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Law No. 634 Of 7 December 2002 Approving Ordinance No. 32/2002 Concerning The Organisation And Functioning Of Public Services, Water Supply And Sanitation

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 634 din 7 decembrie 2002 pentru aprobarea Ordonanţei Guvernului nr. 32/2002 privind organizarea şi funcţionarea serviciilor publice de alimentare cu apa şi de canalizare

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LEGE no. 634 634 of 7 December 2002 for approval Government Ordinance no. 32/2002 on the organisation and functioning of public water supply and sewerage services
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 915 915 of 16 December 2002



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Article UNIC Approval Government Ordinance no. 32 32 of 30 January 2002 on the organisation and functioning of public water supply and sewerage services, adopted pursuant to art. 1 1 section IV.2 of Law no. 751/2001 on the empowerment of the Government to issue ordinances, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 94 of 2 February 2002, with the following amendments and additions: 1. In Article 1, paragraph 1 shall read as follows: "" Art. 1. -(1) The present ordinance establishes the unitary legal framework on the establishment, organization, management, regulation, financing, monitoring and control of the functioning of public water supply and sewerage services. " 2. In Article 2, paragraph 2 shall read as follows: " (2) By organizing and carrying out the activity of public water supply and sewerage services public authorities are obliged to ensure: a) improving the living conditions of citizens; b) the realization of a modern urban infrastructure, as a basis of economic development and in order to attract profitable investments for local communities; c) sustainable development of services; d) environmental protection; e) ensuring the metering of water consumption for each consumer with which supply contracts are concluded. " 3. Article 3 shall read as follows: "" Art. 3. -The technical terms used in the order are defined in the Annex. ' 4. In Article 5 (1), the letter d) shall read as follows: "d) compliance with specific regulations in the field of water management, environmental protection and health." 5. in Article 9, after paragraph 2, paragraph 3 is inserted as follows: " (3) Detachment of the management modalities provided in par. (1) will be made by framework regulations specific to public water supply and sewerage services, in accordance with national legislation and European Community regulations. " 6. In Article 10, paragraphs 2 and 3 shall read as follows: " (2) Direct management is carried out through specialized compartments organized within the own apparatus of the local council or county council, as the case may be, or through public services organized under the local councils, councils county or General Council of Bucharest Municipality. (3) The conduct of activities specific to the water and sewerage services, organized and exploited in the direct management system, shall be based on an organization and functioning regulation drawn up in accordance with the organizational framework regulation and functioning and approved by the local councils, the county councils or the General Council of Bucharest, as the case may be. " 7. Article 11 shall read as follows: "" Art. 11. -(1) In the case of indirect management the local public administration authorities shall delegate part of their duties and responsibilities to another legal person, called the operator of the service, to whom they entrust, on the basis of a contract delegation of management, the right to supply/provide water and sewerage services, as well as the exploitation of public water supply and sewerage systems necessary for their realization. ((2) The delegation of management shall be made in accordance with the legislation in force for each type of contract. (3) The delegation of management may be made only to certified operators. (4) In carrying out the contracts for the delegation of water and sewerage services, the local public administration authorities will aim to obtain the best cost/quality ratio, as well as to ensure the necessary conditions for the realization of the interest general specific to these services. (5) Provisions of para. ((2) does not apply to operators who on the date of entry into force of this ordinance have concluded concession contracts, as well as those resulting from a territorial reorganization based on principles of economic efficiency and performance operational, if the registered capital of the newly constituted company belongs to several local authorities. On the occasion of the reorganization the local public administration authorities can take over for execution, on the balance sheet basis, the outstanding debits, related penalties and the corresponding payment obligations of the former operators. ((6) The operators who on the date of entry into force of this ordinance have concluded concession contracts will submit the documentation for the attestation as an operator, and will conclude the addendum to the concession contract, which will include the obligations return to operators in this ordinance. (7) The local public administration authority signatory to the contract will hold a new public tender for the delegation of management in all cases where, for two consecutive years, the service operator has not fulfilled its obligations contract with regard to the quality of service and economic and financial performance. " 8. In Article 12, paragraphs 4 to 6 shall read as follows: " (4) The monitoring and control activities of the compliance with