45 more days to request nonmetallic mining permits

Santo Domingo.- The Environment Ministry on Tuesday announced a 45-day extension on the period to initiate the paperwork to grant environmental permits for nonmetallic mining operations.

Resolution No. 0001/2017 – issued January and which expired on June 4- seeks to regulate, expedite and make the authorizations to extract materials more transparent.

The measure establishes greater controls of the mechanisms and supervision on mining’s environmental impact and to assure the remediation of the damages it usually causes.

Moreover, Environment will automatically reject projects within protected areas, along rivers, streams and wetlands as well as those located within 150 meters of the coast; Areas of high risk for populations or public service infrastructure, among others.

Also rejected will be the extraction of materials in areas declared “of tourist interest, world heritage or protected archaeological sites.”

Specific projects will require the use of photogrammetric measurement systems.