Thông tư 10/2021/TT-BTNMT quy định về kỹ thuật quan trắc môi trường và quản lý thông tin, dữ liệu quan trắc chất lượng môi trường do Bộ trưởng Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường ban hành

CIRCULAR

PROVIDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING TECHNIQUES AND MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MONITORING INFORMATION AND DATA

THE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated November 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 36/2017/ND-CP dated April 04, 2017 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 127/2014/ND-CP dated December 31, 2014 prescribing conditions for organizing environmental monitoring service activities;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 38/2015/ND-CP dated April 24, 2015 on management of waste and scrap;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 73/2017/ND-CP dated June 14, 2017 on collection, management and use of information and data on natural resources and environment;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 40/2019/ND-CP dated May 13, 2019 on amendments to Decrees on guidelines for the Law on Environment Protection;

At the request of Director General of Vietnam Environment Administration, Director General of Department of Science and Technology and Director General of Department of Legal Affairs;

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment hereby promulgates a Circular providing for environmental monitoring techniques and management of environmental quality monitoring information and data

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides for environmental monitoring techniques and management of environmental quality monitoring information and data, including:

1. Techniques for environmental monitoring of ambient air, noise and vibration, surface water, groundwater, seawater, rainwater, soil, sediment.

2. Techniques for environmental monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POP) under Stockholm Convention and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment containing POP.

3. Techniques for environmental monitoring of wastewater, industrial exhaust gases and sewage sludge from water treatment systems.

4. Assurance and control of quality during environmental monitoring.

5. Basic requirements and technical specifications of automatic and continuous surface water and ambient air quality monitoring stations.

6. Basic requirements and technical specifications of automatic and continuous wastewater and exhaust gas monitoring systems.

7. Requirements for receipt, transmission and management of automatic and continuous environmental monitoring data.

8. Management, provision and sharing of environmental quality monitoring information and data.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. This Circular applies to organizations and individuals involved in environmental monitoring activities.

2. Chapter II of this Circular does not apply to environmental monitoring of offshore oil and gas operations.

Article 3. Rules for application of environmental monitoring methods

1. The application of environmental monitoring methods shall be compliant with the methods specified in this Circular and prevailing national technical regulations on environment.

2. Any international, regional or foreign method or standard with an accuracy equal to or higher than that specified in this Circular is accepted.

3. If any of the environmental monitoring methods specified in this Circular is amended or replaced, the newest one shall apply.

4. Regarding an environmental monitoring program with parameters for which environmental monitoring techniques have yet to be specified in this Circular, methods prescribed by a national or international standard shall apply.

Article 4. Definitions

For the purposes of this Circular, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. “quality assurance” (abbreviated to QA) in environmental monitoring means an integrated system of managerial and technical activities in an organization to ensure environmental monitoring activities are carried out in accordance with the defined quality standards.

2. “quality control” (abbreviated to QC) in environmental monitoring means the implementation of measures to carry out evaluation and monitoring and make prompt adjustments so as to achieve the precision and accuracy of the measurements so that environmental monitoring activities are carried out in accordance with the defined quality standards.

3. “quality control sample” (hereinafter collectively referred to as “QC sample”) means a real sample or sample made from the standard used to control the quality during the process of field monitoring and laboratory environmental analysis.

4. “precision” means the closeness of agreement between independent test results obtained under stipulated conditions.

5. “repeatability” means the precision under repeatability conditions.

6. “reproducibility” means the precision under reproducibility conditions.

7. “accuracy” means the closeness of agreement between a test result and the accepted reference value.

8. “sample batch” means a group of samples processed and analyzed under the same conditions, procedures and methods and for the same period of time. Each sample batch must consist of QC samples.

9. “field blank sample” means a sample of clean material used to control contamination in the field environmental monitoring process. The field blank sample is handled, preserved, transported and is sent to the laboratory for analysis as the real sample.

10. “field replicate/duplicate sample” means at least two samples being taken from the same location and at the same time, similarly handled, preserved, transported and sent to the same laboratory for analysis. The field replicate/duplicate sample is used for control of the error in the field monitoring, laboratory analysis and evaluation of the precision of the monitoring results.

11. “trip blank sample” means a clean sample used to control contamination in the process of sample transport. The trip blank sample is transported together with the real sample under the same conditions, preserved and sent to a laboratory for analysis in an identical manner as the real sample.

12. “equipment blank sample” means a clean sample used to control equipment contamination and evaluate the stability and interference of the equipment. The equipment blank sample is handled as the real sample with a sampling device, preserved, transported and sent to a laboratory for analysis in an identical manner as the real sample.

13. “method blank sample” means a clean sample used to control contamination resulting from instruments, chemicals and reference materials in the sample analysis process. The method blank sample is carried through all steps of the handling and analytical procedures in an identical manner as the real sample.

14. “laboratory replicate/duplicate sample” includes two or more parts of the same sample, which are analyzed using the same method. The laboratory replicate/duplicate sample is a sample used to evaluate the precision of the analytical results.

15. “reference material” means a material which is sufficiently homogeneous and stable with respect to one or more specified properties, which has been established to be fit for its intended use in a measurement process.

16. “certified reference material” (abbreviated to CRM) means a reference material, accompanied by a certificate, one or more of whose property values are certified by a procedure which establishes traceability to an accurate realization of the unit in which the property values are expressed, and for which each certified value is accompanied by an uncertainty at a stated level of confidence.

17. “laboratory control sample” is a sample that has had a known concentration and derived from a reference material whose concentration is set to be in the same range as that of the calibration curve and is used to inspect the operation of equipment and monitor the analysis.

18. “spike sample/ matrix spike” means a sample that has a known amount of analyte added to the real sample. The matrix spike is prepared and analyzed as the real sample to evaluate the analysis process.

19. “interlaboratory comparisons” mean the organization, performance and evaluation of measurements or tests on the same or similar items by two or more laboratories in accordance with predetermined conditions.

20. “proficiency testing” means the evaluation of participant performance against pre-established criteria by means of interlaboratory comparisons.

21. “quality assurance project plan” (abbreviated to "QAPP”) means a formal document describing the detailed quality assurance procedures, quality control and other technical activities that must be implemented to ensure that the results of the work performed will satisfy the stated performance criteria.

22. “method detection limit” (abbreviated to "MDL”) means the minimum concentration of a substance that can be measured and reported with 99% confidence that the analyte concentration is greater than zero and is determined from analysis of a sample in a given matrix containing the analyte.

23. “instrument detection limit” (abbreviated to “IDL”) means the minimum value of a substance that can be measured and is five times greater than the interference signal of the equipment.

24. “technical check” is the checking of normal operating state and calibration mechanism of the measuring equipment according to the technical document.

25. “inspection” (first inspection before the first use, periodic inspection during use and post-repair inspection) means the evaluation and confirmation of technical specifications of the environmental monitoring equipment according to the metrological and technical requirements and implementation of metrological control measures.

26. “calibration” means the determination and establishment of relationship between the value of a measurement standard and measuring equipment and the value of a quantity being measured.

27. “periodic environmental monitoring” means the field sampling and measurement or sample preservation and transport for handling and laboratory analysis according to a set temporal and spatial plan.

28. “automatic and continuous monitoring” means a process of measuring and analyzing environmental parameters continuously over time using automatic measuring or analyzing instruments.

29. “fixed automatic monitoring station/system” means a station/system permanently installed at a specified location and capable of automatically monitoring environmental parameters.

30. “isokinetic sampling method” is a method that ensures the velocity at the sampling point inlet is the same as that of stack gas at that point.

31. “direct measuring equipment” means the equipment that promptly displays parameters required upon its placement in the measured environment.

32. “measuring equipment resolution" means the smallest measurable change (non-zero value) that can cause the measuring equipment to respond.

33. “response time” means duration between the instant when an input quantity value of a measuring instrument or measuring system is subjected to an abrupt change between two specified constant quantity values and the instant when a corresponding indication settles within specified limits around its final steady value.

34. “measuring interval (working interval)” means a set of values of quantities of the same kind that can be measured by a given measuring instrument or measuring system with specified instrumental uncertainty, under defined conditions.

35. “metrological traceability” means the property of a measurement result whereby the result can be related to a reference (international or national measurement standard) through a documented unbroken chain of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement uncertainty.

Chapter II

PERIODIC ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING TECHNIQUES

Article 5. Design of periodic environmental monitoring program

1. A periodic environmental monitoring program shall be designed in conformity with environmental monitoring objectives. An environmental quality monitoring objective shall be determined according to prevailing environmental protection policies and laws, environmental protection management and protection strategies, planning and plans, environmental quality monitoring network planning and information to be collected at the request of environment authorities.

2. Environmental quality monitoring objectives, prevailing national and local technical regulations and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine monitoring parameters to be included in a monitoring program for monitoring with appropriate frequency.

3. National periodic environmental monitoring program, periodic environmental monitoring programs of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall be designed in conformity with the environmental quality monitoring network planning.

4. The design of a periodic environmental monitoring program shall encompass the formulation of a quality assurance and control plan as specified in the Appendix 1 enclosed with this Circular.

Article 6. Ambient air quality monitoring

1. Ambient air quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.1 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in national technical regulation on ambient air quality or required by environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. For national environmental quality monitoring program and environmental quality monitoring programs of central-affiliated cities, it is required to monitor at least the following parameters: meteorology, SO2, CO, NO2, TSP and PM2.5 at least every 02 months (06 times/year). Depending on the monitoring program objectives and characteristics of monitoring locations, other parameters shall be selected to be included in the monitoring programs for monitoring with appropriate frequency.

3. For provincial environmental quality monitoring programs, it is required to monitor at least the following parameters: meteorology, SO2, CO, NO2, TSP and PM10 at least every 02 months (06 times/year). Depending on the monitoring program objectives and characteristics of monitoring locations, PM2.5  and other parameters shall be selected to be included in the monitoring programs for monitoring with appropriate frequency.

