists and situations of environmental protection in craft villages, economic zones, industrial parks, export processing zones, and industrial clusters;

n) Results of river basin, coastal, and marine environmental management; cross-border environmental pollution;

o) Results of waste, exhaust gas, wastewater, noise, vibration treatment, and other environmental technologies;

p) Results of community environmental awareness training and communication enhancement;

2. An environmental database is a systematic and organized collection of environmental data as specified in Clause 1 of this Article that has been reviewed, evaluated, processed, integrated, and stored in digital files on information systems, storage devices, and information carriers such as computer hard drives, magnetic tapes, CDs, DVDs, or documents built, updated, and maintained, including:

a) The National Environmental Database managed by the General Department of Environment under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

b) Sectoral Environmental Databases managed by Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies;

c) Local Environmental Databases managed by People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter referred to as Provincial People's Committees).

Article 4. Submission of Environmental Data

1. Organizations and individuals performing tasks related to the environmental field using state budget funds for environmental public services, economic public services, scientific and technological public services (or originating from the state budget) shall, within three (03) months from the date of completion and acceptance of the task, be responsible for submitting one (01) set of environmental data as specified in Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular (in paper and digital form) to the environmental data management agency as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular.

2. Submitted environmental data must have a source that has been approved or confirmed as lawful and valuable by the competent authority.

Article 5. Environmental Data Management Agency

1. The Environmental Information and Documentation Center under the General Department of Environment shall perform the following tasks:

a) Collecting environmental data as specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular from organizations and individuals under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

b) Collecting environmental data provided by Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and Provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment according to Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article;

c) Storing, preserving, and providing environmental data in accordance with regulations;

d) Assisting the General Department of Environment in guiding and inspecting the submission, collection, storage, preservation, and provision of environmental data as stipulated in this Circular; building reports on the collection, storage, preservation, and provision of environmental data provided by Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and Provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment to serve the construction of the national environmental database;

e) Annually reviewing environmental data and reporting to the General Department of Environment for the Minister's consideration and appropriate revision and supplementation.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies shall assign units to manage sectoral environmental data and issue written notifications to the General Department of Environment for their knowledge and coordination in implementation. These units shall perform the following tasks:

a) Collecting sectoral environmental data as specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular from organizations and individuals under Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies;

b) Organizing the storage, preservation, utilization, and provision of environmental data within the scope of their management;

c) Regularly submitting annual reports on the work of collecting, storing, preserving, and providing sectoral environmental data managed by their unit to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (through the General Department of Environment) to serve the construction of the national environmental database;

d) Guiding and inspecting the implementation of the contents stipulated in Points a, b, and c of Clause 2 of this Article.

3. Provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for assisting provincial People's Committees in performing the following tasks:

a) Collecting local environmental data as specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular from organizations and individuals under provincial People's Committees;

b) Organizing the storage, preservation, utilization, and provision of local environmental data;

c) Regularly submitting annual reports on the work of collecting, storing, preserving, and providing local environmental data managed by their locality to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (through the General Department of Environment) to serve the construction of the national environmental database;

d) Guiding and inspecting the implementation of the contents stipulated in Points a, b, and c of Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 6. Environmental Data Collection

1. Organizations and individuals submitting environmental data (hereinafter referred to as the submitting party) shall notify the submission of environmental data to the environmental data management agency as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular (hereinafter referred to as the receiving party).

2. Upon receipt of the notification of submission of environmental data, the receiving party shall develop a detailed plan for receiving the notified environmental data and inform the submitting party. The plan includes the following contents: time, location, method of submission and receipt, storage warehouse, receiving equipment and means, and other related contents.

3. The submitting party shall prepare a submission file of environmental data and send it to the receiving party. The file includes:

a) Original copies of various types of submitted environmental data (with officially confirmed sources) and final products of projects, tasks, and research topics;

b) One (01) Summary Report on the submitted environmental data according to the form prescribed in Appendix No. 01 of this Circular;

c) One (01) copy of the Acceptance File according to the regulations of the competent authority (if any);

d) One (01) Statistical Table of the List of Submitted Environmental Data according to the form prescribed in Appendix No. 02 of this Circular.

4. The receiving party shall check and reconcile the list and quantity of data and issue a Receipt for Submission of Environmental Data according to the form prescribed in Appendix No. 03 of this Circular to be transferred to the submitting party.

5. The receiving party shall conduct a review of the submitted environmental data and prepare a Record of Review Opinions on Submitted Environmental Data according to the form prescribed in Appendix No. 04 of this Circular. The content of the review of submitted environmental data includes:

a) Checking the completeness and validity of the submitted data based on the results approved, published, or recognized by the competent authority;

b) Checking the consistency between paper-based and electronic versions of the data;

c) Checking the format and specifications of the submitted data.

