The Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources held public hearings on the advisory documents of the regulatory policy of the Water Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The main topic of the hearings is the discussion of advisory documents of the regulatory policy of the Water Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (in a new edition) and the draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the protection and use of water resources".
More than a hundred people took part in the public hearings, including eco-activists, public figures, experienced experts and veterans of the water industry.
It should be noted that the development of a new Water Code is an order of the Head of State and its updating is included in the National Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025.
New norms in water legislation should stimulate effective water consumption by individuals, farmers and enterprises, as well as a closed cycle of water use and purification at enterprises and in the housing and communal services.
At the same time, the advisory documents reflect ways to solve existing problems in the water sector.
Thus, it is proposed to clearly define the competence of state bodies for accounting and monitoring of water resources, to solve the issue of creating a hydrological center to summarize all data, estimates and forecasts.
To address the issue of inefficient use of water, it is proposed to revise the base rate of payment upward and introduce a differentiated approach with the use of reducing coefficients, in the case of the use of new water-saving and treatment technologies by the water user, modernization of existing equipment, etc.
In addition, the issue of introducing into the tax legislation a norm that allows taxpayers to attribute 50% of the amount of expenses for the introduction of new water-saving, treatment technologies, as well as the costs of upgrading existing water user equipment during the implementation of such costs to the reduction of taxable income. There is a proposal to revise the approach to tariff formation in the field of water resources so that water gets a real economic value.
It is planned to provide economic incentives for the introduction of the best available technologies for the economical use of water.
The powers of the subjects of water relations to automate the production processes of water use, accounting and monitoring of water resources will also be legislated, legal conditions will be created for the introduction of the best IT solutions in the industry.
In the Water Code, it is proposed to consolidate the norms for the implementation of state control in the field of protection and use of water resources and conducting preventive inspections, determining the status and powers of inspectors, issues of material and technical equipment and social protection of officials exercising state control, etc.
At the same time, the new Water Code will provide for the powers of the scientific center and its role in planning, managing water resources and demand for them. Measures to provide the water sector with the necessary personnel are also proposed.
It is also proposed to consolidate the legal regulation of public participation in the management of water resources and the implementation of water projects significant to society on the basis of the Aarhus Convention, as well as the organization of public control in the field of water resources.
It is proposed to exclude issues related to the safety of hydraulic structures, water supply and sanitation in housing and communal services, land reclamation, prevention and elimination of harmful effects of water from the scope of the Water Code. Subject to the inclusion of these issues in other special laws.
In order to effectively and safely manage water facilities, it is proposed to create a national network of main water facilities and republican property systems. The functions of the operator of this network are supposed to be assigned to the RSE "Kazvodkhoz".
It is also planned to revise the current model of tariff formation in the industry, systematize standards for the design, construction and operation of water facilities.
In addition, it is proposed to consider and streamline the issues of the legal status of groundwater. It is also proposed to amend the Budget Code to introduce a standard for directing funds to measures for the protection and reproduction of water resources, expanding the facilities for directing funds from the costs of subsoil users to projects in the field of water management.
The necessity of excluding water supply services from the activities of agricultural consumer cooperatives is also emphasized.
It is noted that it is necessary to prepare action plans for watering pastures as part of plans for the development and reconstruction of pasture infrastructure facilities, plans for pasture management and their use, as well as the participation of the authorized body (basin water management departments) in the coordination of these plans.
Thus, the new legislation should increase the effectiveness of state regulation of the protection and use of water resources, as well as lead to the development of the legal framework and mechanisms for the implementation of a unified state water policy.
Postfactum.kz
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