Dominican Republic president vetoes bill to create national park on land sought for mining

President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic has vetoed a bill that would have created a new national park in an area where a multinational company has mining operations.

Medina sent the measure back to the Senate with a letter saying he had "serious doubts," about the effects of a proposal that passed by wide margins last month in both houses of the legislature.

The president also said there hadn't been any studies to determine the necessity of establishing what would have been known as the Loma Miranda National Park.

Lawmakers proposed creating the park on 16 square miles in the central Dominican Republic. The proposal would have prevented a unit of Switzerland-based Glencore Xtstrata Plc from expanding its nickel mine operations in the area.