Regulations on registration and licensing of exploitation and use of water resources

Regulations on registration and licensing of exploitation and use of water resources in Vietnam have recently changed. Therefore, if you are a person interested in registering and licensing the exploitation and use of water resources, you should learn about Decree 02/2023/ND-CP detailing the implementation of water resources. implementing a number of articles of the Law on Water Resources. Here, Decree 02/2023/ND-CP provides quite detailed regulations on matters related to registration, licensing of exploitation and use of water resources, rights and obligations of individuals and organizations when conducting The latest registration and licensing to exploit and use water resources in Vietnam is currently being applied.

According to the provisions of Article 14 of Decree 02/2023/ND-CP regulations on underground water exploration as follows:

– Before constructing a groundwater exploitation project or adjusting to increase the exploitation flow in excess of 25% of the flow specified in the issued underground water exploitation and use license with additional drilling of exploitation wells, The investor must conduct exploration to assess reserves, quality, and exploitation ability and must obtain an exploration license, except in cases of underground water exploitation and use that do not require a license.

– Organizations and individuals constructing underground water exploration projects must meet all conditions for practicing underground water drilling according to regulations and must be licensed to practice underground water drilling by a competent state agency. land.

– During the exploration process, organizations and individuals constructing underground water exploration projects have the following obligations:

• Implement measures to ensure safety for people and exploration works;

• Ensure prevention and control of land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, and pollution of aquifers;

• Filling and filling damaged or unused wells after completion of exploration;

• Implement other measures to protect underground water and protect the environment.

– Exploration investors have the following obligations:

Coordinate with organizations and individuals constructing underground water exploration projects to inspect and supervise the implementation of the regulations in Clause 3 of this Article. If violations are detected, the exploration must be immediately stopped;

• In case an incident occurs, it must be promptly resolved; if damage is caused, compensation must be made according to the provisions of law;

• Submit a report on exploration results to the agency receiving and appraising documents specified in Article 29 of this Decree.

Conditions for obtaining a license to exploit underground water

Conditions to be licensed to exploit underground water in Vietnam have many criteria. Eligibility criteria can include appraisal reports from competent state agencies for licensing applications for exploration, exploitation and use of water resources, reports on exploitation and use needs. The water use shown in the license application is included in the socio-economic development strategy and planning of the country, industry, region and locality. Through the conditions we can see to ensure the sustainable development, exploitation and use of underground water resources, these are necessary and sufficient conditions that any person must have.

According to the provisions of Article 16 of Decree 02/2023/ND-CP regulating cases of exploitation and use of water resources that do not require registration or license as follows:

– Cases of projects exploiting and using water resources on a small scale for production, business, and services specified in Point b, Clause 1, Article 44 of the Law on Water Resources include:

• Exploitation of underground water for production, business and service activities with a scale not exceeding 10 m³/day and night do not fall into the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 44 of the Law on Water Resources.

According to the provisions of Article 17 of Decree 02/2023/ND-CP regulating cases of water resource exploitation and use projects that must be registered and licensed as follows:

– Cases of works exploiting and using water resources that must be registered include:

• Exploitation and use of underground water in the cases specified in Point a Clause 2 Article 16 of this Decree and the cases specified in Points a and d Clause 1 Article 44 of the Law on Water Resources in the list of restricted areas underground water exploitation announced by the Provincial People's Committee;

• Use self-flowing underground water in the mining pit to sort ore without lowering the underground water level or pump water to drain the water that flows into the mining pit.

According to the provisions of Article 19 of Decree 02/2023/ND-CP, regulations on licensing are as follows:

– Licensing of water resources must be based on the following grounds:

• Strategies and plans for socio-economic development of countries, sectors, regions and localities;
• Water resource planning, provincial planning, regulations on restricted areas for underground water exploitation, and related specialized planning approved by competent authorities; In case there are no plans or regulations for areas restricting underground water exploitation, it must be based on the capacity of the water source and must ensure that it does not cause depletion or pollution of the water source.c;
• Current status of water exploitation and use in the region;
• Appraisal report of the competent state agency for licensing dossiers for exploration, exploitation and use of water resources;
• The need to exploit and use water is shown in the license application.

