The Tay Ninh Province’s People’s Committee has accepted a petition from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment to shut down all rubber and cassava processing establishments that discharge waste water directly into the environment.
According to the department, about 83 rubber and cassava processing establishments operate in the province, of which only 17 have installed a waste water treatment system.
Another 36 establishments are investing in building a system.
As a result, about 30 processing establishments are at risk of closing their doors since they have not built standard waste water treatment systems.
The province was paying great attention to environmental issues, said Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, adding that economic development could not be divorced from environmental protection.
The province would close all processing establishments that delay building waste water treatment systems, she said, noting that the province would allow them to resume operations only when they had standard waste water treatment systems verified by appropriate authorities.
For companies that were already building such systems, the province would extend the deadline for completion to June 30, she said.
Last year, the province suspended operations of 18 rubber and cassava processing establishments for discharging waste water into the environment.
