Minister Tran Hong Ha: 'Clarify Formosa's waste burial case for strict handling'

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment said that Ha Tinh province has enough authority to handle the waste burial case, the Ministry's working group only came to coordinate the inspection to see if the waste treatment process complies with the law or not.

Speaking to the press on the morning of July 14, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha affirmed that if there is sufficient evidence that the burying of more than 100 tons of waste by Hung Nghiep Formosa Steel Company Limited at a farm in Ky Anh (Ha Tinh) is a violation of the law, the authorities will handle it strictly, in the spirit of handling the wrongdoing to ensure deterrence.

According to Mr. Ha, the handling of industrial waste and hazardous waste has very clear regulations on responsibilities. Units operating in this field must be licensed by the central management agency. If the waste passes through many provinces, within the local scope, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment must issue a license.

Now we have to see what kind of solid waste Formosa is burying. After analyzing it, with accurate data, we will clearly determine the responsibility of the unit that generates the waste. Next is to check and clarify the capacity and legal basis of the waste recipient (transportation, treatment). In case of burying hazardous waste in the environment, the criminal law has provisions for handling it.

Mr. Ha said that Ha Tinh province has full authority to resolve this matter. The working group of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment just came to Ha Tinh to coordinate the inspection to see if the waste treatment process complies with the law.

"In particular, it is necessary to take samples, analyze samples and clarify the relationship between the place where the waste originates and the person who receives and treats that waste, to see if the legal capacity is up to standard," Mr. Ha said, and assessed that the Ha Tinh Department of Natural Resources and Environment is doing its job very well, in accordance with procedures and regulations.

More than 100 tons of Formosa solid waste were discovered buried in the farm of the director of the Urban Environment Company of Ky Anh town (Ha Tinh). Photo: D.H.

On the afternoon of July 11, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ha Tinh and an interdisciplinary team made a record of the Ky Anh Town Urban Environment Company digging a hole about 300 square meters wide and one meter deep to bury about 100 tons of Formosa waste at a farm in Hoang Trinh village (Ky Trinh ward).

According to the explanation of Mr. Le Quang Hoa, Director of the Ky Anh Town Urban Environment Company, the above waste is sludge pressed from the ash and coke industrial wastewater treatment plant, coke sludge from furnace No. 1 of Formosa's coke plant. This is normal waste, can be reused, so it is transported to the farm for the business owner named Hai to grow grass to raise cows and goats.

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh Province, Duong Tat Thang, informed that at the meeting between the province and Formosa on the afternoon of July 12, this enterprise admitted that the source of the waste was theirs. On July 14, the province continued to work with Formosa and a series of the company's subcontractors on violations related to waste treatment. Authorities determined that Formosa's contract with a unit that does not have the function of treating industrial waste was wrong.

According to VNE