Bill to limit the buying and selling of water use rights

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill seeks to stop the commodification of water. According to the explanatory statement, water in Spain is public domain, and sales of water use rights are concentrating those rights in few hands.
2. The bill would repeal the fourth and fifth final provisions of Law 21/2013 on environmental assessment. This would restore the requirement that water transfers between river basins through cession contracts be authorized by law, with parliamentary oversight.
3. The bill would restrict water rights cession contracts. They could only take place during droughts or exceptional circumstances, on a temporary basis, and the basin authority could deny them or buy the water itself through a right of first refusal.
4. The bill would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette, except for measures that increase spending or reduce budget revenues, which would wait until the next fiscal year.

Who it affects

• Concession holders and water use rights holders, such as irrigators: Their ability to sell or cede water use rights would be limited: cessions would only be possible temporarily during droughts or exceptional circumstances.
• River basin authorities: They would regain the power to authorize or deny cessions, with a right of first refusal on the water volumes.
• Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados): They would regain parliamentary control over inter-basin water transfers, since a law would again be required to authorize them.
• Autonomous Communities and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment: They would receive copies of irrigation water cession contracts and issue a prior report.

Words worth knowing

Concesión (concession)

A permit granted by the administration to privately use a public asset, such as water.

Dominio público (public domain)

An asset that belongs to everyone and is meant for public purposes, not private profit.

Contrato de cesión (cession contract)

An agreement by which a water rights holder temporarily transfers them to another, with administration approval.

Trasvase (water transfer)

Moving water from one river basin to another through infrastructure.

Silencio administrativo (administrative silence)

If the administration does not answer in time, the request is deemed granted or denied depending on the case.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries