VietNamNet Bridge - Taiwanese MSG producer Vedan has already paid out nearly VND220 billion (US$11 million) to farmers in compensation for polluting the Thi Vai River, severely affecting their livelihoods.

 
The monosodium glutamate maker Wednesday transferred VND109 billion (US$5.6 million) to farmers in Dong Nai, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City, said Yeh Sheau Yeh, manager of the general director office at Vedan Vietnam.

 

It had earlier paid VND110 billion in the first stage.

 

This means the company has already settled 100 percent of all compensation claims from residents affected by its untreated wastewater in the three localities.

 

The firm has also settled fees related to checking, analyzing, and appraising environmental impacts.

 

In October, it agreed to pay VND53.6 billion ($2.8 million) and VND45.7 billion ($2.39 million) to affected farmers in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and HCMC respectively. One month later, it signed an agreement to pay nearly VND120 billion (US$6.1 million) to victims in Dong Nai.

 

Vedan Vietnam was caught in 2008 discharging untreated effluents directly into the Thi Vai River through secret underground pipes.

 

Government inspectors found the company had been dumping 105 million liters of untreated wastewater a month into the river for 14 years.

 

It attracted further criticism for continued denial of the extent of its culpability as well as compensation, until its products began being boycotted by major retailers like the Saigon Co-op and Big C supermarket chains early in August last year.

 

The Thi Vai River begins in Long Thanh province, runs through Ba Ria - Vung Tau province and a HCM City district before pouring into the East Sea. Its total length is some 76 kilometers and its total basin area is some 300 square kilometers.

 

On September 8, 2008, the Environmental Police Agency and MoNRE inspectors caught Vedan discharging untreated waste water into the Thi Vai River. The company polluted the river for 14 years with up to 105.6 million liters of untreated wastewater per month. The toxic water killed farmers’ fish and shrimp and ruined farmland along the river’s banks.

 

MoNRE suspended the plant’s wastewater discharge license and fined the company 267.5 million dong ($15,030). The ministry also demanded another 127 billion dong ($7.14 million) from the company in overdue environmental fees. The company paid the fine and the fees in three installments.

 

Until mid-2010, Vedan accepted to pay compensation to farmers in the three provinces of Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and HCM City.

 

Source: Tuoi Tre/Tien Phong/VNN