Vietnam Issues New National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater Standards 
On February 28, 2025, Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued Circular 06/2025/TT-BTNMT, which includes the new national technical regulation on industrial wastewater, QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT. This regulation replaces the following previous standards on wastewater:
- QCVN 25:2009/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Wastewater from Solid Waste Landfills
- QCVN 28:2010/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Medical Wastewater
- QCVN 29:2010/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Wastewater from Petroleum Storage Facilities and Gas Stations
- QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater
- QCVN 01-MT:2015/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Wastewater from Primary Processing of Natural Rubber
- QCVN 11-MT:2015/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater from Aquatic Product Processing
- QCVN 12-MT:2015/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater from Pulp and Paper Mills
- QCVN 13-MT:2015/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater from Textile Dyeing
- QCVN 60-MT:2015/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Wastewater from Fuel Alcohol Production
- QCVN 63:2017/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Wastewater from Cassava Powder Production
- QCVN 52:2017/BTNMT: National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater from Steel Production
Key Changes in QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT are the following.
Transition Provisions
The Circular No. 06/2025/TT-BTNMT will take effect on September 1, 2025; however, the transition period for compliance with the new standards is specified in Article 3 (Transitional Provisions) of the Circular as follows:
Article 3 Transitional Provisions: For companies that had commenced operations prior to the effective date of this notice, investment projects that had obtained approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, and “enterprises that had submitted a complete and accurate application for approval of an EIA report, issuance of an environmental permit, or environmental registration, and had such application accepted by the competent authority” may apply the current national technical standards (QCVN) for wastewater and local regulations (including local technical standards for wastewater) applicable to the relevant type of manufacturing, sales, or services until December 31, 2031.
However, new or expanded projects initiated after September 1, 2025, must comply with QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT.
Classification of Discharge Destinations
The new regulation introduces three categories (A, B, C) for discharge destinations, replacing the previous two (A and B).
- Category A: “A” shall establish the permissible values for pollutant parameters in effluent discharged into water sources designated as “water sources for supplying domestic water” or “water sources for managing and improving water quality” in accordance with Table 2 and Table 3 of Level A of QCVN 08:2023/BTNMT, the national technical standards for surface water quality, or in accordance with the regulations of the provincial-level People’s Committee.
- Category B: “B” establishes the permissible values for pollutant parameters in effluent discharged into “water sources for water quality management and improvement” in accordance with Level B of Tables 2 and 3 of QCVN 08:2023/BTNMT, the national technical standards for surface water quality, or in accordance with the regulations of the provincial-level People’s Committee.
- Category C: “C” specifies the permissible values for contaminated parameters in wastewater discharged from water sources that do not fall under the cases specified in Sections 1.3.3.1 and 1.3.3.2 of QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT.
Determination of Allowable Effluent Values
Enterprises are no longer required to calculate Cmax (maximum allowable pollutant concentration). Instead, allowable pollutant levels are directly specified in Tables 1 and 2 of QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT.
NOTE:
Previously, it was necessary to calculate the allowable effluent values by multiplying the specified values for each contamination parameter by coefficients based on the flow rate and discharge volume of the wastewater destination.
Pollutant Parameters and Allowable Values
The regulation revises pollutant parameters for industrial wastewater. Specific parameters and values applicable to each enterprise are detailed in their EIA approval, environmental permits, or registration documents. Examples include:
Certainly, here is the precise translation:
- pH, total coliforms, BOD5, COD, TOC, TSS
- Pollutant parameters specific to the type of manufacturing, sales, or services, as explicitly defined in Column 4 of Appendix 2 in QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT. Examples include:
- Manufacturing of electronic devices, computers, and optical products: Ammonia, mineral oil
- Battery manufacturing: Lead, ammonia, mineral oil
- General and specialized equipment/machinery manufacturing: Ammonia, mineral oil
- Chlorine and chloroform: Applicable to enterprises discharging industrial water containing chlorine or chlorine-based disinfectants.
- Special cases: For cooling water, only temperature monitoring is required. Pollutant parameters for chlorine and chloroform are monitored only if chlorine or chlorine-based disinfectants are used.
Some parameters have been updated from QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT.
For the full text of Circular 06/2025/TT-BTNMT, refer the URL below.
