DECISION

PROMULGATING THE REGULATION ON LICENSING THE UNDERGROUND WATER EXPLORATION, EXPLOITATION AND DRILLING PRACTICE

THE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

Pursuant to the May 20, 1998 Water Resource Law;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 179/1999/ND-CP dated December 30, 1999 stipulating the implementation of the Water Resource Law;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 91/2002/ND-CP dated November 11, 2002 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;
At the proposals of the directors of the Water Resource Management Department and the Legal Department,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation on licensing the underground water exploration, exploitation and drilling practice.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication on the Official Gazzete.

This Decision replaces Decision No. 357/NN-QLN/QD dated March 13, 1997 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development promulgating the provisional Regulation on the implementation of the regime of licensing the underground water exploration, exploitation and drilling practice and the registration of underground water exploitation projects.

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MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT




Mai Ai Truc

REGULATION

ON LICENSING THE UNDERGROUND WATER EXPLORATION, EXPLOITATION AND DRILLING PRACTICE
(Promulgated together with Decision No. 05/2003/QD-BTNMT dated September 4, 2003 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Regulation prescribes the licensing of the underground water exploration and exploitation and the drilling practice, except for mineral water and natural thermal water.

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This Regulation shall apply to Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred to as organizations and individuals for short) that are engaged in activities of exploring, exploiting and/or drilling underground water.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Regulation, the following words and phrases are construed as follows:

1. Underground water (subterranean water) means water existing in water-holding layers beneath the surface of the ground.

2. Mineral water means a type of underground natural water, possibly open on the ground in some places, which contains a number of biologically active compounds of high concentration in compliance with the Vietnamese standards or international standards permitted by the Vietnamese State for application.

3. Natural thermal water means underground natural water, possibly open on the ground in some places, which is always of a certain temperature in compliance with the Vietnamese standards or international standards permitted by the Vietnamese State for application.

4. Exploration of underground water means the combined use of various geological survey methods to appraise and determine the deposit and quality of underground water and to forecast the environment impacts on a given area, which may be caused by water exploitation, aiming to serve the designing of water exploitation projects with set outputs.

5. Exploration-cum-exploitation of underground water means the exploration of underground water whereby, in the exploration process, one or some of drilling holes are structured into and used as exploitation wells.

6. Underground water exploitation projects mean drilled wells, dug wells, caves or water exploitation corridors or open-air spots of underground water, which are built or used for underground water exploitation.

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8. Medium-sized exploitation projects mean projects with exploitation outputs of between 1,000 m³/day and night and 5,000 m³/day and night.

9. Large-sized exploitation projects mean projects with exploitation outputs exceeding 5,000 m³/day and night.

10. Exploitation areas mean areas where underground water exploitation projects are located, including areas where the underground water level is lowered due to the exploitation projects' water pumping and drainage.

Article 4. Competence to grant, extend licenses, adjust the contents thereof, and revoke licenses

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall grant, extend licenses, adjust the contents thereof, and revoke licenses in the following cases:

a) Underground water exploration and exploitation, for projects with exploitation outputs of 1,000 m³/day and night or over;

b) Practice of drilling underground water in two or more provinces.

2. The People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial-level People's Committees) shall grant, extend licenses, adjust the contents thereof, and revoke licenses in the following cases:

a) Underground water exploration and exploitation, for projects with exploitation outputs of less than 1,000 m³/day and night;

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Article 5. Agencies receiving and managing dossiers and licenses

1. The agencies receiving and managing dossiers and licenses include:

a) At the central level: the Water Resource Management Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

b) At the local level: the Natural Resource and Environment Services under the People's Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities.

2. The dossier-receiving agencies shall have to archive dossiers and licenses for underground water exploration, exploitation and drilling practice.

3. The licenses for underground water exploration, exploitation or drilling practice shall be recorded in the license registration books, archived in the databases of the dossier-receiving agencies for monitoring and periodical publicization on a national scale.

Chapter II

LICENSING OF UNDERGROUND WATER EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION

Article 6. Principles for licensing of underground water exploration and exploitation

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1. Underground water of good quality shall be prioritized for people's daily-life needs;

2. The volume of underground water permitted for exploitation in an area must not exceed the exploitable deposit;

3. Where the exploitable deposit of underground water has been reached in an exploitation area, the scope of exploitation must not be expanded unless man-made supplementation is effected.

Article 7. Cases of underground water exploration and exploitation not subject to permission

1. Family-based exploitation of underground water for daily-life needs, agricultural production, forestry, aquaculture, handicraft production or other purposes.

2. Exploitation of underground water from drilled wells, dug wells or other kinds of exploitation projects in replacement of drilled wells, dug wells or projects which have been damaged or have their exploitation capacity decreased, their exploitation output and water level lowered below the permissible limit, which are located within exploitation areas licensed for exploitation by competent State bodies.

