Mining Management of Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks Based on Government Policy

The issue of permits, acceptance, and regulations in the non-metallic and rock minerals sector requires a strong commitment from regional heads, especially the Governor of North Sumatra (Indonesia), to be able to manage his staff in controlling unlicensed mines while remaining free to operate. In 2020, North Sumatra held simultaneous Regional Head Elections (Regional Head Campaign) in 34 regencies and cities. As a result, several new regional heads were elected with their visions, missions, and political promises. During the campaign, it is rare to find political promises or commitments for Regional Head Candidates that focus on environmental improvement. Commitment to environmental monitoring and control of business licenses is also based on the regional head’s vision and mission when appointed as Regent or Mayor. Regional empowerment also contains political promises, especially post-decentralization or expansion between parent regions and growth. New areas resulting from the increase have various environmental problems with natural resources. The best way to address the social impacts of conservation and the change and development of natural resources is to work toward a world where conservation is no longer necessary [1].

Indonesia is an illustrative example of how a profound restructuring of a centralized state has produced mixed policy outcomes. After the collapse of the authoritarian regime and the advent of the reform era, it gave substantial autonomy to its regional governments [2]. District-level local government, in particular, is empowered with important prerogatives in several policy areas and a larger area of jurisdiction. In contrast, the province, a political unit more significant than the district and national, has more limited jurisdiction. The main obstacle to district/municipality territorial authority in exploration is the issue of permit arrangements that need to be complied with by business actors. A series of licensing arrangements aim to reduce barriers to investment, helping to open new frontiers and weaken instruments designed to minimize environmental and social impacts [3].

The government’s political commitment to controlling non-metal and rock mineral permits which are problematic and result in environmental damage is an action to address issues related to political ecology [4]. The Central Government and local government must mutually communicate government instructions issued in control [5]. It is stated that sustainable economic development requires the availability of natural resources and supporting infrastructure from the government [6]. The government’s attitude toward the commitment and implementation of political ecology has become essential in resolving licensing issues and collecting levies for non-metal and rock minerals. The process of creating an excellent political ecology is the need of the state and the expectations of society [7]. Mining’s contribution to regional development still needs to be debated and clarified. The gift fluctuates throughout the mining cycle. During mine construction, there was immense pressure on the labor market and housing [8].

Political ecologists detail about problematic in the ten studies analyzed that represent different styles of democratic engagement [9]. In particular, the problem representation of the three types of democratic engagement was identified as (1) leader behavior-oriented and leader-centered engagement; (2) practice-centered engagement in the field; and (3) policy-obstacle engagement and practice-centered engagement in the field [10]. This aligns with the problems with structuring permits for non-metal and rock minerals in North Sumatra. Regional leaders must still be fully oriented towards regulatory policies, with many mines growing illegally and without control. Natural resources and network infrastructure benefits are often unequal and shared among citizens of different socioeconomic classes [11]. This has triggered the emergence of community courage, especially in North Sumatra, to form illegal mines and excavations, especially in the hills, rocks, and sand areas near rivers. Therefore, overall effective control is needed, and maximizing the power of village officials as a form of control over mining permit regulations and environmental permits is associated with obtaining an Environmental Impact Analysis [12]. It is hoped that the development of agrotourism can provide an alternative source of income for local communities and reduce land development that is detrimental to the environment [13].

Power elite figures maintain extensive networks with the mafia (thugs) and community groups (community organizations) and use intimidation or violence to protect mining interests (belonging to business people or political elites) in Indonesia [14]. Therefore, in the process of controlling and supervising the non-metal and rock minerals business and operations in the North Sumatra Region, it is necessary to carry out a political approach (political will) from the Regional Government of North Sumatra to non-metal and rock minerals business actors by requiring reclamation guarantees and legal documents legally included in the government’s digital portal. Integrated centers (Corruption Eradication Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and Ministry of Finance) so that if environmental damage is found and arrears in tax levies, they can immediately be subject to criminal sanctions. The weakness in handling non-metal mine management is the supervision sector in the aspect of law enforcement. The regional government, especially North Sumatra, has not yet cooperated optimally with the regional police and prosecutors to deal with illegal excavation by unscrupulous entrepreneurs. In the exploration process with the police, the Governor of North Sumatra has held two large meetings with all members of the police and regional and resort police officials. However, until now the proof of the results of the meeting has not been carried out. The regional government is still monitoring and taking to the field without being accompanied by the police.

