The International Commission of Great Presas (ICOLD) is a scientific and technical organization created in 1928, whose headquarters is located in Paris. Its main objectives are to improve the design, construction, exploitation and maintenance of dams in the world, for which it promotes the exchange of experiences among its member countries.

The Commission is composed of a wide range of countries that can be estimated at around 100, belonging to the different continents. All of them, aware of the importance of the dams, express their willingness to participate in the technical knowledge on the various aspects (geographical, economic, political and technical) that accompany these infrastructures, highlighting the search for best available techniques.

The operation of the Commission is based on a score of Technical Committees, dedicated to different aspects related to dams and reservoirs. By way of example: auscultation and monitoring of dams, exploitation, maintenance and rehabilitation of dams, information to the public and education, role of dams in the development and management of river basins, dams and avenues, dams and global climate change, dam safety, public safety around dams.

The functioning of the Commission through these Committees allows member countries to make contributions in the areas where the country has achieved a degree of outstanding knowledge and at the same time to nurture the contributions it makes the other countries in the areas where they have a higher degree of experience. In this sense, Spain presides or leads five of these Technical Committees.

Spain was one of the first members of ICOLD and its representation is held by the Spanish National Committee of Great Presses (SPANCOLD is its international acronym).

Currently, SPANCOLD is an important multidisciplinary collective open to society, which is structured in twenty-three Technical Committees that produce reference documents (Technical and Manuals Guides) for the sector of activity related to the dams and they also participate very actively in the homonymous committees of ICOLD.

Among the activities carried out by the Spanish National Committee of Great Presses, it is important to highlight the relations that have been established for decades with the water management organizations of different countries with the The aim is to support the export of Spanish technology in the field of dams and rafts, recognized worldwide as one of the most prestigious and most prestigious.

addition, the Committee develops training activities for professionals specializing in dams and rafts, organizing courses, technical days and international symposia. Among these activities is the imparting of a International Master, approved as a title of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UfM), which is attended by Ibero-American students from the countries integrated in the Conference of Ibero-American Water Directors. (CODE).

The Spanish National Committee of Great Presas (SPANCOLD) was created by Order of the Ministry of Public Works of December 28, 1955, as a collegiate body of the General Administration of the State that serves as liaison with the International Commission of Great Presas activity developed by the international body. Figure entered in the inventory of collegiate bodies of the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations. This is thus expressed in the report issued by the Ministry of Public Administrations of 13 September 2007. Its internal organisation and functioning respond to the principle of organic membership and own dependence on administrative bodies.

In spite of the above, in the database of collegiate bodies created in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, the Committee is not registered. Similarly, it is not formally classified in any of the groups provided for in Article 39 of Law 6/1997, of 14 April, of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out its formal and appropriate classification in the terms set out in that Law 6/1997 of 14 April.

Its Statutes date back to 1971, and were approved by Order of 17 September of the then Minister of Public Works, and have been updated on 20 February 2001, but are not adapted to the requirements of the legislation in force in this area.

Consequently, it is necessary to set up the Spanish National Committee for Great Pressure and to regulate its operation in accordance with the provisions of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of the Administrations Public and the Common Administrative Procedure, as regards the legal system of the collegiate bodies. This creation must also be extended to the requirements of the abovementioned Law 6/1997 of 14 April, which, in Articles 38 to 40, lays down the requirements for the establishment of collective bodies, the classification and composition of the bodies and the form and the procedure for its creation, in such a way as to establish appropriate and sufficient legal arrangements for the Spanish National Committee for Great Presses.

In its virtue, with the prior approval of the Minister of Finance and Public Administrations, I have:

Article 1. Object.

The object of this order is the creation and regulation of the Spanish National Committee of Great Presas as a collegiate body of ministerial character, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment through the Directorate General for Water.

The Committee is integrated into the International Commission on Great Presses.

Article 2. Fines of the Spanish National Committee of Great Presses.

The purposes of the Committee are as follows:

a) Promote the progress of the project, the construction, conservation and exploitation of large dams and reservoirs; in the framework of sustainable water development.

b) Encourage research on the environmental conditions of dams and reservoirs, as well as on the analysis of measures necessary for the preservation of the environment.

c) Disclosing to the public the knowledge of the benefits that, for the general well-being, are derived from the large dams and their reservoirs.

d) Contribute to the improvement of the technique and safety of large dams and their adequacy to the specific national circumstances.

e) Stimulating study, construction, and technology of the exploitation of large dams.

f) Facilitate exchanges of knowledge and coordination among public and private professionals, agencies and companies related to the project, as well as the construction and exploitation of large dams.

Article 3. Structure and mode of action of the Committee.

1. The Committee shall be composed of a President, a Vice-President, thirty headline Vocals, thirty alternate Vocals and one Secretary-General.

2. The Committee may act in plenary session, in delegated committee and in technical committees:

(a) The Committee Plenary shall be composed of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary-General and the Vocals. The plenary session shall meet at least four times a year.

(b) The Delegation of the Plenary Assembly shall be composed of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary-General and four Vocals elected by the Plenary for a period of four years, renewable for once. The Delegated Commission shall meet at least six times a year. Its main function is to coordinate the technical committees, which will be integrated by Vocals.

c) The technical activities of the Committee will be developed through the Technical Committees, each of them being responsible for proposing the activities to be carried out.

3. The Technical Committees will develop the technical activities related to the different aspects related to dams and reservoirs. Their number will be similar to that of the International Commission's Technical Committees, currently formed by twenty-three.

Each Committee will be chaired by a Technical Director, who in turn will hold the position of Vocal in the Spanish National Committee.

The activity of the Committees will be developed on a permanent basis, being able to be assisted by professional experts in the field.

