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Extractive industries: Mining waste directive

Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the management of waste from extractive industries was adopted on 15 March 2006; and Member States were required to adopt the necessary transposing legislation by 1 May 2008. The Directive is usually known as the Mining Waste Directive (MWD).

Communities and Local Government (CLG) was the lead Department during the negotiation of the MWD and during the consultation phase of the Directive’s transposition in England and Wales. On the adoption of the transposing legislation (see below), lead Department responsibility was transferred from CLG to Defra.

What is the MWD’s purpose?

The MWD’s key objective is to provide: “...for measures, procedures and guidance to prevent or reduce as far as possible any adverse effects on the environment, in particular water, air, soil fauna and flora and landscape, and any resultant risks to human health, brought about as a result of the management of waste from the extractive industries.”

What does the MWD cover?

The MWD covers the management of waste from land-based extractive industries. “Extractive waste” is defined as, “..waste resulting from the prospecting, extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries”.

Transposing legislation

The MWD has been transposed in England and Wales by means of the following Regulations:

  • The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009 No.1799) which came into force on 7 July 2009. These Regulations transpose all of the MWD’s requirements other than some aspects of Article 6 relating to off-site emergency plans (see reference to the Major Accident Off-site Emergency Plan Regulations below). The Environment Agency is designated as the “competent authority” responsible for implementing these Regulations.
  • The Major Accident Off-Site Emergency Plan (Management of Waste from Extractive Industries) (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009 No.1927) which came into force on 12 August 2009. These Regulations transpose the requirements of Article 6 of the MWD relating to the preparation of an off-site (external) emergency plan for each Category A facility. “Emergency planning authorities” are designated as the “competent authority” responsible for implementing these Regulations.
Supplementary EU Legislation

Article 22 of the MWD makes provision for the European Commission to adopt a range of “Implementing and amending measures” by means of the comitology procedure. The Commission has now adopted the following measures:

Each of these Decisions has direct effect. This means that the Decisions apply as a matter of law throughout the EU and do not have to be transposed by Member States into their national legislation.

Consultation

A joint consultation by CLG, Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) was carried out from 17 January to 11 April 2008 on the options for transposing the MWD.

During the course of the House of Commons debate on 23 June 2009 on a draft of the transposing Environmental Permitting Regulations, the Minister for Rural Affairs and Environment (Dan Norris) was requested to place in the public domain some of the concerns expressed by those who made representations on the post-consultation draft of the Off-Site Emergency Plan Regulations that was the subject of a supplementary, informal consultation. The commitment made in the Minister’s response was fulfilled in the summary of representations published at Annex B to the Explanatory Memorandum to the Regulations which is available at www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si200919

Guidance

A joint consultation by Defra and WAG on draft Environmental Permitting guidance on the MWD was published on 6 May 2009.

The Environment Agency has also initiated consultations on two documents for mining waste operations:

  • A draft technical guidance note for operators who manage extractive waste. It contains operational standards and measures that the Agency expects operators to take to control the risk of pollution. It also provides guidance on the preparation of waste management plans; and
  • Guidance on financial guarantees for mining waste facilities. This is relevant to Category A mining waste facilities and mining waste facilities for hazardous wastes.

Information about the environmental permitting of mining waste operations is available under the heading “Is it a mining waste operation?” on the Environment Agency’s website. The information provided by the Agency includes the timetable for compliance with the MWD.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the Off-Site Emergency Plan Regulations confirms that: "The Government intends to produce guidance on matters relating to the preparation and content of off-site emergency plans; and to consult on a draft of that guidance in the late autumn of 2009."

How much extractive waste is produced?

The EU Waste Statistics Regulation (EC 2150/2002) requires Member States to provide the European Commission with information on the generation, recovery and disposal of waste every two years.

Page published: 3 September 2009