The Commission of Standards for Great Presses was created by Order of the then Ministry of Public Works of January 15, 1959, with the mission to draft the technical instructions for the project, construction and exploitation of dams and reservoirs.

Subsequently, by Order of 26 April 1965, the Commission was established as a consultative body of a permanent nature, empowered to propose the modification or maintenance of the technical regulations applicable in the field of construction and exploitation of large dams and to provide technical advice to the State Administration in these matters; nature and functions which were repeated by the Order of 31 March 1967.

Finally, by Order of the Ministry of the Environment of 5 October 1999, the composition and functions of the Commission of Standards for Great Presses were regulated. In that order, its legal regime is adapted to the provisions of Article 40.4 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State, as well as the functioning and the regime for the adoption of its Agreements are in accordance with the provisions of Chapter II of Title II of Law 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure.

The approval of Royal Decree 9/2008 of 11 January amending the Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain, approved by Royal Decree 849/1986 of 11 April, introduced Title VII on the safety of dams, The Commission has been able to draw up a number of amendments on the safety regulations for existing dams, such as incorporating water rafts in the field of application and establishing a single safety criteria for all existing dams. dams, reservoirs and rafts.

The criteria established by the Royal Decree cited must be included in the Technical Standards of Security that will be approved by the Government by means of a royal decree. The security system established is based on two basic aspects: the obligations required of the holder of the dam or raft, as defined in the Technical Standards of Safety, and the control of security, understood as the set of actions to be performed by the competent public administration to verify that the holder has complied with the requirements of the Technical Safety Standards.

The approval of Royal Decree 9/2008 of 11 January, coupled with the increasing technical complexity of the project phases, construction and exploitation of dams and reservoirs in safety related aspects, It is advisable for the bodies of the General Administration of the State with powers in the field of water works to be able to provide qualified security advice in order to avoid possible technical dysfunctions. in the works and actions to be undertaken, ensuring in any case the safety of persons and the goods.

In this respect, the work carried out for decades by the Commission on Standards for Great Presses in order to study and examine numerous problems related to the safety of dams, or functions, cannot be unknown. which have always been in the process of being examined and proposed to reform the technical regulations. In this sense, it is necessary to emphasize that the number of dams classified in Spain as "large dams" has evolved to reach the current figure of about one thousand three hundred.

In the determination of the composition of the Commission, the criteria for rationalisation, the economy in public expenditure and the effectiveness set out in Royal Decree 776/2011 of 3 June 2011, for which they are deleted, have been taken into account. certain collegiate bodies and establish criteria for standardisation in the creation of collegiate bodies in the General Administration of the State and its Public Bodies. In this way, although the functions of the organ are increased in relevance and complexity in recent years, the number of organ members is maintained in an attempt to comply with the aforementioned principles.

The reasons set out clearly justify the fact that the Commission is the body responsible for providing the qualified advice required by the bodies of the General Administration of the State. Among the advisory tasks, the Committee on Standards will work on the study of technical solutions to improve the safety of dams and reservoirs and the drafting of proposals for technical standards and provisions general in the field of dam safety to be submitted for consideration by the competent bodies of the General Administration of the State.

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

Article 1. Establishment and nature of the Commission.

The Commission of Standards for Great Presses is created, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment through the Directorate General of Water, as advisory body and technical and security advisory in the matter of dams and reservoirs under the provisions of Article 40.1 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State.

Article 2. Functions of the Commission on Standards for Great Presses.

It is for the Commission to exercise the following tasks:

(a) Develop proposals on the Technical Standards for the Safety of Presas and Embalses, as well as elaborate proposals on other normative provisions within the scope of the safety of dams, reservoirs and rafts that may be further developed at the request of the head of the Water Directorate-General.

b) Technical advice on safety related to the project, construction and operation of dams and reservoirs, at the request of the head of the Directorate-General for Water or the body which, if necessary, assumes its competencies.

Article 3. Composition of the Commission of Standards for Great Presses.

1. The Commission shall be composed of twelve members, one of whom shall be the President and the other shall hold the position of Vice-President. They shall all be experts in matters relating to the tasks entrusted to the Commission. In general terms, the vowels will be professionals with a proven experience in the issues related to security in the different phases through which the life of a dam goes through.

2. The President shall be appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment; the appointment shall be with the holder of the Directorate-General for Water.

3. Of the total number of vowels, four will have the status of officials, in addition to the secretary. They may be members of the Rules Committee, the officials belonging to the Directorate General of Water or the Hydrographic Confederations, which have at least the administrative level of Head of Area, or equivalent of Level 28. His appointment will be made by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, on a proposal from the head of the Directorate General for Water.

Article 4. Secretariat of the Commission.

The Secretariat of the Commission will be performed by an official of the Directorate General of Water, appointed by the head of the Directorate General, who will attend the meetings with a voice but without a vote. It shall have at least the administrative level of Head of Service or equivalent level 26.

Article 5. Sessions of the Commission on Standards for Great Presses.

1. The Commission shall meet at least once a year and as many times as the President, on its own initiative or at the request of half its members.

2. Similarly, the Commission may establish and adopt agreements through electronic means, in accordance with the terms laid down in Law 11/2007 of 22 June 2007 on the electronic access of citizens to Public Services.

Article 6. Arrangements for the operation and adoption of agreements.

1. The Commission shall adapt its operation and arrangements to the provisions of Chapter II of Title II of Law 30/1992 of 26 November of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

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

Article 7. Non-retributed character of the vowels.

All members of the Commission of Standards for Great Presses shall exercise their powers and fulfil their responsibilities without in return for any kind of remuneration.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

The provisions of equal or lower rank shall be repealed as set out in this order, and in particular the Order of the Ministry of the Environment of 5 October 1999 governing the composition and functions of the of the Commission of Standards for Large Presses.

Single end disposition. Entry into force.

This order shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Madrid, June 25, 2015. -Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Isabel García Tejerina.