Article 7. Noise and vibration monitoring

1. Noise monitoring parameters include equivalent sound level (Leq) and maximum equivalent sound level (Lmax).

2. Vibration monitoring parameters include vibration acceleration level (dB) or vibration acceleration level (m/s2).

3. Noise monitoring methods are specified in TCVN 7878 (including 2 parts TCVN 7878-1:2018 and TCVN 7878-2:2018) - Acoustics - Description, measurement and assessment of environmental noise.

4. Vibration monitoring methods are specified in TCVN 6963:2001 - Vibration and shock - Vibration emitted by construction works and factories - Method of measurement.

5. For national environmental quality monitoring program and environmental quality monitoring programs of provinces and central-affiliated cities, noise and vibration shall be monitored at least every 02 months (06 times/year).

Article 8. Surface water quality monitoring

1. Surface water quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.2 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in national technical regulation on surface water quality or required by environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. For national environmental quality monitoring program and environmental quality monitoring programs of provinces and central-affiliated cities, it is required to monitor at least the following parameters: pH, TSS, DO, COD, BOD5, NH4+; total nitrogen or NO3-; total phosphorous or PO43-; total Coliforms at least every 02 months (06 times/year). Depending on the monitoring program objectives and characteristics of monitoring locations, other parameters shall be selected to be included in the monitoring program for monitoring with appropriate frequency.

Article 9. Groundwater quality monitoring

1. Groundwater quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.3 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in the national technical regulation on surface water quality or required by environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. For national environmental quality monitoring program and environmental quality monitoring programs of provinces and central-affiliated cities, it is required to monitor at least the following parameters: pH, TDS, permanganate index, NH4+, NO3-, Fe and As at least every 03 months (04 times/year). Depending on the monitoring program objectives and characteristics of monitoring locations, other parameters shall be selected to be included in the monitoring program for monitoring with appropriate frequency.

Article 10. Seawater quality monitoring

1. Seawater quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.4 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in national technical regulation on seawater quality or required by environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. For national environmental quality monitoring program and environmental quality monitoring programs of provinces and central-affiliated cities, it is required to monitor at least the following parameters: pH, DO, TSS, NH4+, PO43-, and mineral oil and grease with respect to coastal seawater at least every 02 months (06 times/year); and at least the following parameters: pH, As, Cd, and mineral oil and grease with respect to near-shore and off-shore seawater and at least 02 times/year. Depending on the monitoring program objectives and characteristics of monitoring locations, other parameters shall be selected to be included in the monitoring program for monitoring with appropriate frequency.

Article 11. Rainwater quality monitoring

1. Rainwater quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.5 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. Monitoring objectives and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine monitoring parameters.

3. Monitoring frequency and time:

a) Rainwater samples taken after each rain event: the rainwater samples are taken after each rain event. The starting and ending time of each rain event shall be determined.

b) Rainwater samples taken per diem: in case of failure to take and analyze samples after each rain event, samples shall be taken per diem (continuously 24 hours). Samples are taken from 08 am and must remain untouched while and after being taken (the samples should be refrigerated or have appropriate chemical preservatives added);

c) Rainwater samples taken per week: in case of failure to take and analyze samples per diem, samples may be taken every week, which means daily samples taken within 01 week are combined or taken continuously for 01 week if they remain untouched while and after being taken (the samples should be refrigerated or have appropriate chemical preservatives added).

Article 12. Soil quality monitoring

1. Soil quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.6 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in the National technical regulation on the allowable limits of some pollutants in the soils or required by environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. Monitoring objectives, prevailing national technical regulations on environment and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine parameters to be monitored at least 02 times/year.

Article 13. Sediment quality monitoring

1. Sediment quality monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 2.7 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in national technical regulation on sediment quality or required by environmental quality monitoring programs.

2. Monitoring objectives, prevailing national technical regulations on environment and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine parameters to be monitored at least 02 times/year.

Chapter III

TECHNIUQES FOR MONITORING OF POPS IN RAW MATERIALS, FUELS, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, GOODS AND EQUIPMENT

Article 14. List of POPs under Stockholm Convention and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment containing POPs

Lists of POPs and their uses under Stockholm Convention are provided in the Annexes A, B and C to the Stockholm Convention and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment containing POPs are provided in the Appendix 3.1 enclosed with this Circular.

Article 15. Monitoring of POPs in raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment

1. Methods for monitoring of POPs in raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment are specified in the Appendix 3.2 enclosed with this Circular.

2. Monitoring objectives, prevailing national technical regulations on environment, national and international standards and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to monitor POPs in raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment.

Chapter IV

TECHNIQUES FOR MONITORING WASTEWATER, EXHAUST GASES AND SEWAGE SLUDGE FROM WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

Article 16. Wastewater monitoring

1. Wastewater monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 4.1 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in the national technical regulation on wastewater or required by environmental monitoring programs.

2. Monitoring objectives, prevailing national technical regulations on environment, production types, scale, characteristics of exhaust sources and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine monitoring parameters and sampling sites.

3. Wastewater monitoring frequency shall comply with prevailing regulations of law.

Article 17. Exhaust gas monitoring

1. Wastewater monitoring parameters and methods are specified in the Appendix 4.2 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in the national environmental technical regulation on exhaust gases or required by environmental monitoring programs.

2. Monitoring objectives, prevailing national technical regulations on environment, production types, scale, characteristics of exhaust sources and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine monitoring parameters.

3. Regarding the parameters SO2, NOx (NO and NO2), CO and O2, apart from field sampling and laboratory analysis, field measurement may be carried out if all requirements specified in the Appendix 06 enclosed herewith are met.

4. Exhaust gas samples shall be taken when a facility is operating stably and reach at least 50% of its design capacity.

5. Exhaust gas monitoring frequency shall comply with prevailing regulations of law.

6. The flue gas sampling porthole on the chimney must have a prescribed diameter or width, covered by a cap for adjusting the opening level; working platform must be safe and convenient for access and sampling. Sampling site, diameter or width is specified in the Appendix 5 enclosed herewith.

Article 18. Monitoring of sewage sludge from water treatment systems

1. Parameters and methods for monitoring of sewage sludge from water treatment systems are specified in the Appendix 4.3 enclosed herewith and other parameters are specified in the national environmental technical regulation on sewage sludge from water treatment systems or required by environmental monitoring programs.

2. Prevailing national technical regulations on environment, production types, scale, characteristics of exhaust sources and requirements laid down by competent authorities shall be relied on to determine monitoring parameters in order to identify sewage sludge from water treatment systems in accordance with waste management regulations.

Chapter V

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONTROL OF DURING ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

Article 19. Requirements concerning area of laboratory, environmental protection and occupational safety

1. Every organization involved in environmental monitoring activities must have a laboratory with sufficient area to reasonably arrange dedicated subdivisions, make a separation from incompatible testing activities so as not to affect each other, and provide sufficient space necessary for each testing operation.

2. Laboratory waste must be classified by its properties, collected, stored, transported and treated as prescribed by law. Hazardous wastewater generated from laboratory analysis and testing operations must be classified and stored by its separate properties and components to avoid chemical interactions that release hazardous substances into the environment.

3. A fume hood should be used when conducting sample handling and sample analysis activities that release hazardous substances into the environment.

4. It is required to design and disseminate programs, rules and regulations on fire prevention and fighting and occupational safety at the laboratory and on field monitoring to employees and provide employees carrying out field monitoring and laboratory analysis with adequate personal protective equipment.

5. Persons involved in field monitoring must be trained in occupational safety under the Law on Occupational Safety and Health and relevant regulations of law.

Article 20. Environmental monitoring quality management system

1. Each organization involved in environmental monitoring must apply the quality management system under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 or equivalent in order to develop an internal quality management system with a view to assurance of quality of monitoring results. The organization must document the quality management system and disseminate the document to all employees so that they can implement it. The quality management system must be maintained and constantly upgraded to fit scope of operation, and ensure objectivity and accuracy of the monitoring results.

2. On an annual basis, the organization must formulate a plan to carry out internal assessment of its quality management system. The assessment shall focus on quality management–related documentation and environmental monitoring activities in order to inspect and confirm the compliance of requirements of the quality management system by the organization. After the assessment is done, the organization must take remedial measures and rectify the errors detected (if any).

Article 21. Proficiency testing

1. Any organization issued with the Certificate of eligibility to provide environmental monitoring services must participate in proficiency testing schemes of appropriate providers under ISO/IEC 17043:2010. Within the effective period of the certificate, the organization must participate in proficiency testing schemes on at least 01 sample for certified parameters as follows:

a) Participate in the schemes at least once a year for the certified parameters in the group of basic parameters, including BOD5, COD, TSS, NH3+, Cl-, F-, NO3-, NO2-, PO43-;

b) Participate in the schemes at least once a year for the certified parameters in the group of metal parameters, including As, Cd, Pb, total Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Hg, Fe;

c) Participate in the schemes at least once within the effective period of the certificate for the certified parameters including: Total phenol, Cyanide (CN-), surfactant, chlorinated crop protection chemicals, phosphorus crop protection substances, PCB, Dioxin, PAHs.

2. For the parameters in Point c Clause 1 of this Article, if there is not any domestic unit sufficiently competent to organize proficiency testing schemes, the organization may participate in interlaboratory testing schemes with a minimum number of at least 03 laboratories or participate in proficiency testing schemes of competent providers according to ISO/IEC 17043:2010.

3. If the proficiency testing result is │Zscore│> 2, the organization must take remedial measures and prevent repetition of the errors detected (if any).

Article 22. Quality assurance and control during environmental monitoring

The organization charged with field monitoring must satisfy the following quality assurance and control requirements:

1. Duties must be assigned to each person carrying out field monitoring. The person charged with monitoring must be provided with training suitable for the assigned duties and shall only be assigned to officially carry out field monitoring if he/she has satisfied internal criteria and joined training courses on safety in service of field monitoring and passed such training courses.

2. Adequate files, documents, equipment, instruments, chemicals, reference materials, transport vehicles, occupational safety and health according to the formulated field monitoring programs and plans.

