Directive no. 2000/60/EC – the so-called Water Framework Directive (WFD) – is a legal act establishing the framework for the water policy of the European Union, according to which Member States have been obliged to prevent the deterioration of the condition of waters and to ensure the good condition of waters. WFD was implemented into the Polish legal system through the provisions of the Water Law (the Act of 18 July 2001). According to the Water Law, the management of water resources takes place on the basis of river basin management plans (RBMP), which contain information about the environmental objectives set for specific waters.
The greatest importance is attached to RBMP applicable to the area of Oder and Vistula basins, which jointly cover almost the entire territory of Poland.
Water management plans in the river basin area are the basic planning documents used in water management and the execution of such plans is aimed at achieving the purposes of the directive. It is worth pointing out that the conflict of the planned investment with the provisions of a relevant RBMP is a basis for refusal to issue a consent for project implementation by an authority competent to issue an environmental permit. In consequence, a conflict with the environmental objectives contained in a relevant RBMP can prevent the implementation of mining investments.
Therefore, an entrepreneur planning to conduct a mining investment ought to verify whether the planned project will be compliant with the provisions of RBMP applicable on the territory of the intended investment. In the case of identifying any contradictions between the planned project and the provisions of a given RBMP, the implementation of investment may turn out to be impossible without prior change of provisions of the relevant RBMP. It is worth noting that the National Water Management Board is currently working on an updated version of the applicable RBMP, as a result of which the entrepreneur should make sure that the investments they are planning to implement will be covered by the updated plans.