Application for underground water exploitation license

The documents required to issue a Ground Water Exploitation License in Vietnam are quite simple, including only four main types of documents such as the license application, area diagram and location of the water exploitation project. underground, Report on results of exploration and assessment of underground water reserves, results of water quality analysis in the last 6 months. After preparing the dossier for a Ground Water Exploitation License, you will submit this dossier to your local Department of Natural Resources and Environment and pay the prescribed fee so that the agency can have it. authority to receive and process your documents according to the provisions of law. Processing time for receiving applications is within 03 days from the date of submission.

According to the provisions of Article 31 of Decree 02/2023/ND-CP regulating dossiers for granting, extending, and adjusting the content of underground water exploitation and use licenses as follows:

– Dossier to request a license to exploit and use underground water includes:

• Application for license;

• Diagram of the area and location of underground water exploitation works;

• Report on the results of exploration and assessment of underground water reserves along with exploitation plans for projects with a scale of 200 m or more.³/day and night or more or report on the results of construction of exploitation wells for projects with a scale of less than 200 m³/day and night in case there is no exploitation project; report on the current status of exploitation in cases where underground water exploitation works are in operation;

• Water quality analysis results must not be older than 6 months from the time of application submission.

What are the procedures for granting underground water exploitation permits?

Depending on the situation in which you issue your underground water exploitation permit, there will be different procedures for underground water exploitation. That is why the registrant needs to learn in advance about the procedures for granting underground water exploitation permits. This is considered a somewhat complicated regulation, because water is a rare resource with limited quantity, especially when this water is still underground water. Therefore, exploiting this type of water often requires a difficult exploitation permit, complicated procedures and takes a lot of time to register. To be able to quickly register for underground water exploitation permit procedures, you should refer to the following regulations.

According to the provisions of Article 38 of Decree 02/2023/ND-CP regulating the order and procedures for registering underground water exploitation as follows:

– The agency certifying underground water exploitation registration is the district-level People's Committee for the cases specified in Point c, Clause 1, Article 17; Department of Natural Resources and Environment for the cases specified in Point d, Clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree.

– Registration order and procedures for the cases specified in Point c, Clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree:

• Based on the List of restricted areas for groundwater exploitation approved by the Provincial People's Committee, the Commune People's Committee shall review and compile a list of organizations and individuals with underground water exploitation works belonging to the Provincial People's Committee. Representatives must be registered in the area; Notify and distribute 02 registration declarations according to Form 35 in the Appendix attached to this Decree for organizations and individuals to declare;

In case the underground water exploitation project has not yet been built, organizations and individuals must register for exploitation before constructing the project.

• Within no more than 10 working days from the date of receiving the declaration, organizations and individuals are responsible for completing 02 declarations and submitting them to the registration confirmation agency or to the commune-level People's Committee. The commune-level People's Committee is responsible for submitting the declaration to the registration agency;

• Within no more than 10 working days from the date of receiving the declaration from the organization or individual, the registration confirmation agency is responsible for checking the information content, confirming the declaration and sending 01 copy to the organization. positions, individuals.

– Registration order and procedures for the cases specified in Point d, Clause 1, Article 17 of this Decree:

• Organizations and individuals using self-flowing underground water in mineral mining pits to sort ore without lowering the underground water level or pumping water to drain the water that flows into mineral mining pits to declare 02 Registration declaration according to Form 36 in the Appendix attached to this Decree sent to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the project is located;

• Within no more than 15 working days from the date of receiving the declaration from the organization or individual, the registration confirmation agency is responsible for checking the information content, confirming the declaration and sending 01 copy to the organization. positions, individuals.

– In case an organization or individual has registered to exploit underground water, if they do not continue to exploit or use it, they must notify and return the declaration (confirmed) to the registration confirmation agency or the Committee. commune-level people to notify the registration agency and carry out the filling and filling of unused wells according to regulations.

– The registration confirmation agency is responsible for preparing a monitoring book and updating groundwater exploitation registration data in the area; Every year before December 15, summarize and report the registration results to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (in case the registration agency is the district People's Committee).