On 29 January 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing several articles of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP of 10 January 2022 detailing the Law on Environmental Protection, as previously amended by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP of 6 January 2025. The decree took effect on the date of signature.
Main changes
- EIA appraisal and environmental permits delegated: Chairs of provincial People's Committees appraise environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports and grant environmental permits, where required, for several project groups previously under ministerial authority. These include public investment projects outside the approval authority of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister (except waste recycling and treatment services), hydropower projects outside that authority, and crude oil and natural gas extraction projects.
- Multi-province and phased projects: New rules determine the appraising authority for projects located in two or more provinces; projects invested in phases may prepare an EIA report for each phase.
- Environmental permit amendments: The cases requiring a permit amendment during its validity are clarified; applications are filed before the change and may be submitted online through the National Public Service Portal. Some changes in hazardous waste are reported in periodic environmental protection reports instead of requiring an amendment.
- Other delegation: Provincial People's Committees prepare, issue and implement plans to remediate seriously polluted soil; roles for national-level natural heritage are clarified.
- Wastewater monitoring: Concentrated production zones and industrial clusters must monitor wastewater automatically and continuously, covering parameters such as flow, pH, temperature, TSS, COD or TOC, and ammonium.
- Inspections: Provisions on unannounced environmental inspections are added.
What it means for project owners
For projects under preparation, project owners should confirm the authority appraising the EIA report and issuing the environmental permit under the new rules when planning permitting steps, especially for public investment, hydropower and multi-province projects. Facilities holding environmental permits should check whether a planned change in scale, capacity or technology requires a permit amendment beforehand. The full text of the decree, including its transitional provisions, should be checked for each specific dossier.