Fee for reduction of natural field retention.

The Mayor of the City of Hrubieszow informs that on January 1, 2018, the Law of July 20, 2017, the Water Law (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 2268, as amended) came into force, introducing significant changes to the existing water management system in Poland. One of the main changes is the introduction of a fee for reducing natural field retention. Under the aforementioned Act, the Mayor, is required to collect fees for water services related to the reduction of natural retention.

It follows from Article 298(2)(a) – (d) of the Water Law that the fee for the reduction of natural retention shall be paid by natural persons, legal persons, organizational units, including unincorporated companies, who are:

owners of real estate or buildings,
spontaneous owners of real estate or construction objects, perpetual usufructuaries of land,
owners of immovable property or parts thereof, or construction facilities or parts thereof, owned by the State Treasury or a local government unit – which, as a result of performing works and facilities affecting the reduction of natural field retention, have led to a reduction in this retention.

The fee for the reduction in natural retention shall be borne by both the entity that performed the works or facilities that led to the reduction in retention, and the entity that, although it did not lead to a reduction in retention as a result of the performance of works or facilities, nevertheless exercises authority over the property that meets the prerequisites for the fee, in the manner specified in Article 298(2) of the Water Law.

Article 269 of the Water Law introduces the obligation to pay a fee for the reduction of natural retention and imposes a water service fee for the reduction of natural field retention as a result of performing on a property with an area of 3,500 sq. m. works or construction facilities permanently connected to the ground, affecting the reduction of this retention by excluding more than 70% of the property’s area from biologically active surface in areas not covered by open or closed sewer systems.

According to Article 270(7) of the Water Law, the amount of the fee for the aforementioned water service depends respectively on the size of the sealed area, understood as the built-up area excluded from the biologically active area, and the application of retention compensation. The method of paying the fee for this water service is regulated by Article 272(8) of the aforementioned law, which states that, the amount of the fee is determined as the product of the unit fee rate, expressed in m2 of the size of the lost biologically active area, and the time expressed in years.

Those in charge of a property with an area of more than 3,500 m2, which has been developed at least 70%, are required to submit data on the size of the lost biologically active area in m2, in accordance with the Act of July 20, 2018 amending the Water Law and certain other acts (Journal of Laws, item 1722 ) and the amended Article 552, entities obliged to pay fees for water services shall submit statements within 30 days from the day falling at the end of each quarter.

Accordingly, the Mayor of the City of Hrubieszow informs owners of real estate with an area of more than 3500 m2, which has been developed in at least 70%, of the obligation to submit statements within 30 days from the day falling at the end of each quarter.

The Hrubieszów Municipality, realizing the obligation imposed by the provisions of the Water Law Act – on the basis of the submitted statement will provide, in the form of information, to the entities obliged to pay for water services, the amount of the fee in question, including the method of calculating the fee. Payment of the fee should be made within 14 days from the date, of delivery of the information. The fee should be paid quarterly at the Cashier’s Office of the Hrubieszów City Hall or to the City Hall’s bank account 32 1240 2223 1111 0010 8723 0227 .

Proceeds from fees for the reduction of natural retention will constitute 90% of the revenue of the Polish Water Authority, and 10% of the revenue of the municipal budget.

The unit rates of fees for water services for the reduction of natural field retention, according to the:

https://www.wody.gov.pl/nasze-dzialania/oplaty-za-zmniejszenie-naturalnej-retencji