D.S No 040-2014-EM: Regulation for the environmental protection and management applicable to mining exploitation, processing, general work, transportation, and storage activities

This Decree establishes the relevant rules for the environmental protection and management of mining exploitation, benefit, general work, transport, and storage activities. This regulation aims to ensure that mining activities are carried out safeguarding the Peruvian constitutional right to enjoy an adequate environment for life’s development and, at the same time, respecting the free private initiative and sustainable natural resource use.

Consequently, this Decree mandates that companies carrying on mining activities are responsible for the emissions, effluents, discharges, solid waste, noise, vibrations, and any other aspect of their operations, as well as for any environmental impacts. Therefore, companies must adopt measures for prevention, control, mitigation, recovery, rehabilitation or compensation of these effects to avoid or minimise the negative environmental impacts of mining activities. 

The regulation also requires that before starting mining activities, companies must develop an environmental impact assessment (article 24) and receive an environmental certification, as well as the licenses, authorisations, and permits established by current environmental legislation. 

Additionally, the mining licensee must ensure the timely identification and appropriate management of all environmental aspects, factors, and risks of its operations that may affect the environment. In particular, it must adopt measures to protect water resources, air, soil, flora, fauna against noise, ionising radiation, vibrations, and impacts from improper handling, storage, treatment, and/or disposal of chemical substances and waste. Companies must also take steps to avoid any impairment of the functionality of the ecosystem, biodiversity, environmental quality, human health, and animal and plant health.

Furthermore, the mining licensee must include the project's social effects in the environmental impact assessment. As a result, it must present a social management plan to prevent and mitigate negative impacts and enhance the positive social effects of the mining project in their respective areas of social influence (article 60).

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