New regulations on environmental protection fee for wastewater

New regulations on environmental protection fee for wastewater

The Government has issued Decree No. 53/2020/ND-CP on environmental protection fee for wastewater, which stipulates new provisions on fee payers, fee exemption as well as fee rate. The new Decree will take effect from July 1, 2020, replacing Decree No. 154/2016/ND-CP of November 16, 2016.

Decree No. 53/2020/ND-CP states that Subjects of environmental protection fee are industrial wastewater discharged into receiving sources according to related regulations and domestic wastewater, except for cases of fee exemption.

In particular, industrial wastewater is wastewater from factories, locations, production and processing establishments (collectively referred to as establishments) of organizations, households and individuals, including: production and processing establishments of agricultural, forest and aquatic products, food, wine, beer, soft drinks and cigarettes; cattle and poultry farming establishments on a farm scale in accordance with the Law on Animal Husbandry; cattle and poultry slaughtering establishments; aquaculture establishments subject to reporting on environmental impact or environmental protection plans according to regulations; clean water supply plants, power plants; centralized wastewater treatment systems in urban areas, industrial parks, industrial complexes, export processing zones, economic zones, fishing ports, hi-tech parks and other areas, etc.

Domestic wastewater is wastewater discharged from activities of households and individuals; state agencies, non-business units, people's armed forces units and other organizations; establishments for car and motorcycle washing, car and motorbike repair; medical facility; restaurant and hotel; training and research establishments; business establishments and other services establishments.

Organizations, households and individuals discharging wastewater mentioned above are payers of environmental protection fee for discharged wastewater. In case organizations, households and individuals discharge wastewater into a centralized wastewater treatment system and pay the wastewater treatment service to the unit managing and operating the centralized wastewater treatment system with a service price mechanism, the unit managing and operating the centralized wastewater treatment system shall pay environmental protection fee for wastewater according to regulations.

Cases of fee exemption

The Decree also stipulates 7 cases exempted from environmental protection fee for wastewater including:

1. Water discharged from hydroelectric plants.

2. Sea water used for the production of discharged salt.

3. Daily-life wastewater of organizations, households and individuals in communes; organizations, households and individuals in wards and towns that have not had access to clean water supply systems; households and individuals not doing business in wards and towns having clean water supply systems and exploiting water for their own use.

4. Cooling water (in accordance with the Law on Environmental Protection) not in direct contact with pollutants and has its own separate outlet.

5. Wastewater from natural rainwater overflows.

6. Wastewater from fishermen's means of fishing.

7. Wastewater of centralized wastewater treatment systems in urban areas (as prescribed in the Government's Decree No. 80/2014/ND-CP of August 6, 2014 on water drainage and wastewater treatment) which have been treated to meet environmental standards and technical regulations as prescribed before being discharged into receiving sources.

Source: VGP