Jiangxi is a major mining province with rich mineral resources. The total profit of mining and its extended industries accounts for about one third of the total profits of industries above designated size in the province.
However, due to the long-term emphasis on interests and neglect of ecology in the past, the mining of mineral resources has been underutilized, resulting in a series of ecological and environmental problems such as geological disasters and soil erosion that endanger the production and life of the surrounding people, leaving a huge "ecological burden".
The lag in the restoration of abandoned mines and the destruction of the ecological environment of mines have also received widespread attention from the society.
In this context, the 40th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th Jiangxi Provincial People's Congress recently reviewed and approved the "Jiangxi Province Mine Ecological Restoration and Utilization Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which will come into force on December 1.
It is reported that this is the first provincial-level local regulation in China that specifically regulates the management of ecological restoration and utilization of mines, and provides a strong legal guarantee for leading and comprehensively promoting the construction of beautiful Jiangxi and protecting the ecological environment of mines.
The main responsibility of compaction and restoration
"The lime powder transportation belt is not closed, thick dust is accumulated on the four walls of the workshop, and the dust in the material loading and unloading workshop is discharged at will..." To this day, Zeng Qingpeng, deputy general manager of Jiangxi Junyi Mining Co., Ltd., still clearly remembers that in April 2021, the company The mining area was named by the central environmental protection inspection team and pointed out that there are ecological and environmental pollution problems such as "insufficient green" and "obvious gray".
After receiving a notice from the relevant departments to suspend business for rectification, the mining company has implemented a reform. At present, all the original unsealed feeding belts have been closed, and the kiln tail dust removal pipe network system has been improved, and the vehicle washing platform has been upgraded.
Today, the rectified ecological environment of the mining area has a new look.
"To promote the ecological restoration of mines, we must first clarify the main body of responsibility for the ecological restoration of mines." Yang Runhua, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the Jiangxi Provincial People's Congress, said that the "Regulations" follow the principle of "who destroys, who controls", and clearly defines the mining rights holders. Bear the responsibility for the ecological restoration of the mine, and its responsibility for the ecological restoration of the mine will not be exempted due to the termination of the mining right; if mining without a mining license or mining beyond the approved mining area, the illegal mining actor shall not only bear the corresponding legal responsibility according to law, but also shall Take responsibility for ecological restoration.
"The "Regulations" stipulate the ecological restoration obligations of illegal mining actors. Yang Runhua believes that in the past, for mining without a mining license or mining beyond the approved mining area, only the illegal mining of mineral resources was punished, and the The damage to the ecological environment caused by it is not clearly defined, resulting in a lot of "ecological burden".
According to reports, for historically left mines (referring to mines that cannot be determined to restore the responsible person for restoration or the loss of the responsible person due to historical reasons, and mines that are determined to be restored by the government during policy closures), the "Regulations" are based on the principle of unifying financial rights and administrative powers. The people's governments at or above the level shall assume the responsibility for restoration and organize the implementation. It is clarified that the people's governments at the county level shall include the restoration funds for historical mines undertaken by the people's governments at the corresponding level in the financial budget of the same level, and the people's governments of provinces and cities divided into districts shall establish and improve the corresponding financial input mechanism.
In addition, in order to relieve the pressure of subsequent mine ecological restoration and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of mining enterprises, the Regulations start from the source, requiring the government and mining enterprises to jointly implement the relevant national regulations on green mines and promote the construction of green mines.
At the same time, it is stipulated that new mines should be planned, designed, constructed and operated in accordance with the regulations on green mines, and it is clarified that the people's governments at or above the county level should include green mine construction requirements in the announcement of the assignment of mining rights.
Ecological restoration runs through the whole process
In the midsummer season, standing at a high place and looking around, I saw that the steep rock walls had been arranged into steps; This is a scene that a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" recently saw at the scene of the comprehensive treatment project for ecological restoration of abandoned mines in Xiangdong District, Pingxiang City (Winter Melon Trough Phase I).
According to the person in charge of the agency construction management unit of the project, in the process of ecological restoration of abandoned mines, the construction unit strictly followed the design plan of ecological restoration of mines, adopted multi-step slope cutting, leveling the slope surface, hanging nets on the slope and spraying, and covering the platform with soil. Planting and other measures have achieved remarkable results in restoration and management.