Regarding the optimization of non-metal and rock mineral mining tax, which the government must acquire, this is included in the circular economy; mining waste from traditional mining, such as non-metal and rock mineral mining (in a linear economy), can recover materials through technical recycling of industrial waste categories and post-consumers (in a circular economy), this commitment is also part of the government’s policy contained in its political commitment [15]. Efforts to improve environmental quality in Indonesia had been planned in the previous policy period. For this reason, the government proposes to restructure circular economy development policies accompanied by investment in human resources in the fields of education, health, and infrastructure [16]. The circular economy related to mining is also analyzed from a three-dimensional framework consisting of “policy objectives”, “policy instruments”, and “policy stage”, the result is a correlation between policy objectives and policy instruments [17]. Sustainable development aims to contribute to ethical business and ethical economy by mobilizing businesses, public institutions and organizations, and non-governmental organizations, including Nonmetallic and Rock Minerals [18]. In terms of sustainable development, mining includes a transboundary government area that affects all aspects of human activity, including water supply, agriculture, industry, hydropower, water transportation, environment, and human quality of life [19]. Other research states that the supply chain in terms of metals, minerals, and rocks starts from the exploration stage, which includes searching, detailed mapping, trenching, geochemical and geophysical surveys, and initial drilling to identify mineral deposits and determine their economic potential. A mining site can be constructed after the design and planning stages [20].

The dimensions of political ecology in the mining sector business, economically, there are several cycle categories, namely, natural resources to other sectors of the economy, fiscal (revenue from taxation and royalties), consumption (wage earnings and profits that drive domestic demand), and production relations. In this context, the linkages for producing nonmetallic minerals and rocks are broken down into backward links (supplying inputs to the extractive sector); forward linkages (processing output from the extractive industry, for example through added value); and infrastructure linkages. In addition to development economics, several studies state that mining can rapidly change the community’s economy but harms the environment, so it must be projected within certain limits [21]. The dimensions of political ecology are also interrelated. Mining and political ecology connect natural, ecological, social, and economic sustainability [22].

Sustainable development is manifested in three dimensions, namely economic, environmental, and social or ecological, economic and equity. A healthy environment is an essential factor in maintaining human health so that people can live optimally [23]. Good interactions will arise if the environmental dimension meets the social size [24]. The mining economy aims to develop people’s lives for the better. They can be sovereign and secure in the economy, food security, education, health, environment, and politics [25]. Mining operations cause two types of environmental problems: depletion of non-renewable resources and environmental damage. The latter includes air, land, water and noise pollution, as well as visual impacts on the landscape and impacts on groundwater levels. This environmental impact can affect human health, especially with air and water pollution, which can cause respiratory and other illnesses [26]. Environmental problems are still the center of attention. The environment and humans have an interactive relationship. Pressure on the environment becomes an ecological problem as industry develops. Increased industrial development causes an increase in the amount of pollution [27]. One effort that can be made to preserve the environment is by implementing environmental management strategies in the environment around mining. The economic dimension is related to the environment and refers to the regulations in Law No. 28 of 2009; nonmetallic and rock mineral businesses, which are an active combination of the economy and the environment, must be taxed for sustainable economic growth.

