BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU – The People’s Committee of this southern province has asked local authorities to inspect all farms in the province to ensure they were equipped with standard waste water treatment system.

Those who were found to be discharging waste water into the environment would be forced to close down.

Lê Tuấn Quốc, Vice Chairman of the committee, made the request at a working session with Xuyên Mộc District’s People’s Committee on Wednesday.

Currently, Xuyên Mộc has the most number of farms in the province.

Figures from the district’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment revealed there were 59 farms in the province, of which, 35 were pig farms and 24 were chicken farms.

All the farms were licensed to operate by the provincial People’s Committee. However, some large-scale farms, such as those with more than 3,000 pigs, polluted the environment by discharging untreated waste water into the river, affecting water quality and locals’ health.

At the working session, the inspection team said they conducted an unscheduled inspection on four pig farms in Hòa Hội and Xuyên Mộc communes and found two farms discharging waste into the environment.

A farm of Đặng Thị Yến in Hòa Hội Commune, with capacity of 3,000 pigs, discharged some 30cu.m. of waste water and 1.2 tonnes of solid waste. The farm was only some 5km away from the Sông Hỏa Reservoir, which, according to plans, will supply water to residents in Xuyên Mộc District for the next several months.

In another farm of Nhân Hòa Breeding Co. Ltd in Xuyên Mộc Commune, with capacity of 5,200 pigs, the biogas was out of order. All waste was being discharged into the Cát Spring connected to the Sông Hỏa Reservoir.

The team has taken samples from the two farms for testing.

Quốc asked the departments of natural resources and environment, agriculture and rural development, environmental police and local authorities to inspect the building/repair of the waste treatment system before allowing it to resume operation.

He also directed relevant authorities to revise the planning of farms in the province and stop permitting farms to be located near residential areas. – VNS