3. Chemicals and reference materials must be adequately prepared according to requirements of each monitoring method and stored in appropriate containers with labels specifying adequate information about name or type of the chemical and reference material; name of the manufacturer; concentration; preparation date; person in charge; shelf life and other information (if any). Chemicals and reference materials must be placed in separate areas and appropriately stored to ensure safety. The monitoring unit must have a chemical logbook showing the quantity of chemicals and reference materials received and dispatched for use, periodically inventory and monitor the shelf life of chemicals and reference materials.

4. Periodically calibrated equipment must undergo pre-test inspection and maintenance.

5. Samples shall be collected using appropriate methods. Samples shall be stored in containers which should be clean and suitable for each monitoring parameters in order not to affect or change quality of samples, and must be labeled.  A sample label shall specify monitoring parameters, sample code (code symbol), sampling time and other information (if any).

6. Field QC samples include trip blank samples, equipment blank samples, field blank samples, field duplicate samples or other QC samples collected in appropriate quantities as required by the monitoring programs or field monitoring quality assurance programs. If a monitoring program has less than 30 samples, at least 01 field duplicate sample must be collected (except for samples such as exhaust gas samples, dust samples, etc. which cannot be technically collected in duplicate) and 01 field blank sample or equipment blank sample. If a monitoring program has at least 30 samples, the number of field QC samples is 10% of total number of samples of the monitoring program. Field QC samples must be received, encoded and analyzed in a laboratory as other samples.

7. The field measuring and sampling record shall be made and completed after the field sampling is done. Forms of field monitoring records are provided in Tables 2, 3 and 4 in the Appendix 5 hereof.

8. Sample storage and transport methods: the samples which are stored and undergo field preliminary processing (if any) must be suitable for monitoring parameters. The transport of samples must be ensured in terms of quantity and quality. Transport time and storage temperature of samples during the transport shall comply with sampling and analysis standards or prevailing regulations applicable to each monitoring parameter. An appropriate transport plan should be in place to impose regulations on the time for conducting analysis of collected samples upon several monitoring parameters.

9. Sample delivery and receipt: there must be a sample delivery record containing all names and signatures of relevant parties.

10. Field monitoring methods must be appropriately selected and specified in Appendices 2, 3 and 4 enclosed herewith. For the parameters measured in the field, reference materials (standard solutions or reference gases) shall be used to control the quality of field measurement data. Upon carrying out field measurement, repeat a measurement several times and average the results.

Article 23. Quality assurance and control during environmental analysis

The organization charged with environmental analysis must satisfy the following quality assurance and control requirements:

1. Duties must be assigned to each person carrying out environmental analysis. The analyzer must be provided with training suitable for the assigned duties and shall only be assigned to officially carry out analysis if he/she has satisfied the internal criteria.

2. Analytical methods should be approved to evaluate their suitability for the laboratory’s applicable conditions before use. The approval of methods must be made into a report as specified in the Appendix 7 enclosed herewith.

3. A standard operating procedure (SOP) for the approved analytical methods must be established. A standard operating procedure must contain at least the contents specified in the Appendix 8 enclosed herewith.

4. Chemicals and reference materials must be adequately prepared according to requirements of each monitoring method and stored in appropriate containers with labels specifying adequate information about name or type of the chemical and reference material; name of the manufacturer; concentration; preparation date; person in charge; shelf life and other information (if any). Chemicals and reference materials must be placed in separate areas and appropriately stored to ensure safety. The monitoring unit must have a chemical logbook showing the quantity of chemicals and reference materials received and dispatched for use, periodically inventory and monitor the shelf life of chemicals and reference materials.

5. Environmental analytical equipment must be inspected, maintained and calibrated.

6. Environmental conditions within the laboratory must be controlled so that the analytical results or effectiveness of analyses are not affected.

7. Sample management: upon receiving samples for analysis, such samples must satisfy the conditions for sample storage in conformity with in conformity with each analytical parameter as prescribed. Samples must be encoded and a sample code must be assigned to such samples while they are stored at the organization charged with environmental analysis. After being analyzed, samples must be stored and preserved according to the instructions in sample analysis and sampling standards or applicable regulations for use in case of re-check and re-analysis.

8. Quality control during environmental analysis: apart from field QC samples, laboratory QC samples must be analyzed in each sample batch. The number of QC samples for analysis in each batch must be enough to inspect the contamination of instruments, chemicals, reagents and affecting factors, and to evaluate the precision and accuracy of analytical results. Depending on the analytical methods applied, laboratory QC samples include equipment blank samples, method blank samples, duplicate samples, matrix spikes, certified reference materials, control standard samples or other QC samples required by standard methods and monitoring programs or quality assurance programs.

9. Quality control acceptance criteria shall be established according to standard methods and Appendix 9 enclosed herewith.

Article 24. Use and management of environmental monitoring equipment

1. Before use, environmental monitoring equipment must undergo quality inspection and satisfy technical standards and regulations in accordance with applicable regulations of law on quality of products and goods. Environmental monitoring equipment must be under metrological control (inspection, calibration and testing) in accordance with applicable regulations of the law on measurement.

2. Environmental monitoring equipment must be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, procedures for using equipment and measurement techniques specified in Vietnamese text measurement techniques.

3. Before use, environmental monitoring equipment must undergo a check (external check, technical check and accuracy check). In case the equipment fails to satisfy measurement requirements, stop using it, make a record and include it in an environmental monitoring equipment management dossier.

4. Maintenance, repair and replacement of environmental monitoring equipment: a plan for periodic maintenance, repair and replacement of environmental monitoring equipment must be formulated and implemented according to the manufacturer’s instructions and procedures for using equipment.

5. Environmental monitoring equipment management dossier: every organization carrying out environmental monitoring shall compile an environmental monitoring equipment management dossier. The environmental monitoring equipment management dossier shall be retained by the organization and presented at the request of a competent authority. The environmental monitoring equipment management dossier includes:

a) List and technical specifications of monitoring equipment; manufacturer’s instructions;

b) Standard operating procedures and checking procedures;

c) Equipment delivery logbook;

d) Logbook for maintenance, repair and replacement of components and accessories;

dd) Document about metrological control of monitoring equipment;

e) Certificate enclosed with a report on inspection, calibration and testing and documents proving the equipment ownership.

Article 25. Environmental monitoring data management

1. Data on field monitoring and environmental analysis must be checked, statistically processed and evaluated.

a) Result examination: examine the rationality of the environmental monitoring and analysis results. T The examination shall be carried out according to sample profiles (field monitoring records, sample delivery records, field measurement records, laboratory analysis result reports, etc.) and QC sample results (blank samples, duplicate samples, reference samples, etc.);

b) Environmental monitoring and analysis results shall be accepted only after considering and evaluating QC sample analysis results to ensure reliability according to the laboratory’s quality control criteria;

c) Statistical processing: according to the number of samples and contents of reports, various methods may be used for statistical processing provided that at least the following statistical data is available: minimum value, maximum value, mean value and standard deviation.

d) Result assessment: compare the examined and statistically processed monitoring results and relevant technical standards and regulations.

2. All documents, data and files on field monitoring and environmental analysis must be fully gathered in a truthful and timely manner, and archived and managed according to regulations.

3. The original dossier about field monitoring and environmental analysis must be stored and presented to competent authorities upon request. An original dossier includes:

a) Field monitoring documentation: field sampling record, sample delivery record, field measurement result report, repeated measurement record (if any), raw data stored in the field measuring equipment memory or backed up directly from the field measuring equipment memory, calculation and field monitoring results;

b) Environmental analytical documentation: analytical record, analytical result report, raw data stored in the analytical equipment memory or backed up directly from the analytical equipment memory;

c) Documentation about field QA and QC and environmental analysis including but not limited to sampling record, field QC sample results, results of field equipment check with reference materials, results of QC samples used in environmental analysis.

4. The data on field monitoring and environmental analysis must be sufficient and consistent with the field monitoring documentation and environmental analysis documentation, sampling time and site, analytical parameters and time, monitoring methods and equipment, measurement result acceptance criteria.

5. If any error in field monitoring is suspected, the data must be re-examined or invalidated and must not be used for the purposes of making monitoring result reports. Original documents and data must be retained as original dossiers before they are invalidated.

Chapter VI

BASIC TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS OF AUTOMATIC AND CONTINUOUS SURFACE WATER AND AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS

Article 26. Basic technical requirements applicable to automatic and continuous surface water monitoring stations

1. Monitoring parameters:

a) Mandatory parameters include temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), Total suspended solids (TSS), Chemical oxygen demand (COD);

b) Apart from the monitoring parameters specified in Point a Clause 1 of this Article, according to the monitoring objectives and characteristics of the monitoring site, an automatic surface water monitoring station may monitor the following parameters: turbidity, TDS, NH4+, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus, PO43-, NO3-, TOC and other parameters according to the monitoring objectives.

2. Monitoring locations and technical requirements:

a) Monitoring locations:

According to the monitoring objectives, an organization may install automatic and continuous monitoring stations in order to monitor changes in water quality and warn environmental pollutions risks. Priority shall be given to installation of the stations which satisfy the following criteria:

a1) Points upstream of the domestic water safeguard zones under the Law on Water Resources;

a2) Upstream areas of rivers near the border with neighboring countries to monitor and assess the quality of water from bordering countries flowing to Vietnam;

a3) Points downstream adjacent to areas where industrial establishments that discharge large amount of water and pose potential risks of environmental emergencies to promptly give warnings of environmental pollution phenomena;

b) Technical requirements applicable to monitoring locations:

b1) A place for installation of the monitoring station shall be selected by considering the following factors: feasibility of construction of the station, representativeness of the sampling location, long-term need for monitoring, ability to ensure safety and maintain costs of station operating;

b2) The location of installation should be convenient for transportation, supply of electricity and clean water, and telecommunications services, maintain an appropriate distance to the monitoring point, facilitate collection of samples in the dry season, safe operation and maintenance, and satisfy other basic conditions for the construction of the station;

b3) For the monitoring station on a river, the monitoring locations must be along in a straight river section with uniform water quality, stable flow velocity and regime and with a minimum distance of 01 km downstream of wastewater discharge points or estuaries. An automatic monitoring location should be selected in an identical manner as a normal monitoring location to ensure the continuity of monitoring data;

b4) For the monitoring station on a lake (a source of still water), the monitoring locations must be in areas which have good hydraulic exchange regime, are representative of the water quality of the lake. The monitoring locations should not be in areas of stagnant water or standing water or areas prone to sedimentation or growth of aquatic plants.

