VietNamNet Bridge - After three failed dialogues with 14 plants, people of Long Son commune in the southern city of Vung Tau have hired lawyers to prepare a lawsuit against 14 firms for discharging wastewater into the environment, killing their fish.

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Massive fish deaths occured in Long Son commune last September.


Thirty-three households raising fish in Cau Cha Va in Long Son Commune, Vung Tau City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau recently met with 20 lawyers to discuss a lawsuit against the enterprises that discharged wastewater, causing massive fish deaths in September 2015.

They decided to lodge the case to the Vung Tau City People's Court.

In addition to the signing of a service contract, the lawyers guided fish breeders to complete the procedures and prepare relevant evidence.

Earlier, at the office of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Bar Association, the lawyers met to discuss legal procedures and assign tasks to help fish breeders prepare the lawsuit. According to some lawyers, the provincial bar association has experience from the lawsuit against Vedan, a big environmental polluting case in Vietnam several years ago, so the current case will not be a big challenge for them.

Lawyer Hoang Long Ha, Deputy Chairman of the Bar Association of Ba Ria-Vung Tau said, although the scale of the current case is smaller than the Vedan case, it is more complicated since it involved up to 14 companies.

He said that all procedures were basically completed and fish breeders have also provided a lot of evidence relating to compensation.

Last September, fish bred in cages on Cha Va River died en masse. Fish breeders found out that the fish were killed by wastewater discharged by local seafood processing plants. They carried dead fish to the provincial People’s Committee to request settlement of the case.

According to the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, fish breeders suffered losses totaling VND18.1 billion ($900,000).

Research and surveys of the authorities identified many causes that killed fish. However, according to a survey by the Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, the biggest reason was polluted water, caused by untreated wastewater discharged from 14 seafood processing enterprises.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau authorities asked polluters to conduct dialogue with fish breeders on compensation plans but these firms did not agree. The local People’s Committee have guided fish breeders to take legal procedures against these firms.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau: Taiwan firms fined for environment violations

Authorities from Ba Ria – Vung Tau province on May 10 sealed 28 yarns and fabrics-dying machines of a Taiwanese firm in the Ngai Giao Industrial Park (IP) in Chau Duc district for violating environmental protection regulations.

The machines are sealed for three months for the Mei Sheng Textiles Vietnam Company to address the consequences it has caused to the environment and water resources.

This is the seventh time the company has had their machines sealed for illegal water discharges.

According to the General Department of Environment, the company constructed a dying workshop with a capacity of nearly 1,100 tonnes per year, and drilled 26 underwater wells without permission.

The Mei Sheng Textiles Vietnam Company, which began operation in September 2009, produces 48,230 tonnes of yarns and fabrics per year, including 1,100 tonnes of dyed products.

Linh Nhat