Dispute: sea sediment or industrial dumping?
The Bình Thuận administration has sought to allay concerns over the proposed dumping of 1.5 cubic metres of “materials” into the ocean, saying these are “natural sea sediment”, not industrial waste. However, officials have also acknowledged that the concerns are valid and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment could re-assess the relevant project’s environmental impacts. The sea sediment claim is contained in a report presented at a news conference by Nguyễn Ngọc Hai, Chairman of the Bình Thuận People’s Committee. It says the 1.5 million cubic metres of materials that the Vĩnh Tân 1 Electric Power Co Ltd wants to dump into the ocean is natural sea sediment, not industrial waste. The press conference was held after many people expressed worries that the dumping could cause pollution in the sea area.
