European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication on safe operation of mining activities: a follow-up to recent mining accidents (COM(2000) 664 - C5-0013/2001 - 2001/2005(COS))
Date: 2001-07-05
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: accident prevention, environmental protection, industrial hazard, man-made disaster, mining operation, occupational safety, waste

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10.
Calls again on the EU to lead by example, by publicly restating its commitment to early implemen-
tation of policies and measures to achieve domestic emission reductions in order to make it possible to
reverse the sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions which is currently in evidence in most of the
Member States, as well as its commitment to the rapid implementation of the European Climate Change
Programme, including the EU emissions trading regime (and policy measures on, for instance, transport
emissions and non-CO2 greenhouse gases); also recommends prompt adoption of national greenhouse gas
emission-reduction plans;

Notes that the EU delegation will have a key role to play at the Bonn Conference, and believes that
11.
the European Parliament members of the delegation will have a valuable complementary role to play,
notably in working with fellow parliamentarians from other countries, especially in view of the broad
support right across the political spectrum for the EU(cid:146)s negotiating position;

Underlines the particular importance of research in any strategy against climate change; considers
12.
that it is essential that research leads to the development of new technologies in the field of renewable
energy, energy efficiency and energy savings; takes the view that environmental R & D should therefore be
promoted and adequately funded within the scope of the Sixth Framework Programme, thereby boosting
efforts to catch up with the European research backlog;

13.
Believes that, in order for the European Parliament participants to best support and advance the
EU(cid:146)s negotiating position, they need to develop, in advance and in cooperation with the other participants
in the EU delegation, a strategy for their approaches to fellow parliamentarians; considers that, for the
European Parliament participants to be most effective in this task, they need to be fully involved in the
EU delegation, in particular by attending the EU coordination meetings;

14.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States and the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change, and to the government of the United States of America.

26. Safe operation of mining activities

A5-0214/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication on safe operation of mining
activities: a follow-up to recent mining accidents (COM(2000) 664 (cid:129) C5-0013/2001 (cid:129) 2001/
2005(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 664),

(cid:129) having regard to the 1991 Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboun-

dary Context,

(cid:129) having regard to the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents,

(cid:129) having regard to the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Water-

courses and International Lakes,

(cid:129) having regard to the 1998 Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in deci-

sion-making and access to justice in environmental matters,

(cid:129) having regard to Article 174 of the EC Treaty,

(cid:129) having regard to Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (1),

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 39.

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(cid:129) having regard to Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of certain public

and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive) (1),

(cid:129) having regard to Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution

prevention and control (IPPC Directive) (2),

(cid:129) having regard to Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident

hazards involving dangerous substances (Seveso II Directive) (3),

(cid:129) having regard to Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (4),

(cid:129) having regard to Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October

2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (5),

(cid:129) having regard to the European Parliament and Council Directive on the assessment of the effects of

certain plans and programmes on the environment (SEA Directive),

(cid:129) having regard to the Report of the International Task Force for assessing the Baia Mare accident

(December 2000),

(cid:129) having regard to the White Paper on environmental liability (COM(2000) 66),

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy
and the opinion of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5-0214/2001),

A. whereas the recent mining accidents in Doæana (Spain), Baia Mare and Baia Borsa (Romania) have
highlighted the inadequacy of rules and monitoring requirements governing the mining industry in
present and future Members States of the Community and the need for a review of Community
environmental policy in order to take due account of the mining sector,

B. whereas climatic and operational conditions leading to the Doæana, Baia Mare and Baia Borsa acci-

dents where exceptional but not unpredictable,

C. whereas, especially, the Baia Mare and Baia Borsa catastrophes underline the transboundary effects of

mining accidents,

D. whereas poor management of mining operations and disposal of mining waste is a global problem;

whereas most mining companies operate on a global scale,

E. whereas mining accidents are usually caused by a combination of mining companies not taking suffi-
cient environmental concern, inadequate legislation and poor monitoring and control by the permit-
ting authorities,

F. whereas mining waste is one of the largest waste streams in the Community and is responsible for

18 % of overall waste generation (OSCE data 1998),

G. whereas there are large quantities of mining waste unaccounted for (cid:129) frequently hazardous and leak-

ing (cid:129) in the territory of the Community and the candidate countries,

H. whereas the Community lacks a coherent and comprehensive legislative framework governing the

mining industry and mining waste,

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.
(2) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26.
(3) OJ L 10, 14.1.1997, p. 13.
(4) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.