Article 8. Order and procedures for licensing underground water exploration

1. Organizations and individuals applying for underground water exploration licenses shall submit dossiers to the dossier-receiving agencies according to the decentralization prescribed in Article 5 of this Regulation. A dossier comprises:

a) An application for underground water exploitation, made according to a set form;

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c) The underground exploration scheme, for projects with an output of 100m³/day and night or over.

d) A copy of the land use right certificate for the to-be- explored site, or the written permission of the local People's Committee for the use of land for exploration.

2. The order of licensing underground water exploration is prescribed below:

a) Within 10 (ten) days after receiving the dossiers, the dossier-receiving agencies shall have to examine the dossiers. If dossiers are not yet valid, they shall ask the submitting organizations and individuals to supplement or re-compile them.

b) Within thirty (30) days after receiving the complete and valid dossiers as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the dossier-receiving agencies shall have to evaluate them, conduct field inspection, submit the schemes to competent authorities for consideration and decision to approve the schemes and grant underground water exploration licenses. In cases where licensing conditions are not fully met, they shall return the dossiers and clearly notify the applicants of the reasons for the return.

c) Upon completion of the exploration or exploration-cum-exploitation, the applying organizations or individuals shall have to submit the reports on exploration results, made according to a set form, to the dossier-receiving agencies for evaluation and submission to competent authorities for consideration and approval.

Article 9. Order and procedures for licensing underground water exploitation

1. Organizations and individuals applying for underground water exploitation licenses shall submit dossiers to the dossier-receiving agencies according to the decentralization prescribed in Article 5 of this Regulation. A dossier comprises:

a) An application for underground water exploitation, made according to a set form;

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c) The map of the area and location of the underground water exploitation project with a scale of between 1/50,000 and 1/25,000, made according to a set form;

d) The result of underground water quality assessment conducted by a competent State body or a laboratory permitted by the competent State body;

e) The report on the completed construction of wells (for projects with an output of less than 100 m³/day and night);

f) The report on the result of underground water deposit exploration and appraisal (for projects with an output of 100 m³/day and night or more) made according to a set form;

g) A copy of the land use right certificate for the place where the exploitation well is located. If the land where the exploitation well is located does not fall under the land use right of the exploiting organization or individual, there must be a written agreement between the exploiting organization or individual and the organization or individual having the land use right, certified by the concerned local People's Committee.

2. Order of licensing underground water exploitation is prescribed below:

a) Within 10 (ten) days after receiving the dossiers, the dossier-receiving agencies shall have to examine them. If dossiers are not yet valid, they shall ask the submitting organizations or individuals to supplement or re-compile them.

b) Within thirty (30) days after receiving the complete and valid dossiers as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the dossier-receiving agencies shall have to evaluate the dossiers, conduct field inspection, submit the schemes to competent authorities for consideration, decision to grant underground water exploitation licenses for projects of exploration-cum-exploration, or to permit the construction of water exploitation projects for cases where the projects have been explored but the exploitation wells have not yet been constructed.

c) After completing the construction of exploitation wells and exploitation pumping test, the exploiting organizations or individuals shall have to submit dossiers of exploitation wells and documents on the exploitation pumping test to the dossier-receiving agencies. Within 10 (ten) days after receiving the dossiers, the dossier-receiving agencies shall consider and submit them to competent authorities for granting official water exploitation licenses.

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Article 10. Valid duration, extension and adjustment of contents of underground water exploration licenses

1. The valid duration of underground water exploration licenses is between 1 (one) year and 3 (three) years, depending on the exploitation scale and hydro-geological complexity of the to be-explored areas.

2. In cases where it is necessary to prolong the exploration duration prescribed in the licenses, the exploring organizations or individuals shall have to make applications for extension. The extended period shall not exceed 1 (one) year.

3. The adjustment of contents of underground water exploration licenses may be effected in the following cases:

a) There is disparity between the actual hydro-geological structure and the anticipated one;

b) The ground conditions do not permit the construction of a number of items, thus necessitating the relocation of exploration projects;

c) The volume of major exploration items (drilling, pumping�) increases by over 10% over the approved volume.

Article 11. Valid duration, extension and adjustment of contents of underground water exploitation licenses

1. The valid duration of underground water exploitation licenses shall not exceed 15 (fifteen) years. When granting such licenses, the licensing agencies shall decide on the valid duration thereof suitable to the practical conditions of each area.

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3. The adjustment of contents of underground water exploitation licenses shall be effected in the following cases:

a) Water sources are insufficient to ensure the normal supply of water;

b) The water exploitation causes ground surface sinking, salinization of or serious pollution to underground water sources;

c) Due to common requirements, the total volume of exploited water increases but no additional water source exists or no additional measure can be taken.

Article 12. Suspension and revocation of underground water exploration and exploitation licenses

Underground water exploration and/or exploitation license may be revoked or suspended in the following cases:

1. Organizations and individuals exploring and/or exploiting underground water violate the provisions in their licenses, the provisions in Article 23 of the Water Resource Law, and other relevant law provisions;

2. Organizations and individuals exploring and/or exploiting underground water are dissolved or declared bankrupt;

3. Licenses are granted ultra vires;

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5. When competent State bodies deem it necessary to revoke, or suspend the validity of, licenses for defense or security reasons or in the national or public interests.

