VietNamNet Bridge – Many enterprises in the city continue to violate environment protection laws even after they have been fined, offering evidence that current punitive regimes are inadequate and ineffective.

Photo: VNN

The most frequent violations by enterprises include the discharging of wastewater, smoke and hazardous solid waste into the environment without treatment or with just preliminary treatment.

The report cited experts as saying that along with fines, authorised offices should also collect from the enterprises the money they should have spent on treating their waste.

Looking back on the infamous Vedan case, the report noted that investigators from the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment (MONRE) penalised the company just VND267 million (US$13,000), and also asked for VND127 billion ($6.3 million) the company should have spent on treating its effluents.

Vedan, a Taiwanese-invested monosodium glutamate (MSG) maker, was caught discharging untreated effluents through secret underground pipes into the local river for at least 14 years. It put up considerable resistance to paying compensation to affected farmers, but caved in when consumers started boycotting its products.

But Vedan's is a rare instance of companies being asked to pay for what they should have spent on treating their waste, and even then, this is a step only taken by agencies directly under the MONRE after many years.

Local environmental agencies do not take any other action after imposing fines that are puny in comparison to the offence and damage involved.

One suggestion to address this problem is that the names of the companies caught violating the law are publicised widely, directly impacting their image, prestige and profit.

In fact, the report said that this step had been regulated in a Government decree, but officials only provided information to the media when there was serious, visible destruction of the environment.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News