VietNamNet Bridge –Industrial firms found committing grave violations in disposing of their toxic solid waste are exploiting a legal loophole to avoid or defer paying fines, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reports.

The Binh Chanh Construction Investment JSC (BCCI) has delayed paying fines imposed on it for more than two years now.

According to a Government decree (No. 174/2007/ND-CP dated Nov. 29, 2007) any organisation or individual generating and discharging harmful solid waste while manufacturing or trading has to pay environmental protection charges.

The People's Councils in provinces and cities would decide the fine based on a framework rate set by the government.

HCM City has so far promulgated environmental protection charges for solid waste generated by families, but not for harmful solid waste, and this has allowed enterprises to keep delaying payment and raise various objections.

More than two years ago, on April 17, 2009, the staff of the Wastewater treatment plant of the Le Minh Xuan Industrial Park under BCCI were caught red-handed dumping waste slush on unoccupied parts of the park by the Environmental Crime Prevention Department (C49B).

The department report said the plant had discharged more than 1,500 tonnes of slush since the decree took effect.

However, BCCI protested that the estimate was too high.

C49B agreed to let the company weigh and measure the slush by itself, and the two sides settled on 856 tonnes.

Test results on the samples taken at three different times showed the mud to be toxic.

C49B decided to penalise BCCI VND38 million for administrative violations and collect VND2.5 billion in environmental protection charges.

BCCI paid the administrative fine and asked that the other charge be reduced to VND677 million, but it was refused.

In June, BCCI sent an official document to C49B saying it would pay the charge, but asked that the date be extended to the end of the year because of the harsh economic conditions.

In August, the firm sent another official document asking C49B to reconsider the amount of slush it had dumped, and also proposed that the money be used to improve the industrial park's environment instead of the city budget.

C49B refused.

The company then sent yet another document saying there was no basis for the charge because the city had not announced the rate at which the discharge of harmful solid waste is fined.

However, the Viet Nam National Environment Administration then affirmed that C49B's move to collect the environment protection charge from BCCI was in accordance with current regulations.

C49B has since asked the city People's Committee to take measures and collect the dues.

"The city has not promulgated rates because organisations and individuals that produce harmful solid waste have to sign contracts with waste-treatment companies under the city's regulations.

The city now does not know which rate it should apply in BCCI's case," a representative of the city department of natural resources and environment, said at a meeting held on July 29 between C49B and relevant departments to discuss measures to collect payment from the company.

A representative of Justice Department said the city authorities had been simplistic in their approach to the problem, assuming no toxic waste would be dumped if the law mandated that contracts are signed with a waste treatment company.

In fact, many organisations and individuals signed such contracts only as a necessary formality, he said.

Colonel Duong Van Linh, deputy head of C49B, said: "The environmental protection charges for solid waste disposal cannot exceed VND6 million per tonnes under the decree. C49B decided to apply an average rate of VND3 million in BCCI's case.

"However, the decision on how much to charge finally belongs to the city."

It was decided at the meeting that the municipal administration will petition People's Council to promulgate environmental protection rates for disposal of toxic solid waste and also issue a specific decision for the BCCI case.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News