Illegal Spanish opencast mine fined €170m
A fine of €170m has been imposed on Spain’s largest private mining company for operating an opencast coal mine for 11 years without environmental or planning permission. The fine is by far the largest ever imposed in Europe for an environmental offence, ENDS believes.
The Spanish penalty was set by the municipality of Villablino in accordance with statutes of the regional administration of Castilla and León stating that 'the penalty cannot be less than the profit obtained by the company during the period of illegal operation'.
In November 2005, a court in León ordered the municipality to fine the company and close the mine after upholding a legal case brought by a local resident against the mine operators, Minero Siderúrgica de Ponferrada (MSP).
When the municipality tried to enforce closure in April this year the company responded by refusing to pay its staff. This led to a standoff, ending in a temporary extension of the mine’s operation until March 2007.
According to the mayor of Villablino, 'the company has ten days in which to respond, and, after assessing the response, the fine may be adjusted'. A spokesman for MSP described the fine as 'ridiculous' and 'an electoral stunt by the local mayor'.
The mine and other opencast operations in the Laciana Valley, a special protection area for three endangered species and declared a Unesco biosphere reserve in 2003, have been the subject of European legal action.
The European Commission sent the Spanish government a final warning of legal action over the operation of opencast mines in an EU protected area in January 2005, threatening to take the issue to the European court of justice.
Though still only a fraction of the US$5bn fine incurred by Exxon Mobil following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989, the MSP fine appears to be orders of magnitude larger than anything yet seen in Europe.
The Spanish government imposed a €45m penalty on mining firm Boliden following the 1998 Aznalcollar mine waste spill, comprising a fine and compensation. The company declared itself bankrupt and never paid.
A port authority in the UK was fined UK£4m (€6m) in 1990 after another oil spill. Though this was reduced to UK£750,000 on appeal this still holds the British record.
In France, the largest ever penalty appears to be €800,000 imposed following an oil spill caused by container ship Maersk Barcelona in 2005. One of the largest ever fines in the Netherlands was €300,000 imposed following water pollution caused by Schiphol airport.
Follow-up: See Municipality of Villablino, Minero Siderúrgica de Ponferrada, and Junta de Castilla y León.
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