The Governor of North Sumatra was the only regional leader who was committed to improving and regulating the mining of non-metallic minerals and rocks with the issuance of regulation No. 900.1.13.1/7845/2023 dated 4 July 2023 concerning the Use of Materials for construction work from companies that have non-metallic and rock mineral mining permits and pay regional taxes. The implications of this commitment are in the form of integrated and measurable supervision of permits, the use of regional regulatory instruments for the supervision of mining permits, both legal and illegal, and tax collection from the non-metallic mineral and rock sector which is legalized with confirmation from the ministry of finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs. For areas that have not yet made commitments, environmental damage has been found, in the form of floods, landslides and reduced peatland due to illegal mining by entrepreneurs without official permits. Another consequence is state financial losses through regional taxes because the potential of natural resources is not maximized by the imposition of tax levies. Based on information obtained from the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing of the Republic of Indonesia, the need for housing in Indonesia is estimated to increase by 700-800 units per year. Based on data from the 2020 National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas), the housing ownership backlog figure reached 12.75 million. For this reason, market demand for rock, sand, landfill and other non-metallic raw materials is increasing every year. Market demand increases so that the labor market is increasingly needed. As a result of increasing demand, many mining mafias are playing around by falsifying permit documents and even carrying out excavations without being based on Environmental Impact Analysis documents. Based on the explanation and description in the introduction, it is necessary to carry out ontological and comprehensive research to understand the government’s commitment to handling mining problems. Handling is based on policies that affect economic, legal and environmental control functions. As a form of mitigating damage and natural disasters resulting from mining exploration, careful research is needed with the following research focus. The focus of this research aims to fill the gaps in previous research.

1. Control of the mineral and non-metallic rock sector for environmental sustainability based on the political ecology commitment of the North Sumatra Government;

2. Government control of non-metallic mineral mining in North Sumatra;

3. Audit of business sectors in the field of non-metallic minerals and rocks.

The results of interviews with ten informants regarding questions regarding the implementation of non-metallic mineral and rock businesses in North Sumatra are divided into three question topics, the three big topics are: the government’s political ecological commitment in controlling non-metallic mineral and rock mining, political ecology related to the mining licensing system, and Political power in optimizing state revenues in the natural resources sector. The answer given by the resource person was that there was a commitment between the central and regional governments to produce public policies in the form of governance and management of mining, especially non-metals and rocks. The results of these answers were obtained by summarizing all the source answers, then looking for the essence and results of the analysis using MAXQDA 2022 software. To investigate issues of efficiency and justice, policy analysis refers to normative economics and decision analysis as well as ethics and other branches of social and political philosophy - which everyone discussed what to do. This normative orientation stems from the fact that analyzing policies requires us to choose between desired consequences (goals) and desired actions (means). The processed results of the interview are as follows in Table 2. The complete answers from the interview with the source are also in the appendix.

The various answers given by the informants reflect that North Sumatra is still unprepared to process and issue non-metal and rock mineral business permits. Therefore, the two parties, the local and Central Governments, must carry out joint actions to arrange mining permits and taxes. Researchers are still carrying out the data processing process by taking a field study approach to the local government of North Sumatra Province to find out what process takes place until a public policy is achieved. The interviewer was factually aware of the actions taken, however, the process of controlling official mining permits in Indonesia is very complicated. After changes to permits occurred in 2020 with the issuance of the Job Creation Law, all permits submitted were regulated by the Central Government, causing regional governments to have no power in regulating mining permits, however this law was conflicted by Presidential Regulation Number 55 of 2022 concerning Delegation Granting Business Permits in the Mineral and Coal Mining Sector, which indicates that the delegation of mining permits is returned to regional governments. So, during the research period, the regional government of North Sumatra only started to move and try to manage non-metallic mineral and rock mining.

The area of North Sumatra reaches 18,298,123 ha (182,981.23 km²), consisting of a land area of 7,298,123 ha and an ocean area of 11,000,000 ha. In this research, the focus of mining areas is in 20 districts and cities that have data on non-metallic and rock mining, based on sources from the North Sumatra Provincial Government in 2022.

The map of the North Sumatra mining area spread across Regency and City Governments is shown in Figure 1.

