LEGAL ALERT: Is the risk of paralysis in the waste management market still relevant?
As we reported at the beginning of July this year, in response to numerous voices from entrepreneurs in the waste management industry regarding the approaching expiry of the 10-year term of validity of waste management decisions and the lengthy and protracted nature of administrative proceedings concerning the issuance of new permits/licenses, the Ministry of Climate and Environment proposed an amendment to Article 226a of the Act of December 14, 2012, on waste (hereinafter: the Waste Act) and Article 193(1c) of the Act of April 27, 2001, Environmental Protection Law (hereinafter: EPL).
According to the original proposal of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Article 226a(1) of the Waste Act was to be amended in such a way that until December 31, 2027, a waste collection permit or waste treatment permit would not expire due to the expiry of the period for which it was issued, if the waste holder submits an application for a new waste collection permit or waste treatment permit no later than three months before the expiry of that period. Originally, the Ministry also proposed to amend Article 193(1c) of the Environmental Protection Law so that the waste generation permit referred to in Article 180a of the Environmental Protection Law, shall not expire until December 31, 2027, if the waste holder submits an application for a new waste generation permit no later than three months before the expiry of the permit.
Shortening the originally planned deadline by as much as 1.5 years
The draft act amending the Environmental Protection Law and certain other acts (list number: UDER39) has been submitted to the Sejm and referred for further legislative work. Unfortunately, compared to the original assumptions mentioned above, there have been significant changes that are unfavorable for entrepreneurs in the waste management industry.
The most important change is a significant reduction in the period of extension of existing decisions. While the original proposal of the Ministry of Climate and Environment provided for an extension of the validity of decisions until December 31, 2027, the version of the bill submitted to the Sejm provides for a reduction of this period to June 30, 2026, i.e., by as much as 1.5 years compared to the original proposal.
Importantly, the current draft does not provide for any exceptions for pending cases – the expiry of the current decision and the failure to complete the proceedings for a new decision before July 1, 2026, will result in the expiry of previous decisions by operation of law on July 1, 2026, This will apply regardless of the date of submission of the application for a new decision.
The draft bill has been referred to the Committee on Deregulation and the Committee on Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry.
The specter of paralysis
In its current version, the draft does not provide for any remedies for protracted administrative proceedings, and therefore the direction of the changes adopted at this stage means that the risk of paralysis of the waste management market remains. In our opinion, it is doubtful that by June 30, 2026, public administration bodies will be able to complete (with final decisions) all proceedings concerning the issuance of new waste management permits/licenses.
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