Circular 03/2022/TT-BNNPTNT amending Circular 05/2018/TT-BNNPTNT detailing the Law on Hydraulic Work

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BNNPTNT of May 15, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Hydraulic Work^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2017 Law on Hydraulic Work;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 15/2017/ND-CP of February 17, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

At the proposal of the General Director of the Directorate of Water Resources;

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BNNPTNT of May 15, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Hydraulic Work.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BNNPTNT of May 15, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Hydraulic Work

1. To amend and supplement Article 1 as follows:

“Article 1. Scope of regulation

1. This Circular prescribes the development, promulgation and implementation of operation processes of hydraulic structures; places for delivery and receipt of hydraulic-work products and services; planting of boundary markers of the protection corridors of hydraulic structures; and management and operation of small and on-farm hydraulic structures.

2. The technical process of operation of hydraulic structures which constitutes a component and content of a technical design not regulated by this Circular must comply with Vietnam Standard “Hydraulic structures - Components, Content Requirements for Technical Design and Detail Design”.

2. To amend Clause 1 of, and add Clause 5 to, Article 2 as follows:

a/ To  amend Clause 1 as follows:

“1. The operation process of hydraulic structures means a document defining the principles, responsibilities, organization of implementation, and operation sequence of hydraulic structures of the system of hydraulic structures, ensuring the safe operation of such system according to its design in conformity with water sources, the distribution of water in an economical and efficient manner, and the harmony of benefits among those having water use demands (below referred to as operation process).”

b/ To add Clause 5 as follows:

“5. Buried canal means an open water-conducting canal with a design water level lower than the average natural ground level in the surrounding area of which the construction requires digging below the natural ground level.”

3. To add Clause 9 to Article 4 as follows:

“9. Specific contents of an operation process are provided in Form No. 02 in Appendix I to this Circular.”.

4. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 as follows:

“b/ The order and competence to formulate, appraise and approve tasks and cost estimates and organize the selection of consultancy units to develop operation processes must comply with regulations on the order and competence to formulate, appraise and approve tasks and cost estimates and organize the selection of consultancy units to formulate construction investment projects.”.

5. To amend and supplement Article 15 as follows:

a/ To amend Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall manage or decentralize provincial-level People’s Committees to manage hydraulic structures of which the operation and protection involve 2 or more provinces. The list for assignment of the responsibility to manage hydraulic structures of which the operation and protection involve 2 or more provinces is provided in Appendix II to this Circular.”.

b/  To add Clause 2a below Clause 2 as follows:

“2a. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall decide on the decentralization for management of a hydraulic structure specified in Clause 2 of this Article in one of the following cases:

a/ The hydraulic structure has undergone the construction investment phase and is subject to management by the provincial-level People’s Committee as decentralized;

b/ The hydraulic structure suffers an incident, affecting the safety of its own and the downstream area due to the subjective reason of its managing unit or operating enterprise;

c/ For 2 consecutive years, the hydraulic structure-operating enterprise has been rated level C by its owner in accordance with the law on enterprises, or the operating unit or organization has been assessed by a competent agency as having not fulfilled its assigned tasks under the guidance of the Party organization or local administration;

d/ Serious violations are committed in the implementation of regulations on grant of licenses for activities within the protection corridors of ​​hydraulic structures.”.

6. To add Article 15a below Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15a. Assignment of responsibilities for the management of hydraulic structures as decentralized

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

a/ To summarize and include a list of investment in repair, upgrading and modernization of hydraulic structures for which localities have been decentralized to manage in plans on investment from state budget funds and other lawful funding sources;

b/ To build and manage the database on hydraulic work; to organize the observation, supervision and forecast of water sources and quality serving the direction, administration and operation of hydraulic structures;

c/ To review, and approve the adjustment of, tasks of hydraulic structures;

d/ To guide and inspect the implementation of the law on hydraulic work.

2. Provincial-level People’s Committees:

a/ To perform the owners’ responsibilities with regard to hydraulic structures for which they are decentralized to manage in accordance with law;

b/ To direct managing units and operating units of hydraulic structures in localities in managing and operating hydraulic structures in accordance with the Law on Hydraulic Work and relevant laws;

c/ To report on the results of the management and operation of hydraulic structures at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or upon occurrence of violations in the management, operation and safety assurance of hydraulic structures.”.

7. To add Article 15b below Article 15a as follows:

“Article 15b. Implementation of decentralization for management 

1. After the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decentralizes management of hydraulic structures to localities, related agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and provincial-level People’s Committees shall advise owners on assignment of tasks to managing units and operating units of hydraulic structures.