Table 2. Processed interview data for sources

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Source: North Sumatra Provincial Government

3.1 Government control based

After the interview and meeting between the regional and Central Government at the JW Marriot Medan on August 9, 2022, the Regional Government of North Sumatra began to improve the licensing process and optimize taxes. The principle of political ecology in optimizing local taxes from the Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks sector by the Provincial Government of North Sumatra is implemented in the Decree of the Governor of North Sumatra Number 188.44/587/KPTS/2022. The benchmark price decision has been submitted to the Regents/Mayors of North Sumatra Province under the letter of the Regional Secretary of North Sumatra Province Number 540/9680/2022 dated August 22, 2022, Regarding the Submission of the Governor of North Sumatra Decree concerning Stipulation of the Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks Benchmark Price. The Governor’s decision was issued due to the declining tax revenue from The Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks sector based on The North Sumatra Region’s Gross Domestic Product. The researchers also looked at the potential for environmental damage caused by land damaged by illegal mining, for example, in the Deli Serdang, Langkat, and North Padang Lawas Regencies. The following are picture of several location points damaged by illegal mining.

Based on current prices, the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of the North Sumatra Provincial Government generally increases yearly. In 2019, it was IDR 539.513 trillion or an increase compared to 2018, which was recorded at IDR 512.762 trillion. In 2020 the North Sumatra Province’s GRDP decreased to IDR 533.746 trillion. However, especially for GRDP from the mining and quarrying industry, especially Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks from 2016-2020, continues to experience a decline in value. This is due to centralized licensing supervisory authority (the Online Single Submission system has not been issued) and the Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks tax collection in North Sumatra has not been optimal in the last five years. Table 3 shows the GRDP of North Sumatra Province 2016-2020 for the mining and quarrying industry.

Table 3. Gross Regional Domestic Product - mining and quarrying sector - North Sumatra Province

Table 3 shows that the mining sector experienced a negative trend of -2.31% in 2020. This could be explained due to the Covid-19 situation and changes in mining licensing authority with the issuance of the Job Creation Law No. 11 of 2020. The following data is regarding indications of priority programs related to funding needs from the Mineral sector, including non-metals; the realization of this sector still needs to reach the target.

Following the issuance of the Decree of the Governor of North Sumatra Number 188.44/587/KPTS/2022, regarding The Nonmetallic Mineral and Rock Mining Sector Benchmark Price in the mining area of North Sumatra, the Regional Government of North Sumatra Province routinely socializes the benchmark price for Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks to several Regencies/Cities, including; Deli Serdang Regency, Langkat Regency, Binjai City, and Tebing Tinggi City. The Provincial Government of North Sumatra is coordinating with related agencies, namely the Mining Inspector of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, jointly carrying out fieldwork to control the unit price of non-metal and rock minerals. The impact of the results of determining the benchmark price is an increase in the percentage (although it does not reach 10%) of the Nonmetallic Minerals and Rocks tax in several regions of the Regency/City Regional Government of North Sumatra until the end of December 2022. Data is collected from Regional Original Income sampling, areas of Langkat, Deli Serdang, Serdang Bedagai, Karo, Dairi, Pakpak Bharat, Humbang Hasundutan, Samosir, Simalungun, Batubara, Toba and North Tapanuli, and others. The following is Regional Original Revenue data specifically for non-metal and rock minerals in several North Sumatra Regions after the Governor’s Decree issuance in 2022.

The results of tax withdrawals originating from data from each Regional Revenue Agency (Table 4) are a response to the North Sumatra Governor’s Decree issuance. The results show that the non-metal mineral and rock sector’s tax attainment rate has yet to be maximized. However, this data will continue to rise because the Governor’s decision regarding the benchmark price for each rock and non-metal has only been effective for three months since August 2022. Another reason for the potential for taxes that have not been significant is the socialization and commitment of local and regional officials to go to the field, and withdrawing unit prices during the 2022 period still needs to be fully implemented. Therefore, the value of the tax increase has remained relatively high.

Based on the work targets of the Mining Inspector of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the focus of the work of mining inspectors in North Sumatra, consisting of 19 people, will supervise mining activities that are licensed in accordance with Article 141 of Law Number 3 of 2020. For 2021, 25 districts/regencies have been supervised. Cities with the number of valid mining business permits reaching 317 business permits, until 2022 the number of mining business permits, supervision has carried out totaling 232 business permits or 87% of the total valid permits.

