The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has agreed not to dump nearly one million cubic metre of waste mud discarded by a power plant into Binh Thuan province’s sea following public outcry against the plan.
Hon Cau marine protected area in Tuy Phong district, central province of Binh Thuan (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Natural Resourcesand Environment (MoNRE) has agreed not to dump nearly one million cubic metreof waste mud discarded by a power plant into Binh Thuan province’s sea followingpublic outcry against the plan.
The MoNRE reported on August 9 that it approved a proposalby Binh Thuan authorities in which the mud and waste sand of Vinh Tan 1 thermalpower plant would be dumped at Vinh Tan Port instead of the sea.
Vinh Tan Port was previously picked as a landfill for thewaste mud dredged by the Vinh Tan 4 thermal power plant.
The MoNRE’s original decision still had to await finalapproval of the Government.
The ministry’s u-turn came following pressure from thepublic and the scientific community as the news broke in June. MoNRE’s DeputyMinister Nguyen Linh Ngoc on June 23 agreed to allow Vinh Tan 1 ElectricityCompany, which is in charge of the power plant of the same name, to dump918,533 cubic metres of dredged mud and sand into the sea in Tuy Phong district.
The sea area in question, however, was located adjacent to HonCau marine protected area in Tuy Phong. It is one of 16 marine protected areasin Vietnam.
The proposal prompted public protests over fears the wastecould threaten the coral ecosystem and sea life in the area.
The events took a stunning turn when three of the scientistslisted as members of the dumping plan’s environmental impact assessment deniedtheir involvement in the plan, claiming their names had been used without theirconsent.
Binh Thuan province then asked the Government to suspend thedumping plan, while Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the Vietnam Academyof Science and Technology to conduct another environmental impact assessment ofthe plan.-VNA
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Hon Cau marine protected area in Tuy Phong district, central province of Binh Thuan (Photo: VNA) 
