Report to the Prime Minister on the case of dead fish in the river

On the afternoon of May 9, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province sent a report to the Prime Minister on the fish deaths on the Buoi River (Thach Thanh District) and the Bach Bang River (Tinh Gia District).

According to the report, since May 4, on the Buoi River, the section bordering An Nghia Commune (Lac Son District, Hoa Binh Province) flowing along Thach Lam Commune, Thach Thanh District, the river water has turned black-green, foamy, and has a foul odor. Fish in the river have died en masse (cage-raised fish and wild fish), causing serious damage to cage-raised fish households. As of the morning of May 7, the number of dead fish from fish-farming households was 17,385 kg, the number of dead fish cages was 73/109 cages from 32/49 households, not including the number of dead wild fish.

Polluted Buoi River water due to factory discharge caused grass carp raised in cages in Thach Thanh district (Thanh Hoa) to die. Photo: Zing

The initial cause of the fish deaths was determined to be the discharge of wastewater from the Hoa Binh Sugarcane Factory, located in the Lac Son Industrial Park, Tan My Commune (Hoa Binh Province). From March 15 to April 25, 2016, the factory discharged untreated wastewater directly into the Buoi River at a flow rate of 250m3-300m3/day and night.

Vice Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Quyen affirmed that this is a very serious environmental incident, affecting the daily life, health and livelihood of people along the Buoi River (15 communes in Thach Thanh district and 7 communes in Vinh Loc district). At the same time, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that he has directed local authorities to provide timely support to ensure daily life for people; have long-term support policies for affected households. Organize the collection and destruction of all dead fish to ensure environmental sanitation, continue to implement measures to limit damage caused by environmental pollution of the Buoi River. At the same time, assign competent agencies to investigate the above incident and handle violations according to the law...

Regarding the unusual fish deaths at the Lach Bang estuary (Tinh Gia district), on May 5, some households raising fish in cages on the Lach Bang river were feeding the fish. At 8:00 a.m., they discovered that the fish were lacking oxygen and starting to die. At 10:00 a.m., the fish deaths stopped.

According to statistics, there are 20 households raising fish in cages in the fishing port area, but only 4 households have dead fish with a weight of about 1.5 tons. The initial cause was determined to be pollution caused by boats entering and leaving the port. This area is a boat anchorage, and cage fish farming is spontaneous. Previously, on July 20, 2012, the Provincial People's Committee issued a document on moving fish cages to the planning area to ensure traffic safety for boats sheltering from storms. The Provincial People's Committee will resolutely direct the relocation of all fish cages raised by fishermen in this area.

To completely resolve the environmental pollution of Buoi River, Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee proposed that the Prime Minister assign the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to support Thanh Hoa Province in determining the cause and level of pollution, and take measures to treat the water environment of Buoi River; the Ministry of Public Security directs Thanh Hoa Provincial Police and Hoa Binh Provincial Police to investigate the case and handle it according to the law; Hoa Binh Provincial People's Committee inspects and supervises the implementation of environmental protection laws for Hoa Binh Sugar Factory, coordinates with Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee to determine the level of environmental damage caused by this factory, and takes measures to support households raising fish in cages that have suffered damage in Thach Thanh District, Thanh Hoa Province.

Thanh Hoa province also proposed that the Prime Minister support funding to thoroughly handle environmental pollution of the Buoi River water source to ensure water quality for people to stabilize production and daily life.

According to Tienphong.vn