SANCTIONING PROCEDURE IN THE FIELD OF HYDRAULIC PUBLIC DOMAIN

The sanctioning file is always initiated ex officio, by agreement of the competent body, either on its own initiative or as a consequence of a higher order, at the reasoned request of other bodies or by complaint.

The competence to agree on the initiation of the sanctioning file belongs to the President of the CHS , being delegated in this Organism to the Commissioner of Waters for Resolution of October 15, 2018 (published in BOE nº 260, of October 27).

The behaviors that may give rise to the initiation of a sanctioning file are classified as an offense in article 116.3 of the Consolidated Text of the Water Law, according to which they are considered as such:

1. Actions that cause damage to public hydraulic property and hydraulic works.
2. The derivation of water from its channels and the lighting of groundwater without the corresponding concession or authorization when necessary.
3. Failure to comply with the conditions imposed in the administrative concessions and authorizations referred to in this Law, without prejudice to its expiration, revocation or suspension.
4. The execution, without due administrative authorization, of other works, works, sowings or plantations in the public channels or in the areas legally subject to some type of limitation on their destination or use.
5. The invasion, occupation or extraction of aggregates from the channels, without the corresponding authorization.
6. Discharges that could deteriorate the quality of the water or the drainage conditions of the receiving channel, carried out without the corresponding authorization.
7. Failure to comply with the prohibitions established in this Law or the omission of the acts it requires.
8. The opening of wells and the installation in them of instruments for the extraction of groundwater without previously having a concession or authorization from the Basin Agency for the extraction of water.
9. Failure to submit a responsible statement or failure to comply with the provisions contained in the responsible statement for the exercise of a certain activity or the conditions imposed by the Administration for the exercise of it.
10. The inaccuracy, falsity or omission in the data, statements or documents that are incorporated or accompany the responsible statement.

The following individuals or legal entities shall be liable for the infraction of sections b and h: The owner of the land, the developer of the collection, the businessman who executes the work and the technical director of the same.

The resolution of a sanctioning file may consist of the imposition of fines, the amount of which depends on the seriousness of the infraction and its classification. The classification of the infractions is established in articles 315 et seq. of the Hydraulic Public Domain Regulation .

Depending on the classification of the infraction, the following fines may be imposed:

• For SLIGHT offenses ................... Up to € 10,000.00
• For LESS SERIOUS offenses ... From € 10,000.01 to € 50,000.00
• For SERIOUS offenses ................ From € 50,000.01 to € 500,000.00
• For VERY SERIOUS infractions ........ From € 500,000.01 to € 1,000,000.00

Regardless of the sanctions that are imposed, the violators can be forced to repair the damages caused to the hydraulic public domain, as well as to restore things to their previous state. (art.118 TRLA ).

According to the classification of the infraction, the competence to impose the sanction corresponds to:

• THE MINISTER .............................. Serious offenses.
• THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ...... Very serious offenses.

ONE YEAR, according to the provisions of Additional Provision 6 of the Consolidated Text of the Water Law, to be counted from the date of the agreement to initiate the sanctioning file.