The Pendulum of Authority and the Transmission of Environmental Law Policy in the Mining Sector in South Sumatra

Abstract

This article examines how changes in environmental and mining legal policies in Indonesia since 1967 have translated into tangible outcomes in South Sumatra Province—the largest coal-producing province outside of Kalimantan. The study employs a normative juridical method, incorporating statutory, historical, conceptual, and case-based approaches, supplemented by a review of indexed literature and descriptive statistics concerning production, poverty levels, and mine-water quality. The findings reveal that the authority to issue permits has oscillated—shifting from the central government to regencies, then to the provinces, and back to the central government. Simultaneously, the environmental regulatory regime has transitioned from "environmental permits" to "environmental approvals," characterized by narrowed public participation and a weakened formulation of strict liability. Each shift has created new loopholes, ranging from the indiscriminate issuance of permits during the era of decentralization to gaps in oversight during the period of recentralization. In South Sumatra, these loopholes are evident in the mismanagement of permits—some of which were subsequently overturned by the courts—the presence of untreated acid mine drainage, the proliferation of illegal mining, and the provincial government’s shift toward alternative, less direct regulatory instruments. This article proposes a five-link transmission framework that maps "leakages" at each stage, concluding that the effectiveness of a policy is determined by the continuity of accountability across different levels of government, rather than merely by where the authority resides.