Circular No. 69/2020/TT-BCA on the inspection of environmental protection work in the People's Public Security Forces

CIRCULAR

Regulations on Environmental Protection Work Inspection in the People's Public Security

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated June 23, 2014;June 2024;year 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2018/NĐ-CP dated August 6, 2018 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;June 2024;year 2018 of the Government;"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation."structuring the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CP organization of the Ministry of Public Security;

Upon the proposal of the Director of the Health Bureau;

The Minister of Public Security issues this Circular on regulations regarding environmental protection work inspection in the People's Public Security.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular stipulates principles, authority, objects, contents, forms, methods, procedures for inspection, responsibilities, and powers concerning environmental protection work inspection in the People's Public Security.

Article 2. This Circular applies to units under the Ministry of Public Security; public security agencies of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as public security agencies of units and localities); organizations, individuals involved in environmental protection work in the People's Public Security.

Article 2. Principles of Inspection

Clause 1. Ensuring accuracy, objectivity, and truthfulness.

Clause 2. Adhering to legal provisions, working regulations of the Ministry of Public Security; police force regulations; provisions on protecting state secrets and operational secrets of the public security forces.

Clause 3. Not hindering normal activities of public security agencies of units and localities, organizations, and individuals related to such activities.

Clause 4. For a single inspection content at a specific time and unit, it shall be inspected only once; subsequent inspections related to the previously inspected content shall cite the results of the previous inspection, except when there are circumstances deemed necessary for re-inspection, in which case the basis and purpose of the re-inspection must be clearly stated.

Clause 5. Applying legal provisions, national technical standards on the environment, and other provisions in international treaties to which Vietnam is a party as a basis for determining the current environmental status and the degree of violation of environmental protection laws by the inspected entity.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3. Inspection Authority

Clause 1. The leadership of the Ministry of Public Security decides to establish inspection teams and approve inspection plans for inter-ministerial inspection teams led by the Ministry of Public Security involving multiple agencies and organizations to address cases related to environmental protection work of the Ministry of Public Security.

Clause 2. The Director of the Health Department decides to establish inspection teams and approve environmental protection work inspection plans for public security agencies of units and localities within their state management functions over environmental protection in the People's Public Security. Develop long-term and annual programs on environmental protection work inspection in the People's Public Security for approval by the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security.

Clause 3. Heads of units under the Ministry of Public Security, Directors of public security agencies of provinces and centrally governed cities decide to establish inspection teams and approve inspection plans implemented by their units.

Article 4. Contents of Inspection

Clause 1. Compliance with Party policies, state laws, and guiding documents, regulations of the Ministry of Public Security on environmental protection work, including:

Point a) Propaganda and implementation of the Party's policies and state laws on environmental protection; education to raise awareness and sense of responsibility among officers and soldiers regarding environmental protection;

Point b) Implementation of government, Ministry of Public Security, and public security agencies of units and localities' environmental protection programs and plans; compliance with current legal provisions on environmental protection;

Point c) Current situation of organization and implementation of environmental protection work, inspection, and supervision of environmental protection work implementation at the unit.

Clause 2. Implementation of environmental protection projects and measures currently in place; investment, management, and use of technical systems for pollution control by units. Current activities, equipment, and technical facilities that may have adverse impacts on the environment; labor protective equipment, tools, measures, constructions for disaster risk prevention, natural disaster, and environmental accidents, and other factors related to environmental protection.

Article 5. Inspection Objects

1. Inspection objects at the Ministry of Public Security: Units under the Ministry of Public Security, Academies, People's Police Universities, People's Police Hospitals.

2. Inspection objects at local levels:

a) Public Security of provinces and centrally governed cities;

b) Public Security of districts, towns, urban districts, provincial-level cities and centrally governed cities;

c) Public Security of communes, wards, towns.

3. For inspection teams with inter-sectoral cooperation, the inspection objects shall be determined based on the nature and severity of the case and according to the directives of the superior authority.

Article 6. Forms of Inspection

1. Regular inspection: Conducted regularly according to programs and plans approved by competent authorities, carried out according to prescribed timelines, helping those authorized to decide on inspections to grasp the situation and results of the inspected entities.

2. Surprise inspection: Carried out according to directives from leaders at all levels; when there are sudden issues regarding environmental protection work; based on reports and recommendations from Public Security units, localities, organizations, individuals, or local authorities where the units are stationed.

