Aragón will go to court. The Governing Council has agreed file an appeal before the Supreme Court against Royal Decree 662/2024, of July 9“which establishes the regime to which the installation of floating photovoltaic plants in reservoirs located in the public hydraulic domain in the hydrographic basins, whose management corresponds to the General Administration of the State, and which modifies the Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain, approved by Royal Decree 849/1986, of April 11″.
The challenge is based on several aspects. The first of them is that it is considered pertinent to file the corresponding contentious-administrative appeal against the aforementioned regulations of the General Administration of the State. Furthermore, it is alleged that the General Directorate of Legal Services understands that the exercise of judicial actions in the Contentious-Administrative Order is legally reasonable for two compelling arguments.
In this sense, it is pointed out omission of the prior consultation procedure. As it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in more resolutions – among others, in Sentence no. 931/2024, of May 28, of the Third Chamber, Contentious-Administrative, Section 5, issued in appeal no. 815/2022-, the prior consultation process regulated in articles 133 LPAC and 26 LG can only be omitted in the preparation of regulatory standards of the General Administration of the State of a budgetary or organizational nature when, in addition, there are serious reasons of public interest that justify it, relevant obligations are not imposed on the recipients or non-essential aspects of a matter are regulated. Analyzing the content of Royal Decree 662/2024, of July 9, these circumstances are not met.
The second argument is violation of the principles of good regulation. In the opinion of the Legal Services, in the processing of the Royal Decree, at least three of the principles included in article 129 LPAC have been infringed. Along these lines, the focus is on the violation of the principles of necessity and legal certainty, since Royal Decree 662/2024, of July 9, when developing article 77 bis of the consolidated text of the Water Law, is insufficient.
Furthermore, it is pointed out the violation of the principle of transparencyin relation to article 7 of Law 19/2013, of December 9, on transparency, access to public information and good governance, while only the project, the Analysis Report of Regulatory Impact and the opinion of the Council of State, so apparently the publication of the rest of the mandatory reports and opinions has been omitted.
The violation of article 18 of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental evaluation, is also referred to, given that article 3.3.d) of Royal Decree 662/2024, of July 9, grants the initiative to request it. to the substantive body and not to the promoter.
From the Executive they point out the affectation of concurrent regional powersamong others, exclusive competence in matters of territorial planning, additional regulations on environmental protection and tourism (articles 77.8ª, 22ª 51ª EEAr), and participation and collaboration in the state management bodies of water resources and hydraulic uses that belong to inter-community hydrographic basins that affect Aragón (article 72 EAAr).
Given these reasons, the filing of the contentious administrative appeal against ‘Royal Decree 662/2024, of July 9, which establishes the regime to which the installation of floating photovoltaic plants in reservoirs located in “the public hydraulic domain in the hydrographic basins whose management corresponds to the General Administration of the State, and which modifies the Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain, approved by Royal Decree 849/1986, of April 11.”
This appeal before the Supreme Court is a step before the installation of floating photovoltaics in reservoirs, which was unanimously rejected by the Cortes of Aragon. Furthermore, the president of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, announced in July the intention of the Aragonese Executive to create a regulations that restrict the installation of photovoltaic panels in reservoirs, a restriction that will be part of the next Aragon Energy Plan.
The installation of photovoltaic panels on water is considered by the regional Executive to be a measure with a negative environmental impact and harmful to the economic, tourist and cultural development of our community, in addition to generating significant damage to irrigators.
The Government of Aragon understands that the community It has enough territory to have to install panels in these reservoirs which, in addition to hosting numerous tourist, sports and economic activities, play a fundamental role for irrigators, who must ensure that 100% of the stored water is for priority irrigation usesomething that is not guaranteed if these facilities are allowed to occupy up to 15% of the water surface.
The approval on July 9 by the Council of Ministers of the Royal Decree that regulates the installation of floating plates in reservoirs would affect 14 Aragonese swamps: Moneva, El Val, Cueva Foradada, Lechago, Gallipuén, Tranquera, Sotonera, El Grado, Montearagón, Ardisa, La Estanca, San Salvador, Búbal and Lanuza.
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