Nghe An Provincial People's Committee directs waste treatment on Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir

As reported by Nghe An Electronic Newspaper in the article “From the stench downstream, Ban Ve Hydropower Plant discovered a giant floating garbage dump upstream of Nam Non”, on January 16, 2020, Ban Ve Hydropower Company and Tuong Duong District People's Committee coordinated to inspect the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir. Thereby, it was determined that the reservoir area had a lot of floating garbage. The main components were tree trunks, bamboo, and household waste.

Officials of Ban Ve Hydropower Company and Tuong Duong District People's Committee inspect the status of waste collected at the tail of Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir on January 16, 2020. Photo: Contributor

On February 11, 2020, Ban Ve Hydropower Company sent Document No. 55/TDBV-KTAT to the Provincial People's Committee on the treatment of floating waste in the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir. In this document, Ban Ve Hydropower Company determined that "there is a lot of floating waste in the reservoir, the main components are tree trunks, bamboo and rattan".

Document No. 55/TDBV-KTAT of Ban Ve Hydropower Company sent to the Provincial People's Committee. Photo: Nhat Lan

Regarding the location of the landfill in the lake, it is mainly concentrated in Hoa Ly village, My Ly commune (Ky Son), about 60 km from Ban Ve Hydropower Dam. The landfill covers the entire width of the lake, stretching from Nam Non bridge to the end of Hoa Ly village, with a length of about 1 km. Regarding the cause of the garbage, the initial assessment is that it was due to the big flood in August 2019 that swept it from upstream.

Ban Ve Hydropower Company also has a preliminary assessment of the amount of garbage in the area at the end of the lake, in Hoa Ly village, estimated at about 11,400m3 (not including garbage floating in the lake and on the lake shores). Because the situation of garbage concentrated on the lake affects waterway traffic and also affects the environment, in this Document, Ban Ve Hydropower Company assesses that "collecting and treating garbage floating in the lake is very necessary".

Garbage piled up at the tail of Ban Ve Lake stretches for about 1 km, causing traffic congestion on waterways and affecting the environment. Photo: Contributor

However, due to the lack of legal basis for collecting garbage in the lake, Ban Ve Hydropower Company requested the Provincial People's Committee to chair a meeting with departments and branches to clarify the responsibilities of relevant parties.

Regarding the situation of garbage on the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir, on February 10, 2020, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued Document No. 521/STNMT-BVMT reporting in detail to the Provincial People's Committee; at the same time, through this incident, proposed a common handling direction for all owners of dams and hydropower reservoirs.

On February 20, 2020, the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 854/UBND-CN on the collection of waste from hydroelectric reservoirs to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, districts with hydroelectric plants, and owners of hydroelectric reservoirs and dams. Here, the Provincial People's Committee's opinion is:

Owners of hydroelectric lakes and dams are responsible for presiding over and coordinating with local authorities to clean and collect floating garbage in the entire reservoir area of ​​the factory; and to treat floating garbage and forest products after cleaning in accordance with the provisions of law. Strictly comply with the requirements in the EIA report/Environmental Protection Project approved by competent authorities and relevant environmental protection laws.

Document No. 854/UBND-CN of the Provincial People's Committee. Photo: Nhat Lan

For local authorities with hydropower plants in the area, the Provincial People's Committee directs: Coordinate with owners of hydropower lakes and dams in the process of cleaning and collecting garbage in the lake bed area of ​​their locality; supervise the compliance with environmental protection laws of owners of hydropower lakes and dams; strengthen activities to prevent and control sources of discharge into water sources in the management area to promptly detect and handle unusual phenomena...

According to the representative of the leadership of Ban Ve Hydropower Company, Document No. 854/UBND-CN of the People's Committee of Nghe An province is the basis for the company to closely coordinate with local authorities where Ban Ve Hydropower Plant is located to handle the situation of waste remaining in the lake. The representative also said that in the coming time, Ban Ve Hydropower Company will re-survey the lake area to more accurately assess the amount of waste reported to superiors; at the same time, it will propose that the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district organize a meeting to discuss the plan to clean up waste in Ban Ve lake.