The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment on February 21 evaluated a dossier related to the plan to sink 1.5 million cubic meters of waste into Tuy Phong sea area in Binh Thuan. 

The waste was generated from dredging carried out by the Vinh Tan 1 coal thermal plant. 

Some experts and representatives from agencies protested the solution, and others suggested changing the position for engulfment and asked for more detailed assessments about the possible impact of the huge volume of waste on the sea environment.

The waste is planned to be dumped in the area near the Hon Cau marine protected area (MPA), just 500 meters far from the MPA’s buffer zone.

The representative of Hon Cau MPA commented there are ‘too many unreasonable things’ found in the investor’s arguments, especially the ones on possible impacts of the engulfment to the environment. 

The documents presented by the investor contain tide observation data provided by a Chinese consultancy firm. 

Meanwhile, the research works by the Vietnam Oceanography Institute and the published documents about upwelling areas were not considered when planning the waste sinking. 

“They only conducted the observation at 11 coastal positions and came to the conclusion about the hydrology regime that there is no ocean current in the area. Therefore, the conclusion is unreliable,” he said.

He went on to say that the waste would cover 30 hectares of the seabed with the 3-meter waste layer, while a large area of coral would be buried and ecological resources would be damaged.

He also pointed out that it is necessary to learn about the possible impacts the waste engulfment would have on a whole large area instead of the small area of Vinh Tan commune.

According to Nguyen Tac An, Vice Chair of the Vietnam Marine Science and Technology Association, it is necessary to discover if the waste sinking into the sea is in line with international laws. 

As Vietnam still has no laws on the issue, it is necessary to consider the case in accordance with other existing laws, including the environment protection law, and the biodiversity protection law.

An believes the burying of such a big volume of waste at sea will have a very big impact on the environment.  

“When sea water gets turbid, the light cannot go through and the photosynthesis process cannot be implemented. This will obstruct the air circulation process which kills the environmental habitat,” he said.

Thien Nhien