During production and business operations, many facilities may face the risk of environmental incidents such as chemical leaks, waste spills, fires and explosions, or failures in wastewater treatment systems. If not controlled promptly, these incidents may cause serious impacts on the environment and public health. Therefore, preparing an environmental incident prevention and response plan is an important requirement that helps enterprises proactively identify risks, develop response measures, and ensure compliance with the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.
An environmental incident prevention and response plan is a document prepared by a production or business facility or an investment project to identify the risk of environmental incidents and develop measures for handling them when they occur. This plan includes preventive measures, preparation of personnel, equipment, and response procedures in order to minimize damage to the environment, people, and property.
According to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, the prevention of and response to environmental incidents is the responsibility of organizations and individuals whose activities may cause such incidents. The law provides:
Organizations and individuals that may cause environmental incidents must prepare and implement an environmental incident prevention and response plan; prepare personnel, means, and equipment for timely handling when an incident occurs.
This plan is usually prepared to:
An environmental incident prevention and response plan is a document for identifying the risk of environmental incidents.
According to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and the guidance in Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, the environmental incident prevention and response plan of a production or business facility must include the following main contents:
a) Identify and assess the risk of environmental incidents during the operation of the facility and develop scenarios for each type of environmental incident risk;
b) Identify the works, equipment, materials, tools, and means necessary for responding to environmental incidents; arrange on-site forces ready to respond to each environmental incident scenario;
c) Develop a plan for training, coaching, and drills on environmental incident response for on-site response forces;
d) Provide methods for notification and warning when an environmental incident occurs and mobilize manpower and equipment to respond to environmental incidents;
dd) Specify organizational measures for responding to environmental incidents in accordance with Clause 3, Article 125 of the Law on Environmental Protection.
Pursuant to Article 109 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP and Point a, Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP, the regulations on issuance and approval of environmental incident prevention and response plans are as follows:
The investment project owner or facility is responsible for issuing and implementing an environmental incident prevention and response plan consistent with the environmental incident prevention and response contents in the decision approving the appraisal result of the environmental impact assessment report or the environmental permit.
In case the environmental incident response plan is integrated and approved together with another incident response plan as prescribed in Point b, Clause 6, Article 124 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, it must still ensure all contents prescribed in Clause 2, Article 108 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP.
The National Civil Defense Steering Committee issues the national-level environmental incident response plan; the provincial-level Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue issues the provincial-level environmental incident response plan; the district-level Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue issues the district-level environmental incident response plan.
National, provincial, and district-level environmental incident response plans are developed and issued on a 5-year cycle.
Environmental incident prevention and response plans help facilities proactively identify risks and prepare handling measures when incidents occur. The implementation of the plan contributes to minimizing damage to the environment and the community. At the same time, this is also a mandatory requirement to ensure compliance with environmental protection regulations under the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP. Thereby, it contributes to improving the effectiveness of environmental management and protection.
Notes on regulations regarding issuance and approval of environmental incident prevention and response plans.
According to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, organizations and facilities that may cause environmental incidents must develop and implement an environmental incident prevention and response plan in order to proactively control risks and minimize damage when incidents occur.
Specifically, the entities required to issue an environmental incident prevention and response plan include:
1. Investment project owners and production, business, and service facilities
This is the main group required to prepare the plan. Projects or facilities that may cause environmental incidents during operation (such as chemical leaks, waste spills, wastewater treatment system failures, fires and explosions, etc.) must develop prevention and response plans in order to proactively handle incidents when they occur.
In particular, facilities with wastewater treatment systems, chemical storage, or hazardous waste generation need to develop response measures for incidents that may occur during operation.
2. State management authorities on environmental incident response
In addition to the plans of each facility, the state management system must also develop environmental incident response plans at different levels, including:
National Committee for Incident, Disaster Response and Search and Rescue: issues the national-level environmental incident response plan.
Provincial-level and district-level Steering Committees for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue: develop and issue environmental incident response plans corresponding to their local management scope.
These plans are developed to ensure coordination between management authorities and production facilities in timely responding when large-scale environmental incidents occur. Therefore, enterprises with risks of environmental incidents need to proactively prepare environmental incident prevention and response plans from the operational stage in order to ensure compliance with the law and minimize risks during operation.
According to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, production and business facilities and investment projects that may cause environmental incidents must develop and implement an environmental incident prevention and response plan during operation.
Normally, enterprises need to prepare this plan in the following cases:
Production facilities that use or store chemicals, fuels, or hazardous waste.
Facilities with wastewater treatment systems, exhaust gas treatment systems, or environmental treatment works that may experience incidents.
Projects that have had their environmental impact assessment (EIA) report approved or have been granted an environmental permit, in which environmental incident prevention and response contents are required.
When changing technology, expanding production scale, or generating additional environmental incident risks during operation.
Preparing an environmental incident prevention and response plan helps enterprises proactively control risks, limit damage when incidents occur, and ensure compliance with environmental protection regulations.
If an enterprise is unclear whether it is required to prepare the plan, or needs consultation and preparation of the environmental incident prevention and response plan dossier, it may contact a professional consulting unit for support in preparing the dossier in accordance with regulations and suitable to the actual conditions of the facility.
Production and business facilities and investment projects that may cause environmental incidents must develop and implement an environmental incident prevention and response plan during operation.
Environmental incident prevention and response plan preparation service – Dai Nam
With experience in preparing many environmental dossiers for factories, industrial parks, and production projects, Dai Nam Environmental Solutions Co., Ltd. provides consulting services and prepares environmental incident prevention and response plans in accordance with the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP.
Dai Nam supports enterprises from site survey, incident risk assessment, and development of response scenarios to completion of legal dossiers and implementation guidance at the facility. The solution is developed to suit each type of production, helping enterprises comply with legal regulations and proactively control environmental risks during operation.
Enterprises needing consultation or preparation of an environmental incident prevention and response plan dossier may contact Dai Nam Environmental Solutions Co., Ltd. – 0909 378 796 for quick and compliant support.
