The Legislative Decree No. 152 of April 3, 2006 in Italy, which mainly stipulates environmental - related matters, covering aspects such as environmental assessment, permit procedures, water resource management, waste management, etc., aims to protect the environment, promote sustainable development, and implement relevant EU directives.
1. Background and Purpose of the Decree:
It is formulated based on the Italian Constitution, multiple laws, and EU directives. Its purpose is to improve the quality of human life by protecting the environment and rationally using natural resources. It standardizes, coordinates, and integrates environmental - related matters, and is implemented within the existing resources without increasing the burden on public finance.
2. Environmental Assessment and Permit Procedures
Strategic Environmental Assessment (VAS):
Conducted for plans and programs that may have significant impacts on the environment and cultural heritage. It includes processes such as determining applicability, preparing environmental reports, consultations, evaluations, decision - making, information disclosure, and monitoring. It is an integral part of the approval process for plans and programs, and administrative approvals without prior assessment can be revoked.
Environmental Impact Assessment (VIA):
Applied to projects that may have significant positive and negative environmental impacts. It involves preliminary environmental assessment, defining assessment contents, preparing and submitting environmental impact reports, consultations, evaluations, making decisions, and integrating them into project approval documents. Different types of projects have different conditions for starting the assessment and responsible levels.
Integrated Environmental Permit (IPPC):
Applicable to facilities engaged in specific activities, aiming to prevent and reduce integrated pollution. The permit takes into account factors such as the best available techniques, and contains various conditions and requirements. Different levels of government are responsible for permitting different types of projects.
3. Soil Protection and Combating Desertification
Responsibilities of Relevant Entities:
Multiple departments and local governments, including the President, the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of the Territory and the Sea, and relevant institutions, have clear responsibilities in soil protection and other matters. For example, the President approves relevant plans, and the Ministry of the Environment is responsible for implementation and coordination.
Planning and Measures:
Through tools such as river basin plans, the national territory is zoned and managed, and environmental problems and countermeasures within the region are clearly defined, including identifying risk areas and implementing preventive and restoration measures.
4. Water Resource Protection and Management
Objectives and Definitions:
Aims to protect various water bodies, prevent pollution, and achieve sustainable water resource utilization. A large number of water - related concepts are clearly defined.
Quality Objectives:
Define environmental quality objectives and quality objectives for specific uses, such as maintaining the natural purification capacity of water bodies and ensuring water quality for specific uses. Regions need to take measures accordingly and can set higher standards.
Monitoring and Evaluation:
Standards and methods are specified for the monitoring and evaluation of surface and groundwater bodies, including determining monitoring items, frequencies, methods, etc. Regions and relevant institutions need to implement and report data as required.
5. Waste Management and Contaminated Site Remediation (Partial Content):
Regulates waste management and contaminated site remediation, covering aspects such as the permitting, operation supervision of waste treatment facilities, and the responsibilities and procedures for remediating contaminated sites, prompting relevant parties to properly handle waste and remediate contaminated sites to protect the environment and public health.
6. Air Protection and Emission Reduction (Detailed Content to be Supplemented):
It may include provisions on restricting air pollutant emissions, supervising relevant facilities, and promoting air protection measures to improve air quality and reduce air pollution.
7. Environmental Damage Compensation and Protection (Detailed Content to be Supplemented):
It may involve aspects such as the determination of liability for environmental damage, compensation mechanisms, and the restoration of damaged environments, ensuring the compensation of rights and interests and the restoration of the environment after environmental damage.
8. Implementation and Supervision:
Regions need to transpose EU directives into national laws and formulate specific regulations. Relevant departments and institutions are responsible for supervising the implementation and punishing violations. The fines collected are used for environmental monitoring, prevention, and other work.
9. Regulatory Updates and Information Access:
Laws and regulations are constantly updated. The latest information can be obtained through websites such as the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, Conai website, the European Commission website, and the Italian Official Gazette.