Management of waste from extractive industries. Mining Waste Directive

2003/0107(COD)

The European Parliament adopted a resolution, which was based on the text by the rapporteur Jonas SJÖSTEDT (GUE/NGL, S). The main amendments to the common position were as follows:

-Parliament stated in the recitals that the Member States and the Community have a responsibility for rehabilitating abandoned sites likely to cause serious negative environmental impacts. It should therefore be possible to use Structural Funds and other relevant Community funding in order to draw up inventories and implement measures to clean up such sites;

-Operators must choose a design which prevents or at least minimises any long-term negative effects attributable to migration of airborne or aquatic pollutants from the waste facility, and ensure the long-term geotechnical stability of any dams or heaps rising above the pre-existing ground surface. The common position mentioned a design requiring minimal and, if possible, ultimately no monitoring, control and management of the closed waste facility.

-The financial guarantee must cover funds readily available at any given time for the rehabilitation of the land within the site as well as land directly affected by the waste facility, and not just for the rehabilitation of the site.

-Passive or active water treatment facilities must be set up when necessary to prevent the migration of contaminated leachate from the facility to contiguous groundwater or surface water bodies.

-A new clause states that, in the case of excavation voids, including underground voids and back-filled surface mine voids, which are allowed to flood after closure, the operator shall take the necessary measures to prevent  water status deterioration and soil pollution, and shall provide the competent authority with information on certain prescribed matters at least six months before the cessation of dewatering of the voids.