Big lessons from a dam failure

(Baonghean) - In the harsh late-season sun, together with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment officials, the People's Committee of Quy Hop district went up Lan Toong mountain, Chau Thanh commune, to inspect the repair of the broken sludge dam of Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company at Suoi Bac tin mine, and saw that after more than 5 months there have been changes. Thinking about it, this is a big lesson for mineral exploitation enterprises...

Panoramic view of the sludge dam of Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company after it broke. Photo: Nhat Lan

Back to Suoi Bac

Going back in time, on March 10, 2017, just 24 hours after the dam containing sludge of Suoi Bac Tin Enterprise (Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company) broke, the strong smell of sulfur rose from the top of Lan Toong mountain. The tin sludge after the screening process was not only at the broken dam, but was scattered everywhere, black and thick, from the screening area, the wastewater treatment dam system, the mountainside, the streams...

By August 11, 2017, the tin mine area on this mountain, which is nearly 700m above sea level, was deserted and quite clean. Except for the area where the dam had previously broken, all other places had lost trace of the sludge. The system of circulating wastewater settling dams, which was the place where the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's inspection team pointed out design errors and signs of sludge dispersion, had been leveled.

The waste dump in the tin screening area, which was identified as dispersing sludge causing environmental pollution, has also been filled with rock and soil and planted with acacia trees. At the area where the waste dam was broken, a large dike has been completed. The dike is made of soil, but is compacted, and has a wide base, creating layers according to the slope of the mountain. The slope of the dike is planted with grass to create connections and prevent erosion. In addition, to minimize the dispersion of sludge by rain and floods, both sides of the waste dam have been cut with rainwater drainage ditches...

Comprehensive inspection of the Suoi Bac tin mine area, according to the assessment of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment officers, in general, Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company has seriously and promptly complied with the instructions of the competent authorities in overcoming the above dam break incident. With what has been overcome, the risk of sludge spreading outside has been basically prevented. However, there are still points that need to be supplemented with reinforcement measures.

The sludge dam of Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company broke on March 10, 2017. Photo: Nhat Lan

That is, cover the area of ​​the filled settling ponds with greenery to ensure that no landslides occur. Continue to implement measures to reinforce the dyke to contain the sludge ponds by planting more trees with high connectivity such as bamboo, at the foot of the dyke layers; take measures to contain the sludge in the ponds, not letting it overflow, especially during heavy rains...

At the same time, continue to focus on overcoming shortcomings in environmental protection and mineral exploitation as required by the Inspection Team of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; strictly comply with the provisions of the law on environmental protection and related mineral exploitation. In particular, monthly reports on implementation results must be submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the People's Committee of Quy Hop district for further inspection and supervision...

Big lesson

Since the dam break, Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company has had to stop all production and business activities. Up to now, it has been exactly 5 months. On July 19, 2017, the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued Decision No. 43/QD-XPVPHC to fine Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company more than 1 billion VND for violations; in addition, it is required to correct existing problems and suspend all mining activities for 3 months from the date this decision was issued.

In addition to strictly complying with Decision No. 43 of the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in order to resume operations, Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company must re-establish an environmental impact assessment report in accordance with the production line; must construct environmental protection works... and have them inspected, confirmed, and approved by relevant sectors; after that, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will consider allowing production to resume. Thus, the consequences that Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company must bear from the violations they caused are extremely large.

After the incident of the sludge dam break of Nghe Tinh Non-ferrous Metals Joint Stock Company, the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Nghe An province directed the inspection of a series of mineral exploitation enterprises in Quy Hop area to rectify environmental protection work. Thereby, many violations of other enterprises were identified, fined over 2.4 billion VND, and temporarily suspended the operations of a number of units...

Therefore, mineral exploitation enterprises in the area need to consider this a big lesson, to strictly comply with the provisions of the law on environmental protection. Enterprises are identified as the foundation of socio-economic development, but once they cause incidents, threaten the environment, and negatively affect people's lives, they must be strictly handled by the law.

Nhat Lan