3. Basic equipment requirements applicable to automatic and continuous surface water monitoring stations:

a) An appropriate method of installing monitoring equipment shall be determined according to the monitoring parameters and measurement and analysis principle of the monitoring equipment. To be specific:

- Direct method: the probes shall be placed directly in the surface water monitoring location and at least 10 cm from the surface of the surface water and at least 15 cm from the bottom. The measurement in the dry season shall be taken into account;

- Indirect method: surface water shall be pumped into a sample container in the station to carry out direct measurement by soaking probes directly in the sample container or pumped into the automatic analytical equipment (if any);

b) Datalogger: datalogger shall be used to collect, store and transmit automatic and continuous monitoring data of the system to the managing authority. The datalogger is specified in Article 39 hereof;

c) Standard solutions: standard solutions shall be used to check and calibrate monitoring equipment of the station;

d) Cameras: it is recommended that cameras be installed at locations of the station’s monitoring equipment to provide online images;

dd) Technical requirements applicable to other auxiliary equipment for automatic and continuous surface water monitoring stations are specified in the Appendix 10 hereof.

Article 27. Requirements concerning technical specifications of automatic and continuous surface water monitoring stations:

An automatic and continuous surface water monitoring station must satisfy the following requirements concerning technical specifications:

1. Technical specifications of automatic and continuous surface water monitoring equipment must satisfy the following requirements:

Table 1. Technical specifications of automatic and continuous surface water monitoring equipment

Where:

- Regarding accuracy of the monitoring equipment in Table 1: the reading- or measuring interval-based accuracy may be applied.

- Regarding the measuring interval in Table 1: the measuring interval in Table 1 is used for reference. The automatic monitoring equipment must have at least 01 measuring interval whose upper limit must not exceed that of the measuring interval specified in Table 1 and suitable for the monitoring objectives according to the national technical regulation on surface water quality. The requirement concerning measuring interval is not compulsorily applicable to equipment using reading-based accuracy.

2. The standard solution used to check and calibrate the station’s monitoring equipment with the specifications specified in Table 1 shall satisfy the following requirements:

- It must have a minimum accuracy of ± 5% (± 0,1 pH for pH) and traceable to standards in accordance with regulations of the law on measurement;

- It must meet at least 01 concentration in the equipment’s measurement range equivalent to each parameter specified in Table 1, except for temperature.

3. It is recommended to use synchronous monitoring equipment that is manufactured by the same manufacturer and certified by international organizations, including United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Environment Agency's Monitoring Certification Scheme (mCERTs) and German Technical Inspection Association (Technischer Überwachungsverein, TÜV).

4. The monitoring equipment can automatically store and export monitoring data and status of the measuring equipment (including the following status: measuring, calibrating and error). Regarding flow and temperature, “calibration” status is not required.

Article 28. Requirements for management and operation of automatic and continuous surface water monitoring stations

1. An automatic and continuous surface water monitoring station must have all relevant documents including: documents about the station, documents about equipment maintenance and replacement, equipment profiles, technical design drawings and procedures for operation, maintenance, replacement and repair of the station.

2. QA and QC for the automatic and continuous surface water monitoring station: before putting the station into operation, the operator shall design a SOP during the station operation. The SOP shall contain operation procedures, probe and equipment checking and maintenance procedures, data management procedures and incident handling procedures.

3. Operation personnel must be fully trained in station management and operation, incident handling and occupational safety.

4. Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment must undergo inspection, calibration and periodic check

a) Equipment must be inspected and calibrated in accordance with prevailing regulations of law on measurement;

b) Equipment (except for temperature measuring equipment) must be periodically checked using reference materials according to the manufacturer’s recommendations at least once a month by the station operator; must be re-inspected or re-calibrated as prescribed if value given by the measuring equipment deviates by ≥ 10% from the reference material concentration value. It is recommended that measuring equipment be re-inspected or re-calibrated if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by < 10% from the reference material concentration value. The process of checking equipment with reference materials and inspecting and calibrating equipment must be specified in an operational logbook.

c) It is recommended that equipment be checked periodically by making a comparison with periodic monitoring results according to the methods mentioned in the Appendix 2.2 hereof;

d) The maintenance, repair and replacement of components and accessories must be included in a plan by the station operator and elaborated in the SOP.

5. The station management and operation must be specified in the operational logbook that fully records status of measuring equipment and other auxiliary equipment; data transmission and reception at the station; process of checking equipment with standard solutions and inspecting and calibrating equipment (if any).

6. The station operator shall rely on the scale and monitoring methods of the station to deploy officials to manage and operate the station in accordance with regulations on norms for use of factory area and equipment, and payroll for the environmental monitoring station.

Article 29. Classification of automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations

Automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations shall be classified by monitoring purposes. To be specific:

1. Ambient air quality monitoring stations are monitoring stations that satisfy the regulations laid down in Point a Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 30 and Article 31 of this Circular in order to regularly and continuously air quality in monitoring locations and site and are entitled to provide data to regulatory bodies and provide air quality information using air quality index (AQI) to the community.

2. Reference monitoring stations are ambient air quality monitoring stations that fail to satisfy the technical requirements laid down in Point a Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 30 and Article 31 of this Circular and are used to monitor air quality for the purposes of internal use, scientific research, provision of data to models for calculating and forecasting pollution, and publishing of monitoring data on pollutant concentrations.

Article 30. Basic requirements applicable to automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations

An automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring station shall satisfy the following basic requirements:

1. Monitoring parameters:

According to monitoring objectives and characteristics of the monitoring site, select appropriate environmental parameters to be monitored in accordance with the following regulations:

a) Group of minimum parameters for the air quality monitoring stations that publicize information using AQI, including PM2.5; ozone (O3) and one of the three parameters: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO).

b) Group of other parameters: total suspended particulate (TSP), PM10, PM1, benzene (C6H6), toluene (C7H8), ethyl benzene (C8H10), xylene (C8H10), methane (CH4) and other toxic parameters.

c) According to the monitoring objectives, reference monitoring stations may select the parameters specified in Points a and b Clause 1 of this Article.

2. Location of a station: the station must be located in a well-ventilated place, have the ability to measure meteorological parameters, must not be covered and must meet the monitoring objectives and represents the environmental quality of the monitoring site. An appropriate location shall be selected according to the monitoring objectives and technical requirements of each station. To be specific:

a) Background station: located in areas most affected by sources of emissions;

b) General station: located in areas affected by multiple sources (urban areas, residential areas, transportation, construction, industry, etc.);

c) Residential station: located in typical residential areas not close to major roads on which there is a large number of vehicles;

d) Roadside (traffic) station: located along a straight road section not close to turns and intersections; located along highways and national highways with the highest traffic density among the roads of the site;

dd) Industrial station: located in the nearest residential area in the prevailing wind direction compared to the industrial park and large sources of waste. For a source of waste with a high stack, an air pollutant emission inventory may be used to determine areas with the highest pollution level, thereby determining the location of the station.

3. Basic equipment requirements applicable to automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations:

a) Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment: equipment includes one or more measuring and analytical devices capable of measuring automatically and continuously and giving results of monitoring of parameters in the ambient air;

b) Datalogger: datalogger shall be used to collect, store and transmit automatic and continuous monitoring data to environment authorities. The datalogger is specified in Article 39 hereof;

c) Standard gas cylinders or other specialized reference materials: they provide reference materials for the checking and calibration of the station’s monitoring equipment;

d) Cameras: it is recommended that cameras be installed at locations of the station’s monitoring equipment to provide online images;

dd) Technical requirements applicable to other auxiliary equipment for automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations are specified in the Appendix 11 hereof.

Article 31. Requirements concerning technical specifications of automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations

1. An automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring station shall use measuring equipment on the list of monitoring methods and equivalent monitoring equipment published by US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) or monitoring equipment certified by international organizations including Environment Agency's Monitoring Certification Scheme (mCERTs) and German Technical Inspection Association (Technischer Überwachungsverein, TÜV).

2. Technical specifications of automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring equipment must satisfy at least the following requirements:

Table 2. Technical specifications of automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring equipment

Where:

- Regarding accuracy of the monitoring equipment in Table 2: the reading- or measuring interval-based accuracy may be applied.

- Regarding the measuring interval in Table 2: the measuring interval in Table 2 is used for reference. The automatic monitoring equipment must have at least 01 measuring interval whose upper limit must not exceed that of the measuring interval specified in Table 2 and suitable for the monitoring objectives according to the national technical regulation on ambient air quality. The requirement concerning measuring interval is not compulsorily applicable to equipment using reading-based accuracy.

3. Reference materials

a) Reference materials are used to calibrate automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring equipment with respect to the parameters specified in the Table 2;

b) Reference materials must be within their shelf life, have a minimum accuracy of ± 5% and traceable to standards in accordance with regulations of the law on measurement.

4. The monitoring equipment can automatically store and export monitoring data and status of the measuring equipment (including the following status: measuring, calibrating and error). Regarding temperature, “calibration” status is not required.

Article 32. Requirements for management and operation of automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations

1. An automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring station must have documents about the station, documents about equipment maintenance and replacement, equipment profiles, technical design drawings and procedures for operation, maintenance, replacement and repair of the station.

2. QA and QC for the automatic and continuous ambient air quality monitoring station: before putting the station into operation, the station operator shall design a SOP during the station operation. The SOP shall contain operation procedures, probe and equipment inspection and maintenance procedures, data management procedures and incident handling procedures.

3. Operation personnel must be fully trained in station management and operation, incident handling and occupational safety.

4. Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment must undergo inspection, calibration and periodic check

a) Equipment must be inspected and calibrated in accordance with prevailing regulations of law on measurement;

b) Monitoring equipment (except for temperature measuring equipment, PM10, PM2.5) must be periodically checked using reference materials according to the manufacturer’s recommendations at least once a month by the station operator; must be re-inspected or re-calibrated if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by ≥ 10% from the reference material concentration value. It is recommended that measuring equipment be re-inspected or re-calibrated if value given by the measuring equipment deviates by < 10% from the reference material concentration value. The process of checking equipment with reference materials and inspecting and calibrating equipment must be specified in the operational logbook;

c) It is recommended that equipment be checked periodically by making a comparison with periodic monitoring results according to the methods mentioned in the Appendix 2.1 hereof;

d) The maintenance, repair and replacement of components and accessories must be included in a plan by the station operator and elaborated in the SOP.

5. The station management and operation must be specified in the operational logbook that fully records status of measuring equipment and other auxiliary equipment; data transmission and reception at the station; process of checking equipment with reference materials and inspecting and calibrating equipment (if any).

6. Management and operation personnel: rely on the scale and monitoring methods of the station to deploy officials to manage and operate the station in accordance with regulations on norms for use of factory area and equipment, and payroll for the environmental monitoring station.

Chapter VII

BASIC REQUIREMENTS AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF AUTOMATIC AND CONTINUOUS WASTEWATER MONITORING EQUIPMENT SYSTEMS

Article 33. Basic requirements applicable to automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring systems

1. Monitoring parameters and locations: according to the characteristics of the waste source, wastewater treatment system and management requirements, the competent authority shall request facilities to carry out automatic monitoring of pollution parameters and determine location of the automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring system in accordance with regulations of law.

2. An automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring system consists of:

a) Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment: an appropriate method of installing monitoring equipment shall be determined according to the monitoring parameters and measurement and analysis principle of the monitoring equipment. To be specific:

- Direct method: monitoring equipment (pH probes, temperature, etc.) shall be placed directly in the monitoring location behind the wastewater treatment system and the probes must be at least 10 cm from the surface of the wastewater and at least 15 cm from the bottom;

- Indirect method: treated wastewater shall be pumped into a sample container in the station to carry out direct measurement by soaking probes directly in the sample container or pumped into the automatic analytical equipment (if any);

b) Datalogger: datalogger shall be used to collect, store and transmit automatic and continuous monitoring data to environment authorities. The datalogger is specified in Article 39 hereof;

c) Reference materials: reference materials shall be used to inspect and calibrate monitoring equipment of the system;

d) Automatic sampling equipment: automatic sampling equipment shall be used to take and store water sample when one of the monitored parameters exceeds the allowable limit or at the request of a competent authority;

dd) Cameras: cameras shall be used to provide online images of the location of monitoring equipment and outlet of the wastewater treatment system before the wastewater is discharged into the receiving bodies. To be specific:

dd1) In the case of direct method: 01 camera shall be installed at the outlet of the wastewater treatment system;

dd2) In case of indirect method: 01 camera shall be installed inside the station and 01 outside the station at the outlet of the wastewater treatment system;

dd3) The camera must be have the ability to rotate (vertically and horizontally); have night vision capabilities; ability to record images at pre-determined time and make a scheduled recording;

e) Technical requirements applicable to other auxiliary equipment for automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring systems are specified in the Appendix 10 hereof.

Article 34. Requirements concerning technical specifications of automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring systems

An automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring system must satisfy the following requirements concerning technical specifications:

1. Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment

a) Technical specifications of automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring equipment in the system must satisfy the following requirements:

Table 3. Technical specifications of automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring equipment

Where:

- Regarding accuracy of the monitoring equipment in Table 3: the reading- or measuring interval-based accuracy may be applied.

b) The automatic monitoring equipment must have at least 01 measuring interval capable of measuring a value ≥ 3 times the limit value specified in the National technical regulation on environment applicable to the facility (except for temperature and pH);

c) It is recommended to use synchronous monitoring equipment certified by international organizations, including United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Environment Agency's Monitoring Certification Scheme (mCERTs) and German Technical Inspection Association (Technischer Überwachungsverein, TÜV);

d) The monitoring equipment can automatically store and export monitoring data and status of the measuring equipment (including at least the following status: measuring, calibrating and error). Regarding velocity and temperature, “calibration” status is not required.

2. Reference materials

a) The reference material used for periodic inspection must be within its shelf life, have a minimum accuracy of ± 5% (± 0.1 pH for pH) and traceable to standards in accordance with regulations of the law on measurement;

b) Reference materials must meet at least 01 concentration in the equipment’s measurement range equivalent to each parameter specified in Table 3, except for temperature and flow.

3. Automatic sampling and sample storage equipment

The automatic sampling and sample storage equipment must have the following functions:

a) Automatically take samples (periodic, unscheduled or over time) and store samples in the storage cabinet at 4 ± 2°C for a period of time suitable for parameter analysis;

b) Receive control signals from competent authorities to serve automatic remote sampling;

c) Automatic sampling cabinets must be sealed and managed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Article 35. Requirements for management and operation of automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring systems

1. Installation of the system’s measuring interval: upon operating an automatic and continuous monitoring system to transmit data to the receiving unit, equipment must have a measuring interval capable of measuring a value ≥ 3 times the limit value specified in the National technical regulation on environment applicable to the facility;

2. Assurance of quality of the system

a) Management and operation personnel: there must be sufficient personnel knowledgeable about the system in order to manage, maintain and operate it;

b) The system management dossier must be retained by the system operator and presented at the request of a competent authority. The dossier includes:

b1) List of monitoring parameters;

b2) List and technical specifications of monitoring equipment of the equipment manufacturer;

b3) User guide;

b4) Design drawing and description of the system;

b5) SOP: A SOP must include contents relating to system start-up and operating procedures; daily system check procedures; frequency and procedures for checking accuracy of equipment with standard solutions; procedures for mixing chemicals, reference materials and creating calibration curve of the analytical equipment (if any); frequency and procedures for maintaining monitoring equipment; equipment inspection and calibration frequency; frequency of replacement of accessories and consumables according to the manufacturer’s recommendations; procedures for rectifying errors; data back-up procedures; data examination and reporting procedures; regulations on safety during system operation and procedures for storage, management and treatment of generated waste;

b6) Standby equipment, parts and accessories;

b7) Operational logbook and equipment maintenance, inspection and calibration logbook;

b8) User manual for some common errors and how to troubleshoot the problems during management and operation of the system;

b9) Logbook for monitoring and inspection of daily operations of the system;

b10) Certificate enclosed with report on inspection and calibration of the system’s monitoring equipment;

b11) Record on checking of the system with standard solutions.

3. Before the system is officially put into operation, the system operator shall submit relevant documents to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, consisting of:

a) Information about the system investor and operator: name and address;

b) Installation time (starting and ending time), and time and result of system quality control in accordance with the regulations specified in Clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular;

c) Design drawing and description of the system; list of monitoring parameters and methods of installing monitoring equipment (direct or indirect method); descriptive information and images, diagram and map of the monitoring locations;

d) List and technical specifications of measuring and analytical equipment; manufacturers and equipment models; certificate enclosed with an inspection and calibration result report; monitoring data gathering and storage system; static IP address (data transfer protocol) attached to the system.

4. Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment must undergo inspection, calibration, testing and periodic check

a) Equipment must be inspected and calibrated in accordance with prevailing regulations of law on measurement;

b) Equipment must be periodically checked using reference materials according to the manufacturer’s recommendations at least once a month by the system operator; must be re-inspected or re-calibrated if value given by the measuring equipment deviates by ≥ 10% from the reference material concentration value. It is recommended that measuring equipment be re-inspected or re-calibrated if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by < 10% from the reference material concentration value. The process of checking equipment with reference materials and inspecting and calibrating equipment must be specified in the operational logbook;

c) It is recommended that equipment be checked periodically by making a comparison with results of monitoring of parameters in the facility’s periodic environmental monitoring program (if any);

d) The maintenance, repair and replacement of components and accessories must be included in a plan by the system operator and specified in the SOP.

5. If it is necessary to carry out maintenance, inspection, calibration and replacement of components and accessories, repair and replacement of measuring and analytical equipment, the facility owner shall comply with the following requirements:

a) Send the Department of Natural Resources and Environment a written notification, specifying the plan for and ending time of maintenance, inspection, calibration and replacement of components and accessories or repair and replacement of measuring and analytical equipment;

b) If the operation of automatic monitoring equipment is suspended for 48 hours or more, the facility owner shall carry out monitoring at least once a day for the parameters not measured using automatic and continuous monitoring equipment until its operation is resumed. Monitoring results must be retained and sent to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

6. Before being officially put into operation, the quality of the system must be controlled once a year by a licensed independent unit according to the procedures below:

a) Inspect monitoring locations as prescribed;

b) Check the system’s functions of gathering, storing and transmitting automatic and continuous monitoring data;

c) Check components, technical specifications and other functions of the system;

d) Evaluate the system’s relative accuracy, including:

d1) Carrying out reference monitoring:

d.1.1) Reference monitoring is the use of periodic monitoring methods specified in Appendix 4.1 enclosed with this Circular or methods accepted by US EPA as the equivalent methods to make a comparison between the obtained results and monitoring results of the system;

d1.2) Reference monitoring of each parameter shall be carried out;

d1.3) At least 06 samples shall be used as reference for every parameter to be monitored.

d.2) Calculating and evaluating reference monitoring data using relative accuracy (RA). To be specific:

d2.1) Calculation shall be made as prescribed in the Appendix 12 enclosed herewith;

d.2.2) RA result shall be evaluated as follows:

- The system's monitoring data will be accepted if RA is within the allowable limit specified in Table 4 below:

Table 4. Allowable limits of parameters used to make RA-based evaluation

- For the parameters not mentioned in Table 4, RA results for such parameters must be sent to the automatic data receiving authority for consideration and decision on data receipt and management;

dd) QC information shall be made into a record on checking of technical specifications, functions and RA of the system, which is specified in the Appendix 13 enclosed herewith.