the obligations set out in the management contracts shall be entrusted to the National Regulatory Authority for the Public Service of Communal Household, which will develop an information system that will allow the continuous comparison of each performance indicator with the level achieved by the most performing operator in this field, as well as the local public administration authorities. (5) In the implementation of the information system and the implementation of monitoring activities will be involved professional organizations of public interest. The local public administration authorities have access to any information held by the National Regulatory Authority for the Public Services of Communal Household regarding the public services delegated by them. (6) The National Regulatory Authority for Public Household Public Services mainly has the task of elaborating the methodology and the framework procedure for measuring and analysing performance indicators and controlling the activity operators regarding: compliance with performance indicators, periodic adjustment of tariffs according to adjustment formulas, compliance with competition law, ensuring user protection and efficient exploitation of public patrimony and/or private affected. " 9. Article 13 shall read as follows: "" Art. 13. -(1) In order to ensure the continuity of water and sanitation services the local public administration authorities have the responsibility of planning and tracking the investment works necessary for the operation of the systems safely and to the parameters required by the technical prescriptions. To this end, multiannual investment planning systems will be established, bowing from a director plan and taking into account the cycles of the budget process, in accordance with the legal regulations. (2) The contract delegation contracts will provide for the concrete tasks of the local public administration authorities and the operator regarding the realization of investments. ((. The financing of investment works shall be ensured from the following sources: a) own funds of the operator and allowances from the local budget, in accordance with the obligations assumed by the contracts for delegation of management; b) bank loans guaranteed by the local public administration authorities or by the state; c) non-reimbursable support obtained through bilateral or multilateral arrangements; d) special funds established on the basis of local taxes established under the law; e) participation of private capital in partnership contracts of type lt; lt; builds-operates-transfer gt; gt; and variants thereof; f) funds transferred from the state budget as participation in the co-financing of projects carried out with external financial support, as well as emergency or social programs; g) from savings resulting from equipment with performance equipment; h) other sources. ((4) The investments made by the operator for the rehabilitation, modernization and development of the public system will be amortised by the water supply and sewerage operator, during the delegation contract. (5) Foreign investments in public water supply and sewerage systems will benefit from all legal facilities in force when the transaction is concluded. The facilities obtained will be mentioned in the contract of delegation of the management and will be valid for the period established at its conclusion. In case of obtaining by the investor some subsequent facilities the contract for delegation of management will be amended accordingly, with the opinion of the National Regulatory Authority for Public Household Services. ((6) The investments that are made from the investors ' own funds remain in their property for the duration of the contract, unless otherwise agreed at its conclusion; in the contract of delegation of the management will be mentioned the distribution of these goods at the end of any such cause. " 10. In Article 15, paragraph 3 shall read as follows: "(3) Privatization is made in accordance with the legal provisions, and the method of privatization will be established by the specifications." 11. In Article 16, paragraph 1 shall read as follows: "" Art. 16. -(1) Commercial companies providing/providing water and sewerage services may also operate in other localities on a contractual basis. " 12. In Article 17, paragraph 2 shall read as follows: "(2) Users may also be natural or legal persons who have a contract, but do not have a drinking water connection, namely their own sewerage connection." 13. Article 24 shall read as follows: "" Art. 24. -(1) The operators of water and sewerage services shall have the following obligations to the users: a) to comply with the commitments made by the contracts for the supply/provision of water and sewerage services; b) to provide the water and sewerage service to the users with whom they have concluded a contract for the supply/provision and use of the service; c) to serve all users in the coverage area for which they were authorized/certified, under the provisions of the regulation of organization and functioning of water and sewerage services; d) ensure compliance with the commitments made with regard to the performance indicators established by the local public administration authorities in the specifications and in the contracts for the delegation of water and sewerage service; e) to provide the local public administration authorities and the National Regulatory Authority for the Public Household Services the requested information and to ensure access to all the information necessary for the verification and evaluation the operation and development of water and sewerage services, in accordance with the terms of the delegation contract and the legal