Table 4. Regional Original Revenue data specifically for non-metal and rock minerals in several regions of North Sumatra

3.2 Political Commitment

The government can fully control the business of the non-metal mineral sector as an executive agency that can play a direct role in making policies. However, the government’s ability to evaluate and monitor the non-metal mineral business has yet to be thoroughly monitored. The large number of non-metal mineral businesses owned by local political actors such as unscrupulous members of the parliament and even security from law enforcement officers is homework that takes work for the government to complete. Therefore, a substantive political map is needed and can be fulfilled with the Regional Head and local council members. The Support of political parties from each faction in the regional people’s representative assembly can also encourage action to control non-metal mineral businesses, which are primarily unlicensed and do not pay taxes.

At a meeting at the JW Marriot Medan on August 9, 2022, the Governor of North Sumatra made a special request to the Head of the North Sumatra Regional Police and the Regional Cities District Heads Forum to jointly report the presence of illegal mining to the Mineral Resources service and the Corruption Eradication Commission that specializes in supervise and monitor the prevention of corruption in the mining sector. Another factor for the political commitment of regional heads is the mitigation of natural disasters due to rock extraction from hills, road damage, and flooding. From the data supporting the North Sumatra Regional Medium Term Development Plan (2019-2023), the distribution of The Nonmetallic Mineral and Rock Mining Sector mining areas is in disaster-prone areas. This area becomes a burden for the government because exploration for nonmetallic minerals can trigger natural disasters and impact social life. Based on the 2016-2020 North Sumatra Disaster Risk Assessment document published by the National Disaster Management Agency, the disaster with the highest percentage of occurrences was floods at 61.52%. One of the flood factors is the exploration of nonmetallic minerals and rocks outside the mining area (illegal mining). The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources stated that throughout 2022, potential state losses due to unlicensed mining or illegal mining will reach 3.5 trillion rupiah. Therefore, uncontrolled mining will add to the state’s financial burden, in this case, the Regional Government, if natural disasters due to illegal mining occur.

The following control that the government must carry out over the non-mineral business is related to the rate of growth and distribution of the nonmetallic and rock mineral mining business sector. It has fluctuated based on the distribution of the business sector, especially non-metal and rock minerals, for the last five years (2016 - 2020). With the issuance of a Governor’s decision and the role of parliamentarians in political party fractions in regional people’s representative councils, of course, they can monitor each other’s distribution rate so that later the distribution figures can be monitored optimally. The following is data compiled from the Central Bureau of Statistics for 2020 contained in the 2019-2023 Regional Medium-Term Development Plan changes.

Table 5. Growth rate and distribution based business field sector of North Sumatra Province

Table 5 shows that the growth rate in percentage terms decreased in 2020 to 2.31%. Apart from the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, this decline occurred as a result of chaotic arrangements for monitoring and optimizing revenue in the non-metal mineral and rock business sector which is regulated by the Central Government. The distribution rate in 2020 also decreased to 1.30%. Through Presidential Regulation Number. 55 of 2022 and Government Regulation Number 15 of 2022, the management of non-metal minerals and rocks can be returned to the regions so that in the period 2023 and beyond, the growth rate and distribution are expected to change.

As a commitment to political ecology, the Governor of North Sumatra has issued North Sumatra Provincial Regulation Number 6 of 2022, concerning the Medium Term Regional Development Plan for North Sumatra Province, until 2023, the contents of which are regarding the environment as a reference for political ecology as well as Strategic Environmental Studies, potential permits, and optimizing revenue from the non-metallic mineral and rock tax sector. The Nonmetallic Mineral and Rock Mining Sector could be ensured by implementing recommendations for improvements in the form of anticipation, mitigation, adaptation and/or compensation for programs and activities in the Regional Government Strategic Plan. As the regional authority, the Governor of North Sumatra has regulated the principles of a sustainable environment in article 2 of Government Regulation Number 46 of 2016 Paragraph (1), namely that the Central Government and Regional Governments are obliged to create Strategic Environmental Studies to ensure that the principles of sustainable development have become the basis and are integrated in the development of a region.

