The Ministry of Public Security is investigating and clarifying the collective and individual responsibilities related to Formosa's waste discharge.

Formosa's waste discharge involves 4 provinces and cities and affects the whole country politically, economically... therefore, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency is leading the investigation to clarify the responsibilities of state management agencies and individuals involved in the waste discharge that caused the marine environmental incident...

Regarding the Ky Anh Town Urban Environment Company arbitrarily burying 100 tons of Formosa waste at a farm in Ky Trinh Ward, Ky Anh Town, the Ha Tinh Police Investigation Agency has initiated a case of "Violating regulations on hazardous waste management" under Article 182A of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Colonel Bui Dinh Quang, Head of the Investigation Police Agency, Deputy Director of Ha Tinh Provincial Police, spoke to the press about this issue.

PV: Colonel Bui Dinh Quang, can you tell us some of the violations of the Ky Anh Town Urban Environment Company and the grounds for initiating the case?

Colonel Bui Dinh Quang:Violations of Ky Anh Urban Environmental Management Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company as the basis for prosecuting the case are as follows:

On July 11, 2016, the Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department of the Provincial Police coordinated with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Trade and Environment, the Ky Anh Town Police, and the Ky Trinh Ward People's Committee to discover that Mr. Le Trung Thanh, born in 1988, a worker of the Ky Anh Urban Environmental Management Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company, was operating an excavator to bury Formosa Ha Tinh Company's waste sludge in the farm of Mr. Le Quang Hoa in the Con Tro hill area, Hoang Trinh residential group, Ky Trinh Ward, Ky Anh Town. At the scene, it was determined that the amount of buried waste sludge was 390.72 tons.

On July 16, 2016, the Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department in coordination with Ky Anh Town Police discovered about 10m3 of Formosa Ha Tinh Company's sludge buried at the Environmental Park of Ky Anh Urban Environmental Management Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company.

Colonel Bui Dinh Quang answered reporters.

Through initial investigation, it was determined that: Ky Anh Urban Environment Company and FHS Company signed 02 contracts on the transportation and treatment of sludge cake from the domestic and industrial wastewater treatment plant of FHS Company. The signing was conducted by the representative of Ky Anh Urban Environment Company (Party B), Mr. Le Anh Tai - Deputy Director, and the representative of FHS Company (Party A), Mr. Nguu Tuan Phat - Head of Project Management Board.

The contract clearly states: Party B is responsible for collecting, transporting and treating waste (cake sludge) at Party A's industrial wastewater treatment plant and domestic wastewater treatment plant; bringing waste to treatment areas in Ha Tinh province licensed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Party A will go to the site with Party B to inspect the treatment method and location.....

According to Decision 3853 dated December 8, 2014 of the Provincial People's Committee, Ky Anh Urban Environment Company is only allowed to treat domestic waste and septic tank waste but does not meet the conditions to treat normal industrial solid waste and receive, transport and treat hazardous waste. After receiving sludge from FHS Company, Ky Anh Urban Environment Company did not sign a contract with a unit qualified to treat industrial waste but arbitrarily buried sludge at the Environmental Park and on Mr. Le Quang Hoa's farm, which are not licensed by competent authorities to be qualified to treat waste.

The analysis results of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment determined: In the illegally buried sludge, some sludge samples contained cyanide parameters exceeding the hazardous waste threshold.

Therefore, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment concluded: Formosa's illegally buried sludge is industrial waste mixed with hazardous waste, must be managed according to regulations on hazardous waste and must be transferred to a competent unit, licensed for treatment according to the provisions of law. Meanwhile, Ky Anh Urban Environmental Management Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company is not licensed to treat hazardous waste.

The illegal dumping of hazardous sludge by Ky Anh Urban Environment Company has caused other serious consequences (causing serious consequences to the economy and society, causing public outrage, affecting security and order and the socio-economic development plan of the province).

Based on the above grounds, on August 2, 2016, the Provincial Police Department's Investigation Police Agency issued a decision to prosecute the case of "Violation of regulations on hazardous waste management" as prescribed in Article 182a of the 1999 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2009, for investigation in accordance with the provisions of law.

Hazardous waste buried in Ky Anh (Ha Tinh)

PV: So, this company signed a contract to treat Formosa’s waste without a license and this company was not allowed to treat the waste source. Meanwhile, the contract to transport and treat waste between the two units was also not in accordance with regulations. So, is this violation related to the waste source – Formosa Company?

Colonel Bui Dinh Quang:As I have analyzed above, the sludge buried at the above two locations of Ky Anh Urban Environmental Management Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company originated from FHS Company and according to the conclusion of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, it is both normal industrial waste and hazardous waste.

Therefore, it must be managed and preserved as hazardous waste (Clause 2, Article 85 of the Law on Environmental Protection stipulates: "Ordinary waste mixed with hazardous waste exceeding the prescribed threshold and cannot be classified must be managed according to the provisions of the law on hazardous waste". Clause 1, Article 29 of Decree No. 38/2015/ND-CP dated April 24, 2015 of the Government on waste and scrap management also stipulates that ordinary industrial solid waste must be identified and classified separately from hazardous waste. In cases where classification is not possible, it must be managed according to the provisions on hazardous waste).

FHS Company, the waste source owner, committed a violation of not properly identifying, classifying, and determining the quantity and volume of hazardous waste that must be registered and managed, which is a violation of the provisions of Clause 5, Article 21 of Decree No. 179/2013 of the Government. In addition, FHS Company transferred hazardous waste to organizations and individuals without a license to handle hazardous waste, which is a violation of the provisions of Point h, Clause 7, Article 21 of Decree No. 179/2013. Thus, FHS Company is also the subject of investigation in the case. The Provincial Police Department of Investigation will investigate and clarify the responsibilities of related individuals in FHS Company and, depending on the level of violation, will handle it according to the provisions of law.

PV:The case is still under investigation, and the public is waiting for a clear answer from the law enforcement agency. But the issue is the responsibility of the State management agency and local authorities in the field of environmental protection. How do you assess this issue?

Colonel Bui Dinh Quang:Violations of State regulations on environmental protection in the past (such as illegal discharge and burial of sludge) have objective and subjective causes. Among them, the cause is that State management agencies and local authorities have not fully promoted their responsibilities, there are loopholes and laxity in the field of environmental protection, leading to illegal discharge and burial of sludge, causing serious consequences to the economy and society, causing public outrage, affecting security and order and the socio-economic development plan of the province.

Hazardous waste buried in Ky Anh (Ha Tinh)

To clarify the responsibilities of State management agencies and local authorities, on August 2, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province issued Official Dispatch No. 3623 to the Directors of the Departments of Home Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment; Industry and Trade, Head of the Provincial Economic Zone Management Board; Provincial Police and Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Anh town to seriously review the responsibilities of relevant groups and individuals in allowing the discharge of waste causing marine environmental incidents and illegal burying of waste sludge.

This waste discharge issue involves 4 provinces and cities (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue) and affects the whole country politically, economically... Therefore, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency is leading the investigation to clarify the responsibilities of state management agencies and the responsibilities of related individuals for the waste discharge causing marine environmental incidents.

Regarding the issue of illegal sludge dumping, immediately after receiving the report, the Provincial Police Investigation Agency promptly intervened, coordinated with relevant units, and when determining that there were signs of crime, on August 2, 2016, the Provincial Police Investigation Agency promptly issued a decision to initiate a criminal case for the crime of "Violating regulations on hazardous waste management" as prescribed in Article 182a of the 1999 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2009, to organize investigation and handling according to regulations.

PV: Thank you very much, comrade!

According to CAND