Circular No. 36/2011/TT-BTNMT amending and supplementing regulations on granting permits for drilling underground water activities issued pursuant to Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT dated October 12, 2006 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing provisions on issuing permits for groundwater drilling activities promulgated together with

Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT dated October 12, 2006 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment

________________________

MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

Pursuant to the Water Resources Law dated May 20, 1998;

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 56/NQ-CP dated December 15, 2010 of the Government on the Plan to Simplify Administrative Procedures (AP) within the scope of management functions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

At the proposal of the Director of the Water Resources Management Department and the Head of the Legal Department,

c) Enterprises may be granted permission for no more than one block out of the total three dual-frequency blocks (FDD) B

Article 1. Amending and supplementing the contents of some articles of the Provisions on Issuing Permits for Groundwater Drilling Activities promulgated together with Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT dated October 12, 2006 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT) as follows:

1. Amending and supplementing Point a, Clause 2, Article 6

“a) For small-scale groundwater drilling activities:

- Having a good level of expertise with a diploma or higher in geology, hydrogeology, drilling, and at least two (02) years of experience in the field of drilling activities; or a drilling worker with skill level 3/7 or equivalent and at least four (04) years of experience in the field of drilling activities;

- Directly participating in designing, preparing reports, or conducting drilling of at least five (05) exploration and exploitation projects of groundwater.”

2. Amending and supplementing Article 13

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 1:

“1. Submitting application documents:

Organizations and individuals applying for a permit for groundwater drilling activities shall submit two (02) sets of application documents directly or send them via postal service to the agency responsible for handling the application; sending one (01) set of application documents to the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the organization or individual has registered their permanent address if the agency responsible for handling the application is the Water Resources Management Department. The application documents include:

a) Application form for a permit for groundwater drilling activities (according to Model No. 01a-M issued together with this Circular);

b) Decision on establishment of the organization or business registration certificate of the organization or individual applying for the permit (certified copy or photocopied copy with confirmation from the issuing authority; if only a photocopied copy is available, the original must be provided for verification);

c) Academic certificates and professional certificates of the person primarily responsible for technical matters (certified copy or photocopied copy with confirmation from the issuing authority; if only a photocopied copy is available, the original must be provided for verification) and labor contract for organizations or individuals who have contracted with the person primarily responsible for technical matters;

d) Technical professional experience report of the person primarily responsible for technical matters of the organization or individual applying for the permit (according to Model No. 01c issued together with Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT).”

b) Amending and supplementing Clause 4:

“4. Permit decision:

Within three (03) working days from the date of receipt of the application documents, the competent authority shall decide to issue a permit for drilling activities (according to Model No. 01d and Model No. 01đ issued together with Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT); in case of refusal to issue the permit, a written notification specifying the reasons must be sent to the organization or individual applying for the permit so that the agency responsible for handling the application can return the documents.

The issued permit shall be delivered directly to the organization or individual applying for the permit at the agency responsible for handling the application or sent via postal service.”

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Article 14

“1. Submitting application documents:

Organizations and individuals applying for extension or modification of the content of a permit for groundwater drilling activities shall submit two (02) sets of application documents directly or send them via postal service to the agency responsible for handling the application; sending one (01) set of application documents to the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the organization or individual has registered their permanent address if the agency responsible for handling the application is the Water Resources Management Department. The application documents include:

a) Application form for extension or modification of the content of a permit for groundwater drilling activities (according to Model No. 02a-M issued together with this Circular);

b) A copy of the previously issued license;

c) Summary table of drilling exploration and exploitation projects of groundwater carried out during the period of using the issued permit (according to Model No. 02b issued together with Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT);

d) In cases where an extension of the permit is requested and there is a change in the person primarily responsible for technical matters, in addition to the documents specified in Points a, b, and c of this clause, the application for extension of the permit shall also include:

- Academic certificates and professional certificates of the person primarily responsible for technical matters (certified copy or photocopied copy with confirmation from the issuing authority; if only a photocopied copy is available, the original must be provided for verification) and labor contract for organizations or individuals who have contracted with the person primarily responsible for technical matters;

- Technical professional experience report (according to Model No. 01c issued together with Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT) of the person primarily responsible for technical matters.”

4. Supplementing Point c, Clause 2, Article 15

“c) The time limit for deciding to reissue the permit and the method of delivering the permit shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 13 of Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT dated October 12, 2006 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment which has been amended and supplemented.”

Article 2. Abolishing and replacing some application forms of the Provisions on Issuing Permits for Groundwater Drilling Activities promulgated together with Decision No. 17/2006/QĐ-BTNMT dated October 12, 2006 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment as follows:

1. Abolishing Model No. 01b;

2. Replacing Model No. 01a with Model No. 1a-M issued together with this Circular;

3. Replacing Model No. 02a with Model 2a-M issued together with this Circular.

Article 3. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from November 1, 2011.

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