SUBJECT MUST PREPARE EIA REPORT

Subjects which must prepare EIA report are stipulated in column (3) Appendix II, Section I, Appendix of Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP dated May 13, 2019 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of the decrees detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection.

TIME MUST PREPARE EIA REPORT

According to Clause 5, Article 1, Decree 40/2019/ND-CP (Amending Clause 2, Article 14, Decree 18/2015/ND-CP), the project owner shall submit the EIA report to the authority agency for approval before the following points of time:

  • Regarding a mineral extraction project, the EIA report shall be submitted before the authority agency carries out the assessment to issue or adjust the license for mineral extraction;
  • Regarding a project of oil and gas exploration and extraction, the EIA report shall be submitted before the authority agency carries out the assessment and grants approval for the exploration plan, oil field development plan;
  • Regarding a construction project, the EIA report shall be submitted before the authority agency carries out the assessment of feasibility study report, economic-technical reports or basic design, construction drawing design (if the project only requires one design step). In case the project has the same agency which appraise the environmental impact assessment report and the basic design or construction drawing design, the above documents shall be submitted at the same time for appraisal as prescribed;
  • Regarding other projects not specified in Points a, b and c of this Clause, the EIA report shall be submitted before the decision on approval for the project investment.

THE AUTHORITY AGENCY FOR APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF THE EIA REPORT

According to Clause 5, Article 1, Decree 40/2019/ND-CP (amending Clause 1, Article 14, Decree 18/2015/ND-CP), depending on the type and scale of the project, the authotiry agency to organize the appraisal of environmental impact assessment reports is prescribed as follows:

  • The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall appraise and approve the EIA reports on projects prescribed in Appendix III Section I, Appendix of Decree 40/2019/ND-CP, except for projects subject to national defense and security secrets;
  • Ministries, ministerial agencies shall appraise and approve the EIA reports on projects under their competence in approval for investment, except for projects in Appendix III Section I, Appendix of Decree 40/2019/ND-CP.
  • The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall appraise and approve EIA reports on projects subject to national defense and security secrets and projects under their competence in approval for investment, except for projects prescribed in Appendix III Section I, Appendix of Decree 40/2019/ND-CP.
  • The People’s Committee of the province shall appraise and approve EIA reports on projects in the province not specified in the above Points.

CONTENT OF EIA REPORT

According to Appendix I – Form No. 04, Circular 25/2019/TT-BTNMT dated December 31, 2019, the structure and the specifc content of EIA report are regulated as follows:

INTRODUCTION

CHAPRTER I: DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT. Description of detail structure items of the project; raw materials, chemicals used during construction, production/operation phases; Production technology; Works and measures to protect the environment of the project …

CHAPTER II: NATURAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS OF THE PROJECT AREA. Summary of natural, socio-economic conditions of the project area; Measuring, taking samples for analysis, assessing the current status of soil, water, air, and sediment environment, … at least 03 times; Assessment of the current status of biodiversity and biological resources in the project area.

CHAPRTER III: ASSESMENT, FORECAST OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT AND PROPOSAL OF MEARURES, WORKS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, RESPONSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS

  • The environmental impact assessment of the project is carried out according to the phases of the project including construction phase and operation phase (trial operation and official operation) and must be specified for each impact source, each affected object. Proposed environmental protection measures and works must be appropriate and satisfy the environmental protection requirements for each potential impact.
  • For projects to expand, increase capacity or change technology of the existing facility, the industrial park, it must have a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of the existing facility, the industrial park and the new project to expand, increase capacity or change technology.

CHAPTER IV: PLAN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RENOVATION AND RESTORATION (Required only for mineral extraction projects). The detail contents include: Selection of environmental renovation and restoration plan; contents of environmental renovation and restoration; implementation plan; estimated cost.

CHAPTER V: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PROGRAM. Summarize environmental management plan; Develop an environmental monitoring program for the phases including: (1) Construction, (2) Trial operation, (3) Official operation.

CHAPTER VI: CONSULTATION RESULTS. Summarize public consultation process and results; Consult experts and scientists (if any); Consult a professional organization about the accuracy of the model (if any).

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS

EIA APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL FEE

According to Circular No. 56/2018/TT-BTC dated June 25, 2018 issued by the Ministry of Finance, the fee for projects with EIA reports appraised by central agencies is presented as follows:

No. Total investment budget (billions VND) Appraisal fee for project groups
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Up to 10 8.0 8.6 8.8 9.2 9.6 6.0
2 Over 10 to 20 12.5 13.0 13.5 14.0 15.0 9.0
3 Over 20 to 50 21.0 22.0 22.5 23.0 24.0 15.0
4 Over 50 to 100 37.5 38.0 39.0 41.0 43.0 27.0
5 Over 100 to 200 41.5 42.0 43.0 45.0 47.0 30.0
6 Over 200 to 500 54.0 55.0 56.0 59.0 62.0 39.0
7 Over 500 to 1.000 61.0 62.0 63.5 66.0 69.0 44.0
8 Over 1.000 to 1.500 65.0 67.0 68.5 72.0 75.0 48.0
9 Over 1.500 to 2.000 67.0 68.0 70.0 73.5 76.5 49.0
10 Over 2.000 to 3.000 70.0 71.0 73.0 76.0 79.0 51.0
11 Over 3.000 to 5.000 72.25 74.0 76.0 79.0 82.0 53.0
12 Over 5.000 to 7.000 77.0 78.0 80.0 84.0 87.0 56.0
13 Over 7.000 84.0 86.0 88.0 92.0 96.0

61.0
  • Group 1. Civil engineering projects
  • Group 2. Technical infrastructure projects (except transport projects).
  • Group 3. Projects on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and irrigation.
  • Group 4. Transportation projects.
  • Group 5. Industrial projects.
  • Group 6. Waste treatment and environmental improvement projects and other projects (excluding group1, 2, 3, 4, 5 above).
  • For projects belonging to 02 groups or more, the fee of the group with the highest fee will be applied./.
  • For projects with EIA reports appraised by provincial agencies, the appraisal fee is regulated by the locality.

EIA PREPARATION, APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL PROCESS

Preparing EIA reports is done by the following process:

  • Step 1: Collect and review project documents;
  • Step 2: Survey the project area, take/measure/analyze environmental and ecological samples (if any);
  • Step 3: Set up and run math model; consult the model’s accuracy (if any);
  • Step 4: Draft EIA report;
  • Step 5: Consult experts and scientists (for projects in Appendix IIa);
  • Step 6: Public consultation (if any);
  • Step 7: Edit the EIA report according to recomendations of experts, scientists, and community;
  • Step 8: Submit EIA report at the appraisal and approval agency;
  • Step 9: The EIA Appraisal Council conducts survey of the project area; consult organizations, experts; organize expert meetings by topic (if any);
  • Step 10: Defend the EIA report at the Appraisal Council meeting;
  • Step 11: Finalize the EIA report according to the recommendations of appraisal council (if any) and submit it to the appraisal and approval agency.
  • Step 12: Approve the EIA report.

VIECA’S EXPERIENCE

Over the years, VIECA has prepared hundreds of EIAs for projects including constructing infrastructure of industrial parks, urban areas, seaports, factories, manufacturing facilities, office buildings, hospitals, waste treatment plants, livestock facility, mineral extraction, dredging, etc.

HERE ARE TYPICAL EIA REPORTS PREPARED BY VIECA