Law No. 272 On water .

The scope of this Law shall be as follows: (a) setting up legal basis for efficient management, protection and conservation of surface water and groundwater; (b) prevention of deterioration of state of water; (c) establishment of water rights; and (d) sufficient water supply of qualitative surface water and groundwater for sustainable, balanced and fair water management. This Law regulates: (a) prevention of flood, erosion, drought and desertification; and (b) water abstraction, water supply and effluent wastewater discharge. Water resources shall be regulated by public law of the state. Any natural or legal person shall have the right of water use in accordance with this Law. State water register shall contain data on hydrographical network, delimitation, classification and state of waterbodies, waterworks, water protection areas, and water abstraction and water return. Central Public Authority for Environmental Protection performs the procedure of strategic environmental assessment and supports the active participation of civil society in developing national water policy documents by publishing documents and information to all stakeholders, allowing everybody to contribute comments and recommendations on their content. Central Public Authority for Environmental Protection or, as the case may be, its territorial unit, conducts strategic environmental assessment procedure and promotes the active participation of civil society in the development of national policy documents in the field of effluent wastewater. Environmental permits for special water use, including a long-term one, shall be issued free of charge by a competent institution. In areas where the necessary surface water sources are not available, however, there are sufficient groundwater reserves, including water complying with potable water quality standards, shall be authorized the use of the aforesaid waters also for purposes other than potable and domestic water supply in accordance with the regulations approved by the Government. Article 25 establishes the procedure for submittal of the application for issuance of an environmental permit for a special water use to the competent institution. In order to obtain an environmental permit for special water use, the applicant must submit the following documents: (a) water intake certificate for artesian wells; (b) rules for the operation of dams, ponds, reservoirs, if they are not included in the Automated Information System State Water Cadastre ; (c) results of analysis of the physico-chemical and/or bacteriological properties of the water of a waterbody, if the analyzes were not carried out by other applicants; (d) contract for the use of a subsoil plot in the case of groundwater. The deadline for consideration of an application and issuance of an environmental permit for special water use is 30 days. In the case of a long-term environmental permit for special water use, the period may be extended by 10 days.