Environmental Permit and 04 Things to Know in Vietnam

Environmental Permit in Vietnam and 04 Things to Know (Illustration)

1. What  is an environmental permit in Vietnam?

An environmental permit is a document issued by a competent state management agency to an organization or individual in Vietnam having activities of production, business or services permitted to discharge waste into the environment, manage waste, import scrap from abroad as production materials together with environmental protection requirements and conditions as prescribed by law.

2. Subjects must have environmental permits in Vietnam

- Object 1: Group I, Group II and Group III investment projects that generate waste water, dust, exhaust gases discharged into the environment must be treated or generate hazardous waste must be managed in accordance with the regulations on waste management when officially operating.

The above-mentioned entities which belong to the case of urgent public investment projects in Vietnam in accordance with the law on public investment are exempted from environmental licenses.

- Object 2: Investment projects, establishments, production and business zones, concentrated services, industrial clusters operating before January 1, 2022 have environmental criteria as object 1.

3. Contents of environmental license in Vietnam

The contents of the environmental license include:

- General information about investment projects, establishments, production and business zones, concentrated services, industrial clusters in Vietnam;

- Contents of environmental licensing;

- Requirements on environmental protection; duration of environmental license in Vietnam;

- Other contents (if any).

4. Procedures for applying for an environmental permit in Vietnam

4.1. Dossiers of application for environmental license

A dossier of application for an environmental permit includes:

- The written request for environmental permit in Vietnam;

- Report on environmental permit issuance proposal;

- Other legal and technical documents of investment projects, establishments, production and business zones, centralized services, industrial clusters in Vietnam.

4.2. The order of issuing environmental permits in Vietnam is prescribed as follows:

Step 1: The project owner and the establishment shall send the dossier of application for environmental permit to the competent agency. The dossiers are sent in person or by post or electronically through the online public service system in Vietnam;

Step 2: The authority competent to issue environmental permits is responsible for:

- To organize the receipt and inspection of the completeness and validity of the dossier;

- To publicize the contents of the report on proposal for environmental permit, except for information covered by state secrets and enterprise secrets in accordance with the law;

- Consultation with relevant agencies, organizations and individuals in Vietnam ;

- Checking the actual information of investment projects, establishments, production and business zones, centralized services, industrial clusters;

- Organizing the appraisal and issuance of environmental permits in Vietnam.

The process of receiving, settling administrative procedures and announcing the results shall be conducted in person, by post or electronically through the online public service system at the request of the owner of the investment project or establishment;

Step 3: Get your opinion

- In case the investment project, establishment, production and business zone, centralized services or industrial cluster in Vietnam  discharges wastewater into irrigation works, the environmental permit granting agency shall consult in writing and reach the consensus of the state agency managing such irrigation works before granting the environmental permit;

- In case the investment project or establishment is located in a concentrated production, business and service area or industrial cluster in Vietnam, the environmental permit granting agency shall consult in writing with the infrastructure construction and business owner of such concentrated production, business and service area or industrial cluster before granting the environmental permit.

(Clause 8, Article 3, Article 39, Article 40, Article 43 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020)

Diem My

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