WRITTEN QUESTION E-1400/00

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(5 May 2000)

Subject: Safety risks in Spanish mining dams

According to data made available by the WWF environmentalist group, there are at present 743 mining dams in Spain, of which 161 are subject to the risk of an accident similar to that which occurred in Romania in January 2000. On that occasion, the overflow of a tailings dam into a gold mine led to the pollution of the Danube and one of its tributaries.

The Commission has on several occasions expressed justifiable concern over the condition of mining dams in the EU. However, it has also admitted that the detailed information does not exist which would permit the detection of dams with similar problems to that at which the accident occurred in Romania, with a view to preventing future ecological catastrophes.

The Environment Council, meeting in Brussels on 30 March 2000, discussed the matter but does not seem to have adopted measures for the monitoring and closure of mining dams that are liable to overflow or give rise to other forms of accident that would endanger health and the environment.

In the light of the data provided by the WWF concerning the Spanish state, we should also recall the catastrophe which occurred in Aznalcóllar (Andalusia), where a mining dam overflowed, with grave consequences for the Doñana National Park.

Does the Commission intend to undertake a detailed survey in order to determine which mining dams are at risk and in which Member States they are situated?

What concrete proposals and measures does the Commission intend to submit to the Council to ensure that no accidents of the kind that happened in Romania occur in the EU?

How does the Commission intend to ensure that the applicant countries offer adequate guarantees on safety and environmental conservation, in such instances as that of mining dams?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(23 June 2000)

Following the Aznalcóllar accident, the Commission launched a study on the management of mining waste and the assessment of related environmental risks. In particular, this study should describe the types and the broad regional location of disposal sites that could represent a hazard to human health and the environment. The study will also describe and analyse the specific measures of control in the operation and decommissioning phases of the mining waste disposal sites. The study covers the 15 Member States and, following the recent accident in Baia Mare, Romania, it was extended to cover the candidate countries.

In view of the above accidents, Community legislation on the safe operations of mining installations should be reviewed. As already announced in its communication on promoting sustainable development in the Community non-energy extractive industry(1), the Commission will shortly present a separate communication on these issues, including an action plan.

In terms of industrial risk management, the Seveso II Directive(2) seems to be the most appropriate legislative tool to prevent these accidents. It obliges industrial operators to put into effect safety management systems, including a detailed risk assessment on the basis of possible accident scenarios. However, the current scope of the Directive does not clearly include mining activities and tailing ponds or dams, and it could be reviewed in order to assess how extractive activities could be covered.

Tailing ponds are covered by Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999, on the landfill of waste(3). However, all the issues related to tailing pond management have not been specifically considered in this Directive. On the basis of the results of the above study that will be completed during summer 2000 for the Member States and at the end of 2000 for the candidate countries, the need for a proposal for a new directive specifically focussing on the management of mining waste will be assessed.

Furthermore, it would be possible to produce a special best available technology (BAT) reference document (BREF), as a result of the exchange of information according to Article 16(2) of the IPPC Directive(4), dealing with relevant ore processing activities. The BREF could deal with techniques to reduce everyday pollution and with techniques to prevent or mitigate accidents.

In addition, the white paper proposing a directive on environmental liability(5) seeks to improve the implementation of key principles such as polluter-pays, prevention and precaution, and of existing Community environmental laws, and also to ensure adequate restoration of the environment. Timely cost-effective investments in prevention measures to avoid damage that would be more costly to repair are likely to pay dividends in the case of operations which have not taken adequate measures.

The applicant countries are obliged to implement Community legislation, known as the acquis communautaire, before they can join the Union. Any revisions of existing legislation or any new legislation automatically become part of the acquis communautaire.

(1) COM(2000) 265 final.

(2) Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9.12.1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances, OJ L 10, 14.1.1997.

(3) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999.

(4) Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24.9.1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC), OJ L 257, 10.10.1996.

(5) COM(2000) 66 final.