Environmental License

Environmental license definition

According to Clause 8, Article 3 of the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14: Environmental license is a document issued by a competent state management agency to an organization or individual engaged in production, business or service activities that is allowed to discharge waste into the environment, manage waste, import and export waste. Importing scrap from abroad as raw production materials together with requirements and conditions on environmental protection as prescribed by law.

Objects must have an environmental license

Group I, Group II, and Group III investment projects that generate waste water, dust or gas discharged into the environment must be treated or generate hazardous waste must be managed in accordance with regulations on waste management when they are discharged into the environment. officially put into operation.
Investment projects, establishments, concentrated production, business and service zones, and industrial clusters operating before the effective date of the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14 have the same environmental criteria as regulated objects. referred to in Clause 1, Article 39.
The subjects specified in Clause 1, Article 39 in the case of urgent investment projects as prescribed by the law on public investment are exempt from environmental permits.

Information regarding environmental permits

***Interior* *content of environmental permits***

General information about investment projects, facilities, production and business zones, concentrated services, industrial clusters;
Environmental licensing content;
Requirements on environmental protection;
The term of the environmental permit;
Other content (if any).

The term of the environmental permit

According to Clause 4, Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14

07 years for group I investment projects;
07 years for production, business and service establishments, concentrated production, business and service zones, and industrial clusters operating before the effective date of the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14 with criteria on the environment as group I investment projects;
10 years, for subjects not specified at Points a and b;
The duration of the environmental permit may prevent the specified deadline for creating points a, b and c at the request of the investor and facility owner.

Authority to issue environmental permits

According to Article 41, Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14:

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall grant environmental permits to the following entities, except for the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article:

The subjects specified in Article 39 of the Law on Environmental Protection have been approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the results of appraisal of the DTM report;
The subjects specified in Article 39 of the Law on Environmental Protection are located in the area of 02 or more provincial-level administrative units or located in the sea where the administrative responsibility of the People's Committee of the province has not been determined; establishments that import scrap from abroad as raw production materials, establishments providing hazardous waste treatment services.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall grant environmental permits to investment projects and establishments that are classified as state secrets on national defense and security.
Provincial-level People's Committees shall grant environmental permits to the following entities, except for the cases specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article:

Group II investment projects specified in Article 39 of the Law on Environmental Protection;
Group III investment projects specified in Article 39 of the Law on Environmental Protection are located in the area of 02 or more district-level administrative units;
The subjects specified in Clause 2, Article 39 of the Law on Environmental Protection have been approved by the People's Committee of the province or a ministry or ministerial-level agency with the approval of the appraisal results of the DTM report.

District-level People's Committees shall grant environmental permits to the subjects specified in Article 39 of this Law, except for the cases specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article.

Time limit for environmental license

No more than 45 days for environmental permits under the authority to issue environmental permits of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security;
No more than 30 days for environmental permits under the authority to grant environmental permits of the People's Committees of the province, the People's Committee of the district;
The agency competent to grant environmental permits may stipulate the time limit for issuance of environmental permits as compared to the time limit specified at Points a and b in accordance with the type, scale and nature of the investment project, facility, and production area. production, business, concentrated services, industrial clusters.

An application file for an environmental permit includes:

A written request for an environmental permit;

According to Appendix XIII, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Sample of the written request for grant, adjustment and re-grant of environmental permits of investment projects and establishments;
According to Appendix XIV, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Sample of written request for change of environmental permit of investment project, establishment;

Report on proposal for environmental permit of the project.

According to Appendix VIII, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Sample report requesting environmental permit issuance of investment projects that have approved the results of appraisal of environmental impact assessment reports before going into operation. test operation;
According to Appendix IX, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Sample report on proposal for issuance and re-grant of environmental permits of group II investment projects that are not subject to environmental impact assessment;
According to Appendix X, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Sample report requesting the issuance and re-grant of environmental permits of establishments, production, business, concentrated service areas, and industrial clusters operating with standards environmental criteria equivalent to group I or group II projects;
According to Appendix XI, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Form of report on proposal for issuance and re-grant of environmental permits for group III investment projects;
According to Appendix XII, Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP: Sample report on proposal for issuance and re-grant of environmental permits of operating establishments with environmental criteria equivalent to group III projects;

Environmental License