6. The underground exploration and/or exploitation causes such serious consequences as ground sinking, salinization or pullution of underground water sources.

Article 13. Responsibilities and powers of organizations and individuals licensed to explore underground water

Organizations and individuals licensed to explore underground water shall have the following responsibilities and powers:

1. To conduct exploration according to the schemes already approved by competent State bodies;

2. To comply with the provisions of this Regulation and other relevant law provisions;

3. To supply truthful information on the exploration situation upon inspection by the water resource management agency.

4. To pay compensation for damage caused by the underground water exploration;

5. To pay a fee for the underground water exploration licensing according to law provisions.

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Organizations and individuals licensed to exploit underground water shall have the following responsibilities and powers:

1. To exploit water according to the provisions of their licenses;

2. To comply with the provisions of this Regulation and other relevant law provisions;

3. To supply truthful relevant information on the water exploitation situation upon inspection by the water resource management agency;

4. To report in a timely manner to the licensing agencies when detecting big changes in the volume and quality of underground water and the surrounding environment;

5. To pay a fee for the underground water exploitation licensing and natural resource tax according to law provisions.

6. To be considered for compensation according to law provisions when competent State bodies suspend the validity of their licenses for defense or security reasons or in the national or public interests.

Chapter III

LICENSING THE UNDERGROUND WATER DRILLING PRACTICE

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Organizations and individuals practicing the underground water drilling must satisfy the following conditions:

1. Professional capability of technicians:

a) For the practice of drilling with hand-operated drills, shallow holes of a diameter of under 60 mm, the persons with prime technical responsibility must have at least an intermediate geological degree, one year's experience in the practicing domain or must be workers having 3/7-grade or equivalent skills and at least three years' experience in the practicing domain; have the capability of designing and directing the construction of water exploration and exploitation wells;

b) For the practice of drilling with hand-operated drills holes of a diameter of up to 110 mm, the chief technicians must be geological engineers having at least one year's experience or be intermediate geological degree holders having at least three years' experience in the practicing domain; have the capability of designing and directing the construction of water exploration, exploitation wells; be knowledgeable about the water-holding layer separation and underground water protection; have the capability of reporting on the results of small-sized underground water exploration and/or exploitation;

c) For the practice of drilling for medium-and large-sized projects with industrial drilling machines, the chief technicians must have at least the degree of senior hydro-geological engineer; have the capability of drawing up schemes on exploration, designing of the system of drilled exploitation wells, directing the construction and making reports on the results of exploration and appraisal of underground water deposits; be knowledgeable about hydro-geological conditions of the region; and are nominated in writing by the concerned units' heads.

2. Drilling machines and equipment must ensure technical properties and labor safety according to the current regulations.

Article 16. Order and procedures for licensing the underground water drilling practice

1. Organizations and individuals applying for underground water drilling practice license shall submit dossiers to the dossier-receiving agencies according to the decentralization prescribed in Article 5 of this Regulation. A dossier consists of:

a) An application for an underground water drilling practice license, made according to a set form;

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c) A written description of the technical capability, made according to a set form.

2. Order of licensing the underground water drilling practice is prescribed below:

a) Within 10 (ten) days after receiving the dossiers, the dossier-receiving agencies shall have to examine them. If dossiers are not yet valid, they shall ask the submitting organizations or individuals to supplement or re-compile them.

b) Within 30 (thirty) days after receiving the complete and valid dossiers, the dossier-receiving agencies shall evaluate the dossiers, inspect the actual capability of the applying organizations and individuals, submit them to competent authorities for granting licenses. If the applicants fail to meet all conditions for licensing, the dossier-receiving agencies shall return the dossiers to them, clearly stating the reasons for the return.

Article 17. Responsibilities and powers of organizations and individuals licensed to practice the underground water drilling

Organizations and individuals licensed to practice the underground water drilling shall have the following responsibilities and powers:

1. To comply with the drilling process and techniques, the provisions in their licenses and the regulations on the protection of underground water;

2. To annually report to the licensing agencies on the drilling for underground water exploration and/or exploitation;

3. Not to drill for underground water exploration or exploitation for organizations and individuals not yet licensed to explore or exploit underground water;

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Article 18. Valid duration of underground water drilling practice licenses

1. The valid duration of underground water drilling practice licenses shall not exceed 5 (five) years. The extended period shall not exceed 3 (three) years.

2. Three months before their licenses expire, organizations and individuals wishing to continue their practice shall have to compile dossiers of application for extension of their licenses. A dossier comprises: a list of projects they have been engaged in drilling; a report on changes in their professional personnel and equipment.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 19. Organization of implementation

1. The director of the Water Resource Management Department and the directors of the provincial/municipal Natural Resources and Environment Services shall have to implement and supervise the implementation of this Regulation.

2. Organizations and individuals that commit violations of this Regulation shall all be handled according to law provisions.

3. If facing any problems in the course of implementation, organizations and individuals should report them in writing to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and settlement

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MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT




Mai Ai Truc