Clampdown On Samut Prakan River Polluters

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Clampdown on Samut Prakan river polluters

By Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation

Published on May 6, 2008

Due to huge environmental concerns, the Industrial Works Department is to prohibit industrial plants in Samut Prakan province from releasing wastewater into the Chao Phya River or expanding their operations.

Director-general Rachada Singalavanija said the department presently allowed manufacturing plants to release treated wastewater into rivers, but it would force those plants to reuse their wastewater instead of releasing it.

"We would like to force manufacturing plants to show their responsibility to society as much as they can. They should realise that they cannot operate their plants by ruining the environment in any way," he said.

Samut Prakan will be announced as a sensitive zone and become the pilot area for the enforcement of this new regulation. The department will focus on 24 types of industrial plants such as textiles and tanning operations that emit more than 50 cubic metres of wastewater.

Following Samut Prakan, nine other provinces through which the Chao Phya flows will be considered for the application of this regulation.

"We are employing Kasetsart University to study if there should be any industrial expansion in those provinces. If the study finds that there should not be, we will enforce this regulation in those areas," he added.

He said the department would hold a public hearing to collect opinions from industrial operators about this new regulation before proposing it to the Cabinet in September.

A source from the Federation of Thai Industries said the department should specify details of the control of the expansion of industrial plants emitting high pollution.

"It is nearly impossible for us to move our production facilities to other areas. If this ministerial regulation is to become effective, it will be difficult for hundreds of factories in this area and negatively affect investors' confidence," he said.

Meanwhile, Rachada said senior department authorities would take part in considering project applications in the Board of Investment's approval process.

"The BoI will approve only projects that will not destroy the environment and that emit less pollution than our standards or international standards. We need to become stricter about the environment so the situation that arose in Map Ta Phut will not happen again," he said.

Under the BoI's stricter environmental measures, Thai Rayon's expansion project cannot win tax incentives because its project is of a low environmental standard. The company is a viscose rayon staple fibre manufacturer in Thailand and the largest exporter in the world.

The Nation