Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, environmental pollution has become increasingly severe. As a result, environmental laws and implementing regulations have been issued with stricter, clearer, and more detailed provisions, aiming to penalize enterprises that violate environmental protection regulations, particularly violations related to wastewater discharge exceeding permitted standards.
Therefore, enterprises must clearly understand discharge regulations and applicable penalty levels in order to protect themselves, maintain stable production operations, and prevent potential violations, thereby avoiding financial penalties and minimizing negative impacts on their reputation and brand image.
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Hành vi xả thải không đạt chuẩn ra sông
Based on the above situation, we will now examine in detail the penalty levels applicable to acts of discharging wastewater that fails to meet regulatory standards into the environment.
Pursuant to Articles 13 and 14 of Decree No. 155/2016/ND-CP dated November 18, 2016, on administrative sanctions in the field of environmental protection, and Decree No. 55/2021/ND-CP dated May 24, 2021, which amends and supplements several provisions of Decree No. 155/2016/ND-CP, the penalties can be summarized as follows:
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Violating regulations on discharging wastewater containing common environmental parameters into the environment.
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Warning sanction
A warning shall be imposed for acts of discharging wastewater exceeding environmental technical standards by less than 1.1 times (equivalent to an exceedance of up to 10%). -
Wastewater discharge exceeding standards from 1.1 times to less than 1.5 times, or less than 1.1 times in cases of repeat or multiple violations, shall be penalized as follows:
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Administrative fines ranging from VND 300,000 to VND 300,000,000, applicable where the wastewater discharge volume ranges from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
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Wastewater discharge exceeding environmental technical standards from 1.5 times to less than 3 times shall be penalized as follows:
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Administrative fines ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 700,000,000, applicable where the wastewater discharge volume ranges from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
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Wastewater discharge exceeding environmental technical standards from 3 times to less than 5 times shall be penalized as follows:
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Administrative fines ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 750,000,000, applicable where the wastewater discharge volume ranges from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
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Wastewater discharge exceeding environmental technical standards from 5 times to less than 10 times shall be penalized as follows:
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Administrative fines ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 850,000,000, applicable where the wastewater discharge volume ranges from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
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Wastewater discharge exceeding environmental technical standards by 10 times or more shall be penalized as follows:
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Administrative fines ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 950,000,000, applicable where the wastewater discharge volume ranges from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
Violations of regulations regarding the discharge of wastewater containing hazardous environmental parameters into the environment, or the discharge of wastewater containing microbiological parameters (Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae) according to national technical standards for medical wastewater, or the discharge of wastewater with a pH outside the technical standard range.
Administrative Penalties for Discharging Wastewater Exceeding Technical Standards
1. A warning shall be imposed for acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards for pollutants by less than 1.1 times (equivalent to an exceedance of up to 10%).
2. Acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards for pollutants from 1.1 times to less than 1.5 times, or discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards by less than 1.1 times in cases of repeat or multiple violations, shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 4,000,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
3. Acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards for pollutants from 1.5 times to less than 2 times shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 750,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
4. Acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards for pollutants from 2 times to less than 3 times shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 850,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
5. Acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards for pollutants from 3 times to less than 5 times shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 950,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
6. Acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards for pollutants by 5 times or more, excluding cases constituting environmental crimes, shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 220,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 400 m³/day (24 hours) or more, excluding cases of environmental crimes.
7. Acts of discharging wastewater containing one (01) of the following bacteria: Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae in accordance with the national technical regulation on medical wastewater;
or discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards with a pH value from 4 to below the lower allowable limit, or above the upper allowable limit to below 10.5, shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 850,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
8. Acts of discharging wastewater containing two (02) or more of the following bacteria: Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae in accordance with the national technical regulation on medical wastewater;
or discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards with a pH value from 2 to below 4, or from 10.5 to below 12.5, shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 950,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more.
9. Acts of discharging wastewater exceeding the technical standards with a pH value from 0 to below 2, or from 12.5 to 14, excluding cases constituting environmental crimes, shall be subject to the following penalties:
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A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000, applicable to wastewater discharge volumes from less than 5 m³/day (24 hours) up to 5,000 m³/day (24 hours) or more, excluding cases of environmental crimes.
10. A fine ranging from VND 950,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 shall be imposed for acts of discharging wastewater containing radioactive substances that cause environmental radiation contamination exceeding the permitted technical standards, excluding cases constituting environmental crimes.
Remedial Responsibilities
Violating production and business establishments shall bear full responsibility for remediation and mitigation of the environmental pollution caused by their violations.
In addition, they must return all illicit profits obtained from the violations and bear all costs related to environmental assessment, sampling, measurement, and laboratory analysis.
Đầm chứa nước tại Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu đổi màu do ô nhiễm
Businesses may face many disadvantages in their operations and production processes if their wastewater does not meet output standards, such as:
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Consequences of Environmental Violations
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Financial losses incurred by the enterprise.
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Severe adverse impacts on the surrounding environment, including degradation of nearby ecosystems and residential areas.
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Suspension of operations in accordance with decisions issued by competent authorities.
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Disruption of production activities or frequent inspections and compliance checks as required by state management authorities.
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Media crises and negative impacts on the corporate brand and reputation.
It can be seen that, in addition to financial penalties imposed for non-compliant wastewater discharges, enterprises may also face suspension of operations, which directly affects their brand image, credibility, and market trust.
To achieve sustainable and stable development, enterprises must demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility in environmental protection, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and proactively mitigating environmental risks.
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