Mining companies on alert for project that would grant permits to expropriate water rights for desalination
10-Jul-2012 Diario Financiero – News
Water rights might be eventually expropriated during drought situations or in case the State requires water to supply surrounding villages
Mining companies on alert for project that would grant permits to expropriate water rights for desalination
Project author, Congresswoman Adriana Muñoz, expects Mining Committee to discuss the project in the very near future
Expectation is nerve-wracking for the main mining companies in the country. The reason for such distress is currently reposing on the Chamber of Deputies since the end of last year.
The draft of the law “is legally binding large-size mining companies to desalinate water for their productive processes”. The document saw the light in the Chamber and is going through its first procedure and might have several effects on the mining industry.
The thorn that is annoying the mining companies is the possibility of the water rights over water produced from their desalination plants to be even expropriated by the State.
The text of the law created by Congresswoman Adriana Muñoz (representing the left-side PPD political party for District 9 of Coquimbo Region) is supported by 10 Congressmen from all political landscape (UDI, RN, DC, PRI, PRSD, PS, and PC), indicates “the State shall be preferred for acquisition or expropriation, as the situation may deem necessary, of water rights that are released”.
Some important sources from the industry have indicated some annoyance exists as to the fact they consider unfair to make all economical efforts for desalination to finally have the State benefitting from them. Same sources also reported that sewage companies would also be damaged as they also have water rights grants and desalination projects.
The author of project indicated she is expecting the Mining Committee to finish the mining safety project discussion for her proposal to be appraised. “Besides we want to constitute a roundtable with mining companies to check the situation of those companies that are not using the desalination process in order to analyze if higher contamination is being generated, especially in tailings process”, she asserted.
On the other side, Mario Bertolino, Congressman for District 7 of Coquimbo Region (Representing the right-side political party RN) and one of the sponsors of the law draft has commented that core of project is exactly aimed at starting the discussion about property of rights.
Regarding the cases when water rights could be expropriated, he gave the example of “when State requires water to be supplied to a village or mining camp, then the State will obviously have first option”. This is all set within a context where some Congressmen have already called for a “Disaster Area Declaration” for some regions in the North of country due to water scarceness.
The project
The law states that all mining companies whose “water extraction exceeds 200 l/second must include desalinated water use from 2016 onwards and reduce extraction from surface and underground waters they currently use”.
Besides the issue on the possible sale of water rights, a transitory article is regarded about extending the obligation to desalinate to be applicable to all companies exceeding 150 l/second from 2020 onwards.
