Dien Chau district urges handling of violations against 2 soil mines in Dien Loi commune
After Nghe An Newspaper published the article "Many irregularities at 2 mines in Dien Chau" on August 14, 2024, the local government is still waiting for the measurement results to have a basis for deciding on the penalty.
1 of 2 illegal land mines is waiting for transfer
Nghe An Newspaper, issue dated August 14, 2024, published an article "Many irregularities at 2 land mines in Dien Chau", reflecting the fact that 2 units, Thien Hoang Equipment Joint Stock Company (headquartered in Nghi Huong ward, Cua Lo town) and Hoang Phuc Company Limited (headquartered in Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau district), were licensed to operate 2 land mines in Dien Loi commune (Dien Chau).
Although they have only been operating for a short time, the two units have continuously violated regulations and have been punished by authorities. Most recently, when local authorities inspected, they discovered that the two units had exploited a very large area outside the licensed area.
Accordingly, the mine of Thien Hoang Equipment Joint Stock Company exploited outside the mine scope including 3 locations, the violating area is about 19,589m2.2(nearly 2 hectares). The mine of Hoang Phuc Company Limited exploited outside the licensed mine area in 1 location, with a violation area of 1,454m2.2This is a violation of the law on mineral exploitation; Dien Loi Commune People's Committee reported that it had inspected and requested to stop mining outside the mine boundary, but the units still deliberately violated.
In addition, the local authorities also stated the current situation: During the exploitation process, Hoang Phuc Company Limited arbitrarily expanded some points beyond the old road's boundary by 3-5m, with some bends from 7-8m. The Commune People's Committee discovered and worked with Hoang Phuc Company Limited, and at the same time, sent a report to Dien Chau District People's Committee and Dien Chau District Department of Natural Resources and Environment (in 2022, 2023), requesting inspection and handling.
Recently, when we returned to the scene, we (the reporter) noticed that the exploitation of soil and rock at these two mines was still quite busy, with large trucks continuously coming in and out, providing fill soil for the construction project of the nearby industrial park. In particular, the pollution caused by dust when trucks carrying soil passed by was still not resolved. The road that the trucks carried soil passed through was severely damaged.
Through our investigation, we learned that on August 9, 2024, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued Document No. 5542/STNMT-KS on the inspection of mineral exploitation activities in Dien Chau district, in which, Dien Chau district was requested to urgently establish an inspection team to inspect mineral activities in the district. In addition to some soil mines in Dien Doai and Dien Yen communes that have been inspected, the two above-mentioned soil mines in Dien Loi commune had not been inspected before the violations were discovered.
In particular, according to information from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the land mine of Hoang Phuc Company Limited is in the process of being transferred to another unit.
However, given the serious violations of this unit, according to the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Dien Chau district, the enterprise must wait until the violations are handled before it can complete the transfer procedures.
Continue waiting for measurement results
Regarding the two mines in Dien Loi commune, the environmental pollution and road damage caused by trucks carrying soil have been reported many times by the people of Dien Loi commune.
The People's Committee of Dien Chau district has also requested the Dien Chau district police to strengthen inspection, control and strictly handle violations of regulations on vehicle load, vehicles carrying the wrong size, not covered, causing noise, dust, environmental pollution... especially on the road to the mine and road DH.256. At the same time, direct and guide the Dien Loi commune police to proactively coordinate with the district police forces in inspecting, promptly detecting and strictly handling violations; not allowing violations to continue affecting people's travel, production and daily life.
Returning to the issue of handling violations at the two above-mentioned mines, in a document responding to the issue reported by Nghe An Newspaper, Mr. Phan Xuan Vinh - Vice Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee informed: After discovering the incident of two mining units exceeding the licensed area, on July 30, 2024, the District People's Committee chaired an inspection and worked on mineral exploitation activities, land management, construction and ensuring order and traffic safety related to the mine in Dien Loi commune. After that meeting, the District People's Committee issued a Conclusion and assigned tasks to relevant departments, branches and sectors and Dien Loi Commune People's Committee to implement measures to handle violations according to regulations.
On August 9, 2024, the People's Committee of Dien Chau district continued to issue Official Dispatch No. 2173/UBND-TNMT urging the preparation of records to handle violations of the law on mineral exploitation for the two above-mentioned land mines. In particular, the two mine owners are required to strictly implement the contents of the Notice of Conclusion at the meeting of the District People's Committee on July 30.
Currently, Dien Loi Commune People's Committee has hired a surveying consultancy unit to re-determine the coordinates of the landmarks to accurately determine the area and volume of the exploited areas outside the licensed and allocated land areas as a basis for drawing up administrative violation records and submitting them to competent authorities for administrative sanctions in the field of land and minerals for the above violations. Through the current status inspection, the two companies have complied with the suspension of the exploitation of soil and rocks outside the scope, restored the boundary markers, and returned the land at the violating locations.
Also according to the People's Committee of Dien Chau district, the measurement results are expected to be completed before August 30, 2024. After receiving the results, the People's Committee of the district will take steps to prepare a file to handle violations and submit it to the competent authority for sanction according to regulations.
On the local side, Mr. Le Van Thuan - Chairman of Dien Loi Commune People's Committee said that in addition to waiting for specific and detailed inspection results to know the volume of violations by the two units, the commune also regularly sends officials to monitor and supervise the exploitation at the two mines. As for the violating area, the exploitation has been requested to stop. Mr. Thuan also hopes to quickly handle the matter, avoid complicated problems arising, and at the same time, demonstrate the strictness of the law.
