VietNamNet Bridge – Farmers in central Quang Ngai Province plan to take Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company to court if the company does not compensate them for damage caused by dumping untreated waste into Tra Khuc river.
The provincial Farmers' Association would co-ordinate to help affected farmers collect evidence of the damage to complete legal procedures against the company, association deputy chairman Nguyen The Nhan said.


"The association and provincial authorities plan to meet with representatives of the sugar company and affected regions to discuss compensation measures for affected farmers and we will sue the company if no agreement on compensation is reached," he said.


"The lawsuit will help warn other businesses to abide by environmental protection regulations."


The company's alcohol and liquor plant was found to have discharged untreated waste water into the river in May last year, causing mass death to ducks, shrimps and other aquatic animals bred by farmers downstream, in Son Tinh District.


Total cost of the damage to local farmers was estimated at nearly VND4 billion (US$200,000), Nhan said.


"The committee required the company to compensate affected farmers before November last year but the company has yet to take any action," he said.


The plant discharged 20,575cu m of untreated waste water into the river from May 2009 to April 4, 2010, said provincial environmental police who investigated the pollution.


The provincial People's Committee fined the plant operators VND150 million ($7,500) for polluting the river and to retroactively collect a total environmental protection fee of VND270 million ($13,500).

Tainted waters


The management board of the Ba Ria Vung Tau Province Industrial Park has threatened to suspend operations at four local companies for ignoring environmental regulations.


The companies in question were Liem Chinh Private Company, Phuong Ha Co Ltd, Thang Nhat Technology Printing Co Ltd and SCT Factory, reported the southern province's Natural Resources and Environment Department.


The companies were not only illegally using underground water resources but also directly discharging untreated waste water into the environment, according to Le Van Ninh, deputy head of the Environmental Crime Prevention and Fighting Police Department.


They intentionally delayed and refused to co-operate though having received instructions from environmental inspectors to implement regulations, said Le Tan Cuong, director of the Environment Protection Department.

Authorised agencies had already given them a second chance to build a waste water treatment system instead fining them, but they still refused to do so, he said.

Inspectors have fined 17 out of 19 local companies a total of VND911 million (US$43,600) for inadequate waste water treatment systems since they began random checks in late 2010.


Tran Ngoc Thoi, chairman of the provincial People's Committee said the committee planned to tighten inspections and issue heavy fines in the near future.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News