During the session of the Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture, and Environmental Protection of the National Assembly, held on September 3, Ara Mkrtchyan, Deputy Minister of Environment of the RA, presented the proposed amendments and addenda to the RA Water Code.
The package of drafts proposes to reword the concept of "closed circulation system in fish farms using groundwater through a borehole" enshrined in the Code, in line with the internationally accepted concept, as well as to complete the cases of free water use, according to which the implementation of anti-flood measures will also be considered free water use. The cases of rejection of water use permit applications, as well as the accounting of ecological flow, will be clarified and defined.
The legislative package stipulates that, in the case of extending the validity of an electricity generation license, the water use permit shall be extended in accordance with the procedure established by the Code.
According to the Deputy Minister, as a result of the adoption of the draft law, mechanisms will be created to preserve the national water reserve, meet the necessary quantity and quality of usable water resources through effective management, meet the needs of citizens and the economy with water, and ensure the ecological stability of the environment.
The package of draft laws was endorsed.