Facilities that have not completed environmental protection measures will be shut down.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong chaired the meeting. Photo: Mai Hoa

This information was presented at the Provincial People's Committee meeting on the afternoon of April 11th to evaluate the results of implementing Plan No. 99/KH-UBND, dated February 9, 2018, of the Provincial People's Committee on implementing Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU, dated December 9, 2017, of the Provincial Party Committee on Strengthening the Party's leadership over environmental protection work in the province, giai đoạn 2017 - 2020, with orientation to 2025.

Completed several set targets.

According to the report from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Resolution No. 08/NQ-TU and Plan No. 99/KH-UBND have been implemented by provincial departments and agencies, as well as district-level Party committees and governments, based on adhering to the 18 environmental indicators set forth.

To date, based on aggregated results from departments, agencies, and localities, the province currently has 3 out of 18 targets that have been met or exceeded. These include the percentage of urban areas of type IV and above with centralized wastewater treatment systems meeting requirements; the percentage of industrial parks with centralized wastewater treatment systems meeting standards; and the percentage of medical wastewater at the district and provincial levels treated to meet environmental standards.

Five indicators are close to meeting the targets, including the percentage of rural population with access to hygienic water; the percentage of urban population of type V with access to clean water; the percentage of urban population of type IV and above with access to clean water; the percentage of solid waste collection and treatment in urban areas; and the percentage of public green space in urban areas and residential zones.

It is noteworthy that the departments, agencies, and districts, during the process of developing plans, projects, and proposals, have paid close attention to prioritizing environmental protection; creating a foundation for sustainable development in the future...

Wastewater treatment pond of Thai Duong Animal Feed Joint Stock Company. (Photo: Archival image)

Facilities that do not meet the standards will be shut down.

Despite positive developments, the implementation of targets and tasks under Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU and Plan No. 99/KH-UBND for the 2017-2020 period remains limited. Notably, only 35% of projects have been confirmed as having completed environmental protection works, compared to the target of 100% by 2020.

Investment in wastewater treatment systems in industrial clusters has not changed compared to before Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU and Plan No. 99/KH-UBND; only 40% of industrial clusters have centralized wastewater treatment systems that meet standards, compared to the target of 100% by 2020.

The percentage of pesticide residue pollution sites that have been investigated, identified, and had remediation projects developed has only reached 27%, compared to the target of 100% by 2020.

The collection and treatment of solid waste in urban and rural areas has achieved relatively high results; however, a significant concern is the low rate of environmentally sound treatment. Similarly, the treatment of pesticide packaging to meet standards remains low. Some environmental pollution hotspots have not been addressed promptly and effectively…

Based on the aforementioned shortcomings and limitations, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong requested that departments, agencies, and localities adhere to the targets and tasks set forth in Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU and Plan No. 99/KH-UBND for the two phases, focusing initially on achieving the targets in the first phase by 2020.

Environmental protection needs to be considered in mineral extraction. Photo: Mai Hoa

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee instructed departments, agencies, and localities to strengthen inspection, examination, and supervision of production and business establishments under their management to ensure that all waste discharged into the environment meets standards. If it does not meet the standards, they should be required to cease operations to focus on investing in the construction of environmental protection facilities; in conjunction with this, businesses with large wastewater discharge sources are required to install automatic monitoring systems.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong also emphasized several tasks that need to be focused on, related to the handling of solid household waste; addressing pesticide residue sites; and promptly dealing with emerging environmental pollution "hotspots" in the province.