provisions in force; f) to implement performance management methods, leading to the reduction of operating costs, including through the application of competitive procedures given by the legal norms in force for the procurement of works, goods and services; g) to mount at his own expense a counter to the connection of each household user, within the deadlines set by the local councils, but not later than 2 years from the date of entry into force of this ordinance. (2) The operators are responsible for fulfilling in good faith the obligations provided in par. ((1). (3) The penalties for non-compliance by operators with performance indicators employed by the contract shall be provided on a mandatory basis in the contracts for the delegation of water and sewerage services or in the organization regulations and their operation, in the case of direct management. (4) Provide the amounts for financing the meters provided in par. ((1) lit. g) will take priority in the coming years to adopt the annual budget of the water service operator, regardless of the form of ownership or organization. (5) The operators of public water supply services are obliged to ensure the value of water meters already mounted by consumers, including the value of their installation. (6) The operators of water and sewerage services have the obligation to ensure the financing of the professional training of their employees For this purpose they will take over and use annually an amount equal to 0.5% of the salary fund provided for in the income and expenditure budget. " 14. Article 29, point d) shall be repealed. 15. Article 30, point d) shall be repealed. 16. Letters d), e) and f) the 7th indent of paragraph 1 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 32 shall read as follows: " d) the operator shall have the right to periodically adjust the tariffs according to the rate of inflation, on the basis of indexation formulas endorsed by the regulatory authority and approved by the responsible local public administration authorities; e) approval of tariff adjustments to be made by local councils, county councils or, as the case may be, by the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest, in accordance with the legal provisions, based on the opinion of the regulatory authority and provided the following requirements: -ensuring the supply/provision of water and sewerage services at the quality levels established by the local councils or through the contracts for the delegation of management, as the case may be; -achieving a quality/cost ratio as good as possible for the water and sewerage services provided/provided during the employee period and ensuring a balance between the risks and benefits assumed by the contracting parties; -ensuring the efficient exploitation and maintenance of goods belonging to the public and/or private domain of local public administration authorities affected by water and sewerage services; ............................................................. -the social program to limit the negative effects of redundancies; ............................................................. (2) Local public administration authorities will finance the development of water and sewerage services from the local or county budget, according to the decision of the local or county councils, as the case (3) In the case of delegated management, in order to maintain the contractual balance, any subsidy of the services entrusted to the operator may be approved by the local councils only if they determine a reduction of the tariff, corresponding to the subsidy granted, and/or an increase in the quality of water and sewerage services. " 17. The order shall be completed with the following annex: "" ANNEX TECHNICAL TERMS used in the ordinance For the purposes of this ordinance, the technical terms used shall be defined as follows: a) public water supply and sewerage services-public utility activities and general economic interest, under the authority of the local public administration, aimed at ensuring drinking water and sewerage services for all users in the territory of the localities; b) the public water supply service mainly includes the activities of capture, treatment of raw water, transport and distribution of drinking and industrial water to users; c) the public sewerage service mainly includes the following activities: collection and transport of wastewater from users to treatment plants, wastewater treatment and evacuation of water purged in the emissary, collection, evacuation and treatment adequate waste water drainage holes and ensuring their functionality, supervision of industrial wastewater disposal in the sewage system, disposal and treatment of sludge and other similar waste derived from the activities referred to above, as well as the evacuation of meteoric and the surface of the localities; d) public drinking water supply system-construction and land assembly, technological installations, functional equipment and specific facilities, through which the public drinking water supply service is carried out. The public drinking water supply system usually comprises the following components: --catchments; -bringing; --raw water treatment plants; --pumping stations, with or without hydrophore; -tanks for storage of drinking water; -distribution networks; -connections to the delimitation point; e) public sewerage system-all related constructions and land, technological installations, functional equipment and specific facilities, through which the public sewerage service is carried out. The public sewerage system usually includes the following components: -sewerage connections at the delimitation point; -sewerage networks; -wastewater pumping