Establishing the State Water Farm “Polish Waters” as an Effect of the Increase In Public Authorities’ Tasks and Competencies in the Field of Water Management – Selected Issues

Abstract

The Act of 20.07.2017 – Water Law, which entered into force on January 1, 2018, introduced a change in the organizational and legal structure, as well as the division of public authorities’ tasks and competencies, regarding water management. A new structure was established – the State Water Farm “Polish Waters” (PW). PW is a unified institutional structure, which replaced, as a rule, the authorities that previously operated in the area of water management, and focused a wide group of specialized and profiled tasks and competencies in that area. Several types of tasks and competencies in the area of water management that had previously been dispersed among many authorities and entrusted, in large part, to general public authorities were brought together. The aim of this article is to analyze the selected tasks and competencies in the field of water management that were brought together in PW’s hands, i.e., issuing of water law permits and adjudicating on matters that require highly specialized knowledge regarding water management and which can occur in other proceedings. The article aims to show that while these changes undoubtedly may be important for streamlining and accelerating the investment process in the area of water management, the existence of certain ambiguities, imprecision and inconsistency between the rules, may result in problems for the authorities and for the investors obliged to use them. Therefore, the degree to which the intended effects are achieved may be smaller. It is also reasonable to introduce additional regulations.