Circular No. 48/2011/TT-BTNMT Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on Management and Protection of the Environment in Economic Zones, High-Tech Zones, Industrial Zones, and Industrial Clusters

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on management and protection of the environment in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and clusters of industrial enterprises.

Pursuant to Decree No. 99/2003/NĐ-CP dated August 28, 2003 of the Government on the issuance of the Regulation on High-Tech Zones;

Pursuant to Decree No. 21/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 28, 2008 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of 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;

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MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

The Prime Minister issues this Decision amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Regulation on Response Activities to Oil Spill Incidents issued together with Decision No. 02/2013/QĐ-TTg dated January 14, 2013 of the Prime Minister.

Pursuant to Decree No. 29/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2008 of the Government on industrial zones, export processing zones, and economic zones;

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, which has been amended and supplemented by Decree No. 19/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2010 of the Government and Decree No. 89/2010/NĐ-CP dated August 16, 2010 of the Government;

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

At the proposal of the General Director of the General Department of Environment, the Head of the Legal Department,

Pursuant to Decree No. 29/2011/NĐ-CP dated April 18, 2011 of the Government on strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment, and environmental protection commitment;

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on management and protection of the environment in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and clusters of industrial enterprises:

"Article 4. Organizations directly responsible for environmental protection in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and clusters of industrial enterprises

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

Article 1. 1. The Management Board of Economic Zones, the Management Board of High-Tech Zones, the Management Board of Industrial Zones, and the Management Agency of Industrial Clusters are organizations responsible for managing environmental protection work in KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs according to their functions and tasks assigned by competent state management agencies.

a) Amending and supplementing Point c Clause 2 as follows:

2. The Management Board of Economic Zones, the Management Board of High-Tech Zones, the Management Board of Industrial Zones, and the Management Agency of Industrial Clusters must have specialized departments and staff responsible for environmental protection in accordance with Decree No. 81/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 23, 2007 of the Government on the organization and specialized departments for environmental protection at state agencies and state-owned enterprises.

3. Investors constructing and operating infrastructure in KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must have specialized departments for environmental protection in accordance with laws on environmental protection.

4. Owners of production, business, and service establishments within KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must arrange staff to monitor environmental protection activities at their establishments; they are responsible for managing the environment within the scope of their establishments."

Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Clause 2 of Article 5 as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended and supplemented as follows: "1. Planning construction in KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must be consistent with regional socio-economic development plans, land use plans of provinces and centrally-administered cities, limit the use of agricultural land, avoid encroaching upon natural conservation areas and national parks, ensure sustainable development and national security.

2. Encouraging the preparation of Strategic Environmental Assessment reports (SEA) for overall development planning of KKTs;"

b) Clause 2 is amended and supplemented as follows: "2. The minimum area for planting trees, flower gardens, and grass within the fence of KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must be 10% of the total area of these zones."

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 2, Clause 4 of Article 6 as follows:

a) Clause 2 is amended and supplemented as follows: "2. When designing planning, locations for temporary storage and transfer of solid waste in KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must be arranged; clearly identify the receiving, transporting, and treating facilities for general and hazardous solid waste from KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs.

In cases where all production, business, and service establishments within KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs are required to enter into contracts with receiving, transporting, and treating facilities for general and hazardous solid waste, there is no need to arrange locations for temporary storage and transfer of solid waste within KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs.

All production, business, and service establishments within KKTs, KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must arrange temporary storage points for solid waste at their premises before transportation for treatment;"

b) Clause 4 is amended and supplemented as follows: "4. KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs must have centralized wastewater treatment plants. Centralized wastewater treatment plants may be divided into several units but must ensure the treatment of all generated wastewater to current environmental technical standards. Investors of centralized wastewater treatment plants must design and install automatic continuous monitoring systems for wastewater flow rates and parameters such as pH, COD, TSS, and other specific parameters in wastewater from KCNCs, KCNs, and CCNs as required by the Decision approving the Environmental Impact Assessment report, before discharging into receiving water bodies. Automatic monitoring stations must meet technical requirements for automatic continuous data transmission to environmental state management agencies when requested. For existing automatic monitoring stations that do not yet meet technical requirements for automatic continuous data transmission, adjustment plans must be made to comply with this requirement."

"Article 7. Responsibilities of investors constructing and operating infrastructure in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and clusters of industrial enterprises

Must prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment report (EIA) or an environmental protection plan in accordance with Decree No. 29/2011/NĐ-CP dated April 18, 2011 of the Government on strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment, and environmental protection commitments."

4. To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

"3. Regarding solid waste management: must implement the contents stipulated in point a, Clause 3 of this Circular and the regulations on solid waste management under the law."

6. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 of Article 10 as follows:

6. Replacing the phrase “Inspection Record Proposal” with the phrase “Application, Inspection Record” at Point b Clause 2 Article 10.

"1. Cooperate with state management agencies on environmental protection to inspect and supervise the implementation of contents in approved environmental impact assessment reports and environmental protection commitment letters during the construction phase of projects."

6. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 10 as follows:

“1. Coordinate with state management agencies on environmental protection to conduct inspections and supervision of the implementation of contents in the environmental impact assessment report and the environmental protection commitment that have been approved and confirmed during the construction phase of projects.”

7. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 12 as follows:

"1. Only consider accepting investment projects that belong to industries described in the environmental impact assessment report of the construction and operation of technical infrastructure in science and technology parks, industrial zones, and clusters, which have been approved by competent state management agencies. For investment projects not belonging to the industries described in the environmental impact assessment report, the Management Board of science and technology parks, industrial zones, and clusters must seek opinions from the state agency that approved the environmental impact assessment report for science and technology parks, industrial zones, and clusters before accepting the investment project."

8. Amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

"Article 13. Conditions for production, business, and service investment projects to be put into operation in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters"

"1. Clearly identified waste reception, transportation, and treatment facilities for general solid waste and hazardous waste as stipulated in point a, Clause 3, Article 1 of this Circular and other regulations on solid waste management."

"2. The wastewater discharge outlets of production, business, and service projects must be directly connected to the centralized wastewater treatment plant's collection system in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters; except in cases where production and business establishments within economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters already have their own wastewater treatment stations meeting current environmental technical standards before the centralized wastewater treatment plant was constructed." "and comply with the conditions specified in Article 45 of Decree No. 88/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2007 of the Government on urban drainage and industrial zone drainage.".

3. "The production project must have fully installed and tested all wastewater treatment equipment, air pollution control equipment, noise reduction equipment, and other environmental protection measures as committed in the environmental impact assessment report or environmental protection commitment, and such installations must be inspected and confirmed completed by the competent authority."

"9. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Clause 4, and Clause 5 of Article 14 as follows:"

"a) Clause 1 is amended and supplemented as follows: '1. Prepare and submit to the competent authority for approval the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA) or confirm the environmental protection commitment according to the provisions of Government Decree No. 29/2011/NĐ-CP dated April 18, 2011 on Strategic Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Environmental Protection Commitment.';"

"b) Clause 4 is amended and supplemented as follows: '4. Must sign an agreement or economic contract with the investor of the construction and operation of technical infrastructure in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters regarding the conditions for connecting the facility’s wastewater outlet to the collection system leading to the centralized wastewater treatment plant; except in cases where the facility has its own wastewater treatment station as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 13 of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009, amended and supplemented in Clause 8 of Article 1 of this Circular.';"

"c) Clause 5 is amended and supplemented as follows: '5. Must connect the outlet of the wastewater drainage system to the collection system leading to the centralized wastewater treatment plant under the supervision of the investor of the construction and operation of technical infrastructure in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters; except in cases where the facility has its own wastewater treatment station as stipulated in" "Clause 2 of Article 13 of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009, amended and supplemented in Clause 8 of Article 1 of this Circular"”.

10. Amend and supplement Article 15 as follows:

"Article 15. Responsibilities of investors in the construction and operation of technical infrastructure in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters"

"1. Monitor and supervise the discharge activities of production, business, and service facilities into the centralized wastewater treatment plant in accordance with the signed contracts."

"2. Ensure that wastewater treatment facilities, collection, sorting, temporary storage, and disposal facilities for solid waste in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters meet environmental protection requirements."

"3. Maintain and ensure the development of green coverage in high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters in accordance with point b, Clause 2, Article 1 of this Circular."

11. Amend and supplement Article 17 as follows:

"Article 17. Water Environment Protection in Economic Zones, High-Tech Zones, Industrial Zones, and Industrial Clusters"

"1. All drainage activities in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters must comply with the provisions of Government Decree No. 88/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2007 on Urban Drainage and Industrial Zone Drainage."

"2. Discharging wastewater into receiving water bodies must comply with laws on environmental protection, water resources, water extraction, and hydraulic engineering works protection.""Strictly prohibit diluting treated wastewater after it passes through the wastewater treatment system.".

"3. Wastewater from production, business, and service facilities must be pre-treated to meet agreed conditions with the investor of the construction and operation of technical infrastructure before being connected to the collection system leading to the centralized wastewater treatment plant, except in cases where the production, business, and service facilities have their own wastewater treatment stations as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 13 of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009, amended and supplemented in Clause 8 of Article 1 of this Circular. Domestic wastewater from production, business, and service facilities and organizations and individuals in high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters, after preliminary treatment (by septic tanks, etc.), must be further treated at the centralized wastewater treatment plant of high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters or at the facility's own wastewater treatment station."

"4. Prohibit all inland waterway vessels from discharging untreated ballast water and various types of waste into rivers, streams, and coastal waters of economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters."

"5. Production, business, and service facilities in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters must pay environmental protection fees according to current regulations."

