Legal Document Updates in English (28/2011)

146 PROJECTS MUST SUBJECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT REPORTING
 

On April 18, 2011, the Government issued the Decree No. 29/2011/ND-CP providing strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental protection commitment.

Accordingly, the Decree regulates list of 146 projects must subject to environmental impact assessment reporting in 19 sections such as Construction; Construction material; Transport; Power and radioactivity; Electronics and telecommunications; irrigation and forest and agricultural land use; Mineral prospecting, exploitation and processing; Oil and gas; Waste treatment; timber processing and glass, ceramic and china production; Food processing; Farm product processing; animal husbandry and animal and aquatic feed processing; fertilizer and plant protection drug production; Chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics; paper and stationery production; Textiles, dyeing and garment.

A project owner shall make, or hire an institution meeting the conditions to make, an environmental impact assessment report for its investment project in the cases: The project location is changed; The project is not implemented within thirty-six (36) months after the issuance of a decision approving the environmental impact assessment report; The size, capacity or technology of the project is changed, resulting in increased adverse environmental impacts or scope of impacts.

An environmental impact assessment report shall be made concurrently with the formulation of the investment project (feasibility study report). Consultation of the commune-level People’s Committee and representatives of communities and organizations directly affected by a project is conducted.

Assessment and prediction of the project’s impacts on natural conditions, natural environmental components, the community and related socio-economic elements; results of consultation of the community; Remedies and the project owner’s commitment to taking environmental protection measures.

As according to this Decree,  investment projects with nature, size and capacity outside the list or below the level set in the list provided in Appendix II to this Decree; production, business and service activities not subject to investment project formulation but with arising production waste.

DOCUMENTS PUBLISHED IN "CONG BAO" IS ON THE TIME ORDER OF
RECEIVING DOCUMENTS

Government Office issued the Circular No. 03/2011/TT-VPCP dated April 25, 2011 detailing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 100/2010/ND-CP of September 28, 2010, on "CONG BAO".

Accordingly, Published "CONG BAO" comprises printed and electronic "CONG BAO". Printed "CONG BAO" is printed into books. Electronic "CONG BAO" is the electronic version of the printed "CONG BAO" published on the computer network on a full database for search and looking up of full texts of documents.

The font of the text in the printed "CONG BAO" is that of Unicode TCVN 6909:2001 standards. The size of the printed "CONG BAO" is 29 cm x 20.5 cm. For a document to be published in "CONG BAO" which has a diagram or map of a non-standard size, the "CONG BAO" office shall adjust the size of the printed "CONG BAO" accordingly;

On the first page of the "CONG BAO" publication is printed the national emblem and name of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; the "CONG BAO"; the name of the publishing province or centrally run city (for provincial-level "CONG BAO"); issue number of "CONG BAO"; date and table of contents of the "CONG BAO" issue (forms 1 and 2 provided in the Appendix to this Circular);

Documents shall be published in "CONG BAO" according to the time order of receiving documents. Documents received first shall be published first. Legal documents providing measures to be taken in a state of emergency and documents promptly promulgated to meet requirements of natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control shall be published in the latest "CONG BAO" issue immediately after the "CONG BAO" office receives those documents.

In each "CONG BAO" publication, documents shall be arranged in two parts: legal documents and other documents, which shall be arranged according to the hierarchy of promulgating agencies and the legal validity in descending order and document numbers in ascending order. Promulgating agencies of the same level shall be arranged in alphabetical order or in numbers in ascending order;

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATIONS ON ASSAYING PLANT VARIETIES
 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued the Circular No. No. 48/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated July 05, 2011 issuing the National Technical Regulations on assaying plant varieties.

2011/BNNPTNT;  QCVN 01-59 : 2011/BNNPTNT;  QCVN 01-60 : 2011/BNNPTNT;  QCVN 01-61 : 2011/BNNPTNT;  QCVN 01-62 : 2011/BNNPTNT;  QCVN 01-63 : 2011/BNNPTNT;  QCVN 01-64 : 2011/BNNPTNT   

FILE FORMAT STANDARD IN STATE AGENCIES
 

The Ministry of Information and Communication issue the Circular No. 19/2011/TT-BTTTT dated July 01, 2011 regulating on application of file format standard in state agencies.

The Circular is applied to state agencies including: Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial/municipal or commune level People’s Committees and units using the state budget.

All files, sheets, readable and adjustable presentation must have formats in accordance with File format standards for opening ODF office applications, specifically: format .odt for document files; format .ods for sheet files; format .odp for presentation files.

State agencies actively regulates at their agencies and units on using File format standards for opening ODF office applications for files of documents, sheets and presentation in storing and exchanging information with organizations and individuals.

Read-only files only apply Portable Document Format (.pdf) standards v1.4, v1.5, v1.6.

FREE FOR REGISTERING HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
 

On April 14, 2011, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued the Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT stipulating hazardous waste management.

A hazardous waste generator shall compile a dossier for hazardous waste generator registration according to a form provided in Appendix 1 (A and B) to this Circular and submit 2 (two) sets of the dossier directly or by post to the hazardous waste management agency for examination and grant of a hazardous waste generator register. Hazardous waste generators do not have to pay any hazardous waste generator registration charge or fee.

Within 10 (ten) days after receiving a registration dossier, the hazardous waste management agency shall examine its completeness and validity. In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, it shall notify such to the hazardous waste generator for modification and supplementation.

Within 25 (twenty-five) days after receiving a report on satisfactory results of trial operation, the licensing agency shall evaluate the practice conditions and grant for the first time a hazardous waste management practice license.

Conditions for an entity to be granted a hazardous waste management practice license include: Legal ground conditions; Physical and technical foundation conditions; Personnel conditions; Management-related conditions; Other conditions.

Hazardous waste management practice conditions and licenses are not required in the following cases: Transboundary transportation of hazardous wastes; Direct reuse of hazardous wastes; Use of environmental protection works merely for the purpose of self-treatment of hazardous wastes generated within the premises of hazardous waste-generating establishments in localities; Research and development of hazardous waste treatment technologies in laboratory environments.