In cases where the submitted data does not meet the requirements as prescribed, the Record of Review Opinions on Submitted Environmental Data must clearly state the requirements for corrections and improvements. In case of disagreement between the submitting party and the receiving party, the environmental data receiving agency shall have the responsibility to report to the competent authority for consideration and resolution.

6. Within a maximum period of ten working days from the date of receiving environmental data, the receiving party shall complete the review according to the content specified in Clause 5 of this Article and issue a Confirmation Certificate for Submission of Environmental Data to organizations and individuals who have submitted the data. In cases where a Confirmation Certificate is not issued, the data receiving agency shall provide a written response stating the reasons. The form of the Confirmation Certificate for Submission of Environmental Data is prescribed in Appendix No. 05 of this Circular.

Article 7. Responsibilities and Authorities of Organizations and Individuals Submitting Environmental Data

1. Organizations and individuals submitting environmental data shall be issued a Confirmation Certificate for Submission of Environmental Data. The Confirmation Certificate for Submission of Environmental Data has value to confirm the completion of tasks related to the environmental field using budget funds as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular.

2. Timely notify the environmental data management agency of any errors in the submitted data.

Chapter III

STORAGE, PRESERVATION AND PROVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Article 8. Principles for storage and preservation

1. The storage and preservation of environmental data shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on storage, technical procedures, and economic-technical norms for environmental materials as stipulated in Circular No. 42/2011/TT-BTNMT dated December 12, 2011 issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment regarding technical procedures and economic-technical norms for environmental materials.

2. The storage facility must have all necessary equipment and means as prescribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs for specialized storage facilities.

3. Storage and preservation must meet the requirements of completeness, original condition, safety, and ease of retrieval and use.

4. Environmental data may not be lost during the storage process and must not be handled contrary to the provisions of the law.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the environmental data management agency

1. Conduct annual inspections, statistics on the quantity and quality of stored and preserved data.

2. Classify data based on their usage value and quality; damaged data must be promptly identified to plan for restoration.

3. Annually report to the competent authority on the retention and preservation of environmental data.

Article 10. Retention Period for Data Preservation

1. The retention period for data is established for each type of data according to the current laws on storage and Circular No. 11/2013/TT-BTNMT dated May 28, 2013 issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the retention period for specialized resource and environmental files and documents.

2. The environmental data management agency is responsible for compiling types of data that have lost their usage value and submitting them to the competent authority for consideration and decision on data destruction.

Article 11. Provision of Environmental Data

1. The environmental data management agency is responsible for providing and confirming the provided data for its intended use.

2. The provision of environmental data shall be carried out in accordance with Chapter IV of Circular No. 07/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 10, 2009 issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment detailing the implementation of certain articles of Decree No. 102/2008/NĐ-CP dated September 15, 2008 of the Government on the collection, management, exploitation, and use of data on natural resources and the environment.

3. The environmental data management agency has the right to refuse requests for data provision if they do not comply with the provisions of this Circular and other relevant laws.

4. Forms of environmental data provision: through the Internet, electronic pages specified by the data management agency, via request letters, or by service contracts as prescribed by law.

5. Procedure for providing environmental data through request letters:

a) Organizations and individuals requiring the exploitation and use of environmental data (referred to as the requesting party) submit a request letter for environmental data provision to the environmental data management agency (referred to as the providing party). The request letter follows the model specified in Appendix 06 of this Circular;

b) The providing party receives and processes the request letter. If the request letter complies with regulations, the providing party guides the requesting party to conduct detailed data searches and selections;

c) In cases where organizations and individuals' requests for environmental data are valid, the providing party implements the provision of data to the requesting party. The providing party prepares the environmental data for handover to the requesting party, with the data provision deadline agreed upon by both parties. If refused, the providing party must provide a written response stating the reasons;

d) During the exploitation and use of environmental data, it is not allowed to copy or transfer the data to third parties except when such actions are stipulated in the contract or agreement with the providing party.

6. The provision of environmental data between the environmental data management agency and organizations or individuals requiring copies or reproductions of environmental data shall be conducted in accordance with the Civil Code through service contracts.

Article 12. Budget for providing, exploiting, and using environmental data

1. The provision, exploitation, and use of environmental data shall be carried out with state budget funds or from sources derived from the state budget to serve the direct requirements of Party and State leadership without the need to fulfill financial obligations.

2. Organizations and individuals who have the need to exploit and use environmental data not falling under the cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall bear the responsibility to fulfill financial obligations in accordance with current laws.

Article 13. Publication of Environmental Data Catalogs

1. Annually, the General Department of Environment updates and compiles the Catalog of environmental data to be published, submits it for approval by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and publishes it on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's and the General Department of Environment's electronic information websites.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies publish sectoral environmental data catalogs; provincial People's Committees publish local environmental data catalogs.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and provincial People's Committees are responsible for the environmental data catalogs they publish.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from December 15, 2013.

Article 15. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Director of the General Department of Environment is responsible for guiding, inspecting, monitoring, and urging the implementation of this Circular.

1. This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2019.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and resolution./.