One of the processes of political ecology is approaching the government and listening to what they ask for in protests. Political ecology is also closely related to ethnographic studies of local wisdom (sociology and anthropology). One example and implication of this theory is the impact of mining area development on environmental damage, which occurred in North Sumatra Regency. The mining drama at Sopokomil - Dairi began in 1998, when the Australian company ‘Herald Resources’ discovered large lead and zinc reserves at Dairi. In the area around the planned Dairi hills, more than 50 illegal mines were found (according to the records of the Licensing Service - Dairi) which were intended for non-metallic mining. Regarding the Australian company, after receiving a mining permit in 2005, activities in the field stopped following the 2008 economic crisis. As a result, ‘Herald Resources’ was taken over by the Indonesian tycoon, Mr. XYZ, through Bumi Resources Minerals in 2009. In 2014, Shanghai Metals Market reported that Mr. XYZ contracted Foreign Engineering and Construction Co. to build a mine and tailings dam in Dairi. The contract value at that time was estimated at USD 632 million. However, local residents reject the construction of mines and dams, considering that the contour of the area has the potential for earthquakes. Based on records from the United States Geological Survey, the Sumatra region, especially North Sumatra, was affected by earthquakes of up to 6 on the Richter Scale, throughout 2000-2020. Therefore, through the “Inang” movement or mothers who work at home, they launched a strong protest against the government to immediately stop the mining development project around the Dairi mountain area. Hasil termuan dari peneliti lainnya mengungkapkan bahwa air keran tidak layak untuk dikonsumsi  manusia. The Aging and degraded tissue may be responsible for pollution [30], of course, due to pollution and mining waste in residential areas. In addition, waste that is not disposed of properly can pollute the air and soil, thus having a negative impact on the ecosystem and the environment as a whole [31].

3.3 Non-metal and rock mineral business sector audit

The auditing process for the non-metal mineral business sector should commence by diligently monitoring the issuance of business licenses, particularly with a strong emphasis on environmental policies. This requires a commitment from the authorities to collaborate with regional leaders across North Sumatra, working in tandem with both central government entities and local law enforcement officials for effective assistance. The audit was carried out by the Central Government through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Minerals, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Financial Audit Agency, and the Corruption Eradication Commission. This was done by conducting a review of the issuance of business location permits that were granted until the implementation of the mine excavation process. For example, guidelines for coordinating and supervising the Corruption Eradication Commission monitor the implementation of business licenses for nonmetallic minerals and rocks. Using Article 8 and Article 9 of Law Number 19 of 2019 related to the authority of the Corruption Eradication Committee, coordinate with authorized government agencies (in this case, the supervisory authority for nonmetallic minerals and rocks) and monitor government administration. This authority is carried out by a task force under the Directorate of Coordination and Supervision for Region I of the North Sumatra Region. Through a series of performances, inspections of the non-metallic mineral and rock sector are carried out using mechanisms in the form of improving licensing management and optimizing taxation, this is in accordance with the contents of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 3 of 2020 concerning Coal and Minerals Mining (including non-metallic and rock). Since the issuance of Presidential Regulation Number. 55 of 2022 and Government Regulation No. 15 of 2022, the Directorate of Coordination and Supervision for Region I oversees the North Sumatra Region together with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry are jointly improving governance mining of non-metallic minerals and rocks, especially in North Sumatra. The work steps of the task force cover the mining area on the Minerba One Map Indonesia website belonging to the Ministry of Energy and natural resources.

The implementation of effective mining governance measures can be monitored via the Minerba One Map Indonesia (MOMI) website in real time. The MOMI website can provide actual information regarding mining permit areas including non-metallic and rock mines. So that the government’s work actions in supervising mines can be reported to the MOMI website and the community can ensure that their area has legal mines that are supervised by the government, for illegal ones, the community and other elements can report them to the local government for data and permit tracing. From the MOMI website. The data that can be added is data that has been published online in service format in the form of ArcGIS Server Web Service, WMS OGC Web Service, KML File, GeoRSS File, or CSV File. Users can select the Search menu to search for web service content that has been registered with MOMI, or via the URL to add a map service link that will be overlaid. Data that has been successfully added will automatically be reflected on the mine map on the MOMI website.

