Pháp luật kinh doanh bất động sản

Chào các bạn,

Chuyện các công ty sản xuất vô tình hay cố ý xả chất thải vào môi trường nước ở Việt Nam gây ô nhiễm môi trường nghiêm trọng và gây thiệt hại nặng nề cho đời sống dân cư đang là vấn đề "hót" của chúng ta. Trong chuyên mục này, tôi mời các bạn tham khảo câu chuyện xử phạt hành vi gây ô nhiễm môi trường của các công ty bất động sản ở xứ Cờ Hoa. Theo đó, chỉ vì doanh nghiệp không quản lý tốt nước mưa xả ra từ công trường xây dựng mà bị phạt tới 513.740 USD!

Dưới đây là một bản tin của Bộ Tư pháp Hoa Kỳ ra ngày 18/08/2009 được chép nguyên văn bản tiếng Anh; những từ ngữ nào được cho là khó thì tôi có chua thêm nghĩa tiếng Việt kế cạnh để chúng ta tiện theo dõi; qua đó, chúng ta cùng trau dồi tiếng Anh luôn một thể. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

ENRD

(202) 514-2007

TDD (202) 514-1888

Home Development Company (Công ty phát triển nhà) Agrees to Settle (hòa giải) Federal Lawsuit (vụ kiện ở tòa án liên bang) for Clean Water Act Violations 

WASHINGTON—Cooper Land Development, Inc., a luxury (cao cấp) home development company headquartered (đặt trụ sở chính) in Rogers, Ark., has agreed to pay a civil penalty (khoản tiền phạt hành chính) and implement a storm water  compliance program (chương trình thực thi đúng quy định pháp luật về nước mưa) at its construction sites to settle allegations (những cáo buộc) civil penalty that it violated the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. 

According to a consent decree (quyết định hòa giải thành) filed today in U.S. District Court (tòa khu vực) in Kansas City, Mo. (bang Missouri), Cooper Land Development has agreed to pay a $513,740 civil penalty to settle the allegations that it failed to properly manage construction site storm water runoff (lượng nước mưa xả ra) and implement erosion (sự xói mòn) control at five of its housing developments (các dự án phát triển nhà ở) located in Missouri, West Virginia and Arkansas. The penalty will be paid in four annual installments (các đợt thanh toán), plus interest, according to the consent decree. 

Additionally, the consent decree requires Cooper Land Development to implement a company-wide storm water compliance program that provides for improved environmental performance and increased oversight (sự giám sát) of its operations at all of its current and future construction sites. In addition to the Creekmoor and Glade Springs Village projects, those sites include Bella Vista Village, Benton County, Ark. (bang Arkansas); Hot Springs Village, Garland and Saline counties, Ark.; and Sienna Lake, Little Rock, Ark. 

The settlement resolves a civil complaint filed Sept. 22, 2008, in which the United States alleged that inspections in 2006 found Cooper Land Development had violated the terms of separate National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits issued by respective state environmental authorities for its Creekmoor housing development in Raymore, Mo., and the Glade Springs Village housing development near Daniels, W. VA. (West Virginia) 

The Clean Water Act requires that construction sites have controls in place to prevent pollution from being discharged  with (thải ra theo) storm water into nearby waterways (luồng nước). These controls include simple pollution prevention techniques such as silt fences (rào chắn bùn), phased site grading (san lấp mặt bằng theo giai đoan) and sediment basins (bể chứa các chất cặn lắng) to prevent common construction contaminants (các chất thải trong xây dựng gây ô nhiểm) from entering the nation’s waterways. 

EPA estimates that by implementing the terms and conditions of the settlement, approximately 8.67 million pounds of construction sediments will be kept from polluting the nation’s waterways. 

Besides causing soil erosion and clogging (lấp, bít kín) streams with sediment, construction site storm water runoff can pick up other pollutants such as debris (xà bần), pesticides, chemicals, solvents (chất dung môi) and other substances. Sediment-laden runoff (lượng nước thải xả chứa đầy cặn lắng) can result in the loss of in-stream habitat (môi trường sống) for fish and other aquatic species (các loài thủy sinh), killing fish directly, destroying their spawning beds (nơi sinh sản) and blocking sunlight, which can result in reduced growth of beneficial aquatic grasses. 

"Storm water discharges from construction sites cause serious degradation (sự làm suy thoái) of our nation’s waterways," said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This agreement will result in better management practices that will ultimately lead to a cleaner environment." 

"The failure to properly control storm water runoff at construction sites can have serious consequences for the environment," said William Rice, acting administrator for EPA Region 7. "EPA will enforce the laws and regulations to ensure that storm water runoff is properly managed in a way that protects our fragile ecosystems." 

Improving compliance at construction sites is one of EPA’s national enforcement priorities. Construction projects have a high potential for environmental harm because they disturb large areas of land and significantly increase the potential for erosion. Without onsite pollution controls, sediment-laden runoff from construction sites can flow directly to the nearest waterway and degrade water quality. In addition, storm water can pick up other pollutants, including concrete washout (bê tông bị xói lở), paint, used oil, pesticides, solvents and other debris. Polluted runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality. 

This settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address storm water violations from construction sites around the country. Similar consent decrees have been reached with companies like Home Depot and four major home building companies. 

The consent decree, lodged (đệ nạp; gửi) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.  @