Article 36. Basic requirements applicable to automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring systems

1. Monitoring parameters: according to the characteristics of the waste source, wastewater treatment system and management requirements, the competent authority shall request facilities to carry out automatic monitoring of parameters as prescribed by law.

2. Locations of monitoring holes:

a) Determination of locations of monitoring holes: the regulations on determination of locations of sampling ports which are specified in Clause 1 Section III Appendix 05 enclosed herewith shall be complied with.

b)  For the gaseous pollutants: if the stack fails to satisfy all conditions for determining location of monitoring hole as prescribed in Clause 1 Section III Appendix 5, a monitoring hole must be selected in accordance with the following conditions: it is not located at the mouth of the stack; not located in the place where the stack is contracted or dilated; not located near exhaust fan or air ejector fan; it is best to be located near the place where the gas flow moves stably.

c) Where the facility has multiple sources of exhaust gases of similar nature that are discharged into the environment through the same stack, it may choose to perform automatic monitoring at the ducts of each emission source or monitor automatically on that stack. Where the facility has multiple sources of exhaust gases of different nature that are discharged into the environment through the same stack, it is required to install an automatic monitoring system for each emission source.

3. Basic components of the automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring system:

a) Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment: an appropriate method of installing monitoring equipment shall be determined according to the monitoring parameters and measurement and analysis principle of the monitoring equipment. To be specific:

- In-situ method: the monitoring equipment is mounted directly on the stack hull to measure parameters and the sample-carrying duct shall not be used;

- a.2) Extractive method: the exhaust gas sample is extracted from the stack hull through the probe and is taken to the monitoring equipment through the sample-carrying duct;

b) Datalogger: datalogger shall be used to collect, store and transmit automatic and continuous monitoring data to environment authorities. The datalogger is specified in Article 39 hereof;

c) Reference materials: reference materials shall be used to inspect and calibrate monitoring equipment of the system;

d) Cameras: it is recommended that cameras be installed at locations of the system’s monitoring equipment to provide online images in accordance with the following requirements:

- Cameras have the ability to observe the exhaust gases emitted from all stacks of a facility, ensuring that the exhaust gases emitted from the stack mouth and the data controller (if any) installed in the stack area are observed, and transmit images to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment;

- Cameras are installed inside the station to ensure that the data controller of the monitoring equipment is observed to fulfill the security objectives of the station, extract camera data shall be transmitted and extracted when required;

- Cameras must be have the ability to rotate (vertically and horizontally); have night vision capabilities; ability to record images at pre-determined time and make a scheduled recording;

dd) Technical requirements applicable to other auxiliary equipment for automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring systems are specified in the Appendix 11 hereof.

Article 37. Requirements concerning technical specifications of automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring systems

An automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring system must satisfy the following requirements concerning technical specifications:

1. Automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring equipment

a) Technical specifications of automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring equipment in the system must satisfy the following requirements:

Table 5. Technical specifications of automatic and continuous wastewater monitoring equipment

Where:

- Regarding accuracy of the monitoring equipment in Table 5: the reading- or measuring interval-based accuracy may be applied.

b) The automatic monitoring equipment must have at least 01 measuring interval capable of measuring a value ≥ 3 times the limit value specified in the National technical regulation on environment applicable to the facility (except for temperature, flow and pressure);

c) For the parameters: temperature, pressure, dust and flow, the monitoring equipment must be mounted on the stack hull;

d) For the parameters that require the extractive method, the system must satisfy the following requirements:

d.1) Probe: probe must be made of stainless steel and placed perpendicular to the stack wall. The probe must be 1 m long or 30% of the diameter of the stack (or the diameter is equivalent to a rectangular stack);

d.2) Sample-carrying duct from the monitoring hole to the monitoring equipment must not be contracted, dilated or folded at an angle of less than 90 degrees;

d.3) The exhaust gas passing through the probe must be heated to remove moisture before entering the measuring and analytical equipment;

dd) It is recommended to use synchronous monitoring equipment certified by international organizations, including United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Environment Agency's Monitoring Certification Scheme (mCERTs) and German Technical Inspection Association (Technischer Überwachungsverein, TÜV);

e) The monitoring equipment can automatically store and export monitoring data and status of the measuring equipment (including at least the following status: measuring, calibrating and error). Regarding temperature, pressure, flow and PM, the “calibration” status is not required.

2. Reference materials

a) Reference materials are used to calibrate automatic and continuous exhaust gas quality monitoring equipment with respect to the parameters specified in the Table 5 (except for temperature, PM and pressure);

b) For an extractive automatic monitoring system, reference materials must be conveyed to the location where the exhaust gas enters the sample pipe to the diagram of the automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring system. For a stack monitoring system, it is allowed to conduct checks with reference materials according to the manufacturer’s instructions;

c) Reference materials must be within their shelf life, have a minimum accuracy of ± 5% and traceable to standards in accordance with regulations of the law on measurement.

d) Concentration of a reference material must reach 10% - 70% of equipment’s measuring interval equivalent to each parameter specified in Table 5.

Article 38. Requirements for management and operation of automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring systems

1. Installation of the system’s measuring interval: upon operating an automatic and continuous exhaust gas monitoring system to transmit data to the receiving unit, equipment must have a measuring interval capable of measuring a value ≥ 3 times the limit value specified in the National technical regulation on environment applicable to the facility.

2. Assurance of quality of the system:

a) Management and operation personnel: there must be sufficient personnel knowledgeable about the system in order to manage, maintain and operate it;

b) The system management dossier must be retained by the system operating unit and presented at the request of a competent authority. The dossier includes:

b1) List of monitoring parameters;

b2) List and technical specifications of the system’s monitoring equipment;

b3) User guide;

b4) Design drawing and description of the system;

b5) SOP: A SOP must include contents relating to system start-up and operating procedures; daily system check procedures; procedures for checking sample-carrying ducts and conducting checks with reference gas (once a week); frequency and procedures for maintaining monitoring equipment; equipment inspection and calibration frequency; frequency of replacement of accessories and consumables according to the manufacturer’s recommendations; procedures for rectifying errors; data back-up procedures; data examination and reporting procedures; regulations on safety during system operation and procedures for storage, management and treatment of generated waste;

b6) Standby equipment, parts and accessories;

b7) Operational logbook and equipment maintenance, inspection and calibration logbook;

b8) User manual for some common errors and how to troubleshoot the problems during management and operation of the system;

b9) Logbook for monitoring and inspection of daily operations of the system;

b10) Certificate enclosed with report on inspection and calibration of the system’s monitoring equipment;

b11) Record on checking of the system with reference materials.

3. Before the system is officially put into operation, the system operator shall submit relevant documents to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, consisting of:

a) Information about the system operator: name and address, production type, technology line and design capacity;

b) Installation time (starting and ending time), and time and result of system quality control in accordance with the regulations specified in Clause 6 of this Article;

c) Design drawing and description of the system; list of monitoring parameters and methods of installing monitoring equipment; information about the stack (height and diameter), locations and images of monitoring holes on the stack;

d) List and technical specifications of measuring equipment and probes; manufacturers and equipment models; certificate enclosed with an inspection and calibration result report; monitoring data gathering and storage system; name of the system and static IP address attached to the system.

4. Automatic and continuous monitoring equipment must undergo inspection, calibration, testing and periodic check

a) Equipment must be inspected and calibrated in accordance with prevailing regulations of law on measurement;

b) Equipment (except for temperature, pressure and PM measuring equipment) must be periodically checked using reference materials according to the manufacturer’s recommendations at least once a month by the system operator; measuring equipment must be re-inspected or re-calibrated as prescribed if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by ≥ 10% from the reference material concentration value. It is recommended that measuring equipment be re-inspected or re-calibrated if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by < 10% from the reference material concentration value. The process of checking equipment with reference materials and inspecting and calibrating equipment must be specified in the operational logbook;

c) It is recommended that automatic monitoring equipment be checked periodically by making a comparison with results of monitoring of parameters in the facility’s periodic environmental monitoring program (if any);

d) For the parameters: temperature, pressure, PM and flow, the system operator shall carry out periodic monitoring by making a comparison with results of monitoring of these parameters in the facility’s periodic environmental monitoring program (if any); and re-inspect or re-calibrate the equipment as prescribed if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by ≥ 10% from the measurement value in the periodic environmental monitoring program. It is recommended that measuring equipment be re-inspected or re-calibrated if the value given by the measuring equipment deviates by < 10% from the measurement value in the periodic environmental monitoring program. The process of checking, inspecting and calibrating equipment must be specified in the operational logbook;

dd) The maintenance, repair and replacement of components and accessories must be included in a plan by the system operator and specified in the SOP.

5. If it is necessary to carry out maintenance, inspection, calibration and replacement of components and accessories, repair and replacement of measuring and analytical equipment, the facility owner shall comply with the following requirements:

a) Send the Department of Natural Resources and Environment a written notification, specifying the plan for and ending time of maintenance, inspection, calibration and replacement of components and accessories or repair and replacement of measuring and analytical equipment;

b) If the operation of automatic monitoring equipment is suspended for 48 hours or more, the facility owner shall carry out monitoring (for the parameters subject to mandatory monitoring as prescribed by law and requested by regulatory bodies) as follows:

- The facility owner shall carry out monitoring every 02 days for the exhaust gas parameters not measured using automatic and continuous monitoring equipment until operation of the automatic and continuous monitoring equipment is resumed.

