A water law permit is nothing but administrative decision authorizing the applicant to use water in a special way, as well as to build water facilities that, for example, discharge sewage into waters and soil. In other words, without a document you can't even build a bridge, a backyard water power plant, a pond, and sometimes even a pond in the garden.
What's more, the procedure for applying for a water law permit happens time consuming. Therefore, it is worth getting acquainted with all its details in advance. Thanks to this, the construction of the investment will start without delay.
Who issues the water law permit?
According to Art. 397 Water Law, issuing water permits is within the competence of the Director of the Regional Water Management Board (RZGW) of Polish Waters or Directors of the Polish Waters Catchment Board. However, in matters of water law notifications, the competent authority is the Water Supervision Manager of Polish Waters. Applications should be submitted to the RZGW Director in the case of, among others:
– parts of the water permits referred to in Art. 388 sec. 1 point 1 of the Water Law Act, including:
- to perform flood protection structures,
- on the introduction of substances into surface waters that inhibit the growth of algae,
- na water transfers and construction of water facilities needed for this purpose,
- for activities related to water reclamation surface or underground,
- entering into sewage facilities industrial sewagewhich contain substances specified in the regulations issued on the basis of art. 100 sec. 1 and come from the operation of installations related to the projects listed in Art. 378 sec. 2a of the Act - Environmental Protection Law
(Art. 397 section 3 point 1a, PW)
- water permits referred to in Art. 389 and Art. 390 sec. 1 of the Water Law, required for the projects referred to in Art. 378 sec. 2a of the Act of 27 April 2001 - Environmental Protection Law, provided that the director of the RZGW is the competent authority for one of these permits,
- water permits specified in Art. 389 of the Water Law, if they relate to the use of water and construction of water facilities in artificial water reservoirs located on inland flowing waters and are a viable undertaking always significantly impact on the environment.
In other cases, specified in the Act of 20 July 2017 - Water Law, the authority competent to consider applications for a water permit is locally competent Director of the Catchment Board.
Water permit - price
The fee for issuing a water permit is from January 2021. 230,05 zloty. If you apply for several different permits within one application, this amount will be multiplied by the number of permits obtained. However, it will not exceed the total 4601,08 PLN.
How long does it take to issue a water law permit?
Generally month. However, in special cases, the waiting time for a decision may be longer. To avoid this, all required documents should be attached to the application.
How important is a water permit? As a rule, a water permit is valid for 30 years . However, there are exceptions to this rule.
A permit and a water law notification - are they the same thing?
Finally, it is worth noting that a permit and a water law notification are two separate issues. Some projects do not require a permit. However, in their case, notification is required. This is done on the basis of the so-called tacit consent. If the authority does not raise an objection within the specified period, there are no contraindications to starting the investment.
The road to obtaining a water law permit is not easy. You need e.g. water law surveywhich will be performed for you by a professional company providing consultancy services in the field of environmental protection. It is worth using her support to make everything run smoothly.
