20 Power Plant Open Cooling System in the Context of the Objectives …
397
(d) Other EU policies on biodiversity, renewable energy and floods management
have been developed, influencing how we manage aquatic systems.
Among the priority issues in the process of planning investments related to water
management is the implementation of WFD assumptions in order to guarantee the
protection of natural resources as well as to prevent any deterioration in the status
of the natural environment. The above is reflected in ensuring the sustainable development of the Vistula River basin while ensuring that water management needs are
met at the same time.
20.2 Legal Framework
20.2.1 River Basin Management Plans
The obligation to draw up river basin management plans (RBMPs) results from
Article 13 of the WFD. According to that Article, “Member States shall ensure that
a river basin management plan is produced for each river basin district lying entirely
within their territory” [1].
RBMPs were first developed in Poland in 2009, and they were subsequently
approved by the Council of Ministers on 22 February 2011. These plans are updated
every six years. Once approved by the Council of Ministers, the updated RBMP
(uRBMP), as a strategy paper, is the basis for:
• Making decisions which determine the status of water resources;
• Improving the process for achieving or maintaining the good status of waters and
the related ecosystems;
• Determining the need to introduce rational water management principles in the
future.
Updated RBMPs include issues related to the achievement of environmental
objectives for individual types of surface waters, groundwaters and protected areas.
The list of environmental objectives developed during the next planning cycle (2016)
included, inter alia, more stringent environmental objectives relating to protected
areas within which particular bodies of surface water are located. In the first planning cycle, no environmental objectives were indicated, but it was assumed that
for natural bodies of surface water those included a good ecological and chemical
status, while for heavily modified and artificial bodies of surface water they included
a good ecological potential and a good chemical status. For bodies of groundwater,
the objective was a good quantitative and chemical status.
Since the publication of the first RBMP, a number of amendments have been
introduced into the Polish legislation, which have allowed it to be adapted to water
resources management principles which are in line with the requirements of the WFD.
The most important of those amendments has been the introduction of a definition
of environmental objectives and of provisions which determine the conditions for
397
(d) Other EU policies on biodiversity, renewable energy and floods management
have been developed, influencing how we manage aquatic systems.
Among the priority issues in the process of planning investments related to water
management is the implementation of WFD assumptions in order to guarantee the
protection of natural resources as well as to prevent any deterioration in the status
of the natural environment. The above is reflected in ensuring the sustainable development of the Vistula River basin while ensuring that water management needs are
met at the same time.
20.2 Legal Framework
20.2.1 River Basin Management Plans
The obligation to draw up river basin management plans (RBMPs) results from
Article 13 of the WFD. According to that Article, “Member States shall ensure that
a river basin management plan is produced for each river basin district lying entirely
within their territory” [1].
RBMPs were first developed in Poland in 2009, and they were subsequently
approved by the Council of Ministers on 22 February 2011. These plans are updated
every six years. Once approved by the Council of Ministers, the updated RBMP
(uRBMP), as a strategy paper, is the basis for:
• Making decisions which determine the status of water resources;
• Improving the process for achieving or maintaining the good status of waters and
the related ecosystems;
• Determining the need to introduce rational water management principles in the
future.
Updated RBMPs include issues related to the achievement of environmental
objectives for individual types of surface waters, groundwaters and protected areas.
The list of environmental objectives developed during the next planning cycle (2016)
included, inter alia, more stringent environmental objectives relating to protected
areas within which particular bodies of surface water are located. In the first planning cycle, no environmental objectives were indicated, but it was assumed that
for natural bodies of surface water those included a good ecological and chemical
status, while for heavily modified and artificial bodies of surface water they included
a good ecological potential and a good chemical status. For bodies of groundwater,
the objective was a good quantitative and chemical status.
Since the publication of the first RBMP, a number of amendments have been
introduced into the Polish legislation, which have allowed it to be adapted to water
resources management principles which are in line with the requirements of the WFD.
The most important of those amendments has been the introduction of a definition
of environmental objectives and of provisions which determine the conditions for