Participating in the inspection delegation were Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education Ta Van Ha; Major General Tran Minh Le, Director of the Department of Environmental Crime Prevention and Control, Ministry of Public Security; leaders of the provinces and cities: Hanoi, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong; leaders of a number of functional agencies of the Ministries: Natural Resources and Environment, Public Security, Agriculture and Rural Development, Construction, Industry and Trade.
Receiving and working with the delegation, on the side of Hung Yen province, there were comrades: Nguyen Huu Nghia, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Tran Quoc Van, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; comrades in the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Standing Committee of the People's Council, leaders of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of a number of relevant departments and branches.
In the morning, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and the delegation conducted a field survey at Xuan Quan culvert in Xuan Quan commune, Van Giang district. Next, they conducted a field survey at Xuan Thuy culvert in Kieu Ky commune, Gia Lam district, Hanoi city. In the afternoon of the same day, the Minister and the delegation continued to conduct a field survey at Minh Khai plastic recycling village, Nhu Quynh town, Van Lam district; the wastewater treatment system at Thang Long II Industrial Park and at Cau Xe culvert in Quang Trung commune, Tu Ky district, Hai Duong province.
After the field survey program, in the afternoon of the same day, at the headquarters of the People's Committee of Hung Yen province, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh had a working session with Hung Yen province and the provinces and cities of Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Hai Duong to assess the current pollution situation, the management and treatment of waste sources causing water pollution in the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system.
At the meeting, Mr. Hoang Van Thuc, Director of the Department of Environmental Pollution Control (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) reported an overview of the pollution situation, the main causes of water pollution, the current status of wastewater treatment management into the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system and solution orientation.
According to the results of the investigation of wastewater discharge sources in Hung Yen province, the discharge sources into the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system include industrial wastewater, wastewater from livestock households, wastewater from craft villages, wastewater from medical facilities, and domestic wastewater. In addition, at the beginning of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system, it must receive polluted water from industrial wastewater, services, craft villages, and domestic wastewater along the Cau Bay river basin running through Hanoi City, which is considered the main cause of water pollution in the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system today. From 2022 to present, the province has directed inspections, checks, and administrative sanctions on environmental protection for 318 organizations and individuals with a total amount of nearly 17 billion VND.
At the meeting, representatives of the provinces and cities of Hanoi, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, and the Ministries of Public Security, Construction, and Agriculture and Rural Development reported on the management of water quality and use of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system and discussed solutions to overcome the pollution situation there.
Speaking to clarify some contents, Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan said that through inspection and assessment, it was found that the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system has two main sources of pollution: domestic wastewater with 72% untreated, in addition to pollution from livestock farms, craft villages and a small amount from industrial clusters. Although the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Public Security have imposed many fines, they are still only administrative penalties. Deputy Minister Nhan suggested that there should be drastic participation from localities.
According to Major General Tran Minh Le, the Department of Environmental Crime Prevention and Control, Ministry of Public Security has chosen the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system as a pilot, from which to deploy to other river basins nationwide, however, inspection and punishment are "only at the tip of the iceberg", still requiring drastic participation from localities. In Hung Yen alone, the Department of Environmental Crime Prevention and Control has identified 84 sources of pollution and is ready to transfer them to Hung Yen for joint resolution.
Assessing the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system as a symbolic project in the construction of socialism in the North in 1959, with profound historical value, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education Ta Van Ha said that at present, it is necessary to clarify the specific responsibilities of units and localities in handling untreated waste sources, industrial clusters causing environmental pollution... thereby developing synchronous solutions.
Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Yen Province Tran Quoc Van and Secretary of the Hung Yen Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Huu Nghia also emphasized that environmental protection is a political task, requiring the participation of the entire political system. The leaders of Hung Yen Province proposed that for all sources of pollution to the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system, if they intentionally discharge waste into water sources and are administratively punished more than three times, criminal prosecution should be considered.
Currently, Hung Yen province has also strictly assessed the environment for new production investment projects, resolutely refusing to accept projects with high risks of environmental pollution; for units with large discharges into the environment, the wastewater discharged into the environment must meet column A. In addition, it regularly inspects, checks, and supervises large discharge points; at the same time, it sets up over 100 automatic monitoring points to attach responsibility to enterprises in environmental protection.
Hung Yen Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Huu Nghia proposed to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to establish a steering committee with inter-sectoral and inter-local coordination with great determination, allocating resources to handle existing pollution and prevent new pollution sources from arising. Regularly inspect, monitor and handle violations related to water pollution in general and the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system in particular.
Concluding the meeting, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh requested close and effective participation and close coordination of ministries, branches and localities in protecting the environment of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system. Through this survey and meeting, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will synthesize opinions, research and propose to the Government to develop a project on handling and controlling environmental pollution of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system.
To effectively manage waste sources, the Minister suggested that localities and specialized units need to research and build a shared database system on waste sources discharged into the Bac Hung Hai system; install surface water monitoring networks for the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system and maintain regular monitoring and automatic monitoring connected to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the provinces, thereby detecting waste sources that generate pollution.
One of the reasons for the pollution of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system was also pointed out by Minister Dang Quoc Khanh, that in the past, when developing urban areas, localities only focused on investing in building road, electricity, and water supply systems but did not invest in wastewater treatment, leading to the generation of large sources of waste without a treatment system, causing environmental pollution. The Minister assigned the Department of Environmental Pollution Control to coordinate with specialized units to carefully review the sources of waste, and at the same time calculate the load capacity of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system to include in the roadmap for solutions in the coming time.
The Minister highly appreciated the commitment of localities in protecting the environment of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system, and requested that localities report and share specific methods. In addition, he requested that investment projects and production areas must have wastewater treatment systems that meet standards, and that projects and facilities that do not meet environmental protection requirements be inspected. For new projects and facilities, it is mandatory to have a wastewater collection and treatment system; craft villages must also comply with these regulations. In addition, the Minister requested that Hanoi soon deploy the construction of a domestic wastewater treatment system in Long Bien district as well as a wastewater drainage system in Gia Lam district to limit discharge sources into the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system.
Minister Dang Quoc Khanh also requested localities to step up propaganda and mobilize people and businesses to raise awareness of environmental protection in general and the environment of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system in particular.
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