Article 7. Methods of Inspection

1. On-site inspection: Based on work requirements and tasks, heads of Public Security units and localities decide to conduct on-site inspections of environmental protection work. The inspection team conducts on-site inspections and listens to detailed reports from representatives of the inspected entities about related issues and recommendations. Team members base their requests on specific contents, asking the inspected entities to provide files, documents, and additional explanations. Based on the results of the work, the inspection team exchanges and guides the inspected entities to address existing problems and difficulties in environmental protection work or propose guidance and directives to higher-level leadership.

2. Indirect inspection: Based on work requirements and tasks, heads of Public Security units and localities authorize the inspected entities to self-inspect according to approved plans, report the results in writing, and provide supporting files and documents to the heads of the units and localities authorized to conduct inspections.

3. Depending on specific tasks, an inspection may be conducted using one or a combination of the above methods.

Article 8. Inspection Procedures

1. Preparation for Inspection:

a) Developing an inspection plan and issuing a decision to establish an inspection team:

Based on annual or emergency work programs and plans, Public Security units and localities develop inspection plans for environmental protection work. The inspection plan clearly defines the objects, purposes, requirements, contents, methods, and progress of implementation.

Based on the inspection plan, the unit responsible for organizing the inspection compiles a list and establishes a decision to form an inspection team. The team consists of: The team leader representing the authority issuing the inspection decision, if necessary, one Deputy Team Leader; other members are decided by the head of the authority issuing the inspection decision, including at least one member with environmental expertise and one member with expertise related to the inspected entity.

In cases of inter-sectoral inspections, there must be at least one representative from the local natural resources and environment management agency.

b) Plan for organizing and implementing: The team leader develops a detailed and specific plan for conducting the inspection, closely aligned with the purpose and content of the inspection. A meeting of the inspection team is held to unify the content, procedures, and task assignments for team members.

c) Notifying the inspected entity in writing about the content, composition, and schedule of the inspection team. The notification time is at least five working days before the inspection team begins its work (except in cases of surprise inspections).

2. Conducting the Inspection:

a) The inspection team conducts practical inspections according to the content approved by the competent authority. The inspection is conducted with the participation of at least two-thirds of the team members, including the Team Leader or Deputy Team Leader (when authorized by the Team Leader), the team secretary, and the presence of an authorized representative of the inspected entity.

b) During the inspection, audio recording, video recording, sample collection, and environmental quality assessment may be performed. For inspected entities involving state secrets, activities such as audio recording, video recording, sample collection, and environmental quality assessment, as well as information about the inspected entity, must be implemented and managed in accordance with laws on protecting state secrets. The process of sample collection and environmental quality assessment must be witnessed by an authorized representative of the inspected entity, recorded in a sample collection record signed by both parties.

3. Preparing the Inspection Record:

a) Upon completion of the inspection, the inspection team prepares an inspection record. The inspection record must fully reflect the time, place, composition, content, results of the inspection, the requirements and recommendations of the inspection team, and the recommendations and proposals of the inspected entity.

b) The inspection record must be signed by the Team Leader or Deputy Team Leader (when authorized by the Team Leader), an authorized representative of the inspected entity, and relevant parties, prepared in multiple copies to ensure each participating party retains one copy as a basis for implementation.

4. Concluding the Inspection:

a) Reporting the Results of the Inspection: Within fifteen working days from the end of the inspection, the Team Leader reports in writing to the person who issued the decision to establish the inspection team about the conclusions of the inspection and recommended measures (if any).

For indirect inspections, within the required timeframe, the authorized inspected entity reports the results of the inspection in writing to the authority that issued the inspection decision.

If violations of environmental protection laws by individuals or units within the People's Police are discovered, the person who issued the inspection decision has the responsibility to inform the inspection agency and Environmental Police at the same level to take inspection and investigation measures according to current laws.

b) Prior to concluding, if deemed necessary, the decision-maker shall send the draft inspection conclusion to the inspected entity for review. Any explanations regarding unresolved issues (if any) between the inspected entity and the draft inspection conclusion must be provided in writing and accompanied by supporting documents. The inspection conclusion, after being approved by the decision-maker, shall be sent to: the inspected entity; the head of public security units, localities, or organizations and individuals managing the inspected entity; the Health Department if the inspection conclusion is approved by the heads of subordinate units under the Ministry of Public Security, provincial-level public security directors, or centrally-administered city public security directors.