There have been several audit results both in terms of licensing policy and the government’s oversight mechanism for The Nonmetallic Mineral and Rock Mining Sector after the enactment of Presidential Regulation Number. 55 of 2022 and Government Regulation No. 15 of 2022. the results of the audit are listed in several notes that the researcher wrote while attending the meeting agenda and reading the results of the report on governance oversight by the Corruption Eradication Commission in North Sumatra in 2022. These include the following:

a. Licensing has yet to be managed optimally by the North Sumatra Provincial Plantation and One-Stop Service. The transition period for changing regulations is the main obstacle for DPMPTSP in reforming the management of Nonmetallic Mineral and Rock Mining in North Sumatra;

b. The Provincial Government of North Sumatra has not set a benchmark price for nonmetallic minerals and rocks until early 2022. In addition, the Government of North Sumatra has not yet regulated licensing for nonmetallic minerals and rocks through Online Single Submission (OSS) from the central licensing Ministry of Investment and the Coordinating Board Investment;

c. The Department of Energy, Natural Resources and Minerals of North Sumatra Province does not yet have the latest Mining Business License data and has not yet obtained the results of mapping of nonmetallic and rock mineral businesses in the Regency/City and has not yet formed an integrated team to handle monitoring and auditing of mining mechanisms nonmetallic minerals and rocks;

d. Integrated supervision through mine inspectors has yet to be fully implemented, so mining entrepreneurs still need to hold Mining Business Licenses and can freely operate in the North Sumatra Region.

The Provincial Government of North Sumatra implemented several recommendations resulting from closed meetings and discussions with the Central Government. The work steps taken as recommendations are as follows:

a. Carry out virtual coordination with several Regency and City Governments throughout North Sumatra, where there are non-metal mineral and rock mineral mines;

b. Carry out coordination meetings with the Governor and the Head of the North Sumatra Regional Police in the process of securing and enforcing the Law for problematic business actors;

c. Conduct technical coordination meetings with leaders (heads of offices) regarding the control of nonmetallic and rock minerals; the Regional Secretary and his staff directly monitor nonmetallic and rock mineral business permits in several regions of North Sumatra;

d. Together with all North Sumatra Police Chiefs, they coordinated directly with the non-metal mineral and rock mining areas.

It is worth mentioning that the regional head’s commitment plays a crucial role in ensuring the effective and efficient delegation of granting business licenses based on the audit results. This process strictly adheres to established norms, standards, procedures, and criteria. The Central Government also determined the results of the implementation of the issuance of permits. A series of implementation and supervision of non-metal and rock minerals is also directly monitored by the Mining Inspector of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in North Sumatra.

The researcher accompanied the North Sumatra Metal and Rock Mineral mining supervisory team to several locations indicated to be wild and damaging to the land, and where no Environmental Impact Analyses was available. Moreover, several community complaints were received from the public and business actors (Table 6), which turned out to be contrary to the government’s commitment as derived from the interviews.

During the field visit, some land damage was seen, this damage was caused by miners without official permits. Mining without a permit must immediately undergo integrated supervision and control of documents, this is in accordance with the instructions from the Decree of the Director of Engineering and Environment, Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Number T-4698/MB.07/DBT. KM/2021 dated 19 October 2021 concerning Management of Mining Activities Without a Permit. If the contents of these regulations are ignored, then law enforcement will apply to mining entrepreneurs who do not have permits. Under breaking the Law, sanctions are imposed according to Law Number 3 of 2020 concerning Amendments to Law Number 4 of 2009 concerning mineral and coal mining. Article 156 explains that anyone who performs mining without a permit shall be punished with a maximum imprisonment of 5 years and a maximum fine of RP. 100,000,000,000 (One Hundred Billion Rupiah). Article 161 explains that anyone who accommodates and uses processing and refining, developing, and coal that does not come from a mining business permit holder shall be punished with a maximum sentence of 5 years and a maximum fine of Rp. 100,000,000,000 (One Hundred Billion Rupiah).

