Română
Local community’s reaction
In the SWOT analysis within the Site Report Romaltyn Mining indicates as a weakness of the mining project ‘the growing local concern and the perception of the worsening quality of life with the increased risk of pollution in the Vasile Alecsandri and Gării neighbourhoods and in Săsar and Bozânta Mare localities, as a result of the transport and storage of large volumes of mining waste (heavy metals) processed by cyanidation.’ .
Indeed local community as a whole is against the restart of mining activities in Baia Mare city . This is demonstrated by the mobilisation in socialisation networks, the articles in local media and the local referendum in July 2010. In a poll undertaken by the newspaper eMaramureş.ro more than 76.6% of respondents answered ‘No, because I do not want cyanides and pollution in Baia Mare’ to the question ‘Would you agree for the processing operations by cyanidation to be resumed on the territory of Baia Mare city?’. The poll was undertaken between 6 August 2013-15 September 2013, with the participation of 8596 respondents, unique visitors on the site.
The local referendum of 25 July 2010
The residents of Baia Mare answered two questions at the local referendum. The first related to their agreement or disagreement on the use of cyanide on their territory and the second was related to the mining of lead from the area under the city’s administration. The over 95% votes against cyanide technologies indicated the residents’ concern regarding the restart of the Processing plant for mining waste. According to the final results, 15,878 voters participated in the referendum, representing 12.67% of the total number of Baia Mare citizens registered on election lists. The referendum was therefore invalidated for lack of quorum. The “22 Decembrie” organisation in Baia Mare had previously requested the Local Council “to postpone the referendum because of its very poor media coverage”.
Local authorities reaction
In the summer of 2010, the Local Council Recea decided to ban the use of cyanide technologies, the transport and storage of cyanide tailings on the commune’s territory. This decision was also communicated to Romaltyn Mining. Romaltyn had previously obtained a permit from Maramureş County Council to build outside the built area of Săsar village, Recea commune, the plant for lime milk preparation and tailings pulp detoxification.
However local authorities’ representatives criticised the possibility of mining activities being resumed in the commune: ‘I don’t think it is correct that Romaltyn should restart operations, we’ve had enough pollution, Romania’s Constitution in Art. 35 acknowledges citizens’ right to a healthy environment and the European Union promotes environmental protection and quality”, says mayor Octavian Pavel. The deputy mayor of Recea commune, Valer Mădăraş made the following statements for the Graiul newspaper in Maramureş: “When we, citizens of Săsar, accepted the pond location we were told that the new Australian method for gold extraction using cyanide is non-polluting, but we were bitterly deceived, the birds flying across the toxic lake die, the dust carried off by wind deposits on crops, people complain about pollution”.
The Local Council Baia Mare issued an interdiction for building until the regional urban plans (PUZ) are approved, by Local Council Decision HCL 84/2010. In this context it became impossible for Romaltyn to obtain the construction permit for additional investment works in the perimeter of the mining waste processing plant. Following the issuance of this administrative act, the Environmental Protection Agency through its president Iosif Nagy intervened in the favour of Romaltyn by official letters to the local authorities . A first letter was sent in June 2010 to Maramureş Prefecture, the Local Council Baia Mare and the local and regional environmental authorities. ‘The operation of SC Romaltyn Mining SRL plants will achieve an ecological restoration of the Central tailings dam with beneficial results upon the quality of environment in Baia Mare. According to legal provisions on the restoration of areas where soil, subsoil and terrestrial ecosystems were affected, the local public administration is responsible for remediation of areas with historic pollution, therefore the local budget would be affected in case the plant does not operate. In line with the above mentioned aspects we hereby request you to take all necessary steps for issuing the construction permit for the treatment plant for water discharged from the Aurul tailings dam”, says the letter from the National Environmental Protection Agency.
In July 2010 a second letter from the Maramureş Environmental Protection Agency continued to put pressure locally in the favour of Romaltyn Mining . The EPA president explains in this letter to the Maramureş Prefecture that if the wastewater plant investment is not completed the company will not receive the integrated environmental permit.
In February 2013, the chief of the Urban Planning commission of Local Council Baia Mare, Tudor Ilie, stated that he does “not agree with the Romaltyn plant operating in a residential area. There are educational units there, medical units, blocks of flats, services facilities (…). There will always be people there. The new international urban planning regulations recommend the location of industrial plants at the outskirts of cities’. The Local Council Baia Mare issued in April the decision HCL 120/2013 whereby “the economic regime of the territorial reference unit between Independenţei Blvd., Decebal Blvd, Victoriei St. is established as area for trade-services and a sub-area for collective residences”. According to this decision, the industrial activity specific to the Processing plant, located within the perimeter described above, became incompliant with the economic and urban planning functions of the area. Immediately after this HCL was issued, Romaltyn announced the reduction of their staff work schedule from five to four days per week.
Romaltyn announced in a press release that the alternative to relocate the plant “is absolutely excluded, also for economic reasons”. The reasons pleaded are the four year duration for relocating the plant, the requirement to prepare again the full permitting documentation, as well as the costs estimated at 30 mil. dollars associated with the relocation, which would render the project totally unfeasible.
At the same time time Romaltyn Mining announced an action in court brought against the Local Council Baia Mare for adopting HCL 120/2013. In a first stage Romaltyn aimed to suspend the act. On 18 September 2013 the Maramureş Court rejected Romaltyn’s request, subject of the case 5916/100/2013. At the beginning of September the mining company sued again the Local Council Baia Mare, this time requesting the cancellation of the act issued by the local public authority.