Fretting over the impacts of wastewater discharged from the Lee & Man Vietnam paper mill project on the aquaculture production of local people, Hau Giang Province will build an environmental monitoring station next to the project.

Nguyen Van Dong, director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hau Giang Province, told the Daily that the station will be located in Mai Dam canal near Lee & Man paper mill and its construction is scheduled to get started in May this year.

According to the Fisheries Law and Circular No. 32 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, each locality must have at least one environmental monitoring station for aquaculture production. 

However, Hau Giang Province still has no such station for its aquaculture area of 1,500 hectares.

After completion, the station will measure 14 indicators as regulated by the Directorate of Fisheries, including water temperature, the pH level, microbiological levels, residues of pesticides and heavy metals like lead and mercury among others.

According to Dong, there are nearly 20 households engaging in aquaculture in the region around the station. 

Therefore, the province will place a fish cage at the station to provide alerts if any incident occurs.

Previously, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has asked the Government to inspect the technologies for wastewater treatment and environmental monitoring of Lee & Man Vietnam paper mill due to the threat of its impacts on agriculture production of the Mekong Delta.

The Lee & Man Vietnam paper mill project is in the process of trial operation. However, there have been some incidents like dust, smell and odor nuisance. 

The investors are resolving the problems and expect to finish their work on May 5.

SGT