Cases where declaration, licensing of exploitation of water resources are mandatory in Vietnam from July 1, 2024

Cases where declaration, licensing of exploitation of water resources are mandatory in Vietnam from July 1, 2024 (Image from the internet)

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows: 

On May 16, 2024, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 54/2024/ND-CP on groundwater drilling practicing, water resource-related declaration, registration, licensing and services and fees for water resource exploitation right in Vietnam.

Cases where declaration, licensing of exploitation of water resources are mandatory in Vietnam from July 1, 2024

Cases where declaration, licensing of exploitation of water resources are mandatory in Vietnam from July 1, 2024, include:

1. Groundwater exploitation works of households as specified in Clause 4, Article 52 of the Water Resources Law 2023 must be declared. The declaration provides information for competent state agencies to give recommendations to households regarding groundwater quality, areas at risk of water level lowering, degradation, subsidence, areas with groundwater near saline areas, and serves for groundwater protection management.

2. Cases requiring registration for water resource exploitation and use, including:

- Reservoirs, irrigation dams with a total volume from 0.01 million m³ to 0.2 million m³; surface water exploitation works for agricultural production, aquaculture with a scale of more than 0.1 m³/second to 0.5 m³/second.

In cases where reservoirs or irrigation dams with a total volume from 0.01 million m³ to 0.2 million m³ have a scale of exploitation for agricultural production, aquaculture exceeding 0.5 m³/second or for other purposes requiring a license, they must comply with the provisions of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP;

- Exploiting seawater for production, business, services, aquaculture on islands or mainland with a scale of more than 10,000 m³/day to 100,000 m³/day;

- Exploiting groundwater for purposes other than those specified in point a Clause 3, Article 52 of the Water Resources Law 2023 and Clause 1 with a scale not exceeding 10 m³/day;

- Using self-flowing groundwater in mining pits for ore processing at the pit or pumping water to drain the self-flowing water into the mining pits as provided at point c Clause 5, Article 52 of the Water Resources Law 2023;

- Works blocking rivers, streams, canals, mounds, and ditches for the purpose of preventing salinity, creating water sources, preventing flooding, and creating landscapes (excluding irrigation or hydropower reservoirs and dams) as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 7 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP with a total length of blocking structure not exceeding 30 m; for sluice gates blocking rivers, streams, canals, mounds, and ditches for the purpose of preventing salinity, creating water sources, preventing flooding, and creating landscapes, other than the regulations in Clause 5, Article 7 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP, the total waterway width does not exceed 5 m.

In cases where there are other water exploitation purposes requiring a license, they must comply with the provisions of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP;

- Using surface water of reservoirs for solar power production as provided at point e Clause 5, Article 52 of the Water Resources Law 2023;

- Using surface water of rivers, streams, canals, mounds, ditches, and reservoirs for aquaculture, business, and services with a water surface area exceeding 100 m²;

- Tourism areas or spots with activities using surface water;

- Digging rivers or streams as provided at point g Clause 5 Article 52 of the Water Resources Law 2023;

- Digging lakes or ponds to create spaces for water collection and storage, and landscapes with a scale other than those specified at point a Clause 4, Article 7 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP;

- Digging canals, mounds, and ditches to create spaces for water collection and storage, water conduction, and landscapes with a scale other than those specified at point b Clause 4 Article 7 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP.

3. Cases of water resource exploitation requiring a license, including:

- Water resource exploitation not falling under the provisions of Article 7 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP and Clauses 1 and 2;

- Cases prescribed at point a of this Clause where surface water exploitation directly from reservoirs, irrigation or hydropower dams, irrigation or hydropower canal systems must comply with the licensing provisions of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP.

4. Water exploitation works requiring water resource exploitation licenses must be licensed by competent state agencies as provided in Article 15 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP before constructing the water exploitation works.

In cases where water exploitation works exist without licenses as required, competent state agencies shall consider and decide on the water resource exploitation licensing if they meet the licensing conditions prescribed in Article 57 of the Water Resources Law 2023. Violations due to exploration and exploitation of water resources without licenses are handled according to legal provisions on administrative penalties in the field of water resources.

(Article 8 of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP)

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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