5. Implementation of the inspection conclusion:

Upon receiving the inspection conclusion, the head of public security units, localities, or organizations and individuals managing the inspected entity shall be responsible for:

a) Directing the implementation of measures and requirements for environmental protection as stated in the inspection conclusion notice;

b) Applying measures within their authority to rectify and address deficiencies and inadequacies in environmental protection work at the unit;

c) Reporting to the agency that issued the inspection conclusion on the results of implementing the inspection conclusion and any recommendations (if any);

If the handling measures proposed by the inspection team fall under the responsibility of the environmental management agency of the Ministry of Public Security, the inspecting unit shall prepare a report to the Health Department for consideration, and report to the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security for resolution according to their authority and in accordance with the law.

6. Inspection completion files:

a) Preparation materials for organizing the inspection include:

Documents serving as the basis for organizing the inspection: programs and plans approved by competent authorities; documents and letters reflecting complaints and suggestions from public security units, localities, or organizations and individuals, and local governments where the units are stationed (in cases of surprise inspections);

Decision to establish the inspection team.

b) Materials during the organization of the inspection include:

Reports and related documents provided by the inspected entity;

Inspection records;

Related materials collected by the inspection team during the inspection process.

c) Completion materials include:

Inspection conclusions, analysis and evaluation results of environmental quality (if any);

Explanation and reporting documents from the inspected entity on the implementation of the inspection conclusion (if any);

Other related materials (if any).

Article 9. Responsibilities and Authorities of Inspection Team Members

1. General responsibilities and authorities of inspection team members

a) Adhere to laws and regulations of the Ministry of Public Security on inspections, strictly implement according to approved plans and programs;

b) Study files and documents provided to serve inspection activities;

c) Require inspected entities to provide information, documents, reports, and explanations related to the inspection content;

d) Manage provided documents in accordance with the law and return them upon request of the inspecting agency after completing tasks;

đ) During the organization of the inspection, if discovering issues or difficulties in the implementation of environmental protection work by the inspected entity that exceed their authority to resolve, they must promptly report and advise relevant authorities to address and rectify these issues.

2. Responsibilities and authorities of the Inspection Team Leader

In addition to the responsibilities and authorities stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the Inspection Team Leader also has the following responsibilities and authorities:

a) Lead, manage, and bear overall responsibility for the activities of the inspection team;

b) Assign tasks to inspection team members;

c) Directing the preparation and approval, signing of inspection records, and reports on inspection results to the decision-maker; directing the preparation of the inspection completion file;

3. The Deputy Inspection Team Leader has the responsibilities and authorities of an inspection team member as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and those of the Inspection Team Leader when authorized by the Inspection Team Leader.

4. Responsibilities and authorities of the Inspection Team Secretary

In addition to the responsibilities and authorities stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the Inspection Team Secretary also has the following responsibilities and authorities:

a) Collect and provide information, files, and documents for inspection team members to serve inspection activities;

b) Notify inspected entities, inspection team members, and relevant organizations and individuals about the inspection program and plan;

c) Summarize results, prepare inspection records reflecting fully and truthfully the content of the inspection;

d) Preparing reports on inspection results and announcing inspection conclusions;

đ) Preparing the inspection completion file;

e) Performing other tasks assigned by the Inspection Team Leader.

Article 10. Responsibilities and Authorities of the Inspection Object

1. Responsibilities of the Inspection Object

a) Provide information, documents, and written reports to the inspection team at least two working days before the inspection date, explain issues related to the inspection content as requested by the inspection team, and bear legal responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the provided information, documents, and reports. In cases of unexpected inspections, there is no need to prepare written reports.

b) Arrange staff and create all favorable conditions for the inspection team to work during the inspection period at the unit.

c) Fully implement all requirements, recommendations, and conclusions of the inspection.

2. Authorities of the Inspection Object

a) Has the right to request the Head of the Inspection Team and members of the inspection team to clarify any unresolved issues during the inspection process and the content of the inspection minutes and notification of inspection conclusions.

b) Have the right to appeal against inspection results and conclusions, and report violations of the law in inspection activities.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from August 6, 2020, and replaces the provisions on environmental protection inspection work in Circular No. 29/2007/TT-BCA(E11) dated December 7, 2007, issued by the Minister of Public Security guiding the inspection and supervision of environmental protection work in the People's Public Security.

Article 12. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Heads of units under the Ministry of Public Security, Directors of Public Security in provinces and centrally-administered cities have the responsibility to organize the implementation of this Circular. They must periodically report annually or unexpectedly according to work requirements or management requests, the results of environmental protection work inspections conducted by their units to the Health Department for consolidation and reporting to the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security.

2. The Health Department shall take the lead in advising the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security to urge and inspect the implementation of this Circular.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, public security units and localities shall report to the Ministry of Public Security (through the Health Department) for timely guidance and resolution./.