Bill of Law No. 2788/2019 (the Bill)—providing for the National Policy for People Affected by Dams (PNAB)—was approved by the Federal Senate.
If sanctioned by the President of the Republic, the PNAB will apply to all dams incluided the National Dam Safety Policy (PNSB), and to those not included, but whose construction, operation, or deactivation has affected populations.
In addition, as provided for in the version of the Bill passed by the Senate, the Policy will apply to incidents, accidents, and disasters that have already occurred or are imminent, as shown in the table below:
The Bill contains provisions related to the characterization of the affected population , considering the possible damage resulting from the hypotheses of application of the law in the form mentioned above. There is not, however, a geographical delimitation of the boundaries to be considered for the purposes of characterizing those affected.
The Bill further establishes rules that may have significant impacts on dam developers..
Below, we highlight the main aspects of the Bill:
Also, article 7 provides for the creation of Local PNAB Committees. According to the wording of this article, these committees will have monitoring, inspection, and evaluating the Program for the Rights of People Affected by Dams (PDPAB) in each specific case. However, it is not clear, how the composition of these Committees will be determined.
A brief history of the bill:
The bill now moves for presidential sanction, and and there may be vetoes to the Senate’s text.. The bill is expected to be signed into law soon.
The team of experts in dams at Cescon Barrieu Law Firm is available to clarify any doubts and provide any clarifications.
