Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries

Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries aimes to:

To minimise negative effects on the environment and human health from the treatment and disposal of mining and quarrying waste (exempted from the WFD).

The extractive waste must be then managed in specialised facilities in compliance with specific rules and the operators are subject to liability in respect of environmental damage caused by their facility's operation.

EU member States are required to limit risks to public health and the environment related to the facilities, inter alia by applying the concept of “best available techniques”.

It also covers the planning, licensing, operation, closure and after-care of waste facilities, provides for a major-accident policy for high-risk facilities and requires the keeping of an inventories of all closed facilities posing serious risks to the environment and health have also to be drawn up by Member States.