General requirements (Section 3 of Ministerial decree 14/2008 on mining waste management (Bhr.))
Mining waste management shall be carried out so as not to:
- endanger human life and health,
- apply any process or method doing harm to the environment,
- endanger waters, air, soil as well as flora and fauna,
- cause environmental noise or odour at hazardous levels, and
- have adverse impacts on landscape, protected sites and natural values.
The operator shall be obliged to take all necessary measures to avert or minimize adverse impacts on the environment and human health due to mining waste management including the direction of mining waste facility, (even after closure) prevention of serious accidents in connection with the given facility as well as minimization of effects of such accidents to the environment and human life.
Among others, laid down measures shall be taken considering best available techniques.
Waste: the waste specified in point 23 of Section 2 of Act CLXXXV of 2012 on wastes (hereinafter referred to as: Ht.) [point 6 of Section 2 of Bhr.]
Owner of waste: generator of mining waste, or the natural or legal entity and organization without legal personality who owns the waste [point 7 of Section 2 of Bhr.]
Mining waste facility: Any area permitted by the Mining Authority and designated for the accumulation or deposit of extractive waste over the period set out in items a) to d), whether in a solid or liquid state or in solution or suspension. Such facilities are deemed to include any dam or other structure serving to contain, retain, confine or otherwise support such a facility, and also to include, but not be limited to, heaps and ponds, but excluding excavation of the mineral, for rehabilitation and construction purposes
- no time-period for Category A waste facilities and facilities for waste characterized as hazardous in the waste management plan;
- a period of more than six months for facilities for hazardous waste generated unexpectedly;
- a period of more than one year for facilities for non-hazardous, non-inert waste;
- a period of more than three years for facilities for unpolluted soil, non-hazardous prospecting waste, waste resulting from the extraction, treatment and storage of peat and inert waste (point 8 of Section 2 of Bhr.]
Inert waste: waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations. Inert waste will not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm human health. The total leachability and pollutant content of the waste and the ecotoxicity of the leachate must be insignificant, an in particular not endanger the quality of surface water and/or groundwater [point 9. of Section 2 of Bhr.]
Hazardous waste: waste specified in point 48 of Section 2 of Ht. [point 17 of Section 2 of Bhr.]
Mining waste management plan
The operator shall be obliged to make a mining waste management plan for minimization, conditioning, recovery and disposal of mining wastes, considering the objectives of mining waste management plan [Section 4 of Bhr.]
The mining waste management plan may be divided into four units: A bányászati hulladékgazdálkodási terv négy részre tagolható:
I. Characterization of mining wastes stored in mining waste facilities located in mine.
II. Introduction and evaluation of mining waste facilitie(s) located in mine.
III. Classification of mining waste facility (based on points I. and II.).
IV. Action plan for mining waste management.
The mining waste management plan is made up of a section for basic data and a more detailed, descriptive text part consisting of different requirements depending on the waste type and the category of facility.
Basic data are the following:
1. Actual name of the waste management facility (e.g. waste heap, tailing pond, etc.)
2. Actual location, delineation and specific dimensions of the waste management facility (inside or outside the mining plot, land register reference, height, floor area, etc.)
3. Proposed classification of the waste facility
(category ,‚A” or not)
4. Specification of waste types
(inert / non-inert non-hazardous /hazardous) (per facility)
5. Statement per facility units concerning the total volume of generated materials deposed in waste facility/-ies and in the operation phase (item b) of paragraph (3) of Section 4 of Bhr.)
6. Does the waste facility comprise any edifice?
7. Personal data of competent person designated to manage the waste facility (because a competent person shall only be designated in case of any waste from the exploitation of non-contaminated soil and peat if it is deposed in a category "A" waste facility (paragraph (3) of Section 1 of Bhr.)).
Criteria for classification of waste facilities (Part I. of Annex 1 to Bhr.)
A waste management facility is classified as "A" if:
a) any deficiency or incorrect operation - e.g collapse of the waste heap or the dam of tailing pond - may cause serious accident, considering factors based on risk assessment such as actual or future volume, location and environmental impact of the waste facility, or
b) it consists of any waste classified as hazardous above a certain limit value according to Ht., or
c) it consists of any materials or preparations classified as hazardous above a certain limit value according to Act XXV of 2000 on chemical safety (Kbt.) as well as Ministerial decree 44/2000 on detailed rules of some procedures and activities related to hazardous substances and hazardous preparations (Var.).
Characterization of wastes (Part I of Annex 2 to Bhr.)
Wastes deposed in a waste management facility shall be characterized so that it could ensure long-term physical and chemical safety of the facility structure as well as help to avert major accidents. Characterization of waste - where applicable - includes the following aspects according to the class of waste management facility:
1. description of expectable physical and chemical characteristics of waste deposed either in short or long-term, with special regard to stability under surface atmospheric/meteorological conditions, considering types of exploited minerals and nature of any overburden and waste rocks during exploitation,
2. classification of wastes, with special regard to their hazardous properties,
3. description of chemicals and their stability which are used in conditioning minerals,
4. description of the method of deposition,
5. the applied waste transport system.
Any mining waste facility may only be operated with a permit from the Mining Authority. The Mining Authority permits the operation by approval of the technical operation plan (if the establishment of facility doesn't go together with any building and construction activity), or if there is any building and construction activity, in the course of permitting proceeding for occupancy or maintanance (Section 6 of Bhr.).
Relevant legislation:
- Ministerial decree 14/2008 on mining waste management (Bhr.),
- Act CLXXXV of 2012 on wastes (Ht.),
- Act XXV of 2000 on chemical safety (Kbt.),
- Ministerial decree 44/2000 on detailed rules of some procedures and activities related to hazardous substances and hazardous preparations (Var.).