- The facility owner shall carry out monitoring every 07 days for the PM not measured using automatic and continuous monitoring equipment until operation of the automatic and continuous monitoring equipment is resumed;

- After the measurement and analysis are done, retain and send the monitoring results to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

6. Before being officially put into operation, the quality of the system must be controlled once a year by a licensed independent unit according to the procedures below:

a) Check monitoring holes as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 36;

b) Check probes as prescribed in Point d1 Clause 1 of Article 37;

c) Check sample carrying ducts: reference gas shall be used to check sample carrying ducts as prescribed in Point d2 Clause 1 Article 37. During the reference gas measurement, entire pump system and monitoring equipment must still operate in the same mode as the exhaust gas measurement and analysis mode. To be specific:

c.1) Measuring time for check with reference gas is at least 20 minutes for every measurement;

c.2) In case the reference gas measurement result deviates by ≤ 5% from the reference gas concentration value, sample carrying ducts meet the prescribed requirements. After the check, the result shall be archived.

d) Check the measuring function and give the results expressed in mg/m3, regarding the pollution parameter monitoring equipment;

dd) Check the functions of gathering, storing and transmitting automatic and continuous data of the system;

e) Check components and other functions of the system;

g) Evaluate the system’s RA, including:

g1) Carrying out reference monitoring:

g1.1) Reference monitoring is the use of periodic monitoring methods specified in Appendix 4.2 enclosed with this Circular or methods accepted by US EPA as the equivalent methods to make a comparison between the obtained results and monitoring results of the system;

g1.2) Reference monitoring of each parameter shall be carried out;

g1.3) At least 06 samples shall be used as reference for every parameter to be monitored.

g1.4) While the reference monitoring is being carried out, the facility’s capacity must reach at least 50% of the design capacity;

g2) Calculating and evaluating reference monitoring results using relative accuracy (RA). To be specific:

g2.1) Reference monitoring results shall be calculated. Reference monitoring results of the system and reference monitoring method shall be used to calculate: difference, standard deviation, confidence coefficient and RA of each piece of equipment and parameter according to the Appendix 12 enclosed herewith.

g2.2) RA result shall be evaluated as follows:

- The system's monitoring data will be accepted if RA is ≤ 20%;

- For the parameters not mentioned in Table 5, RA results for such parameters must be sent to the automatic data receiving authority for consideration and decision on data receipt and management;

h) QC information shall be made into a record on checking of technical specifications, functions and RA of the system, which is specified in the Appendix 14 enclosed herewith.

Chapter VIII

REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT, TRANSMISSION AND MANAGEMENT OF AUTOMATIC AND CONTINUOUS ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING DATA

Article 39. Requirements applicable to data logger at automatic and continuous environmental monitoring stations and systems

A data logger at stations and systems where automatic and continuous environmental monitoring (water quality, ambient air quality, wastewater and exhaust gases) equipment must satisfy at least the following requirements:

1. Receipt, storage and management of data in the data logger

a) The system must be directly connected to measuring and analytical equipment, data controller, and automatic sampling system (if any) and must not be connected through other equipment;

b) The output signal of the system must be digital;

c) Data must be stored for at least 60 consecutive days. Stored data must include: measurement parameters, results, unit and time, status of the measuring equipment (measuring, calibrating and error);

d) For the automatic and continuous wastewater and exhaust gas monitoring systems, the connection ports not used to transmit or receive data to managing authorities must be sealed by the local regulatory bodies;

dd) Information including measurement parameters, results and units (prescribed by the corresponding National technical regulation), measuring time and status of the measuring equipment must be displayed and data must be extracted using the data logger.

2. Transmission of environmental monitoring data

a) Data must be transmitted using FTP or FTPs or sFTP to a server with the account and address provided by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Internet connection speed must be at least 30Mb/s; If the transmitting unit and receiving unit are capable of meeting the technical conditions, the use of a data transmission method which is more modern than the prescribed one is encouraged;

b) Every data file must be transmitted in real time but no later than 5 minutes after data is gathered from the data logger and such file shall be stored in a folder. For the automatic and continuous wastewater and exhaust gas monitoring systems, data must be transmitted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment from the static IP address notified to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment;

c) Real time must be synchronized with Vietnam Time Zone (GMT+ 7);

d) In case the data transmission is interrupted, after the recovery, the system must automatically transmit the interrupted data. Where the data transmission is interrupted for more than 12 hours, the system operator must send a written response and email about causes and remedial measures for the interruption to the data receiving authority;

dd) Receipt of control signals for remote automatic sampling (if any) and gathering of data upon request are allowed.

3. File format and content

a) Data is formatted in a *.txt file;

b) A file must include 05 main pieces of information: measurement parameters, measurement results, measurement units, measurement time and status of the measuring equipment (measuring, calibrating and error). Structure, content and name of the file are specified in the Appendix 15 enclosed herewith;

c) Information from cameras shall be transmitted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment using RTSP. Camera data must be stored for a period of 03 months.

4. Data security and integrity

a) After the automatic and continuous wastewater and exhaust gas monitoring system is officially put into operation, an account and password are required to control access to the data logger and connection ports must be sealed. Account and password (Admin, Host, Superhost, Master, Supervisor) of the data logger must be provided to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to manage and control connection ports, configuration and firmware upgrade process;

b) The facility and system operators must ensure and take responsibility for data security and integrity, FTP server account and static IP address through which data is transmitted.

Article 40. Requirements applicable to data logging system operated at Departments of Natural Resources and Environment

The data logging system operated at every Department of Natural Resources and Environment must satisfy at least following requirements:

1. Receipt and management of data from the facility

a) There must be at least 02 servers with the following minimum configuration: 2.5 GHz processor; 64 GB internal memory; 2TB hard drive;

b) Internet connection speed must be at least 30 Mb/s;

c) Static IP address must be available and reported to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

d) There must be at least 02 screens (40 inches at the minimum) to serve display and monitoring of automatic and continuous real-time monitoring data;

dd) FTP server account must be provided for the facility to transmit data and the facility shall be allowed to access data files transmitted by the facility within the last 03 years;

e) The data received at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment must be verified according to the static IP address and FTP account already granted to the facility;

g) The Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall create and manage account and password for access to the data logging system operated at the facility’s automatic and continuous environmental monitoring system.

2. Requirements for data management

a) A database must be established to store data obtained from automatic and continuous environmental monitoring stations and systems in the province in order to manage at least the following information: name of station/system, measurement parameters, measurement results, measurement unit and time, and status of the measuring equipment (measuring, calibrating and error);

b) It is required to use software developed and provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to transmit data to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

3. Requirements for transmission of data to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (through the Vietnam Environment Administration)

a) The data transmitted includes monitoring data and data from cameras;

b) Monitoring data is formatted in a *.txt file;

c) Data must be transmitted and connected using FTP or FTPs or sFTP to a server with the FTP account and address provided by the Vietnam Environment Administration.  If the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and the Vietnam Environment Administration are capable of meeting the technical conditions, the use of a data transmission method which is more modern than the prescribed one is encouraged;

d) Data must be automatically transmitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at 1 hour interval and within 10 days at the request of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; The data transmitted is hourly average values (at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00... 24:00) of the parameters. The file on hourly average values must include the following main information: measurement parameters, results, units and time, status of the measuring equipment (measuring, calibrating and error). Structure, content and name of the data file are specified in the Appendix 15 enclosed herewith;

dd) Automatic and continuous monitoring data shall be transmitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to meet the demand for provision and use of information and reach at least 80% of total number of monitoring results for each monitoring parameter;

e) Real time must be synchronized with Vietnam Time Zone (GMT+ 7);

g) In case the data transmission is interrupted, after the recovery, the system must automatically transmit the interrupted data. Where the data transmission is interrupted for more than 12 hours, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment must send a written response and email about causes and remedial measures for the interruption to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (through the Vietnam Environment Administration);

h) The Department of Natural Resources and Environment must ensure and take responsibility for data security and integrity, FTP server account and static IP address through which data is transmitted.

Article 41. Requirements applicable to data logger at the Vietnam Environment Administration and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

The data logger operated at the Vietnam Environment Administration and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment must satisfy at least the following requirements:

1. Data receipt and storage

a) There must be at least 03 servers with the following minimum configuration: 2.5 GHz processor; 256 GB internal memory; 20 TB hard drive;

b) Internet connection speed must be at least 100 Mb/s and a static IP address is available;

c) There must be at least 08 screens (40 inches at the minimum) to serve display and monitoring of automatic and continuous real-time monitoring data;

d) FTP account must be provided for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to transmit data;

dd) Monitoring results from automatic monitoring stations and systems shall be directly transmitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to meet the demand for provision and use of information and reach at least 80% of total number of monitoring results for each monitoring parameter for the monitoring station or system;

2. Requirements for data management

a) A database must be established to store and manage data obtained from all automatic environmental monitoring stations and systems for at least the following information: name of station/system, measurement parameters, measurement results, measurement unit and time, and status of the measuring equipment (measuring, calibrating and error);

b) There must be software satisfying the following basic functions: extraction of data in the form of tables or graphs; data management and display (name of the station/system, measurement parameters, results, units and time, status of the measuring equipment (measuring, calibrating and error); data calculation, comparison and editing (calculation of maximum, minimum and mean values, comparison of results with QCVN); online monitoring and warning (measurement results in excess of the limit values specified in QCVN, data transmission interruption); system administration (creation of accounts with various levels of privileges).

c) Requirements for receipt of data from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment: the obtained data must be verified according to the static IP address of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and FTP account already granted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

3. Requirements for transmission of data from automatic and continuous water and air quality monitoring stations managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

a) Automatic and continuous water and air quality monitoring data shall be transmitted to meet the demand for provision and use of information and reach at least 80% of total number of expected monitoring results for the monitoring station;

b) In case the data transmission is interrupted, after the recovery, the system must automatically transmit the interrupted data. Where the data transmission is interrupted for more than 12 hours, the units assigned to manage and operate the station Department of Natural Resources and Environment must send a written response and email about causes and remedial measures for the interruption to the Vietnam Environment Administration, specifying the plan and time for handling interruption incident or plan for maintenance, inspection, calibration and replacement of accessories or repair and replacement of measuring and analytical equipment.

Chapter IX

MANAGEMENT, PROVISION AND SHARING OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MONITORING INFORMATION AND DATA

Article 42. Environmental quality monitoring data

1. Environmental quality monitoring data includes periodic environmental quality monitoring results, automatic and continuous environmental quality monitoring results of environmental quality monitoring programs as prescribed.

