Citizen bill seeking Mining Act reform to go parliament

A citizens’ initiative bill seeking amendments to the Mining Act will proceed to parliament, reported the Finnish language daily Kaleva.

The initiative acquired the required 50,000 signatures on Sunday, and will now be tabled before the parliament.

According to the proposal, municipalities should have more say when it comes to land use.

The initiative stipulates that the minerals in the Finnish soil be considered the property of the state and landowners in a manner compatible with the constitution.

The initiative also calls for ensuring collateral in dealing with, for instance, environmental damage and bankruptcy.

The initiative seeks to make major changes to Finland’s Mining Act which came into effect in 2011, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

“On the local level, municipalities should have a better opportunity to have a say about land use in their area,” Yle quoted Pro Heinävesi movement chair Jukka Leppänen, who is one of the two authors of the initiative.

The citizens’ initiative also kept a provision for mandatory requirement of mining companies to demonstrate sufficient collateral up front for dealing with any potential environmental damage, the Yle report added.