The Regulation on Mining Waste ("Regulation") was published in Official Gazette numbered 29417 on 15 July 2015. It introduces principles for mining waste-management for exploration, extraction, enrichment or mine storage activities. The principles support mining waste-management which is friendly to humans and the environment. The Regulation will enter into effect within 12 months of the Gazette publication date (15 July 2015) and attracts particular attention because it allows non-hazardous waste to be disposed at sea in certain conditions.

The Regulation allows mining waste to be disposed at sea provided that the conditions below are met.

The Regulation classifies mining waste into three categories: hazardous, non-hazardous and inert waste. Processes and requirements for disposing mining waste depend on its classification.

  • Hazardous waste: cannot be disposed at sea under any circumstances.
  • Non-hazardous or inert waste: can be disposed solely into the oxygen-free layers of Black Sea, where no traces of life are seen, provided that a suitable geographical, topographical and geological zone is not available in the terrestrial area within 30 km from the center where the mine is operated.

If disposal into the Black Sea is planned, the Regulation requires a scientific fieldwork report evaluating the effects of waste disposal to the marine ecology. The report must be issued by the faculty of marine sciences and must include results of detailed fieldwork, including the waste's transportation and discharge method, density calculations for the sea and waste, as well as the sea's assimilative capacity. The report must be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning for review.

The Regulation foresees a two phase approval process for disposing mining wastes at sea.

  • Specialization Commission: assesses the fieldwork report.
  • Assessing Authority: evaluates the Specialization Commission's assessment and makes the final decision regarding whether disposal at sea may proceed. The Assessing Authority includes experts from various ministries.

Upon receiving the Assessing Authority's final decision, the entity operating the relevant mine must apply to the Ministry to obtain an environmental license.

The Regulation was prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, in line with the Directive on Mining Waste numbered 2006/21/EC, which outlines general principles for mining waste-management. Please see this link for the full text of the Regulation (only available in Turkish).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.