Handling environmental pollution caused by Dong Vinh landfill

(Baonghean) - Nghe An Newspaper, issue dated September 30, 2014, in the Hotline Information section, reflected the opinions of people in hamlets 6 and 7, Nghi Kim Commune, Vinh City: "For many years, hamlets 6 and 7 of Nghi Kim Commune have been polluted by the Dong Vinh landfill. The State has given people health insurance, toxic support, production... In 2012, when the landfill was moved to Nghi Yen, all benefits were cut, while toxic residues still remained. People hope that all levels will consider the reality to simultaneously resolve the environmental pollution situation, while continuing to provide practical support for health care and production."

Receiving the newspaper's feedback, the City People's Committee assigned relevant departments, offices and units to inspect and clarify the content of the newspaper. On October 15, 2014, the Vinh City People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 5066/UBND-VP directing the handling of the issue raised by the newspaper as follows:

1. Support content for households

Following the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, Vinh City stopped dumping waste at Dong Vinh landfill since early 2011 and put the Nghi Yen Solid Waste Treatment Complex (Nghi Loc) into operation. Previously, according to the regulations of the Provincial People's Committee and the compensation plan for land clearance to expand Dong Vinh landfill, the city implemented support mechanisms for people in the area affected by Dong Vinh landfill, including the following mechanisms:

- Support for households residing outside the 500m radius from the Dong Vinh landfill fence but having cultivated land within the above radius according to Decision No. 3734/QD-UBND.DT dated September 28, 2007 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee.

- Support for toxic environmental pollution for people within a radius of 1,000m according to Decision No. 1539/QD-UBND.DT dated May 9, 2011 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for 2 communes Hung Dong and Nghi Kim.

- Buy health insurance cards for affected households within a 1,000m radius around Dong Vinh landfill.

- Spraying disinfectant to kill flies and mosquitoes for households and businesses within a radius of 1,000m around Dong Vinh landfill.

- Support for households with cultivated land in the affected area according to Decision No. 1231/QD-UBND dated January 31, 2008 of Vinh City People's Committee.

According to the direction of the Provincial People's Committee, the above support mechanisms will be implemented by the City People's Committee until the end of 2012. In order to have a basis to support households after the time of stopping garbage collection, on January 31, 2013, the City People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 542/UBND-TCKH requesting the Provincial People's Committee to continue to support affected households around the Dong Vinh landfill according to the above mechanisms.

On July 12, 2014, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 4922/UBND-CNMT on support for households around Dong Vinh landfill, in which, the Provincial People's Committee agreed to support affected people around Dong Vinh landfill in 2013 and 2014 with the following two contents:

- Support for toxic environmental pollution for people within a radius of 1,000m according to Decision 1539/QD-UBND.TM dated May 9, 2011 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for two communes Hung Dong and Nghi Kim.

- Support for households with cultivated land in the affected area according to Decision No. 1231/QD-UBND dated January 31, 2008 of Vinh City People's Committee.

After receiving the document from the Provincial People's Committee, the City People's Committee assigned the People's Committees of Hung Dong and Nghi Kim communes to compile a list of households eligible for support under the two above-mentioned mechanisms and submit it to the City People's Committee for decision. After the People's Committees of the two communes made a list of affected households, the City People's Committee issued a decision to allocate support funds and assigned the People's Committees of the two communes to make payments in accordance with regulations (Decision No. 6588/QD-UBND dated September 11, 2014 on targeted supplementation for the People's Committee of Hung Dong commune and Decision No. 6589/QD-UBND dated September 11, 2014 on targeted supplementation for the People's Committee of Nghi Kim commune), specifically:

2. Content to completely resolve environmental pollution

Currently, the Provincial People's Committee has a policy to transport all waste at Dong Vinh landfill to Nghi Yen Solid Waste Treatment Complex for treatment. The Department of Planning and Investment is advising the Provincial People's Committee to deploy steps to implement the project investment.

Vinh City People's Committee