Annexes to COM(2000)664 - Safe operation of mining activities: a follow-up to recent mining accidents - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2000)664 - Safe operation of mining activities: a follow-up to recent mining accidents. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2000)664  |
| date | October 23, 2000 |
The IPPC Directive covers the overall environmental impact of the production process, i.e. air, water and soil pollution, generation of process residues, use of energy, etc. The focus shall be on prevention rather than "end-of-pipe" abatement. In the Directive, a distinction is made between, on the one hand, new or substantially changed installations and, on the other hand, existing installations. For the former category, all provisions of the Directive apply since October 1999. For the latter, Member States have until October 2007 to ensure compliance.
Core extraction activities are not covered by the IPPC Directive, but activities of the kind undertaken at the Baia Mare site are already inside the scope of the IPPC Directive. Indeed, paragraph 2.5 (b) of Annex I covers "installations for the production of non-ferrous crude metals from ore, concentrates or secondary raw materials by metallurgical, chemical or electrolytic processes".
However, the IPPC Directive may not cover all sites in the European Union where tailings dams are used. They could either not be production sites (if they are in isolation from the actual site of production), not be producing crude metals (if they produce for instance concentrates), or not be regarded as landfills falling under category 5.4 of Annex I. of the Directive ("landfills receiving more than 10 tonnes per day or with a total capacity exceeding 25 000 tonnes, excluding landfills of inert waste"). However, most of the dams probably meet these thresholds.
The concept of 'landfills' is not defined in the IPPC Directive, but the Landfill Directive (99/31/EC) [14] provides for a definition. According to Article 2 (g) of that Directive, a landfill means a waste disposal site for the deposit of the waste onto or into land. Storage of waste prior to recovery or treatment for a period less than three years as a general rule and storage of waste prior to disposal for a period of less than one year are excluded from the definition of a landfill. It should be noted that the Baia Mare and Aznalcóllar tailing ponds were not destined for temporary storage. On the basis of the above definition, it is likely that a vast majority of tailings dams are indeed covered through the present wording of Annex I.
[14] OJ L 182 of 16 July 1999.
6. Follow-up - The Action Plan
The recent mining accidents have illustrated a need for a review of Community environmental policy. This is particularly important in view of the EU enlargement. Therefore, the actions described below will be prepared in close co-operation with the candidate countries.
Discussions with Member States' experts have started in view of changing the classification category of dangerous waste and including these wastes in the Hazardous Waste list. First conclusions are expected for the second half of 2000.
Furthermore, the Water Framework Directive, recently adopted upon by the Council and the European Parliament, calls for measures at watershed level including "measures required to prevent significant leakage of pollutants from technical installations, and reduce the impact of accidental pollution incidents", and "systems to detect or give warning of such events".
From a civil protection point of view, the experience from the Baia Mare accident in Romania also clearly demonstrates a need for improvement of the early warning systems. The Commission has therefore proposed to establish a Community Mechanism for the co-ordination of the Civil Protection Interventions in case of Emergencies [15].
[15] COM(2000) 593 final.
Moreover, the White Paper on environmental liability [16] contains proposals for the introduction of a Community environmental liability regime with the objective of improving the implementation of key environmental principles such as polluter-pays, prevention and precaution and of existing EU environmental laws, and also to ensure adequate restoration of the environment.
[16] COM(2000) 66 final, 9.2.2000.
The Environment Council of Ministers of 30 March 2000 gave broad support to the proposal of the Commission to establish a framework Directive for this purpose. Such a proposal is under preparation and is meant to be presented before the end of 2001. Several studies need to be carried out beforehand, dealing with economic aspects such as competitiveness and insurability, and with valuation and restoration of damage to biodiversity, among other things. Account will also be taken of the opinions of the other European institutions and the comments of interested parties.
Apart from these activities, three key actions are envisaged. These would relate to industrial risk management, the management of mining waste and integrated pollution prevention and control.
6.1. Amendment of the Seveso II Directive
In terms of industrial risk management, the Seveso II Directive seems to be the most appropriate legislative tool to prevent major accidents involving dangerous substances. The Directive obliges industrial operators to put into effect Safety Management Systems, including a detailed risk assessment on the basis of possible accident scenarios.
In order to do away with the ambiguities contained in the Directive and described above, it is envisaged to amend the Seveso II Directive to unequivocally include the mineral processing of ores and, in particular, tailings ponds or dams used in connection with such mineral processing of ores. It is important to note that any such activity would only be covered by the Directive if dangerous substances are involved and if they are present in quantities beyond the threshold levels set out in the Directive.
This amendment will be prepared following the completion of the report of the Baia Mare Task Force. It will be part of a wider review of the scope of the Directive.
