Another page in Formosa’s BIG book of environmental violations

Notably, the local authorities detected that the local environmental company in Ky Anh town where the complex is located has buried HFS’ over 100 tonnes of waste in the farm of the environmental company’s director, according to newswire Thanhnien.vn.

According to Le Nam Son, chief inspector of the Ha Tinh Department of Natural Resources and Environment, on July 11, after receiving numerous reports from residents, the provincial environmental police carried out an inspection and uncovered the waste burial site on the farm of Le Quang Hoa, director of the urban environmental company in Ky Anh town.

The local authorities immediately collected samples of waste to test and determine whether the waste is harmful.

Vo Ta Dinh, director of the local Department of Natural Resources and Environment, promised to hold a working session with representatives of HFS and Ky Anh’s urban environment company to deal with the incident.

If the buried waste turns out to be hazardous, HFS will have to testify as to why they broke their environmental protection commitment and the environmental company will also have to make it clear with the environment department if disposing waste underground is among its designated functions.

According to the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will have to co-operate with the Ha Tinh Provincial People’s Committee to clarify the incident. If the buried waste is hazardous, the offender will be severely punished.

On July 12, the Police Department for Environmental Crime Prevention and Control (C49) co-operated with the provincial police to carry out an investigation.

A few days ago, the authorities detected 53 counts of violations at HFS, in the areas of design, construction, and test run process, all of which were managed by six Chinese contractors. The most serious violation is that the company arbitrarily used inadequate waste treatment technology, discharging various harmful chemicals, instead of the environmentally friendly technology it initially registered. In addition, the company used unlicensed foreign employees.

Late June, representative of HFS confessed that the company is the culprit behind the massive wave of fish deaths in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien-Hue. The break-down has impacted residents’ seafood farming as well as the four provinces’ budding tourism.

RELATED CONTENTS:
	Formosa may see hefty fine in tax arrears
	Formosa Ha Tinh runs falsely registered waste treatment technology
	Businesses learn lessons from Formosa scandal
	Vietnam to ask Formosa to change technology in wake of fish death scandal
	Formosa fined for fish deaths
	Prepare plan for using Formosa compensation money: PM
	Government gives priority to residents in dispensing $500 million compensation
	Formosa claims responsibility for mass dying of fish in central coast
	Two-day strike at Formosa ends with compromise
	Vietnamese steel unit of Taiwan’s Formosa under scrutiny
	Report on mass fish deaths finally published this week
	Formosa Ha Tinh awaits inspection
	Noone blamed yet for mass dying of fish
	Formosa representative nets termination with “fish or steel” comment
	Formosa representative repents “trade-off” comment
	Scaffold collapse kills at least 14 at Taiwan’s Formosa steel complex in central Vietnam
	PM reiterates Formosa's investment term while accepting mistakes
	Thousands of Chinese workers in Ha Tinh lack permits
	Taiwan’s Formosa and partners may have exaggerated May riot damage