As Lao Dong newspaper has reported, recently, an open ash and slag storage yard with a scale of thousands of m3 near the foot of Cao Ngan bridge but lacking measures to ensure environmental safety and hygiene.
Ash and slag are piled up here in piles but lack environmental safety measures. Notably, this area is only about 10 meters from the Cau River bank.
Regarding this issue, Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee has just issued official dispatch No. 5767 on verifying and resolving reflections in Lao Dong Newspaper.
Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Linh Son Ward People's Committee to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Construction and relevant units to organize inspections and verify the reflected content. Promptly direct the settlement according to their authority, requesting agencies to fulfill their responsibilities for environmental protection in the ash and slag storage area.
In case the ash and slag collection is not in accordance with regulations, it is required to immediately implement the solution of transporting ash and slag to a place that meets the conditions for collection, and returning the land use status according to regulations.
Promptly detect and prevent the risk of environmental pollution in the area; strictly handle violations (if any).
Advise competent authorities to resolve in cases beyond their authority.
On May 28, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Trieu Duc Hoai - Deputy Director of Trieu Phat Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. said that the company is a secondary unit participating in transporting and gathering ash and slag from Cao Ngan Thermal Power Plant. The gathering area is currently a temporary borrowed yard of Cao Ngan Brick Factory.
Previously, there was a tarpaulin to cover it, but it was blown away by the wind, now it has made additional tarpaulins, the unit also waters, plants trees and digs ditches to ensure safety.
Recently, functional agencies also inspected and requested to move the gathering yard to another place as soon as possible. However, relocation is not easy, not in one morning or one afternoon," Mr. Hoai said.
Also according to Mr. Hoai, currently the environmental legal procedures for the gathering yard are being used according to the brick factory dossier. The environmental impact assessment has also been made in that unit's dossier. From there, the company operates according to the factory's procedures and implements plans to ensure the environment.
On the same day, in an exchange with PV, a leader of the Sub-Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thai Nguyen province said that through a preliminary review, the legal documents on the environment of the ash and slag storage yard were previously issued an environmental protection plan by the old Thai Nguyen City People's Committee.
The Ward People's Committee has inspected this gathering yard. Currently, the unit must wait for the inspection results from the locality, on that basis, the Department will continue to give opinions," the leader added.
