Searching for the culprit who left a 'dirty bomb' hanging precariously at the headwaters of Khe Sao stream.

Urgent petition

Lam Sinh village, Nghia Yen commune, was originally a production team of Nghia Dan Forestry Farm, located in the border area with Bai Tranh commune, Nhu Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province. From this mountainous forest area, the Sao stream (also known as Ang stream or Lam Sinh stream) flows downstream. This is also one of the main branches of the Sao River, flowing through Nghia Yen and Nghia Mai communes.

In recent years, the people of Lam Sinh village have witnessed this stream gradually "dying out," ever since a large-scale pig farm belonging to Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company, located in Hamlet 10, Bai Tranh commune, sprang up in the adjacent area.

On June 27, 2024, after receiving feedback from voters in Nghia Yen commune, the Standing Committee of the Nghia Dan District People's Council issued Official Letter No. 1080/HĐND-VP requesting the Nghia Dan District People's Committee to clarify the matter.

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Currently, the people of Lam Sinh village are facing a severe shortage of water for daily life and production. For a long time, the village's water source has mainly relied on the stream for both domestic and agricultural purposes. However, for the past few years, the pig farm of Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company, located in Hamlet 10, Bai Tranh Commune, Nhu Xuan District, Thanh Hoa Province, has been discharging waste into the headwaters of the stream, causing water pollution. Prolonged hot weather has caused the polluted stream water to seep into the wells of local households, rendering them unusable for daily life. It has also contaminated ponds and lakes, killing fish and causing crops to wither due to lack of irrigation water. Authorities at higher levels and the village have repeatedly worked with the pig farm, but the problem remains unresolved. Therefore, we earnestly request the People's Committees at all levels to provide assistance and a definitive solution to restore the stream water to its original state for the people of Lam Sinh village.

Content reflecting the opinions of voters in Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan district)

Most recently, on July 4, 2024, a large number of angry residents of Nghia Yen commune gathered at the gate of the livestock farm of the Livestock Joint Stock Company.Tam Viet protested and demanded an end to the discharge of pollutants that are causing environmental pollution.

Following the "plea for help" from the people of Lam Sinh village (Nghia Yen commune), and to understand the root cause of the story, a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper made a trip back to the Northwest, to the hilly area bordering Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces, which is considered the source of the pollution in Sao stream and the resulting fish deaths, to investigate the truth.

Is the pig farm the culprit behind the pollution?

Arriving in Nghia Yen commune on the morning of July 9th, after inspecting and confirming that the Sao stream had turned black and emitted a foul odor, we proceeded to conduct a field inspection guided by local residents. From the center of Nghia Yen commune, it's about a 15 km journey to the mountainous border area between the two provinces. Under the midday sun, traversing many hills covered with dense acacia trees and reeds, we arrived at the border between Bai Tranh commune, Nhu Xuan district (Thanh Hoa province) and Lam Sinh village, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan district).

From above, it's easy to see a massive farm complex with numerous livestock pens, surrounded by vast stretches of acacia hills. This pig farm complex belongs to Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company, located in Hamlet 10, Bai Tranh Commune, Nhu Xuan District (Thanh Hoa Province).

It's worth noting that this cluster of farms is located right at the headwaters of the Sao stream, which flows into Nghia Dan district, passing through Nghia Yen and Nghia Mai communes. However, what caught our eye here was a very poorly constructed wastewater reservoir, situated on high ground, without a waterproof lining, with pitch-black water and a strong, foul odor.

This wastewater reservoir is located directly above the Sao stream, separated by an earthen embankment. It's like a giant "dirty bomb" situated right at the headwaters, posing a major threat and polluting the water source.

Besides a wastewater reservoir, we also discovered that the Sao stream had been dammed with concrete, preventing water from flowing. And even though this stream was blocked, after some searching, we also found a wastewater discharge point hidden behind bushes and beneath the farm.

"Without a doubt, this pig farm is the culprit behind the environmental pollution, causing mass fish deaths, and, more importantly, it has 'killed' the Sao stream," asserted Mr. Thai Ba Binh, a resident of Lam Sinh village who guided us and pointed out the discharge point.

