Law

Sand and gravel mining causes riverbank erosion: Not just a problem in Dong Van…

Thanh Cuong, Nhat Lan • DNUM_BEZAEZCACF 14:56

Due to the problem of landslides on the Lam River alluvial plain, from 2023 to now, people in Dong Van commune (Thanh Chuong) have twice set up tents, hung flags and banners, beat drums, and posted information on social networks... to prevent sand mining activities.

People act "reluctantly"

The problem of landslides on Lam River alluvial land in Dong Van commune (Thanh Chuong) caused people in Tien Quanh and Dinh Son hamlets to gather to build huts, hang flags, beat drums... to prevent sand mining activities from starting at the end of March 2025. Although immediately afterwards, the People's Committee of Dong Van commune and Thanh Chuong district took action; and on April 3, an interdisciplinary working group led by the Department of Agriculture and Environment conducted a field inspection, temporarily suspended sand mining activities, and issued some quite strict decisions to the licensed mining unit, Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transport Joint Stock Company, however, the people of Dong Van commune are still not free from worries.

The evidence is that on the morning of April 9, 2025, when we went down to the landslide site in Dong Van commune with Thanh Chuong district officials, there was a rapid drum beat. Then, just a few minutes later, about a few dozen people followed us down to the landslide. Seeing this scene, I blurted out: It seems like the people knew that there were strangers going down to the landslide so they followed us down to monitor? She replied: “After the landslide, the people monitored the activities on the landslide. Whenever we saw someone going down to the landslide, we would beat the drum. The rapid drum beat just now was to inform us…”.

At this time, near the landslide site, there were still tents, flags, and banners; and there were also a series of signs with the warning words "Dangerous deep water area". As for the people of Dong Van commune, when they learned that we were brought by district officials to investigate the landslide, they were very "enthusiastic" in providing information.

As discussed, although the sand mine of Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transport Joint Stock Company has no boundary markers, local people confirmed that they discovered sand mining ships in the wrong location and mining beyond the permitted capacity. Therefore, they reluctantly organized a camp on the beach to prevent illegal sand mining activities.

Representing the people, Mr. Hoang Van Mui (Party member of Tien Quanh hamlet) said: “The people of Dong Van commune always comply with the policies and laws of the Party and the State. Every family has work to do and worry about, and it is not good to gather in large numbers on the riverbank like this. But even though we have no choice, we have to do it. Because if we do not stop sand mining activities, the bank will continue to erode, affecting the fields, gardens, Ta Lam dike, affecting the houses and lives of hundreds of households…”.

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Every family has work to do and worry about, and it is not good to gather in large numbers on the riverbank like this. But even though we have no choice, we have to do it.

Mr. Hoang Van Mui - Tien Quanh hamlet, Cat Van commune (Thanh Chuong)

According to Mr. Hoang Van Mui, on Lam River in Dong Van Commune, there are still regular sand mining activities. But recently, in Tien Quanh alluvial area, there are always 7-8 sand boats operating continuously; each boat carries about 8 trips of sand a day. Tien Quanh hamlet alluvial area has large sand reserves, easy to exploit, so they focus on sand boats to exploit at full capacity. There are many types of sand suction boats, there are very large boats hired from the North to carry up to 200m³sand. According to Mr. Mui's estimate, in recent days, on average, about 7,000 - 8,000 m3 of sand has been exploited at Tien Quanh beach.³sand/day. “When granting a mineral mining license, based on scientific grounds, the competent authority will clearly state the reserves and regulate the mining capacity each year so that the organization licensed to mine minerals must comply, avoiding causing consequences. If the organization licensed to mine strictly complies, there will be no consequences. However, here, people are exploiting massively and not in accordance with regulations, causing landslides. This company has been fined for exploiting beyond the permitted capacity…”, Mr. Mui said.

Along with Mr. Hoang Van Mui, some people also added that, many years ago, this alluvial area was both a production site and a bathing beach for the people of Dong Van commune. Therefore, the people did not agree with the granting of sand mining licenses in this area. A local resident said: “The people of Dong Van commune were not consulted when the State considered granting sand mines. Therefore, since 2023, we have submitted our opinions to the commune and district requesting consideration of reducing the area or revoking the granted sand mine. The commune has also informed us that it has submitted a written request to higher levels, however, it has not been considered yet…”.

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On April 3, 2025, based on the inspection results of the interdisciplinary working group, the Department of Agriculture and Environment issued Document No. 1003/SNNMT-KS, in which it was determined that there were 1,117m²Outside the mine area, there is a landslide situation; Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transport Joint Stock Company is required to strictly suspend mining until the case is completely handled... There is a document requesting to reduce an area of ​​about 2 hectares in Area II, Dong Van Commune, Thanh Chuong District of Mineral Exploitation License No. 2905/GP-UBND for handling.

Social anxiety

Talking to Dong Van commune officials, we learned that this is not the first time that local people have gathered in large numbers, using drums, loudspeakers, and social networks to protest the sand and gravel mining activities of Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company.

That was in August 2023, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuong, Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee, recalled. Upon receiving news that people had gathered in large numbers, the Commune People's Committee organized an inspection of the mine's boundary markers, worked with Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transport Joint Stock Company and requested this unit to strictly comply with legal regulations. At the same time, the Commune People's Committee organized a dialogue with the people. At the dialogue, people said that sand mining affects agricultural production, the ecological environment, and makes it difficult to prevent and combat natural disasters. In addition, it is believed that sand dredging lowers the riverbed, deforming the flow, leading to consequences of erosion of the riverbank and Ta Lam dike, seriously affecting people's property and lives. Therefore, people proposed to narrow the area of ​​the mine. "Dong Van Commune then sent Report No. 447 UBND-BC dated August 15, 2023 to the District People's Committee...", the Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee discussed.