2. Environmental quality monitoring result reports includes sessional or annual environmental quality monitoring result reports (regarding periodic monitoring); quarterly and annual environmental quality monitoring results reports (regarding automatic and continuous monitoring).

3. Format of environmental quality monitoring data and reports:

a) Format of environmental quality monitoring data: data specified in Clause 1 Article 42 hereof in a computer file in word format (.doc or .docx) for environmental quality monitoring reports; in excel format (.xls or .xlsx) for periodic monitoring results; text file for automatic and continuous monitoring results;

b) Forms of periodic monitoring result reports are specified in Table A1 and Table A2; forms of automatic and continuous monitoring result reports are specified in Table A3 and Table A4 in the Appendix 16 hereof.

Article 43. Regulations on reporting of environmental quality monitoring data

1. Units affiliate to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and units of the national environmental quality monitoring network which are provided with funding from the state budget to execute national environmental quality monitoring programs shall submit to the Vietnam Environment Administration environmental monitoring result reports on an annual basis (for periodic and automatic and continuous monitoring) as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 42 hereof. Annual environmental monitoring result reports shall be submitted before January 15 of the next year. Sessional and quarterly automatic and continuous environmental quality monitoring result reports shall be retained by units.

2. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental (through the Vietnam Environment Administration) shall submit annual environmental quality monitoring result reports (regarding periodic monitoring and automatic and continuous monitoring) as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 42 of this Circular before February 15 of the next year. Sessional periodic environmental quality monitoring result reports and quarterly automatic and continuous environmental quality monitoring result reports shall be retained by units.

3. Monitoring result reports shall bear signatures and seals of reporting authorities and 01 copy of each report shall be sent to the receiving authority through the e-document and file management system or bound reports shall be submitted in person. If a bound report shall be submitted in person, it is required to attach report files submitted by email or through the web portal of the receiving authority.

Article 44. Management, storage, provision and sharing of environmental monitoring data

1. Authorities charged with environmental monitoring data management shall store data in accordance with prevailing regulations of law.

2. The Vietnam Environment Administration shall establish national environmental monitoring database; instruct Departments of Natural Resources and Environment to build local national environmental monitoring database in a manner that is consistent and connected with national environmental information systems and database.

3. On an annual basis, the Vietnam Environment Administration shall update and publish national environmental monitoring results on the web portal of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Vietnam Environment Administration.

4. On an annual basis, every Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall update and publish local environmental monitoring results on the web portal of the provincial People's Committee and website of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

5. Organizations and individuals not belonging to the national and provincial environmental monitoring systems shall, upon carrying out environmental quality monitoring for the purposes of publishing of information, comply with regulations on technical requirements concerning environmental quality monitoring in this Circular and regulations of law on publishing of information.

Chapter X

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 45. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from August 16, 2021, except for the regulations set out in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Chapter III of this Circular comes into force from January 01, 2022.

3. The Circular No. 24/2017/TT-BTNMT dated September 01, 2017 and Chapter III of the Circular No. 43/2015/TT-BTNMT dated September 29, 2015 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall cease to have effect from the effective date of this Circular.

Article 46. Transitional clauses

1. Any monitoring method or technique certified in the certificate of eligibility to provide environmental monitoring services shall continue to be used until the expiry date of the certificate; holders of effective certificates are encouraged to apply for adjustment of the certificate according to the monitoring methods or techniques specified in this Circular.

2. Automatic and continuous ambient quality monitoring stations specified in Clause 1 Article 29 hereof, automatic and continuous surface water quality monitoring stations and automatic and continuous wastewater and exhaust gas quality monitoring stations which were operated before the effective date of this Circular but have failed to satisfy all technical requirements laid down in this Circular shall continue to be used for a period of 24 months from the effective date of this Circular. 24 months after the effective date of this Circular, such stations and systems shall be upgraded and replaced by those that satisfy all technical requirements as prescribed in this Circular.

Article 47. Implementation

1. The Vietnam Environment Administration shall provide guidelines for, inspect and supervise the implementation of this Circular.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, Chairmen/Chairwomen of People’s Committees at all levels and organizations and individuals concerned are responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

3. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (through the Vietnam Environment Administration) for timely consideration and resolution./.

APPENDIX 1

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM DESIGN
(Enclosed with the Circular No. /2021/TT-BTNMT dated , 2021 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment)

A monitoring program design is designed as follows:

1. Determine objectives of the environmental monitoring program and environmental components that need to be monitored.

2. Make a list of monitoring parameters by environmental components: field measurement parameters and analytical parameters.

3. Preliminary design of a sampling method: determine sampling lines and points and mark them on the map or diagram; describe geographical locations, coordinates and symbols of monitoring points; preliminarily describe the sources, issues and objects that affect the monitoring site.

4. Carry out a physical survey of the site to be monitored.

5. Detailed design of sampling method: accurately determine sampling lines and points and create a diagram of the monitoring points, describe geographical locations and coordinates of monitoring points; describe the condition of the affecting sources in the monitoring site; determine borders of the monitoring site and forecast potential impacts or changes in the monitoring site.

6. Determine monitoring frequency and time.

7. Determine field sampling and measurement methods and laboratory analytical methods.

8. Determine sampling procedures, volume of samples to be taken, types of sample containers and preservatives, time for storing samples, types of samples and number of QC samples.

9. Make a list and plan for maintenance, inspection and calibration of field monitoring equipment and environmental analytical equipment, including equipment, instruments and vehicles for occupational safety assurance.

10. Select vehicles to serve sample collection and transport.

11. Prepare quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) project plan in environmental monitoring. The QAPP shall be prepared as follows:

11.1. Determine the goals and objectives of the monitoring program.

11.2. Determine the type of data needed:

a) Determine the goals of using data (assessing state of the environment, controlling environmental quality, providing data to a managing authority or serving as a basis for issuance of decisions on environment, etc.);

b) Design programs that meet the needs of monitoring data users: officials, local or state planning authorities, etc.;

c) Strike a balance between data quality and available resources;

d) Attention shall be paid to the following when determining data quality objectives: Data quality objectives are the quantitative and qualitative statements describing the degree of the data’s acceptability or utility to the data user(s). Data quality objectives specify the quality of the data needed in order to meet the monitoring program's objectives.

11.3. Collect background information to design monitoring programs:

a) Carry out a physical survey of the site where the monitoring will be carried out;

b) Collect information about the monitoring programs already executed at the site where the monitoring will be carried out;

c) Collect available data for reference for design of monitoring programs.

11.4. Refine the monitoring program objectives: based on collected information and available information and data, refine and reevaluate the original monitoring program goals and objectives.

11.5. Develop an implementation plan including preparation for the monitoring program.

11.6. Draft standard operating procedures (SOPs): SOPs are the details on all the methods and can serve as the program handbook that helps monitors to carry out monitoring in an easy manner. Where possible, adapt the procedures from existing methods and modify them as needed to fit the monitoring program.

11.7. Solicit feedback on your draft SOPs and QAPP.

11.8. Revise the AQPP based on the comments:

a) Specify existing methods and quality control procedures in the plan;

b) Modify the procedures to meet requirements;

c) Submit it to the competent authority for formal approval.

11.9. Once the QAPP is approved, begin the monitoring program by following the procedures described in the QAPP to train staff, conduct sampling, analyze samples, compile results, and develop any reports.

11.10. Evaluate and refine monitoring program over time and reflect any changes in the QAPP:

a) Program evaluation should occur during the course of the monitoring program;

b) If any changes are made in the QAPP, report them to the QA official and always be prepared for formal audits from officials and data users.

11.12. Basic contents of QAPP

Basic contents of a QAPP are as follows:

(1) Monitoring data users;

(2) The monitoring program’s goals, objectives and issues;

(3) Decisions and policies that may be issued by using monitoring data;

(4) Issues that may arise and actions that may be taken to minimize effects of these issues;

(5) Data quality objectives;

(6) Methods, time and place for executing the monitoring program;

(7) Analytical methods, assessment and reports.

The QAPP shall be formulated and approved before starting the monitoring program.

APPENDIX 2

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MONITORING PARAMETERS AND METHODS
(Enclosed with the Circular No. /2021/TT-BTNMT dated , 2021 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment)

Abbreviations in the Appendix:

1. TCVN: national standard.

2. ISO: a standard of the International Organization for Standardization.

3. SMEWW: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water.

4. US EPA method: a method of the US Environmental Protection Agency

5. NIOSH: a standard of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

6. OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

7. MASA: Method of Air Sampling and Analysis, Intersociety Committee.

8. ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials.

9. AS: Australian Standard.

10. JIS: Japanese Industrial Standard.

11. IS: Indian Standard.

12. CFR: Code of Federal Regulations.

13. AS/NZS: Australian/New Zealand Standard.

Appendix 2.1. Outdoor air monitoring methods

1. Field sampling and measurement: methods shall be selected in accordance with the equivalent applicable national technical regulations or Table 6 below:

Table 6. Methods for field sampling and measurement of outdoor air

2. Laboratory analysis: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 7 below:

Table 7. Laboratory analytical methods

Appendix 2.2. Surface water quality monitoring methods

1. Field sampling and measurement

a) Collect, preserve and transport surface water samples: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 8 below.

Table 8. Methods for field sampling of surface water

b) Field measurement of surface water parameters: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 9 below.

Table 9. Methods for field measurement of surface water

2. Laboratory analysis: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 10 below.

Table 10. Methods for laboratory analysis of surface water parameters

Appendix 2.3. Underground water quality monitoring methods

1. Field sampling and measurement

a) Collect, preserve and transport underground water samples: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 11 below:

Table 11. Underground water sampling methods

b) Field measurement of underground water parameters: methods shall be selected in accordance with the equivalent applicable national technical regulations or Table 12 below.

Table 12. Methods for field measurement of underground water

2. Laboratory analysis: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 13 below:

Table 13. Methods for laboratory analysis of underground water parameters

2. Laboratory analysis: methods shall be selected in accordance with the applicable national technical regulations or Table 16 below:

Table 16. Methods for laboratory analysis of seawater samples