Mr. Phan Van Ha, a resident of Lam Sinh village, expressed his frustration: "Having lived on this land for over 20 years, we have never seen the Sao stream so severely polluted as it is now. Three years ago, when the pig farm of Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company was built in Bai Tranh commune, right at the headwaters of the stream, fish deaths occurred. We have petitioned many times, but the issue has not been resolved. Now, no one dares to use the stream water for daily life or irrigation anymore..."

Fish deaths have occurred many times.

The mass fish deaths in the Sao stream are not a recent occurrence. According to Mr. Le Van Huy, head of Lam Sinh village, the aforementioned pig farm has been operating for 3 years, but has caused mass fish deaths in the Sao stream twice already.

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Previously, the water from the Sao stream was always clear and cool, without the turbidity it has now. Since the pig farm of Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company started operating, this water source has changed for the worse, becoming foul-smelling and black, and at times, fish in the stream have died and floated to the surface in large numbers.

Mr. Hoang Van Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghia Yen Commune

Confirming this information, Mr. Hoang Van Phuc, Chairman of the Nghia Yen Commune People's Committee, added that in the past, residents have twice complained to the commune about environmental pollution caused by the pig farming activities of Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company. The Commune People's Committee has also coordinated inspections and verifications and reported the complaints to the District People's Committee for appropriate action. However, due to the lack of water quality measuring equipment, the Commune People's Committee requested the specialized agency of Thanh Hoa province to take samples and provide results as soon as possible to answer the residents and local authorities.

Most recently, on July 5, 2024, one day after residents of Nghia Yen commune protested at the farm's gate, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thanh Hoa province, along with the People's Committees of Nhu Xuan and Nghia Dan districts, held a meeting with Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company. Also present were representatives from the Nghia Yen and Bai Tranh communes and residents of Lam Sinh village.

Before commencing the work, the delegation conducted an on-site inspection. At the time of the inspection, the farm was raising 12,000 pigs in 12 pens for fattening pigs and 6 pens for sows and boars. The farm had also built a centralized wastewater treatment system with a capacity of 450m³.³The system includes 4 manure collection pits, 2 biogas digesters, 1 physico-chemical and microbial treatment station, and 1 biological pond combined with an emergency pond (this pond is not lined with tarpaulin or has a built-up bottom). The team also surveyed several locations along the Sao stream in Nghia Yen commune and found that the water was brown, had a film on the surface, and some areas had dead fish.

Joining the meeting, Mr. Phuc informed that initially, Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company did not agree to allow wastewater samples to be taken from the biological pond (the wastewater reservoir we mentioned above - PV). In particular, the local authorities are currently awaiting the monitoring results from the Thanh Hoa environmental agency before concluding the level of pollution.

However, many residents of Nghia Yen commune, and even local government leaders, have expressed concerns about this issue. Some have suggested that Nghe An province should send its environmental agency to collect samples for objective monitoring. This is because in early December 2022, when residents reported mass fish deaths in the Sao stream, the Thanh Hoa environmental agency only came to collect samples on December 19, 2022, by which time the polluted water source had already reached saturation.

Regarding this issue, it has been learned that in 2023, the People's Committee of Nghia Dan District repeatedly sent documents to the People's Committee of Nhu Xuan District concerning the inspection and handling of environmental pollution in the upstream area of ​​Khe Ang (also known as Khe Sao) by the pig farm of Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company. Specifically, these were Official Letter No. 226/UBND-TNMT dated March 8, 2023; and Official Letter No. 1933/UBND-TNMT dated December 13, 2023.

However, to date, the issue of handling livestock waste and discharging it into the environment, causing pollution and affecting the drinking and production water sources of the people in Lam Sinh village, remains unchanged.

Therefore, on July 4, 2024, when the people of Nghia Yen commune marched to Bai Tranh commune to protest, the People's Committee of Nghia Dan district continued to send Document No. 1139/UBND-TNMT to the People's Committee of Nhu Xuan district and the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province requesting them to investigate and handle the matter according to their authority.

Clearly, the severe pollution of the Sao stream water is real, and the mass fish deaths in this stream since the Tam Viet Livestock Joint Stock Company's pig farm was built upstream have also been confirmed.

It's time to address this issue decisively. Otherwise, not only the Sao stream but also other water sources where this stream flows will suffer the same fate. The consequences would then be unpredictable...