Dong Hop - a pollution concern...

Voters' recommendations

In mid-December 2020, a strange phone call came from a voter from Tan Thang hamlet, Dong Hop commune, Quy Hop district, calling the Nghe An Newspaper hotline. This voter said that in Tan Thang hamlet, there was environmental pollution, affecting crops and people's lives.

“The pollution is caused by some stone production facilities in Dong Len Stone Processing Industrial Park. I had no choice but to report this to the newspaper. I have petitioned the commune authorities several times in the past, and they have checked, but nothing has changed...”

Voters of Tan Thang hamlet, Dong Hop commune

The road to Tan Thang hamlet, Dong Hop commune, passing through Dong Len stone processing industrial cluster. Photo: Nhat Lan

Contact an officer familiar with the Dong Hop area to verify and confirm the problem.environmental pollutionfrom industrial clusters is real. Not only that, this situation has existed for a long time. The official added that in the report summarizing voters' opinions of the Dong Hop Commune People's Council at the last session, there was this content. Then he frankly discussed: "The petition of voters in Tan Thang hamlet is completely legitimate. Nghe An Newspaper needs to send reporters to Dong Hop to grasp the reality to reflect on this situation...".

To get to Tan Thang hamlet, you have to go on the road that cuts through Dong Len Stone Processing Industrial Park. Just passing by, but I think the voters' reflection is correct and necessary. Because right on the road, there are messy blocks of stone materials, mounds of waste stone, and streams of wastewater..., which both obstruct traffic and affect the environment.

Road to Dong Len stone processing industrial cluster. Photo: Nhat Lan

Meeting with Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai - Head of Tan Thang Hamlet to understand the situation, leading to the petition was because some facility owners let wastewater spill onto people's agricultural land during the production process. Sadness was clearly visible on his face, Mr. Hai said: "The commune has come to inspect, make a record and requested the processing facility owners to fix it in December 2020. But these facilities are slow to implement, so people continue to have opinions...". Asked about the content of the inspection and record making by the commune? Hamlet Chief Nguyen Thanh Hai said that the hamlet only participated but did not keep the record.

Contacting the People's Committee of Dong Hop commune to get information, we worked with the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune - Mr. Bui Thanh Tung and Ms. Lang Thi Thuong - a land officer, who were the officers who handled the petition of the people of Tan Thang hamlet. According to the inspection report made in November 2020, through the inspection, it was determined that there were two stone processing facilities in the production process toOverflow settling tank wastewaterto the people's land.

After that, the representatives asked the owners of these two facilities to scoop up the sludge from the settling tank and build a wall to prevent the overflow from happening again, affecting the people's production land. However, on December 17, 2020, the People's Committee of Dong Hop commune had to continue working with the owners of the stone processing facilities to reiterate the contents of the minutes made in November, thereby urging them to implement remedial measures and extend the deadline to December 30, 2020 to complete...

A stone cutting factory in Dong Len stone processing industrial cluster. Photo: Nhat Lan

SOS!

On December 24, 2020, Nghe An Newspaper reporter, along with Mr. Cao Van Bao - Officer of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Hop district and leaders of Tan Thang hamlet, leaders of Dong Hop commune, actually visited Dong Len Industrial Park and found it haunting. Because with what is currently happening, Dong Len cannot be an industrial cluster, craft village, or something similar. And this situation is completely absurd because Dong Hop commune has been recognized as meeting new rural standards since 2015!

Dong Len Industrial Park has about a dozen establishments specializing in processing stone cladding and stone granules for miniature landscapes. Each establishment has an area of ​​only about a thousand square meters.², including raw material storage, production, finished product warehouse, wastewater storage area and solid waste dump (including stone chips and dry sludge). During the production process, loading and unloading of materials..., these facilities often cause dust but do not implement measures to reduce dust emission (such as building fences, or planting green hedges...).

Meanwhile, thewastewater tank, sludge tankIn fact, they are small holes, dug underground, with an area of ​​only a few dozen square meters.². Therefore, water and sludge from the production process in a short period of time filled up the holding tanks, because there was no common treatment area, so it overflowed and scattered everywhere in the common use area of ​​the industrial cluster, out onto the inter-village traffic roads and spread to the production areas of the people. Overall, the factor that made people attach the phrase "industrial" to this place was probably only thanks to some cutting machines and equipment at the facilities, although they were also toadstools, black and covered with sludge...

Waste tanks at Dong Len stone processing industrial cluster. Photo: Nhat Lan

To be able to produce in industrial zones, businesses or production facilities must implement environmental protection measures. Why is this the case here? Research shows that production facilities in Dong Len Stone Processing Industrial Park have all established a “Simple Environmental Protection” project. In the project, in addition to describing the production process, infrastructure, machinery and equipment, they also propose measures and solutions to reduce environmental pollution (reduce air pollution; reduce water pollution; reduce solid waste...), and commit to implementing them. However, they have not implemented as committed.

On December 23, 2020, at another industrial cluster in Dong Hop commune, through inspection, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Hop district discovered that two production facilities were discharging waste into a canal into a settling pit next to Dong Can stream. However, there was a phenomenon of waste leaking into the stream. Therefore, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quy Hop district made a record of these two facilities.

Inspection report of Dong Hop Commune People's Committee (left) and Inspection report of Quy Hop District Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Photo: NL

Must change!

Why does a commune recognized as meeting new rural standards since 2015 still have this situation? Chairman of Dong Hop Commune People's Committee, Mr. Vu Ngoc Lam said: "This is a reality that makes the commune very worried..." According to Mr. Lam's explanation, the owners of stone processing facilities in industrial clusters are all from Dong Hop. Most of them are workers of stone enterprises in the district. For many reasons, including lack of jobs, they returned to open workshops, taking advantage of small-sized stones that enterprises discarded to cut and process to supply to people in need. Around 2012 - 2013, to manage these subjects, the State zoned off and leased land to them. The name "industrial cluster" (or craft village) started from there, but there was no investment in infrastructure like other places.

According to Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune Vu Ngoc Lam, in the face of environmental pollution, the People's Committee of Dong Hop commune has considered the plan to expand the area of ​​Dong Len Industrial Cluster, to rearrange the production areas of stone processing facilities. However, to do so is also very difficult because the facilities have all been leased land by the State. While expanding the industrial cluster requires land acquisition, site clearance; besides that, there is the investment in internal traffic infrastructure of the industrial cluster, the common wastewater treatment area...

Waste from Dong Len stone processing industrial cluster spills onto the production land of Tan Thang hamlet residents. Photo: Nhat Lan

What the Chairman of Dong Hop Commune People's Committee said is understandable. However, first of all, it is necessary to realize that the owners of stone processing facilities are not aware of environmental protection and do not fulfill their own commitments; in addition, due to being considerate of local people, the commune government is still lax in management and has not fulfilled its responsibilities according to its assigned authority.

Therefore, to quickly resolve this situation, it is necessary to review the "Simple Environmental Protection" project that the facility owners have established to request them to seriously and fully implement it; at the same time, the Commune People's Committee needs to regularly conduct monitoring activities with the participation of hamlet officials and residents. In the long term, as the plan that the Commune People's Committee has considered, it is to propose to the competent authority to allow the adjustment of planning and expansion of the area of ​​industrial clusters to carry out the rearrangement. Only then will the environment in the industrial clusters be improved, and the lives of local people will not be negatively affected by the pollution problem...