Article 4. Appointment of the members of the Committee.

1. The President shall be appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment on a proposal from the Committee's plenary session. Its mandate will be four years renewable for the same period.

2. The Vice President will also be appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The appointment will be the Director General of Water.

3. The Vowels will be appointed by the plenary among professionals from the different sectors of activity related to the large dams. Of these, six will have to show the status of an official of the race, belonging to the Directorate General of Water or any of the Hydrographic Confederations, with an administrative level equivalent to Head of Area, that will be proposed by the Director General of Water for his appointment by the plenary.

Vowels may also be the Director in the relevant Technical Committee, by means of a plenary appointment.

4. The alternate members shall be appointed by the plenary in the same way as the headline Vocals.

5. The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the Plenary Assembly on a proposal from the President of the Vocals. Your appointment will be made for a period of four years.

Article 5. Activities of the Committee.

For the purposes set out in Article 2, the Committee shall carry out the following activities:

1. The exchange of information with the International Commission of Great Presses and with the other National Committees that integrate it, and in particular with the Spanish speakers and those of the European Club of the Commission.

2. The exchange and coordination of information with the public and private professionals, agencies and companies represented in the Committee, and any other related to its purposes.

3. The encouragement and coordination of the Spanish contribution to the meetings and work of the Commission, or other international ones, in which technical topics related to the Committee's objectives should be addressed.

4. The dissemination of publications and documents relating to their own purposes, including those prepared or drafted by the Committee itself, the Commission, and other National Committees.

5. The organisation of working groups, conferences, courses, meetings and days at national level, with a view to updating information on large dams, as well as possible assistance and intervention at other national meetings on related topics.

6. The promotion and training of study groups and technical committees on issues related to their aims.

7. The issuance of reports and studies as required for this purpose, and the assignment of which is accepted by the Committee.

8. The promotion of the best vocational training at all levels, of the subjects related to the large dams.

9. The promotion of progress in Spanish regulations and regulations related to dams.

10. The implementation of Committee publications related to dams, as well as the elaboration of Technical Guides in the field of dams and their reservoirs.

11. The translation into Spanish of the Commission's newsletters and publications, as well as other international bodies.

Article 6. Operating system.

1. The Committee shall adapt its operation and the arrangements for agreements to the provisions of Chapter II of Title II of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992. In particular, the supply arrangements provided for in Article 24 (3) of that law shall apply.

2. Similarly, the Committee may establish and adopt agreements through electronic means, in the terms set out in Law 11/2007, of 22 June, on the electronic access of citizens to Public Services.

3. The Plenary Session shall be convened within a period of 15 days.

4. The needs arising from the operation of the Commissions will be met with the personal and material resources of the Directorate General for Water, without any increase in public expenditure.

Article 7. Agreements.

1. In cases where a vote is required, the Committee plenary shall adopt its agreements by a majority vote. All members of the plenary shall have the right to vote.

2. In case of absence or disease and, in general, where there is a justified cause, the members shall be replaced by their alternate members. This supply shall be valid only for a given plenary meeting, which shall be stated in the letter which the voice must address to the Chairman of the Committee.

3. The agreements shall be adopted by a simple majority of votes. Decisions of a technical nature shall be taken after deliberation until a common opinion is reached.

Article 8. Election of the members of the Committee.

1. The candidate who has obtained more than 50% of the votes cast shall be elected President. If no candidate obtains that majority, a second ballot will be held in which the candidate who obtains the highest number of votes will be elected.

2. To be part of the Delegate Commission, candidates who have obtained a number of votes greater than 50% of the issued lists will be elected. If this does not cover all the posts, a second vote will be held in the same way but reduced to the posts to be filled, in which the most voted candidates will be elected.

3. The Secretary-General of the Committee shall be elected by the Plenary, on a proposal from the President, within a maximum of one year from the beginning of the President's term of office. In the vote, you must obtain more than 50% of the votes cast.

4. At least once a year, elections shall be convened at a plenary meeting to fill the seats of the Committee's members. This will update the list of headline vowels. An independent vote will be held for each Incumbent Vocal Vacancy, which will be chosen if it obtains more than 50% of the votes from the present and represented vowels. If not, a second vote will be held with the three most voted candidates. If, for this second vote, in the third place there would have been a tie of votes among the candidates, the candidates will be included in the vote. The candidate who gets the most votes in this vote will be elected.

Article 9. Unpaid character of its members.

All members of the Spanish National Committee of Great Presses shall exercise their powers and fulfil their responsibilities without receiving any remuneration in return.

Single transient arrangement. Appointments prior to this order.

All members of the Spanish National Committee of Great Presas as of the date of publication of this order shall keep their appointments in force without a solution of continuity, until the renewal, if appropriate, provided for in the Article 2, provided that the position they hold matches the structure of the collegiate body that is approved by this order.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

The Order of the Ministry of Public Works, dated December 28, 1955, is hereby repealed, governing the Spanish National Committee of Great Presses.

Final disposition first. No increase in public spending.

1. The operation of the Spanish National Committee of Great Presses will not entail an increase in public expenditure and will be met with the contributions that it can receive from public or private entities, with the income it obtains as a result of the conduct of studies, reports, courses, technical days and specialized technical advisory activities to be carried out.

Without prejudice to the above, the Directorate-General for Water will make available to the Committee the use of rooms and spaces that are necessary for the performance of its activities, as well as the necessary administrative support for the same, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6.4.

2. Attendance at organ sessions by its members or by professional experts shall in no case give rise to the perception of remuneration or compensation.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This order will take effect the day following your publication in the "Official State Bulletin".

Madrid, July 16, 2015. -Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Isabel García Tejerina.