Overview of the discussion session at Group 9
Group 9 includes 26 delegates from the National Assembly Delegation of the provinces: Quang Ninh, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, and Ben Tre. Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Phu Yen province Pham Dai Duong, Head of Group 9 moderated the discussion.
Through discussion, the opinions in Group 9 agreed with the need to amend the Law on Water Resources in order to better improve the synchronous, unified and transparent legal corridor to be able to make the most of water resources, allocate them reasonably and use them effectively; ensure national water source security; focus on prevention, control and restoration of degraded, depleted and polluted water sources; clearly define the responsibilities of water resource management and the management of water exploitation works at both central and local levels to overcome legal overlaps and conflicts.
Commenting on this Law project, delegate Duong Binh Phu - Phu Yen Provincial National Assembly Delegation is interested in Clause 24, Article 3 explaining the operation of reservoirs in real time, proposing to clarify how much time "real time" here is because the time to calculate results to make a decision to operate hydroelectric reservoirs not only depends on the real-time forecast time, but also on the computer's operating model.
Delegate Duong Binh Phu - Delegation of the National Assembly of Phu Yen province
Regarding the State's policy on water resources, delegate Duong Binh Phu proposed to supplement the mandatory policy for large-scale concentrated urban and industrial wastewater treatment, in which it is necessary to consider adding an assignment to the Government to consider and decide on the scale/capacity/characteristics/types of facilities/systems that must fulfill the goal of wastewater reuse in accordance with the purposes of treatment and use.
Regarding prohibited acts, delegate Duong Binh Phu suggested adding the phrase "fishing activities that are harmful to aquatic ecosystems", because of the fact that currently, there are fishing activities using substances or items that greatly affect the aquatic ecosystem and the water environment when exploiting fishery products (electric shocks, explosives, etc.).
In addition, delegate Duong Binh Phu proposed to review and consider the need to issue many current master plans on water resources and to avoid overlapping with other plans. Regulations on master plan on water resources include: National master plan on water resources, General master plan on inter-provincial river basins, inter-provincial water sources and master plan on protection, exploitation and use of inter-national water sources included in the national planning system. According to the draft report, after the Law on Planning No. 21/2017/QH14 took effect, localities have been developing and integrating the content of water resources in the provincial planning according to regulations.
Sharing the same interest in this Law project, delegate Le Dao An Xuan - Delegation of the National Assembly of Phu Yen province commented in Article 8 on the list of ponds, lakes, lagoons and lagoons that must not be leveled. Delegates said that the problem is if it is not leveled, will the reduction of the area and volume of the lake be applied or not? It is recommended that the drafting agency needs to clarify and study more about this content.
Delegate Le Dao An Xuan - Delegation of the National Assembly of Phu Yen province
Regarding the prohibited acts in Article 10, which prohibits the discharge of wastewater into underground water sources, delegate Le Dao An Xuan said that this is very difficult to implement in practice. The Law on Water Resources in 2012 allows the discharge of wastewater into places where there are ponds, lakes, lagoons, lagoons and rivers, but the mountainous areas do not have the above aquatic animals, it is forbidden to discharge wastewater into underground water sources, even reuse to irrigate crops, it is very difficult to treat this wastewater. This case is common in livestock farms located in mountainous areas.
Article 29 of the draft also repeats the same provisions as Article 10, so delegate Le Dao An Xuan suggested that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment need to clarify this criterion. Because if wastewater treatment meets the prescribed surface water standards, it will require huge costs, while currently there are many specialized regulations on reuse of wastewater after livestock production to serve forestry and agricultural projects.
Regarding Article 20, delegate Le Dao An Xuan said that one of the contents that need to be adjusted is that if newly formed national key projects and programs affect water resources, the planning must be adjusted. Delegates expressed concern when implementing these projects, based on which planning and strategy to ensure the response to those projects and works. Request the Drafting Committee to consider further.
Regarding the regulation and distribution of water sources in Article 36, delegate Le Dao An Xuan stated that the draft "consider based on the scenario of water sources, use supporting tools", which is confusing, and suggested adding more content to consult the community of scientists and local authorities when implementing the regulation and distribution of water sources.
Senior Lieutenant General, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong attended the discussion session at Group 9
Regarding the fee for granting the right to exploit water resources (Article 66), there are suggestions to clarify who must pay the fee for granting the right to exploit water resources specified in Clauses 1 and 2; clarifying the addition of regulations on collection of fees for granting the right to exploit water resources for agricultural production because at present this field is implemented by state-owned enterprises and irrigation fees are still supported by the State; specifying principles of collection, calculation of natural resources tax and fees for granting the right to exploit water resources.
Basically agree with the regulations on state management responsibilities on water resources of the Government, Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People's Committees at all levels in Articles 76 and 77 of the draft Law, however, it is suggested that it is necessary to clearly define responsibilities for water resource management with management of water exploitation and use works of ministries and branches; supplement regulations on the coordination mechanism between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other ministries related to water exploitation and use so that the management is unified, synchronous, avoiding overlapping, wasting resources and omitting management fields.
Suggestions for the state management responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Construction (Clause 3, Clause 4, Clause 5, Article 76) should be more specific, supplementing the responsibilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense in relation to water sources, cross-border water source security, water source protection, and safety of dams and reservoirs.
Also at the meeting, the delegates discussed the draft Law on Credit Institutions (amended).
Some pictures at the Group 9 discussion session:
Head of the Delegation of the National Assembly of Phu Yen province Pham Dai Duong, the leader of Group 09, moderated the discussion.
Delegates at the meeting
Delegate Tran Thi Kim Nhung - Delegation of the National Assembly of Quang Ninh province agreed with the need to amend the Law on Water Resources in order to improve the legal framework synchronously, uniformly, ensuring transparency in order to be able to make the most of water resources.
Delegate Le Quang Dao - Delegation of the National Assembly of Phu Yen province commented on the draft Law on Water Resources (amended).
Delegate Dang Ngoc Huy - Head of the Delegation of the National Assembly of Quang Ngai province suggested that it is necessary to specify and detail in this Law project the scope of regulation on groundwater.
Delegates at the meeting
Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh - The Delegation of the National Assembly of Quang Ninh province commented on the project of the Law on Credit Institutions (amended).
Delegate Luong Van Hung - Delegation of the National Assembly of Quang Ngai province commented on the project of the Law on Credit Institutions (amended).
Head of the Delegation of the National Assembly of Phu Yen province Pham Dai Duong, the leader of Group 09 delivered a speech concluding the discussion in Group 9.