"12. Amend and supplement Article 18 as follows:"

"Article 18. Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste Management in Economic Zones, High-Tech Zones, Industrial Zones, and Industrial Clusters"

"1. All production, business, and service facilities in economic zones, high-tech zones, industrial zones, and industrial clusters must collect and sort general solid waste, medical waste, and hazardous waste in accordance with the law."

2. Solid waste from EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and SEZs must be collected at 100% and separately classified into non-hazardous solid waste (common solid waste), medical waste, and hazardous waste.

3. The collection, sorting, transportation, and treatment of hazardous solid waste generated from medical activities must comply with the provisions set forth in Decision No. 43/2007/QD-BYT dated November 30, 2007, issued by the Minister of Health on the management regulations for medical waste. 4. The collection, sorting, transportation, and treatment of hazardous waste generated from production and business activities must comply with the provisions set forth in Decree No. 59/2007/NĐ-CP dated April 9, 2007, of the Government on solid waste management, and Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT dated April 14, 2011, of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the management of hazardous waste.

5. Sludge from wastewater treatment plants and drainage networks of EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and SEZs must be collected and transported by specialized vehicles to centralized solid waste treatment facilities to achieve current environmental technical standards. If this sludge does not contain substances exceeding the levels specified in current environmental technical standards regarding hazardous waste thresholds, it shall be treated as common solid waste or may be reused.

6. All production, business, and service establishments generating hazardous waste

must implement their responsibility for managing hazardous waste in accordance with the provisions set forth in Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT dated April 14, 2011, of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the management of hazardous waste. 7. Production, business, and service establishments within EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and SEZs must pay environmental protection fees for solid waste in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 174/2007/NĐ-CP dated November 29, 2007, of the Government on environmental protection fees for solid waste.”

13. Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 21 as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended and supplemented as follows: "1. The Management Board of EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and the Managing Authority of SEZs shall have the responsibility to regularly inspect and annually compile information from investors in infrastructure construction and operation to prepare environmental reports for EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and SEZs and submit them to the General Department of Environment and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment according to the report form attached as Appendix 1 to this Circular and bear legal responsibility for the information and data in the report;"

b) Clause 2 is amended and supplemented as follows: "2. Investors in infrastructure construction and operation shall have the responsibility to conduct environmental monitoring in accordance with the EIA report and environmental protection plan that have been approved. Monitoring must be carried out by units qualified to participate in environmental monitoring activities and must comply with the monitoring procedures stipulated in current documents. Environmental monitoring results reports shall be submitted to the Management Board of EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and the Managing Authority of SEZs, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment according to the report form attached as Appendix 2 to this Circular."

14. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 27 as follows:

"2. Lead and coordinate with the Management Board of EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and the Managing Authority of SEZs to inspect and confirm the trial operation results of waste treatment works of investment projects in infrastructure construction and operation of EPZs, S&TZs, SEZs, and waste treatment works of investment projects within EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs before the projects officially commence operations in accordance with the authority granted."

15. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Clause 3, Clause 4, and Clause 7 of Article 28 as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended and supplemented as follows: "1. Guide and inspect investors in infrastructure construction and operation, production, business, and service establishments, and functional zones within EPZs, and production, business, and service establishments within S&TZs, ZEs under their management to implement the provisions of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009, as amended and supplemented by this Circular;"

b) Clause 3 is amended and supplemented as follows: "3. Appoint representatives to participate in the EIA report review board of investment projects in EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and SEZs;"

c) Clause 4 is amended and supplemented as follows: "4. Coordinate with state agencies responsible for the environment to inspect and confirm the trial operation results of waste treatment works of investment projects in infrastructure construction and operation of EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and waste treatment works of investment projects within EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs before they officially commence operations;"

d) Clause 7 is amended and supplemented as follows: "7. Receive and resolve environmental disputes between production, business, and service establishments within EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs; lead and coordinate with competent authorities to resolve environmental disputes between production, business, and service establishments within

EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs and outside; receive, recommend, and coordinate with state agencies responsible for the environment to resolve environmental complaints and accusations within EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs." 16. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 32 as follows:

"3. The environmental crime prevention police force shall participate and coordinate in conducting inspections and supervision on environmental protection in EPZs, S&TZs, ZEs, and SEZs in accordance with Joint Circular No. 02/2009/TTLT-BCA-BTNMT dated February 6, 2009, of

the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on guiding the coordination of work in preventing and combating crimes and violations of environmental protection laws." The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall guide the relationship and coordination of work in preventing and combating crimes and violations of laws on environmental protection.

Article 2. Amend the phrase "national technical standards on the environment" as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 6 and Clause 1, Article 16 of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BTNMT dated July 15, 2009 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment regarding management and protection of the environment in economic zones, high-tech industrial parks, industrial parks, and clusters of small industries to read "current environmental technical standards". 1. This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2012. 2. During implementation, if any difficulties arise, organizations and individuals are requested to report them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and resolution./.

Article 3. Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2012.

2. In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, organizations and individuals are requested to report them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and resolution./.