Question 813 — mines and quarries

Summary

The “covered streams” which are structures inherited from former mining operations, can today be seriously degraded, and the owners of land that was transferred to them at the end of these operations have financial difficulties to deal with repairing the damage they may cause. The “covered streams” were developed to cover valley bottoms, in order to optimize the available surface area. for logistical needs of mining. They thus form tunnels or galleries ensuring the passage of streams, under land which could then have received constructions on the surface. At the end of exploitation, the mining operators followed a work stoppage procedure defined by mining regulations, to which these works were not subject. The land base has been transferred, the rights and responsibilities are then transferred to buyers, many of whom are local authorities, whose technical and financial means may be limited. Often due to a lack of maintenance and monitoring for many years, several of these structures are subject to deterioration which is now likely to endanger the safety of people and property located on the surface, via collapse such as that which occurred in 2012 in the town of Robiac-Rochessadoule, or exposed to the risk of flooding linked to blockage, then the rupture of gullies during intense Cevennes rains. “Covered streams” do not actually fall under the mining code and these types of disorders cannot therefore be considered as of mining origin and give rise to compensation from the State under its post-mining responsibility. The rights and related responsibilities, in particular maintenance, having been transferred to the purchasers when the operators transferred the land they owned, the rehabilitation and maintenance work on these structures need neither be carried out nor supported by the State. It is normally up to the current owners to ensure their project management. However, given the low financial resources of the latter, the In 2016, the General Directorate for Risk Prevention entrusted the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development with the mission of proposing arrangements to support the owners concerned, particularly regarding the financial assistance that the State could provide as part of national solidarity. The possibilities of participating in credits from the major natural risk prevention fund in rehabilitation work of these works were more particularly examined. During the debates in the National Assembly in January 2017 on the proposed law adapting the mining code to environmental law, the previous Government committed to having the possibilities of participation of the Major Natural Risk Prevention Fund (FPRNM) in the rehabilitation work of these structures assessed. Although the risk posed by “ covered streams” includes a risk of collapse, it nevertheless remains a strong hydraulic dimension which makes treatment by watershed necessary. Thus, the grouping of project owners within a public intermunicipal cooperation establishment with its own tax system appears particularly appropriate. In addition, the case of “covered streams” requires the implementation of an approach as part of a program of flood prevention actions which studies and provides solutions based on a global approach to risk. The mission carried out by the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development recommended in particular the development of information for citizens and the consideration of “covered streams” in town planning documents. Thus, as part of a global approach to risk, supported by a community territorial, at the scale of the risk basin, such as a flood prevention action program (PAPI), the State will be able to provide, as part of national solidarity, financial assistance by mobilizing credits from the major natural risks prevention fund. However, this aid will be reserved for work deemed essential for the safety of people. The FPRNM credit intervention rate will be limited to 30%. Maintenance operations will be excluded from the State intervention system.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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