Brussels, 03/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Commission is proposing to introduce harmonised rules governing the management of waste from the mining industry and quarries. The draft directive approved by the College of Commissioners aims to avert water and soil pollution from tailing ponds, waste heaps, etc, drawing on the lessons of the Baia Mare accident (accidental spillage of cyanide into the Tisza and Danube rivers following leaks from a Romanian gold mine in July 2000). The directive covers all sectors of the mining industry and focuses on operational aspects of waste management, preventing water and soil pollution and the stability of waste management infrastructure, particularly tailings ponds. The draft directive contains:
Minimum standards regarding environmental and health risks of processing and disposing of mine and quarry tailings;
A list of criteria to be annexed to operations permits to ensure a sufficient number of safety and environmental measures are in place before waste management units are granted authorisation;
Waste unit operators will have to classify waste before it is disposed of and use an appropriate waste management method for each category of waste to ensure the stability of piles of sterile rocks and basins used to permanently store large quantities of waste;
Operators must draw up plans for the closure of waste management units in order to integrate them into the overall site operations plan;
Controls must be made during and after the working life of sites;
Sufficient financial guarantees must be provided to ensure sites can be left in a satisfactory state if closed following the operator's insolvency.
In a press release, Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström, declared: “The proposed Directive will help prevent serious accidents resulting from the mismanagement of mining waste, like the disaster in Baia Mare in 2000, where the whole of the Danube was polluted with cyanide. It will also minimise chronic pollution of lakes and rivers by waste facilities that are badly operated and monitored. In short, the proposed Directive will make management of waste from the extractive industries safer. We are currently embarking on a historic enlargement of the EU and must ensure that the best environmental standards are applied across Europe.”
Together with the revised Seveso II Directive on the control of major industrial accidents, and a Best Available Techniques document on tailings and waste rock, the proposed Directive will ensure sound management of extractive waste throughout the EU.