The Province of Buenos Aires prohibits quarry exploitation in the city of Tandil

Law No. 14,126, published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Buenos Aires on April 15, 2010, declares the area of Tandil, formed by the intersection of National Route 226 and Provincial Routes 74 and 30, known as "La Poligonal", as "protected landscape of provincial interest".

(i) no authorizations or permits for the setting of mining exploitations may be granted within the area stated in the first paragraph (Section 5);

(ii) the developers of mining activities currently in progress shall agree with the competent provincial authority, within a one-year-term starting from the date on which the Law is regulated, the corresponding plans for restructuring; the Law must be regulated by the Provincial Executive Branch within 120 days from the date of its enactment (Section 6), and

(iii) the exploitation of quarries must end within a term which does not exceed one year from the date of expiration of the terms to achieve the restructuring plans (Section 7).

Law No. 14,126 contains many blunders. On one hand, it mentions "Restructuring Plans" whose details and features are not described and without even mentioning if such plans are intended to be regulated by the Provincial Executive Branch. On the other hand, it bans mining activities throughout a vast territory of the city of Tandil, which encompasses a prohibition to exercise a legal activity (Section 14 of the Argentine Constitution), recognized expressly by Federal Regulations as an activity of public interest (Section 13 of the Argentine Mining Code). Furthermore, this prohibition is adverse to a higher hierarchy regulation: Section 17 of the Argentine Mining Code, which provides that "Mining works may not be prevented nor suspended, except when matters of public safety, the preservation of properties and the health or existence of workers demand it". Additionally, Section 233 of the Argentine Mining Code states that "miners can freely exploit their mines, not being subject to regulations other than those concerning their safety, police controls and preservation of the environment". Therefore, it is unreasonable for a Province to impose territorial boundaries to the exercising of a legal activity, recognized as such by supreme Argentine law, the Argentine Constitution.

Moreover, the Law affects vested rights by providing that the exploitation of existing quarries must come to an end (Section 7). The Argentine Supreme Court of Justice has ruled in this regard that a right vested under a specific regulation may not be modified by a subsequent law ("Fallos" 296:737; 307:308, among others).

Consequently, we are facing a troublesome regulation, not only due to its direct effects but also because of its indirect effects and the impact it may have in other jurisdictions. For some time now we have been remarking on the fact that  unfortunately, poor regulatory examples are imitated throughout other jurisdictions, which is why certain provincial regulatory trends restricting mining should come to an end. Said regulations clearly oppose Federal regulations. Therefore, it is time for provincial legislators to realize that they should not only comply with the provisions of the Argentine Constitution but also legislate aiming towards an increase in economic activity and not towards its restriction, especially considering the economic stage the country is going through.