The explosion of the storage facility at SE Fireworks in Enschede/Netherlands earlier this year which resulted in a large number of deaths and injured persons has, in any event, created the need to evaluate the qualifying quantities assigned to pyrotechnic substances and to make proposals for amendments to the Seveso II Directive.
Moreover, already on the occasion of the adoption of the Directive, the Commission had been asked by Council to evaluate the qualifying quantities assigned to substances dangerous for the environment and the list of carcinogens contained in Annex I. This work has been carried out in two Technical Working Groups that have delivered their final reports in April 2000. These reports suggest to significantly lower the qualifying quantities assigned to substances dangerous for the environment and to extend the list of carcinogens contained in Annex I of the Seveso II Directive.
6.2. An initiative on the management of mining waste
The management of waste from extractive and quarrying activities requires detailed investigation. Mining waste is among the largest waste streams in the Community. Some waste streams, in particular generated by the non-ferrous metal mining industry, contain large quantities of dangerous substances, such as heavy metals. Although all metals are naturally occurring substances and are an essential part of everyday life, they are elements and therefore persistent in the environment. They need to be controlled below levels that constitute environmental harm although their concentrations in the environment can vary greatly due to natural proximity of metaliferous deposits. Once brought to the surface through mining activities metals and metal compounds tend to become chemically more available and deserve specific attention to prevent pollution.
Therefore, a study was launched in September 1999 on the existing legislation and practices concerning the management of waste from the extractive industry. The study will concentrate on the environmental issues of the management of mining waste as well as on the best practices, which could prevent environmental damage during the waste management.
The study was extended to include the candidate countries in which important mining activities are carried out (Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia). The whole study should be finalised before the end of 2000 and will concentrate on the management of tailing ponds containing non-ferrous metal minerals. An inventory of main mining activities should be carried out at regional basis, as far as information is available. Difficulties are expected in the collection of information. With the available budget and time constraint, a detailed hot spots inventory of all abandoned and existing mines in these countries can not be drawn up. In the longer term, a research project on the environmental impact of mining waste in the candidate countries will be carried out by the Joint Research Centre in collaboration with other services of the Commission and the European Environment Agency. This study will consist of an inventory of toxic mining waste sites, a comparison of mining waste legislation and an assessment of the environmental consequences of mining accidents.
On the basis of the results of the study, which will be discussed with all stakeholders concerned, it will be possible to consider the need to adopt an initiative, in particular a Proposal for a Directive specifically focussing on the management of mining waste, which would consider site-specificity as well as significant differences between various sub-sectors of the extractive industry. This exercise will take place in 2001.
6.3. A BAT reference document under the IPPC Directive
In order to assist the implementation of the IPPC Directive in the non-ferrous metals mining sector, the Commission considers to organise an exchange of information concerning the management of tailings dams with a view to producing a special BAT reference document (BREF) on this subject. This task could be part of the ongoing BAT information exchange between Member States and industry, which is co-ordinated by the European IPPC Bureau [17] of the Commission's Joint Research Centre. Work should start before the end of this year aiming at completion by the autumn of 2002. The BREF should deal with both techniques to reduce everyday pollution and techniques to prevent or mitigate accidents.
[17] http://eippcb.jrc.es.
A BREF is not prescriptive in nature. It is intended merely as information for the guidance of the competent (national, regional or local) authorities responsible for issuing permits to installations that fall within the scope of the IPPC Directive. Apart from the authorities in the Member States of the European Union, there are several other interested target groups for a BREF, such as authorities in the candidate countries to the European Union, companies operating an IPPC installation in Europe, small and medium-sized companies within the relevant industry but not covered by the Directive, the scientific community, interested actors outside Europe, environmental organisations and, last but not least, the public at large.
A BAT reference document on the management of tailings dams would contribute to the knowledge about the measures that are available to prevent similar accidents in future. With this information at their disposal, the licensing authorities would be in a position to require that, in the European Union, installations using tailings dams meet the highest environmental standards that can be found world-wide (provided that they meet the 'availability' criterion of Article 2(11) of the IPPC Directive).
As discussed earlier in this Communication (see section 5.5), the IPPC Directive may not cover all sites in the European Union where tailings dams are used. If necessary, the scope of the IPPC Directive could therefore be clarified to explicitly include metalliferous tailings dams with an inherent risk of significant damage to the environment or human health. In addition, the processing of certain mining minerals and residues could be included. Such amendments could be considered in the context of an initiative on the management of mining waste (see section 6.2).
6.4. Input to the Baia Mare Task Force
The three key actions identified as a focussed follow-up to recent mining accidents, i.e.
-an amendment of the Seveso II Directive
-an initiative on the management of mining waste
-a BAT reference document under the IPPC Directive
will constitute an important input to the ongoing work of the Baia Task Force.