Ministry plans to permit discharge of mining waste into sea

The Turkish Environment Ministry is preparing to allow the deposit of mining waste into the sea if storing it on land is not appropriate, in another move that infuriates critics of the government’s development policies.

According to the Mining Wastes Regulation’s draft, pouring mining waste into the sea will be permitted on the condition of “detailed monitoring.”

Mining waste will be collected after being classified into three different types of waste: hazardous, nonhazardous and inter waste, according to the draft.

The regulation also requires detailed geological, hydrogeological, geochemical and engineering geology examinations of the area where the waste destruction field will be established. The features of the rocks that the destruction plant will be founded on will be also determined.

The ministry foresees granting permission to build waste disposal plants on the sea only if a detailed monitoring program is presented. The ministry also requires that the layers of sea that are devoid of oxygen, where no traces of life are seen, should be considered and it should be proven that the temperature of the water will not change.

The disposal facilities where the mining wastes will be stored have to be covered with a leak-proof layer to prevent leaked water from being mixed with sea water. If this layer is not found in natural form, it should be created artificially.

Activists have regularly criticized the government and the Environment Ministry for approving environment impact assessment reports (ÇED) that are insufficient and often distorted.

A recent parliamentary report also added its voice to those who have demanded better assessments of hydroelectric plants (HES) within a given...