Vietnam Finds 11,224 Environmental Law Violations in Five Years

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security’s Environmental Crime Police Department has uncovered 11,224 violations of Environment Protection Law nationwide, collecting a total environmental fees of VND135 billion ($6.49 million) over the last five years. More than one million cubic meters of wastewater was estimated to be discharged from about 223 exporting and processing zones (EPZs) and industrial parks (IPs) nationwide per year, including 70% of untreated wastewater, or improperly treated to the environment. This is resulting in severe environment pollution for many residential areas, posing a great threat to health of local people, experts said. A recent survey in the EPZs, IPs and some key urban areas showed the number of companies without wastewater treatment systems account for 90%. In fact, fines on environment violations are still so lenient that companies would rather pay the punishments than install wastewater treatment systems because the latter is much more expensive, experts said. Under the current regulations, environmental violators incur a maximum fine of VND500 million or even face criminal proceedings depending on the level of their infringement. (Sai Gon Giai Phong –Saigon Liberation  Oct 11)