Old Licenses ‘a costly minefield’
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, says the public could face more costly cleanups in the future.
At present, there are 111 mining licences granted before the Resource Management Act and changes to the Crown Minerals Act. Dr Wright said they had not been subject to the stringent environmental conditions that would be applied today.
At present, 30 per cent of the land covered by mining licences or permits fell into that category of licences issued before 1991.
Those licences were often granted for long periods of time, with one not expiring until 2062.
Those old licences included the Golden Cross gold mine at Waihi, which expired in 2020.
Dr Wright said the cost of more contaminated sites might not be known for years, and the costs could fall to taxpayers.
She had asked Environment Minister Nick Smith to investigate whether action needed to be taken over old licences, and Dr Smith said he was waiting for advice from his ministry.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3592574/Old-licences-a-costly-minefield