In the opinion of the person in charge, the promulgation of the "Regulations" has promoted the institutionalization, legalization and standardization of the mine ecological restoration work, and provided a strong institutional support for the scientific promotion of mine ecological restoration.
The "Regulations" stipulate that before the construction of a mine, a plan for geological environmental protection, restoration and management of the mine, and land reclamation should be prepared and submitted to the relevant departments for approval.
During the mining process, the mine ecological restoration fund shall be accrued and used in accordance with regulations, and the mined areas that will not be damaged or affected by subsequent mining activities shall be restored in a timely manner.
Before the mine is suspended or closed, the ecological restoration of the mine must be completed and accepted by the county-level authority.
After the repair and acceptance is qualified, the person responsible for the repair or the project undertaking unit shall assume the responsibility of management and protection for a period of three years.
The "Regulations" make it clear that the ecological restoration of mines runs through the entire process of mining resources, and government and departmental supervision should also cover the entire process of ecological restoration of mines.
In order to ensure the implementation of the system, the "Regulations" further clarified the regulatory responsibilities of the government and relevant departments, and stipulated that the government should establish a coordination mechanism to coordinate and supervise the promotion of mine ecological restoration and utilization; clarify natural resources, ecological environment, water conservancy, agriculture and rural areas. , forestry and other departments in the specific supervision responsibilities of mine ecological environmental protection; require the competent department to strengthen the daily supervision and inspection of the accrual and use of the mine ecological restoration fund and the mine ecological restoration, and the township people's government should implement the territorial management responsibilities and do a good job of Daily inspections and situation reports.
"We must pay the corresponding price for the destruction of the ecological environment." Dong Xiaojian, deputy director of the Environmental and Resources Commission of the Jiangxi Provincial People's Congress, said that the "Regulations" stipulate that strict accountability should be pursued, the public interest litigation mechanism should be improved, and illegal acts such as failure to perform the responsibility for mine ecological restoration in accordance with the law should be punished. penalty.
Encourage social capital investment
The Sigutang mining area, located in Shitang Village, Yuannan Township, Luxi County, was originally an abandoned mine that had been “sleeping” for decades.
In 2015, Yuannan Township formulated an ecological restoration plan according to local conditions, adopted a combination of government and private capital, and introduced fruit companies to invest in the cultivation of navel oranges to restore ecological greening of this abandoned mining area.
In just a few short years, the mines that were "riddled with holes" have been put on a "green coat" and transformed into "Huaguoshan" and "Zhifushan" with an annual output of more than 1.5 million catties of navel oranges.
This concept has been further extended in the Regulations.
In order to make up for the lack of financial investment in the ecological restoration of historical mines and to attract the active participation of social capital, the "Regulations" propose a policy mechanism to "enable the protection and restoration of the ecological environment to obtain reasonable returns":
—— Allow social investors to obtain the right to use the restored land and other related natural resource assets or the franchise right to develop suitable industries;
—— Allow social investors to obtain investment returns from the income of ecological restoration products such as supplementary cultivated land indicators and vacated construction land after restoration;
——Support social investors to apply for verification of carbon sink increments and conduct transactions for the ecosystems that have been restored and formed with carbon sink capabilities and meet relevant requirements;
——For the mine ecological restoration projects cooperating with social capital and the government, there will be stable operating income, and social investment can be supported to obtain reasonable returns through investment subsidies, loan discounts, etc.
In order to do a good job in the "second half article" of resource development and utilization and industrial development in the follow-up of ecological restoration of mines, and to coordinate ecological benefits, economic benefits and social benefits, the "Regulations" clarified the direction of comprehensive utilization after ecological restoration of mines and related land use policies. ,Financial Policy.
"The ecological restoration of mines is not just an issue of ecological protection." Dong Xiaojian said that the "Regulations" will increase the experience in policies such as comprehensive utilization of earth and stone materials, contractual management rights of state-owned agricultural land, collective commercial construction land, and green financial support, which are effective in practice. For the purpose of regulations and systems, it will help the integrated development of mine ecological restoration and industries such as culture, tourism, sports, and health care, and promote the effective transformation and scientific utilization of the "ecological burden" of historical mines to local development resources, so that abandoned mines will become "green water and green mountains". , on this basis to rebuild "Golden Mountains and Silver Mountains".