2. Hydraulic-work infrastructure assets shall be assigned and handled in accordance with the Law on Management and Use of Public Property.

3. Handover of dossiers of hydraulic structures:

a/ For hydraulic structures that have undergone the construction investment phase, their owners shall hand over dossiers to managing units for operation in accordance with the construction law;

b/ For hydraulic structures that have been put into management and operation, the current operating units shall hand over all relevant dossiers to the newly assigned operating units. The handover must be recorded in writing, certified by the related parties.”.

8. To amend and supplement Article 17 as follows:

“Article 17. Competence to decide on the decentralization for management of hydraulic structures and places for delivery and receipt of hydraulic-work products and services

1. For hydraulic structures under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s management:

a/ The Directorate of Water Resources shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies and units in, proposing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to decide on the decentralization for management of hydraulic structures;

b/ Organizations providing hydraulic-work products and services under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with organizations and individuals using hydraulic-work products and services in determining specific places for delivery and receipt of hydraulic-work products or services.

2. For hydraulic structures of which the management is decentralized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provincial-level People’s Committees, and hydraulic structures which are managed by provincial-level People’s Committees or of which the management is decentralized to district-level People’s Committees:

a/ Provincial-level Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related organizations and individuals in, proposing provincial-level People’s Committees to decide on the decentralization for management of hydraulic structures in the localities and according to the size of on-farm hydraulic structures;

b/ Organizations and individuals providing hydraulic-work products and services in localities shall coordinate with organizations and individuals using hydraulic-work products and services in determining specific places for delivery and receipt of hydraulic-work products or services.”.

9. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 18 as follows:

“3. In case hydraulic structures see the availability of  ground clearance markers or markers of water source protection corridors or markers of other structures, these markers shall be used as the reference markers to determine boundary markers of the protection corridors of hydraulic structures”.

10. To amend and supplement Clause 5, Article 19 as follows:

“5. Based on requirements of hydraulic structure management and protection, provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on cases in which it is required to plant boundary markers of the protection corridors of hydraulic structures in their localities for buried canals and cases other than those specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.”.

11. To amend Point b, Clause 2, Article 20 as follows:

“ b/ For the reservoirs specified in Clause 2, Article 19 of this Circular, based on the topographic characteristics of the area of marker planting and management requirements, the distance between two consecutive markers is between 200m and 500m. For areas of ​​reservoirs with a long slope or without inhabitants, such distance is more than 1,000m. Markers shall be planted at the diverging points and intersections of a boundary line with the terrain.”

12. To add Clause 6 to Article 21 as follows:

“6. The cost estimate for boundary marker planting, except to-be-built and to-be-repaired hydraulic structures subject to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s decision on investment policy approval.”.

13. To add Clause 4 to Article 22 as follows:

“4. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall approve cost estimates for boundary marker planting for to-be-built and to-be-repaired hydraulic structures subject to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s decision on investment policy approval after provincial-level People’s Committees approve plans on boundary marker planting.”.

14. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 1, Article 31 as follows:

“b/ A union of on-farm irrigation units shall be established from 4 or more on-farm irrigation units, and operate in accordance with the law on cooperatives.”.

15. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 31 as follows:

“2. The organizational structure of a union of on-farm irrigation units must comply with Article 29 of the Law on Cooperatives.”.

Article 2. To supplement, replace or annul a number of provisions of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BNNPTNT of May 15, 2018, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Hydraulic Work

1. To supplement, replace or remove a number of phrases as follows:

a/ To add the phrase “OF THE SYSTEM OF HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES” to the title of Chapter II;

b/ To replace the phrase “of the structure” in Clause 1, Article 5 with the word “in”;

c/ To remove the phrase “except buried canals” in Clause 3, Article 19;

d/ To remove the phrase “funds for implementation” at Point dd, Clause 4, Article 21;

dd/ To remove the phrase “Within 3 years after the effective date of this Circular” in Clause 1, Article 30; and the phrase “within the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article” in Clause 2, Article 30.

2. To replace Appendix I and Appendix II to Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BNNPTNT with Appendix I and Appendix II to this Circular.

Article 3. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on August 1, 2022.

2. Transitional provisions

a/ Places for delivery and receipt of hydraulic-work products and services approved by competent authorities before the effective date of this Circular may continue to be implemented;

b/ Plans on planting of boundary markers of the protection corridors of hydraulic structures approved before the effective date of this Circular may continue to be implemented.

3. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported in writing to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and settlement.-

For the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Deputy Minister
NGUYEN HOANG HIEP

* The appendices to this Circular are not translated.