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General conclusions

1. Welcomes the communication and supports the Commission(cid:146)s general approach to modify EU
environmental legislation and instruments in order to create a transparent and coherent framework for
the safe operation of mining activities; believes that voluntary agreements may complement but may
never substitute legislation within the mining sector;

2. Welcomes the recent amendment to the EU hazardous waste list to include certain types of mining
waste, thereby laying down stricter requirements concerning their management and disposal;

Underlines that the future directive on environmental liability must incorporate provisions relevant to

3.
the special configuration of mining activities and mining waste;

4.
Stresses the importance of reinforced R & D into mining processing techniques in order to limit the
use of dangerous substances, decreasing waste streams and improving waste disposal; believes that EU
research programmes could serve as one vehicle for developing and disseminating more sustainable oper-
ation and disposal techniques in mining;

5.
States that mining companies should operate according to the same basic guidelines and rules inde-
pendently of where they operate; encourages the mining industry, in cooperation with relevant NGOs and
stakeholders, to develop a code of conduct including public participation and independent third party
verification as two of its essential components, based on the improved EU practice resulting from forth-
coming modifications of EU environmental legislation and instruments;

States that EU development aid and EIB financing should only be granted to mining projects that

6.
operate in accordance with EU regulations and practice;

7. Welcomes the clarification that the Framework Directive on waste also currently covers mining
waste;

8.
Believes that it is not sufficient to regulate mining activities through the IPPC Directive due to the
expected diverging interpretation of that Directive(cid:146)s principles for determining BAT and the fact that
neither core extraction activities nor abandoned mining operations and waste disposals are covered by
that Directive; welcomes the establishment of BAT reference documents in order to clarify the principles
of the Directive; believes furthermore that the landfill of waste Directive does not constitute an appropriate
framework for regulating mining waste and therefore urges the Commission to put forward a proposal for
a specific directive on mining waste;

Encourages the Commission to strengthen the dialogue with the European mining industry in order

9.
to profit from its experience and identify the best available technologies;

Recalls the need for training programmes for all types of staff dealing with mining activities in

10.
order to ensure that the existing legal instruments are implemented properly;

Changes to the Seveso II Directive

11. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s recent proposal to extend the Seveso II Directive to also cover risks
arising from storage and processing activities in mining;

12.
Notes that this modification will require that a whole set of measures are put in place to prevent
major mining tailings spills, including emergency plans and reinforced public information and consultation
requirements;

13.
Urges the Commission to propose, and the Member States to introduce, changes ensuring that any
emergency plans under this Directive include an outline of possible short and long-term impacts and
measures for the restoration of the affected environment;

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Inventory

14.
Supports the establishment of an inventory, based on a common risk assessment method, of all
active and abandoned mines and mining waste disposals with a view to securing the necessary funding
to render these sites environmentally safe; states that such an inventory should also include the accession
countries;

15. Welcomes the identification of 21 risks sites (hot spots) by the Baia Mare Task Force; supports
further identification of (cid:145)hot spots(cid:146), both sites in operation and abandoned sites; proposes that action
programs be immediately put in place for remediation and environmental rehabilitation of such sites, in
particular to prevent future accidents similar to Doæana and Baia Mare;

A future directive on mining waste

16.
Strongly supports the need for a directive on mining waste covering both operational and aban-
doned sites and disposals; believes that such a directive should contain provisions for mining waste actions
programs as well as provisions to facilitate more sustainable extraction, site cleaning and waste reduction,
including dry tailings disposal in the case of metal mining waste;

17.
Urges the Commission to propose, and the Member States to introduce, legislation that requires the
responsible mining company to establish decommissioning plans for new and existing mines and tailings
ponds and to set aside sufficient funds for closure, restoration and after-care measures as well as safe and
sustainable disposal of mining waste in order to avoid the problem of abandoned mining sites in the
future;

States that the company responsible shall bear the full responsibility for restoration and other con-

18.
nected costs in the case of an accident;

Underlines that Member States and the Community have a responsibility for restoring abandoned
19.
mines and tailings ponds; believes therefore that it should be possible to use the Structural Funds and other
EU funding to help in cleaning up contaminated land;

Supports legislation prescribing in-plant removal of cyanide and other hazardous substances before

20.
the tailings are deposited in the tailings pond;

21.
Supports the establishment of common minimum rules concerning the siting, design, construction,
operation, maintenance and decommissioning of tailings ponds, taking into account the likely effects of
climate change on meteorological conditions;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parlia-

22.
ments of the Member States.

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