Coal mining activities that are not managed responsibly can cause
environmental pollution that has serious impacts on public health and damages the
ecosystem. Pollution caused by mining waste, such as acid mine drainage and other
hazardous particles, causes material and immaterial losses to communities around
the mining area. This Memorandum of Understanding discusses the rights to
compensation owned by communities affected by the pollution and the mechanisms
available to obtain recovery, both through litigation and non-litigation. This study
uses a normative legal method with a statutory approach and case studies. In the
litigation pathway, the community can file a civil lawsuit or citizen lawsuit to the
court. Meanwhile, the non-litigation pathway includes mediation, negotiation, and
environmental dispute resolution mechanisms facilitated by the government or
independent institutions. The results of the study show that although legally there
are two pathways to claim compensation, there are still obstacles such as
information inequality, high costs, and slow legal processes that are obstacles for
the community to obtain justice. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen institutions
and regulations that are more supportive of pollution victims in order to ensure that
the right to a healthy environment and adequate compensation is fulfilled.