[Legal Consulting] The Component Environmental Licences continue to be used when Law on Environment Protection 2020 activated?

[Legal Consulting]

Can a partial environmental permit be utilized after the implementation of Law on Environment Protection 72/2020/QH14, with or without an expiration date? 

Regarding your company’s questions, A Chau Environment Co., Ltd is going to support and consultations as follows: 

According to the Law on Environment Protection 72/2020/QH14 active from January 1, 2022, the types of component environmental permits are reintegrated into one (01) environmental permit to shorten the time and reduce the administrative processes and procedures for enterprises.

Clause 2 Article 42 of the Law on Environment Protection 2020 stipulates the grounds and timing of the issuance of environmental permits as follows:

2. The timing of the environmental permit is stipulated as follows:

a) An investment project subject to an environmental impact assessment shall obtain an environmental permit prior to the trial operation of a waste treatment facility, except as provided in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph;

b) Investment projects not subject to environmental impact assessment must have an environmental permit before being issued by the competent state body with the documents prescribed in points (a), (b), (c), (d), and (g) of Clause 1, Article 36 of this Law. In case, a construction investment project is not subject to a feasibility study report evaluated by a construction authority by the provisions of the construction law, an environmental permit must be obtained before it is granted by a competent state authority, adjusting the construction permit;

c) For investment projects specified in Clause 2 of Article 39 of this Law that are operating a trial waste treatment plant in accordance with the provisions of the law before the date of entry into force of this Law, the owner of the investment project may choose to continue the trial operation to obtain an environmental permit after the end of the trial operation of the waste treatment plant or to file for the granting of an environmental permit before the end of the trial operation period whose is not required to operate the waste treatment plant for testing but the results of the completion of the test operation must be reported and evaluated in accordance with the provisions of Article 46 of this Law;

d) Production facilities, businesses, services, production areas, businesses, concentrated services, industrial clusters specified in Clause 2 of Article 39 of this Law, which entered into official operation before the date of entry into force of this Law, must have a license for a period of 36 months from the date of entry into force of this Law, except in cases where the competent authority has issued a certificate of completion of environmental protection works, a certificate of compliance with environmental standards, a certificate of environmental protection conditions in the import of waste from abroad as production materials, a permit for the treatment of hazardous waste, a permit for discharge of sewage into water sources, a permit for discharge of sewage into water works (hereinafter referred to as a general environmental permit). The component environmental permit shall continue to be used as an environmental permit until the expiry of the component environmental permit or shall continue to be used for 05 years from the date of entry into force of this Law in the case of a component environmental permit without a specified duration.

Thus, in case the business establishment has been granted a component environmental permit without defining the term when Law on Environmental Protection  2020 comes into force, the component environmental permit will continue to be used for 05 years. Where a component environmental permit has a term, it shall be continued until its expiry.

Legal basis and implementation details:

Based on the Law on Environment Protection No.72/2020/QH14 dated November 17, 2020, of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

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Source: A Chau Environment Co., Ltd 

See more: From 2022, what are component environment permits?

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