Table 6. Recapitulation of community complaints regarding non-metal and rock minerals in North Sumatra

Table 7. Data on mining document control findings

Such visits to mining areas are effective in providing a deterrent effect to business actors without permits. With sufficient intensity to be carried out by the supervisory team, the land can be saved, and taxes can continue to be collected with the official mining permit procedure. The next step in this study was to look at several vacant lands for recovery, together with the environmental services of the local and regional government, in this case, the district offices of Deli Serdang, Toba, Humbang Hasundutan, Mandailing Natal, and Dairi. Environmental restoration under the political commitment of regional heads was proposed in the 2023 budget; this budget is taken from regional expenditure costs. Recovery includes, among others, the use of reforestation land and forwarding a business license officially to entrepreneurs to be included in the list of official business licenses subject to costs for reclamation guarantees, post-mining guarantees, Environmental Impact Assessment, and taxation. Implementing recovery requires the involvement of all parties, including the government, the society and the private sector. In addition, the government must develop new mechanisms to manage cities (including districts), increase their resources, and carry out and monitor development work within them. Also encouraging private participation to support economic development to reduce the burden on the state. Develop mechanisms and policies adopted in the city/districts to support the implementation of future plans within a cultural and sustainability framework.

The North Sumatra Province Natural Resources Energy Service is at the forefront of efforts to control and supervise non-metallic minerals and rocks as well as environmental preservation. This must be fulfilled because there are many factors that influence environmental control in North Sumatra, such as monitoring transportation, waste disposal, roads, and efforts to prevent disease epidemics [32]. Therefore, to fulfill the mandate of the Job Creation Law, this coincides with the issuance of Presidential Regulation Number 55 of 2022. In accordance with the contents of this Presidential Decree, the Sumatra Provincial Government has issued several types of The Nonmetallic Mineral and Rock Mining Sector permits, including:

1. Mining Business License;

2. Rock Mining Permit;

3. People’s Mining Permit, Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia Number 106.K/MB.01/MEM.B/2022;

4. Transport and Sales Permit for non-metallic mineral and rock commodities;

5. Transport and Sales Permit for certain types of non-metallic mineral and rock commodities;

6. Transport and Sales Permit for rock commodities;

7. Mining services business permit for one provincial area.

The granting of the above-mentioned business permits is delegated effectively and efficiently in accordance with the norms, standards, procedures and criteria set by the Central Government. A series of implementation and supervision of non-metallic minerals and rocks is also monitored directly by the Mine Inspector of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in North Sumatra. The readiness of North Sumatra Province to follow Environmental Impact Analysis and licensing procedures in accordance with the Job Creation Law and the Mandate of Presidential Decree 55 of 2022, starting with improving mining business permits and readiness to release mining activity data for 2022 and 2023.

This data collection was carried out after coordination and supervision by the Corruption Eradication Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Ministry of Investment. Readiness in granting business permits by the North Sumatra Provincial Government, includes:

a. The Licensing Service and the Energy and Natural Resources Service of North Sumatra Province can in principle provide business permits;

b. The North Sumatra Provincial Government has proposed a budget for changes to the 2022 Regional Expenditure Budget to support business Licensing Services;

c. Handover of licensing documents from the Central Government to the regional government of North Sumatra Province will be carried out on August 8 2022;

d. The North Sumatra Provincial Government has issued a Governor’s Decree regarding the determination of benchmark prices for non-metallic minerals and rocks;

e. The North Sumatra Provincial Government has issued a Decree on the Integrated Team to control non-metallic minerals and rocks.

Based on the work functions and audits that have been carried out, we have received several documents that have been handed over but have not yet completed the requirements according to the provisions of the Environmental Impact Analysis [33]. Mining activity data after post-handover control of documents on August 8 2022 (Table 7).

This study was funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, And Technology (KEMDIKBUDRISTEK) grant number [091/E5/PG.02.00.PT/2022 and 172./PKS/WRIII-DRP/UI/2022] and grant number [NKB- 1040/UN2.RST/HKP.05.00/2022] Research and Development (Risbang), Universitas Indonesia.