In today's article from the series "Tuesday Mornings for Construction Professionals", we continue our discussion of the Act of 20 July 2017 – Water Law (hereinafter " the Act "). This time, we will analyze water permits (hereinafter " Permits "), which are required to be obtained before commencing certain construction investments.
First, we clarify that a Permit is an administrative decision, the obtaining of which is a necessary condition for certain investments that may affect the condition of groundwater and/or surface water. Pursuant to Articles 389 and 390 of the Act, obtaining a Permit is required, among other things, for: in the following cases: (i) water services, i.e. permanent drainage of land, facilities or construction excavations, (ii) special use of water – drainage of land and crops, fish farming in ponds, use of water for business purposes, (iii) construction of water facilities , (iv) change of terrain on land adjacent to waters, affecting water flow conditions , (v) running overhead power and telecommunications lines through inland waterways and flood embankments, (vi) running bridges, pipelines, cables in protective pipelines or culverts through flowing surface waters and flood embankments, (vii) reclamation of surface waters or groundwater, (viii) locating new projects that may have a significant impact on the environment or new constructions .
We emphasize that an investor intending to construct water facilities will also be required to obtain a permit. It is worth noting that water facilities include: (i) artificial reservoirs located on flowing waters and structures associated with these reservoirs, (ii) ponds, (iii) structures used for the intake of surface water and groundwater, (iv) hydropower facilities, (v) facilities used for breeding/catching fish and/or other aquatic organisms, (vi) boulevards, quays, piers, jetties, and harbors, (vii) sewage outlets .
Pursuant to the provisions of the Act, the Permit must contain the following information: (i) a description of the planned project, (ii) a description of activities aimed at minimizing the negative impact on the natural environment caused by the issuance of the Permit, (iii) the date on which the applicant will start using the water or start constructing the facilities, (iv) information on the amount of water that may be withdrawn or introduced, (v) obligations towards other entities or persons holding the Permit and prohibitions on carrying out activities that may have an adverse impact on water management.
Sometimes it may turn out that obtaining a Permit will not be necessary, as submitting a water law notification . Pursuant to Article 394 of the Act, a water law notification is required for, among other things, construction and activities related to: (i) the construction of a jetty with a width of up to 3 m and a total length of up to 25 m – the sum of the lengths of its individual elements; (ii) the mooring of vessels intended for residential or commercial purposes on flowing waters; (iii) the running of overhead power and telecommunications lines through waters other than inland waterways; (iv) the reconstruction or reconstruction of drainage facilities located within the rights-of-way of public roads, railway areas, airports or landing sites; (v) the extraction of stone, gravel, sand, and other materials from waters in connection with the maintenance of waters, inland waterways, and the repair of water facilities .
Article 395 of the Act introduces a catalogue of projects whose implementation does not require a Permit or the above notification , including: (i) navigation on inland waterways, (ii) collection and discharge of water in connection with drilling, (iii) designation of a tourist hiking or cycling trail and the construction, reconstruction or renovation of a bicycle path, with the exception of bicycle paths running through surface waters, (iv) locating temporary structures in areas of particular flood risk for a period of up to 180 days.
If a project requires a permit, the first step is to submit an application to the water supervisory authority with local jurisdiction or closest location to the planned investment. The application must be accompanied by: (i) a water law report detailing the intended project and consisting of a descriptive and graphic section; (ii) an environmental decision, if required; (iii) an excerpt and a map from the local zoning plan; and if there is no local zoning plan, a decision establishing the location of the public investment, or a zoning decision, if required; (iv) a water assessment, if required.
After the investor submits the application, it is redirected to the appropriate institution, because depending on the type of project, the Permit may be issued by: (i) the director of the Polish Waters catchment area board, (ii) the regional director of the Polish Waters water management board, (iii) the minister responsible for water management.
Pursuant to Article 400, Section 1 of the Act, Permits are issued for a specified period, no longer than 30 years, counted from the date on which the Permit becomes final. However, not all Permits have such a long validity period. Permits for: (i) discharging sewage into water or soil are issued for 10 years; (ii) discharging industrial wastewater containing substances particularly harmful to the aquatic environment into water or sewage facilities owned by other entities are issued for 4 years; (iii) extracting stone, gravel, sand, and other materials from surface water, and cutting vegetation from water or shoreline are issued for 5 years.
In summary, Permits and notifications have a wide range of applications, and obtaining them is necessary not only when building piers, ponds or other water facilities, but also when planning and implementing investments that require the use of water or may affect the condition of water.
Next week we will also discuss the topic of Permits, but this time we will present you the rules for their transfer.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of March 11, 2024
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