The Executive Yuan on Thursday passed draft amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法) to bolster legislative protection for the environment and indigenous land rights.
Mines predating January 2008 must undergo environmental impact assessments, and failure to comply or complete the process would result in penalties up to and including the loss of mining permits, Executive Yuan officials told a news conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting.
This means that older mines would be made to comply with the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) if the amendments pass into law, the officials said.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
Mine owners would be required to submit studies for mines they operate that are subject to the new rules, they said.
Additionally, every mine operator would be required to prepare an environmental mitigation plan and a decommissioning plan, they said.
Indigenous people would have the right to extract mineral resources from recognized indigenous land without a mining permit, they said.
No new mining operations could be initiated on or near indigenous land without the consent of the local indigenous community, they said, adding that ongoing operations must stop if the community withholds consent.
Mine operators that do not request consent would lose the permit to mine that area altogether, they said.
The Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法) would delineate the process for miners to request consent, the officials said.
The public would be able to fully monitor the permit process via a digital platform, which would incorporate mechanisms that allow for the involvement of local residents, they said.
The amendments would enable authorities to limit the amount of materials that could be extracted by an operation, while mining sites would be required to create guidelines drawn up by certified environmental engineers, they said.
The proposed changes to the Mining Act include stricter penalties for contravening environmental rules, and mandate that a share of mining royalties be distributed to local residents affected by mining operations, they said.
The Executive Yuan is to send the darft amendments to the Legislative Yuan for review.
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