The Parliament of Mongolia passed on May 17 an amended Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that had been submitted to it on December 30, 2011. As every mining activity has some impact on the environment, the new amendments, as well as the untouched provisions of the law, are to be carefully considered by the mining industry.
Earlier, the Law on Water Pollution Fee and amendments to the Law on Water drastically increased the responsibility of entities regarding use of water, including additional payments for polluting the water. Since this will be calculated on the basis of the amount of waste water that has to be treated, companies that use water for industrial purposes will gain by applying environment friendly technology in their operation. The issue of using environment friendly technology has been mentioned in some articles of the laws. For example, Article 25.19 of the revised law calls for a ban on use of water by industrial entities that use technology harmful to the environment. Since no industry can run without water, companies have to choose environment-friendly technology. These new legal provisions are the first step towards planning the development of this country with less harm to the environment.
There are 10 laws in the comprehensive package forming the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment. We are presenting here to our readers the ones that are most relevant to the mining industry.
The current Law on Environmental Impact Assessment was passed in 1998, and was once amended in 2001. In the years since its passage, the mining industry has developed exponentially and is still developing. EIA in accordance with the old law is no longer adequate or meaningful and miners’ responsibilities and obligations have also changed. The amendments were necessitated by this need to bring the legal requirements up to date and to give the EIA exercise a more professional look and orientation.
Among the several new concepts now part of the law are those relating to strategy, policy, planning, counselling, organisation and other aspects. The ultimate rationale behind any EIA is to ensure that a project is operated with minimal damage to the environment and to prevent the loss of environmental balance. We are already aware of how inadequately supervised mining in Mongolia has had a great deal of negative impact on the environment. Take the matter of coal transportation. No professional assessment is necessary to see that heavy truck movement on unpaved roads has caused massive amounts of dust to rise in the air, but until today, there has been no solution. We hope the present amendments will help in a proper assessment of the situation, as also in preventing or at least minimising the damage.
The revised version incorporates changes in the period of performance screening, in expert’s assessment reports, and in extending the period of assessment. We list below some major features of the two versions for easy comparison.
Public opinion will be reflected in the assessment
The revised law creates a new opportunity for citizens to be involved in the strategy assessment of any project through the Ministry’s website. So far, it has been impossible for citizens to realise what kind of impact mining projects are having on the environment or on public health until this is clearly evident. Now that they have been allowed access to the information, people will be able to study the likely impact and suggest alterations in the way the project is implemented.
Article 17.4 of the revised version states that the person authorised to do the detailed EIA should hold meetings with the local government, citizens and all who are to be affected by the project to receive their suggestions. Article 7.4.1 says a project that does not incorporate such suggestions as are stated in Article 17.4 will not be issued a licence of operation or, if a licence has been issued, it should be invalidated. Thus, suggestions and opinions of those directly affected by the project now assume great importance for project implementers.
The revised version has more articles calling for public involvement, but some things remain unclear. For example, the law now enjoins that suggestions are to be taken from the public during the strategic assessment, but there is no definition of “the public”, nor is it clear how these suggestions will be reflected in the assessment. The original draft amendment said that the Minister of Nature, Environment and Tourism would be responsible for imposing the public involvement regulations, but this was changed to “a Government member” during final discussions at the State Great Khural. More legal clarity about the modality and process is needed if we really want the public to play a truly meaningful role in this matter.
No loans for dubious businesses
Guidelines on the “Financial Mechanism to Develop a Green Economy” included in the revised version were initiated by D.Tsogtbaatar, Minister of Nature, Environment and Tourism. Article 17.1 bars both banks and non-banking financial and investment institutions from granting loans, financing, and otherwise providing support to industries and services likely to have a harmful impact on the environment, society and health of citizens. In a bid to prevent environmental pollution, it has been decided to prepare a list of organisations and business entities that have used technology with harmful impact on the environment, and to pass this on to financial organizations /banks, stock exchanges, international donor organizations etc. The measure will have great benefit, but it will be difficult to successfully implement. The law does not indicate what steps will be taken against those who flout the guideline, nor does it say who will prepare the list of offending businesses.
Rehabilitation of alternative land
This issue, as part of a proper biodiversity offsets programme,has been sharply debated in recent years. In cases where a mining company is unable to rehabilitate and restore to its original form any land degraded because of its work, it is now obliged to rehabilitate a different piece of land in a similar condition. This legal imperative adds a new dimension to environmental rehabilitation. Three articles cover this issue.
Projects to do with petroleum, mining, and mining of radioactive minerals shall be subject to a closure plan, a rehabilitation plan, a scope of rehabilitation, and now a plan forrehabilitation of alternative land. The costs of such alternative rehabilitation will be included in the environmental management plan of any project. However, the law does not indicate how the provision will be enforced, or how many years will be allowed for such alternative rehabilitation, nor is it clear if it will apply only to projects beginning after the law comes into effect, or if it will have retrospective strength.
Liability and compensation for damage
The quantum of financial penalties for violating the law has been raised. We give below the changes from the law as it stood.
The law in its revised form will come into force soon. Experts worked on it for about two years and there is general agreement that they did a good job. Several other regulations and guidelines are expected to be passed as implementation of the law throws up new demands. The anticipated amendments to the Minerals Law and the Law on Petroleum will also be relevant to the matter.
The Parliament of Mongolia passed on May 17 an amended Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that had been submitted to it on December 30, 2011. As every mining activity has some impact on the environment, the new amendments, as well as the untouched provisions of the law, are to be carefully considered by the mining industry. 
