BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian Senate committees on Wednesday passed a bill to tighten dam safety in the country, after a mining dam owned by Vale SA burst and killed an estimated 300 people in the town of Brumadinho.
The legislation, which tightens safety regulations on all types of dams, is similar to a regulation bill that failed to gain traction three years ago.
It will now pass to the lower house for consideration, provided Senators do not file an appeal within five working days, which would require it to go to a vote of the full chamber.
The bill would ban upstream tailings dams similar to those that burst, strengthening a move already taken at the administrative level by the National Mining Agency.
The Jan. 25 disaster provoked global outcry against Vale and the Brazilian government for allowing two similar disasters to happen in a span of three years. In 2015, a dam burst in the nearby town of Mariana, killing 19 people.
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