What does an application for a discharge permit include?

The application for a discharge permit is an important step to help businesses legalize wastewater discharge into the environment, ensuring compliance with environmental protection regulations. Preparing complete and correct documents helps increase the likelihood of being approved the first time, avoiding wasting time on additions and corrections. Enterprises that clearly understand the application requirements will be more proactive in the licensing process, ensuring that production and business activities are not interrupted.

The discharge permit has been integrated into the environmental permit

Previously, businesses and production facilities that discharged wastewater into water sources had to apply for a separate discharge permit. However, from January 1, 2022, the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 has taken effect, whereby the discharge permit is integrated into the environmental permit.

Environmental license is a document issued by a competent state management agency to organizations and individuals with production, business and service activities that are allowed to discharge waste into the environment, manage waste, and import scrap from abroad as raw materials for production with requirements and conditions on environmental protection according to the provisions of law.

Therefore, before discharging waste into the environment, businesses and production facilities must carry out procedures to apply for an environmental permit at the competent authority.

Current application for discharge permit (environmental permit).

Application dossiers for environmental permits are specified in Clause 1, Article 43 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, guided in Articles 28 and 29 of Decree 08/2022/ND-CP (amended by Clause 10 and Clause 11, Article 1 of Decree 05/2025/ND-CP). Specifically includes:

1. Written request for environmental permit according to the Form specified in Appendix XIII issued together with Decree 08/2020/ND-CP;
2. Report proposing environmental licensing includes the following main contents:

The main content of the report proposing environmental licensing for investment projects that have had a decision to approve the results of EIA report appraisal, includes:

• General information about investment projects;
• The compatibility of the investment project with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning, and environmental carrying capacity according to the decision of the competent state agency (if any);
• Results of completion of works, environmental protection measures (works handed over and accepted between the investment project owner, contractor and construction supervision unit according to the provisions of construction law);
• For investment projects to treat concentrated solid waste and hazardous waste, the works, equipment, and means of collecting and treating waste must be clearly stated;
• For investment projects that use scrap imported from abroad as production materials whose content is consistent with the decision approving the results of EIA report appraisal, the conditions for warehouses and storage yards for imported scrap must be clearly stated; recycling equipment system; impurity treatment plan; The plan to re-export scrap does not meet standards;
• For investment projects that discharge wastewater into irrigation works, the implementation of environmental protection requirements for water sources of irrigation works must be clearly stated;
• Plan, progress, results of implementing environmental improvement and restoration plans, biodiversity compensation plans (if any);
• Content changed compared to the decision approving the results of appraisal of the environmental impact assessment report (if any);
• Content of request for environmental permit;
• Plan and expected time for trial operation of waste treatment works, accompanied by a waste monitoring plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the works;
• Waste monitoring program (automatic, continuous and periodic) according to the provisions of law and other contents on environmental protection (if any).

The main content of the report proposing environmental licensing for investment projects not subject to environmental impact assessment includes:

• General information about investment projects;
• The compatibility of the investment project with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning, and environmental carrying capacity according to the decision of the competent state agency (if any);
• Assess the current state of the environment where investment projects will be implemented (except for investment projects in concentrated production, business, service zones and industrial clusters that do not have to be implemented), technology, and project impact forecasts;
• Group III investment projects carry out: Describe the current environmental status where the investment project is implemented (except for investment projects in concentrated production, business, service zones and industrial clusters that do not have to be implemented); description of the proposed production technology selected;
• Propose works and waste treatment measures with explanations and construction design plans (basic design or construction drawing design for projects that only require one-step design) of environmental protection works; plans to prevent and respond to environmental incidents during operation;
• Specific environmental protection contents (for group II investment projects): For investment projects in mineral exploitation and waste burial, the proposed report must have a plan for environmental improvement and restoration. For investment projects with activities to improve the beds, banks, and beaches of rivers and lakes, build water works, exploit sand, gravel and other minerals on rivers, lakes, and water source protection corridors that are at risk of destabilizing river beds, banks, beaches, lakes, and water source protection corridors, the proposed report must include an impact assessment and implementation plan to protect, prevent, and prevent landslides of river beds, banks, and beaches of rivers and lakes… For investment projects that cause damage biodiversity loss and decline, the proposed report must include a biodiversity compensation plan (if any);
• Content of request for environmental permit;
• Plan and expected time for trial operation of waste treatment works, accompanied by a waste monitoring plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the work (combined and single sampling); In case of integrated waste treatment works and equipment or waste treatment works under projects with small capacity as prescribed in Appendix II issued with this Decree, only a single sample will be taken for monitoring; plans to prevent and respond to environmental incidents during trial operation and when the project goes into operation;
• Waste monitoring program (automatic, continuous and periodic) according to the provisions of law and other contents on environmental protection (if any).

The main content of the report proposing the issuance of environmental licenses for establishments, concentrated production, business and service zones, operating industrial clusters, expansion investment projects of establishments, concentrated production, business and service zones, active industrial clusters, projects with active investment phases (hereinafter collectively referred to as facilities when considering granting environmental permits), includes:

• General information about the facility;
• The facility’s conformity with the national environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning, environmental carrying capacity according to the decision of the competent state agency specified in Point c, Clause 1, Article 42 of the Law on Environmental Protection (if any);
• The waste generated;
• Plans, progress, results of implementing environmental renovation and restoration plans, biodiversity compensation plans (if any) for facilities with environmental criteria equivalent to group I or group II investment projects;
• The content of the request for environmental licensing is specified in Clause 2, Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection;
• Results of environmental monitoring in the 02 immediately preceding years (for facilities with environmental criteria equivalent to group I or group II investment projects), 01 immediately preceding year (for facilities with environmental criteria equivalent to group III investment projects) in cases where waste monitoring must be performed according to regulations or results of additional waste sample monitoring according to the instructions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in cases where waste monitoring is not required according to regulations;
• Plan and expected time for trial operation of waste treatment works and assessment;
• Results of testing, inspection, and handling of environmental violations by the nearest competent state agency, accompanied by decisions and conclusions (if any);
• Contents of waste monitoring (automatic, continuous and periodic) according to the provisions of law and other contents on environmental protection (if any).

3. Other legal and technical documents of investment projects, facilities, concentrated production, business, service zones, and industrial clusters are as follows:

• For investment projects that are not subject to environmental impact assessment: a copy of the feasibility study report or document equivalent to the feasibility study report of the investment project according to the provisions of law on investment, public investment, investment in the public-private partnership mode, and construction;
• For investment projects and facilities not regulated in point a of this clause: project owners and facilities are not required to submit other legal and technical documents in the application for an environmental permit.

Application for Discharge Permit under an integrated environmental permit helps simplify administrative procedures, creating favorable conditions for businesses during operation. Long Phan provides comprehensive consulting services, supporting businesses to quickly complete procedures. Contact the hotline 0906735386 immediately for detailed advice!