Regarding the incident in 2023, Mr. Chuong presented Report No. 447 UBND-BC of the commune and Document No. 1831/UBND-TNMT dated August 17, 2023 of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee sent to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Looking at these documents, it is clear why people are protesting against sand mining; confirming that the People's Committee of Dong Van Commune and Thanh Chuong District People's Committee had dialogued and consulted people to propose the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to organize an inspection and review of the location of the Dong Van sand mine granted to Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company under License No. 2905/GP-UBND dated July 10, 2018.

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The exploitation activities of Thanh Chuong Sand Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company are very unprofessional, everyone does their own thing...

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuong - Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee

Regarding the recent incident, according to Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Van Commune Nguyen Quoc Chuong, as early as March 25, 2025, the commune discovered that sand mining was causing landslides. However, through inspection, at this time it was determined that the mining activities were within the mine area, so the commune made a record to remind and request a temporary suspension of mining to determine the affected area. "The mining activities of Thanh Chuong Sand Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company are very unprofessional, everyone does their own thing. Therefore, although the commune requested a temporary suspension, they did not comply, leading to the incident on March 28 when people set up tents to prevent mining. When the authorities went down to the site to stabilize the situation, propagate and mobilize people to ensure security and order in the area, the people still said that if the commune could not do it, they would let the people do it...", Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Van Commune, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuong said sadly.

On April 3, 2025, after the interdisciplinary working group finished the inspection, the Department of Agriculture and Environment sent a document to relevant units, requesting Thanh Chuong Sand Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company to reduce about 2 hectares of the mine; requesting the People's Committee of Dong Van commune to give its opinion. When asking the Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Van commune about this content, he said that the company had submitted a request to return 2.65 hectares of sand mine to Dong Van commune and the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district. However, the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the commune consulted and agreed that it would take more time to have an official opinion to send to the People's Committee of the district and the Department of Agriculture and Environment. "Dong Van commune recognizes that it must be very careful in giving its opinion. If this issue is considered from 2023, it will be more favorable, the situation now will be different ...", the Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Van commune acknowledged. He then added that on April 8, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district issued a document assigning the Commune People's Committee to verify and clarify the cause of the landslide covering an area of ​​1,117 m.²located outside the mining area, so the commune must set up a working group to focus on carrying out this task...

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On April 8, 2025, Thanh Chuong District People's Committee issued Document No. 820/UBND-NNMT on "Continuing to verify and clarify sand and gravel mining activities in Dong Van commune". Here, Thanh Chuong District People's Committee requested Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company to provide the following records and documents: Tax declaration and payment records for the first quarter of 2025; Report on mineral exploitation at Dong Van sand mine from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025 and other relevant documents...; continue to temporarily suspend mining as requested by the District People's Committee in Official Dispatch No. 765/UBND-TNMT dated April 1, 2025 until the case is completely handled.

The story is not unique to Dong Van.

Having followed the sand and gravel mining activities on the riverbed for many years, we know that people in many localities of the province are insecure and worried about this activity. For example, in the Do Nha sandbank area, Chau Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen district in 2021, because of the sand bandits on the Lam River causing landslides on the banks, people had to write a petition for help to the provincial authorities. Or in the Lam River section through Vinh Son commune, Anh Son district, the situation of sand mining leading to landslides on alluvial banks and production areas made people very upset. Therefore, the People's Committee of Vinh Son commune had to allocate budget and contract with a group of 3 people to regularly monitor sand mining activities...

In Thanh Chuong district, not only Dong Van commune has sand mining that causes landslides. In Thanh Tien and Dai Dong communes, there have also been many cases of illegal sand and gravel mining on Lam River, causing consequences, leading to public anger and many years of complaints and denunciations.

Regarding the province's river sand and gravel mineral resources, it is clear that they need to be exploited to serve social needs, create jobs with income for a part of the population, and contribute to the budget. However, the planning and licensing of exploitation must be in accordance with the law; for organizations licensed to exploit, they must strictly comply with regulations, including compliance with planning and exploitation at the licensed capacity.

Arriving at the Dong Van sand mine, Nghe An Newspaper reporters carefully observed and noticed that there were no boundary markers. This detail alone showed that Thanh Chuong Sand Mining and Transportation Joint Stock Company did not comply with the law, which was one of the causes of mining activities not within the licensed scope, causing landslides and causing public outrage.

Discussing what he heard and saw with Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Le Quang Huy, according to him, the exploitation of sand and gravel on riverbeds in the province has had and is having consequences in some localities, which need to be inspected and rectified. Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Le Quang Huy discussed: Since the beginning of 2025, the Department has had a plan to inspect the exploitation of sand and gravel on riverbeds. After the incident at the sand mine in Dong Van commune, the Department has sent a document requesting relevant units to coordinate and establish a number of interdisciplinary teams to conduct large-scale inspections...".

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On December 16, 2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 215/QD-XPHC to administratively sanction Thanh Chuong Sand and Gravel Exploitation and Transportation Joint Stock Company for exploiting river sand and gravel in excess of its permitted capacity (in 2020, it exceeded capacity by 211.2%; in 2021, it exceeded capacity by 208.6%). The fine is VND 900 million; at the same time, the exploitation activities are suspended for 5.5 months.