What are regulations on the approval for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report in Vietnam?

What are regulations on the approval for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

The approval for the EIA report is specified in Article 9 of Circular 27/2015/TT-BTNMT on strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental protection plans issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. To be specific:

1. After the EIA report is assessed, if the assessment result is approval without amendments or approval with amendments, the project owner must amend the EIA report and send following documents to the EIA report assessment and approval agency:

a) One (01) application form for approval for EIA report, which specifies amended contents according to the conclusion of the assessment council, other than the case which does not need amendments;

b) Each EIA report is bound with hardcover and the signature of the project owner is written at the bottom of each page of the report including appendixes (excluding the cover using the form prescribed in Appendix 2.2 of this Circular) in sufficient number, then the report shall be sent to the addresses prescribed in Clause 3 Article 9 of this Circular together with one (01) CD containing one (01) electronic text file in format ".doc" contains the contents of the report and one (01) electronic text file in formats ".pdf" contains scanned content of the entire report (including appendixes).

2. After receiving the application for the EIA report approval sent by the project owner, the assessment authority must:

a) Within 20 working days from the date on which the application for the EIA report approval, the head of the assessment authority shall issue the decision on the EIA report approval using the form prescribed in Appendix 2.7 of this Circular and certify the back endpaper of the approved EIA report using the form prescribed in Appendix 2.8 of this Circular;

b) If the application is rejected, it is required to provide explanation in writing within 10 working days from the date on which the application is received.

3. The EIA report assessment authority shall send the decision on the EIA report approval to the project owner and relevant agencies, in particular:

a) Regarding the EIA report under competence in assessment and approval of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment: the decision on approval and the EIA report shall be sent to the People’s Committee of the province where the project is carried out;

b) Regarding the EIA report under competence in assessment and approval of Ministries or ministerial-level agencies: the decision on approval shall be sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the decision on approval and the EIA report shall be sent to the People’s Committee of the province where the project is carried out, excluding the projects under state secrets on defense and security;

c) Regarding the EIA report under competence in assessment and approval of the People’s Committee of the province: the decision on approval for the EIA report shall be sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the People’s Committee of district, and the People’s Committee of the commune where the project is carried out; the decision on approval and the EIA report shall be sent to the Service of Natural Resources and Environment and the management board of industrial park if the project is carried out in the industrial park.

4. After receiving the decision on the EIA report approval sent by Ministries or ministerial-level agencies, the People’s Committee of the province shall copy the decision and send them to the Service of Natural Resources and Environment, the People’s Committee of district, and the People’s Committee of the commune where the project is carried out and the management board of industrial park if the project is carried in the industrial park.

For your information.