stations; --treatment plants; -exhaust manifolds to the emissary; -mouths of shedding in the emissary; -dehydrated sludge deposits; f) public water supply or sewerage network-the part of the public water supply system, respectively from the public sewerage system, made up of the network of pipes, fittings and construction-annexes, which ensure the distribution of water drinking, respectively taking over, evacuating and transporting sewage to or from two times as many independent users, respectively from two or more individuals who live in individual houses or from two or more legal entities that manage a single condominium, as defined by law. The component parts of a public water supply network, as well as those of a public sewerage network are usually located on the public domain; in cases where the technical-economic conditions are advantageous, the public network of Water supply and sewerage can be located, with the agreement of the owner, and on private land. It does not constitute public networks: distribution networks of a single residential building, even if it is managed by several natural or legal persons; distribution networks related to a private property premises on which it is find out more homes separated from green areas and private indoor alleys; distribution networks related to an industrial platform, in which access roads and green spaces are privately owned, even if it is managed by May many legal entities; g) connection-the part of the public water distribution network that provides the connection between the public network and the inner network of a premises or buildings belonging to the users. The connection serves only one user. The component parts of a branching shall be specified in the framework regulation for the connection and use of the public water supply service. The connection to the counter, including the connection home and the meter, belong to the public water distribution network, regardless of how to finance its realization. In duly justified cases by the user or provider and the existence of the necessary technical conditions, it can be admitted to achieve the separation and metering of the consumption of several users on the same connection, at the level of the property limit. The costs for separating and mounting several meters on the same connection, at the level of the property limit, as well as for the separate billing of users from the same condominium will be borne by the users, the provider having the obligation the mounting of a single bransament counter; h) connection-the part of the public sewerage network that provides the link between the user and the public sewage. The component parts of a connection shall be specified in the framework regulation for the connection and use of the sewage service. The connection from the home to the network, including the connection home, belongs to the public sewerage network, regardless of how to finance its implementation; i) household waste water-the waters resulting from the use of water in households, public institutions and services, which mainly result from human metabolism and from household and hygienic-sanitary activities; j) wastewater from economic activities-all discharges of waters used in economic and industrial activities or corresponding to a water use other than the domestic one; k) meteoric waters-those waters that come from atmospheric precipitation. It is considered meteoric waters and the waters that come from the sprinkling and washing of public or private roads, gardens and courtyards of buildings; l) indoor drinking water installations-the totality of the installations owned or in the administration of the user, located after the meter/connection meter, in the flow direction of the water or, if the connection is not metered, after the delimitation point between the public network and the indoor water use installation and which ensures the transport of drinking water taken from the public network to the points of consumption and/or use facilities; m) interior sewerage installations-the totality of the facilities owned or in the administration of the user, which ensures the taking over and transport of wastewater from the water use facilities to the connection home in the network public; n) delimitation point of drinking water supply facilities between the provider and the user-the place where the facilities owned or in the administration of the user are connected to the facilities owned or in the management of the provider/service provider. The delimitation between the indoor sewerage installations and the public sewerage network is made by the connection home, which is the first component of the public network, in the sense of wastewater flow; o) connection meter-the measuring device of the drinking water volume consumed by the user, which is mounted on the connection between two vane/taps, at the limit of the user's property, being the last component of the public network, in the sense of Drinking water flow; p) network meter-the device that measures drinking water consumption at several housing associations/owners or several individual users or who measure the transport of water from one area to another of the public network. " This law was adopted by the Senate at the meeting of 18 November 2002, in compliance with the provisions of art. 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. SENATE PRESIDENT NICOLAE VACAROIU This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies at the meeting of November 26, 2002, in compliance with the provisions of 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. p. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT, VIOREL HREBENCIUC Bucharest, December 7, 2002. No. 634. ------------