Glaciers: protection tied to water function

What changed

Law 27.804 rewrites the heart of the Glaciers Law 26.639: (1) the object is narrowed to protecting glaciers and periglacial landforms INSOFAR AS they fulfill a water function (strategic water reserves / basin recharge), with interpretation expressly tied to arts. 41 and 124 of the Constitution (original provincial ownership of resources); (2) the prohibitions of art. 6 —including mining and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation— stop being general: they apply only to the glaciers IDENTIFIED by each jurisdiction's authority and only against activities that RELEVANTLY alter (art. 27, General Environment Law) their condition or water functions; (3) it is the provincial authority that determines, via case-by-case environmental impact assessment, which activities imply relevant alteration and which can be authorized; (4) precautionary principle (new art. 3 bis): what is inventoried stays protected until technical-scientific studies verify it does not fulfill a water function — and then it leaves the scope of the law and the IANIGLA Inventory. verif · Apr 24, 2026 ↗

In force

In force since early May 2026 (general Civil Code term: the eighth day from the Apr 24, 2026 publication; the law sets no own validity clause). verif · Apr 24, 2026 ↗

Who it affects

Mining companies (copper, lithium, gold, silver) and hydrocarbon companies with projects in mountain zones of glaciers/periglacial environment; the provincial environmental authorities (which come to identify the protected object and to decide via environmental impact assessment); the IANIGLA (National Glacier Inventory, now an unavoidable reference but with the removal of landforms without a water function). Provinces with the mining mountain range —San Juan, Mendoza, Catamarca, Salta, Jujuy— are the substantive addressees. verif · Apr 24, 2026 ↗

The norm

Ley 27.804, passed on Apr 8, 2026 (the Chamber of Deputies gave final approval 137-111-3 to the Senate's first-round passage of Feb 27, 2026), enacted WITHOUT OBSERVATIONS by Decreto 271/2026 of Apr 23, 2026 —signed by Milei and Adorni— and published in the Boletín Oficial on Apr 24, 2026. verif · Apr 24, 2026 ↗

Our reading

The regulatory key of large-scale mining in the mountains: the general prohibition that froze projects through an extensive interpretation of the 'periglacial environment' is replaced by a decidable rule — proven water function + case-by-case impact assessment in the hands of the province that owns the resource (art. 124 Constitution). With the RIGI and Decree 482/2026 (mining regime) already operational, it unlocks the MINING strand of the program: San Juan and Mendoza copper stops having an indefinite environmental veto and moves to a procedure with rules. thesis

Where it lands, province by province1

Salta Salta is one of the five provinces the rule itself identifies as its underlying targets, because of its mining cordillera. The substantive change — defining the protected object by hydrological function, and putting the PROVINCIAL environmental authority in charge of identifying it — returns to the province the decision over the Puna's periglacial environment, where the lithium salt flats and the two highest-capex cordilleran projects (Taca Taca and Diablillos) are located. What is NOT measured here, and is declared as such: how much of the Salta projects' footprint actually falls within periglacial environment under the new criterion. Without that inventory, the effect is legal certainty over permitting, not the opening of new ground. favorable cheaper to meet the demand thesis

Glaciers: protection by water function and evaluation in provincial hands

What changed and who it applies to

Our reading

Where it lands, province by province1

The other rules on this subject28

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