Press Release: (TSX:GBU) Dead and Buried: Gabriel's EIA
- From: Rosia Montana <rosia_montana@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 27 Mar 2008 21:17:39 GMT
Press Release: (TSX:GBU) Dead and Buried: Gabriel's EIA
(Canadian mining company wishes to destroy 1800 years old town Rosia Montana to open a cyanide open-pit gold mine. Government is complicit.)
==========================================================
*Independent Centre for the Development of Environmental Resources
Alburnus Maior
Press Release*
/*For immediate distribution*/
/*Dead and Buried: Gabriel's EIA*/
/Irrevocable court verdict on the urbanistic certificate of the Rosia
Montana proposal /
/Cluj-Napoca /Romania; 27 March 2008 /* The Cluj Court of Appeal (1)
today irrevocably rejected an appeal formulated by the Alba County
Council and Rosia Montana Gold Corporation against the Cluj-Napoca
Tribunal court verdict^ (2) to annul Urbanistic Certificate No. 78/
26.04.2006^ (3). The certificate had been granted by the Alba County
Council to Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) to continue the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure. The court action was
initiated by the *Independent Centre for the Development of
Environmental Resources (ICDER)*^* * (4). Alburnus Maior intervened in
the case.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) is 80% owned by Gabriel Resources
(TSX:GBU) a small under-resourced and inexperienced Canadian mining
company which plans to uproot the people of Rosia Montana to realize
Europe's largest open-cast gold mine. 20% are owned by Minvest a
state-owned mining company. From its' onset the venture has been
beleaguered by scandals operational problems and vehement local
national and international opposition. The American miner Newmont (NTSE:
NEM) holds a 20% stake in Gabriel Resources.
Urbanistic Certificate No 78/2006 was obtained by RMGC from the Alba
County Council in April 2006 to continue the EIA procedure for the Rosia
Montana mine proposal. It was issued to RMGC despite the fact that the
previous urbanistic certificate (numbered Nr. 68/2004) was and still is
suspended by an irrevocable court decision. With the submission of act
No. 78/2006 to the Ministry for the Environment RMGC was able to carry
out the EIA's public consultation stage as well as a significant part of
the stage to evaluate the quality of the EIA study. RMGC also used the
act to start other licensing procedures such as the dam safety permit
and the land use change permits including the Modification of the Zonal
Urbanism Plan for the RMGC Industrial Development area; etc.
Urbanistic Certificate No 78/2006 was suspended by the Cluj Tribunal on
20 July 2007 (5) ^ and annulled by the same court on 11 November 2007.
Following the suspension of this act the Ministry for the Environment
suspended the EIA procedure for the mine proposal and assessed that any
urbanistic certificate issued by the Alba County Council duplicating
this act is suspended/ de jure/.
In the case leading to the irrevocable annulment of the act ICDER and
Alburnus Maior successfully proved amongst others; that the act does not
list the full inventory of natural and historic protected areas
including their buffer zones; that it does not contain all industrial
facilities for which RMGC wishes to obtain the construction permit (such
as the tailings management facility) and that Rosia Montana's urbanistic
plans which are based on certificate No 78/ 26.04.2006 were recently
declared illegal by the Alba-Iulia Court of Appeal (6).
The annulment of this act via an irrevocable court decision removes the
legitimacy of all licensing procedures/procedural stages that are based
on Urbanistic Certificate No. 78/ 26.04.2006. Once in receipt of the
court verdict itself ICDER and Alburnus Maior will copy it to all
competent authorities in charge of licensing procedures for the Rosia
Montana mine proposal requesting these authorities to put an immediate
halt to these procedures and return all documentation to the project owner.
\I am delighted that after the locals of Rosia Montana have been put
under pressure for so many years we were today able to prove again that
Gabriel Resources was wrong and civil society right. I hope that this
victory will inspire other communities across Romania to use
environmental law to defend our beautiful countryside and natural
heritage. In the words of famous American artist Andy Warhol \They
always say time changes things but you actually have to change them
yourself'' declared attorney Marius Liviu Harosa; representing ICDER.
\Today's verdict confirms that the Ministry for the Environment was
correct to suspend the Rosia Montana EIA procedure. All the inaccurate
claims and pressure on the part of Gabriel Resources have once again got
them nowhere. The Ministry should now move to permanently cancel the
Rosia Montana EIA procedure' concludes Dan Mercea president of ICDER.
* * *
For more information contact attorney Marius Liviu Harosa on +40 (0) 744
599 762 or ICDER on cidrm.cluj At gmail.com
NOTES:
1) File no 1245/117/2007
2) File no 1245/117/2007
3) The text can be accessed on
http://www.rosiamontana.ro/doc/certificatRMGC_78_2006.pdf
4) The Independent Centre for the Development of Environmental Resources
is an NGO based in Cluj-Napoca/Romania. It develops programs that
contribute to the protection of the right to a healthy environment and
foster the development of Romania's NGO sector.
5) The court decision can be accessed on
http://www.rosiamontana.ro/doc/incheiere_suspendare.pdf
6) File no 1411/107/2007 of the Alba-Iulia court of appeal
http://www.rosiamontana.ro
http://www.rosiamontana.org
.
- Prev by Date: Re: The lowly sweet potato may unlock America's past, How the root vegetable found it's way across the Pacific
- Next by Date: Re: The lowly sweet potato may unlock America's past, How the root vegetable found it's way across the Pacific
- Previous by thread: Remains of Human Ancestors Found in Spain. 1.1 myo
- Next by thread: Neanderthals wore make-up and liked to chat
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
|
