Latest regulations on applications and procedures for issuance of environmental license in Vietnam

Latest regulations on applications and procedures for issuance of environmental license in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Latest regulations on applications and procedures for issuance of environmental license in Vietnam

Applications and procedures for issuance of environmental license in Vietnam according to Article 43 Law on Environmental Protection 2020 are as follows:

* Applications for environmental licenses include:

- Application form for issuing an environmental license;

- Report proposing issuance of an environmental license;

- Other legal and technical documents of the investment project, facility, concentrated production, business, service area, industrial cluster.

* Sequence and procedures for issuing environmental licenses are regulated as follows:

- The project owner or facility submits the application dossier for an environmental license to the competent authority specified in Article 41 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020. The dossier can be submitted directly, via postal service, or electronically through the online public service system;

+ The competent authority issuing the environmental license is responsible for receiving and checking the completeness and validity of the dossiers; publicly disclosing the content of the report proposing the issuance of an environmental license, except for information classified as state or corporate secrets as per legal provisions; seeking opinions from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals; inspecting the actual information of the investment project, facility, concentrated production, business, service area, industrial cluster; organizing the appraisal and issuance of the environmental license.

The process of receiving, handling administrative procedures, and notifying results are carried out directly, via postal service, or electronically through the online public service system as requested by the project owner or facility;

- In cases where the investment projects, facilities, concentrated production, business, service areas, or industrial clusters discharge wastewater into irrigation works, the agency issuing the environmental license must seek written consent from the competent authority managing those irrigation works before issuing the environmental license;

- In cases where the investment projects, facilities are located in concentrated production, business, service areas, or industrial clusters, the agency issuing the environmental license must seek written consent from the investor in charge of the construction and business infrastructure of those concentrated production, business, service areas, or industrial clusters before issuing the environmental license.

* The issuance of environmental licenses is based on the appraisal of the report proposing the issuance of the environmental license. The competent authority issuing the environmental license establishes an appraisal council and inspection team as regulated by the Government of Vietnam.

For investment projects, facilities, concentrated production, business, service areas, or industrial clusters that discharge wastewater into irrigation works, the appraisal council and inspection team must include representatives from the competent authority managing those irrigation works.

The competent authority managing the irrigation works is responsible for appointing members to participate in the appraisal council and inspection team, providing written opinions on the issuance of the environmental license within the stipulated time frame; if the time frame expires without a reply, it is considered as agreement with the issuance of the environmental license.

* The time frame for issuing an environmental license is calculated from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier and is regulated as follows:

- No more than 45 days for environmental licenses under the authority of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Public Security;

- No more than 30 days for environmental licenses under the authority of provincial and district-level People's Committees;

- The competent authority issuing the environmental license may stipulate a shorter issuance time than those specified in points a and b, clause 4 of Article 43 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 suitable for the type, scale, and nature of the investment project, facility, concentrated production, business, service area, or industrial cluster.

* Investment projects, facilities, concentrated production, business, service areas, or industrial clusters required to have an environmental license and involving radiological work must comply not only with the provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 but also with the regulations of nuclear energy law.

2. Contents of environmental licenses under the law in Vietnam

Contents of environmental licenses in Vietnam as defined in Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 include:

- General information about the investment project, facility, concentrated production, business, service area, industrial cluster; environmental license contents; environmental protection requirements; validity period of the environmental license; and other contents (if any).

- The contents of the environmental license include:

+ Sources generating wastewater; maximum discharge flow; type of wastewater; pollutants and the limit values of pollutants in wastewater; discharge location, method, and receiving environment;

+ Sources generating emissions; maximum discharge flow; type of emissions; pollutants and the limit values of pollutants in emissions; discharge location, method;

+ Sources and limit values for noise, vibration;

+ Hazardous waste treatment facilities and systems; hazardous waste codes and allowable treatment amount, number of hazardous waste transfer stations, operational areas for investment projects, facilities providing hazardous waste treatment services;

+ Types and amounts of scrap permitted to be imported for investment projects or facilities that import scrap from abroad as production materials.

- Environmental protection requirements include:

+ Having facilities and measures for collecting and treating wastewater, emissions, noise, and vibration that meet the requirements; in cases of wastewater discharge into irrigation works, environmental protection requirements for the water source of the irrigation works must be met;

+ Having measures, systems, facilities, and equipment for storing, transporting, transferring, preliminary processing, and treating hazardous waste that meet technical and management standards for investment projects and facilities providing hazardous waste treatment services;

+ Having warehouses and storage yards for scrap that meet regulations; recycling equipment systems; plans for handling impurities; plans for re-exportation for investment projects or facilities that import scrap from abroad as production materials;

+ Having environmental management and monitoring plans, environmental incident prevention and response plans; equipment, facilities for environmental incident prevention and response, and environmental monitoring;

+ Managing domestic solid waste, ordinary industrial solid waste, hazardous waste; environmental rehabilitation, biodiversity compensation as regulated by law;

+ Other environmental protection requirements (if any).

- The validity period of the environmental license is regulated as follows:

+ 7 years for Group I investment projects;

+ 7 years for production, business, and service facilities; concentrated production, business, service areas; industrial clusters operating before the effective date of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 with environmental criteria similar to Group I investment projects;

+ 10 years for entities not falling under the provisions of points a and b of clause 4, Article 40, of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020;

+ The validity period of the environmental license may be shorter than the periods specified in points a, b, and c, of clause 4, Article 40, of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 upon the request of the investment project owner, facility, or infrastructure investor in the concentrated production, business, service area, or industrial cluster (hereinafter referred to as the project owner or facility).

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