License to Mine: A Comparison of the Scope of the Environmental Assessment in Sweden, Finland and Russia

Abstract

How to cite this paper: Pettersson, M., Oksanen, A., Mingaleva, T., Petrov, V. and Masloboev, V. (2015) AbstractThe regulatory framework for mining operations is complex; the licensing process in particular typically involves several laws and a number of permits. This paper assumes that the regulatory framework is strongly influenced by the institutional framework of which it is part, and that it suffers from an institutional path dependence that may decrease the efficiency of the system as well as act barrier to the implementation of necessary environmental requirements. The paper provides: 1) a legal analysis of the regulatory framework governing mining operations in Sweden, Finland and Russia; and 2) a comparative analysis of the scope of the environmental assessment within the licensing process in the examined countries. The result of the analysis of the regulatory frameworks shows great similarity between the Swedish and the Finnish systems, both in terms of the overall structure and the implementation of substantive environmental rules. The Russian system differs in this respect, with more declarative rules and seemingly less substantive assessments. The results also indicate that the regulatory frameworks in all three countries show signs of institutional path dependence, but in very different degrees. Though Russia has indeed implemented major changes in the formal structure, very little has changed in practice. The Swedish regulatory framework for mining shows a deficient systematics and conflicting objectives, despite the implementation of a comprehensive environmental legislation. The recently reformed Finnish system seems to have a more holistic approach.

Industrial Pollution Control and Efficient Licensing Processes: The Case of Swedish Regulatory Design

“…For instance, even though Sweden has complied with the IPPC Directive, the licensing procedure has been claimed to be unpredictable, subjective, time-consuming and to lack coordination across different levels of authority [18,19]. Given that the IPPC systems have been credited with a substantial degree of flexibility, this critique is somewhat of a paradox, and there is reason to examine more closely the relationship between the legal framework for polluting industries and Porter's above-mentioned three criteria for properly-designed regulatory instruments.…”

The political economy of industrial pollution control: environmental regulation in Swedish industry for five decades

“…performance standards) rather than the entire environmental licensing process. Moreover, a few studies on the mining sector present comparative analyses of environmental regulation across countries Pettersson et al 2015;McNamara 2009;Williams 2012). However, such studies typically struggle with considerable country heterogeneity in terms of, for instance, legal systems, regulatory approaches, political culture, etc., thus making it difficult to come up with generic conclusions.…”

Mining in the Nordic Countries

“…And furthermore, the content requirements seem to be more extensive in the Finnish case. 31 ────────────────────────── 30 Kauppila, Päivi, Räisänen, Marja Liisa & Myllyoja, Sari (2011 Pettersson et al (2015). License to Mine: a comparison of the scope of the environmental assessment in Sweden, Finland and Russia. Other permits needed include: a water resource management permit, in accordance with the Water Act, also issues by the Regional State Administrative Agency; and building permits, from the municipality.…”

“…75 If possible, conditions may be attached to an exploitation permit so to allow for the co-achievement of different land use purposes. If the Mining Inspec- Pettersson et al (2015). License to Mine: a comparison of the scope of the environmental assessment in Sweden, Finland and Russia. torate and County Administrative Board disagree on land use, or if the applicant or affected stakeholder disagrees with the permit decision, the Government may try the case.…”