Mine water regulation in Europe: preliminary finding of the ermite project

Some recent accidents of pollution associated to mining operations have demonstrated the inadequacy of the current technical, institutional and legislative framework in European countries in relation to mine water. Independently of these major accidents, up to now, no comprehensive mine water inventory for Europe has been made, albeit it is known, that in some areas, water stream are heavily polluted by mine water discharges. It is known too, that concerning mine water issues, the different European countries have different positions, both in relation to the extent of mine water problems and its legislative regulation (only some countries explicitly address mine water in its legislative framework). Given that the mine water is a part of the water natural cycle, its regulation would be addressed at an European level. In this sense, ERMITE project, funded by the European Commission Fifth Framework Programme, focuses on the environmental regulation of mine waters in the European Union through a multi-disciplinary point of view. The goal of the project is to provide to the Commission integrated policy guidelines (coherent with the catchment management approach defined by the Water Framework Directive and the sustainability principles enshrined in the Amsterdam Treaty) for developing European legislation and practice in relation to water management in the mining sector. In this sense, the development of a common European approach to mine water regulation taking into account the variety of regional and national conditions of in EU Member States and in countries from Eastern Europe involved in the enlargement process, would contribute substantially to improve the environmental situation in industrialized (or formerly industrialized) catchments and set up the basis for a sustainable management of mine water. An overview of the key issues affecting the regulation of mine waters in the EU and potential accession states, analyzed under different points of view (social, technical, economic, political and sustainability) and institutional research and legislation currently in force will be presented. Refs. 20 (author)