IEOP – Background Information

By Decision dated 7 December 2007, the European Commission approved the 2007–2013 Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme (IEOP) which has crowned the months-lasting preparation of this programme being considered the biggest one in the European Union history. The amount of the Community resources involved in the implementation of this Programme is almost 28 billion euro, which accounts for about 42% of the total Cohesion Fund resources allocated in Poland.

The Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme is the biggest one of the Community Operational Programmes also in terms of its resources available. The amount of 27,848.3 million euro will come EU resources (including 21,511.06 million euro (77%) with the Cohesion Fund (CF), and 6,337.2 million euro (23%) with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)).

The following 15 priority axes are to be implemented under IEOP:

1. Water and sewage management – 3,275.2 million euro (including 2 783.9 million euro CF);
2. Waste management and the protection of earth – 1,430.3 million euro (including 1,215.7 million euro CF);
3. Resource management and counteracting environmental risks – 655.0 million euro (including 556.8 million euro CF);
4. Initiatives aimed at adjusting enterprises to the requirements of environment protection – 667.0 million euro (including 200.0 million euro ERDF);
5. Environmental protection and the promotion of ecological habits – 105.6 million euro (including 89.9 million euro ERDF);
6. TEN-T road and air transport network – 10 548.3 million euro (including 8 802.4 million euro CF);
7. Environmentally friendly transport – 12 062.0 million euro (including 7 676.0 million euro CF);
8. Transport safety and national transport networks – 3 465.3 million euro (including 2 945.5 million euro ERDF);
9. Environmentally friendly energy infrastructure and energy  efficiency – 1 403.0 million euro (including 748.0 million euro CF);
10. Energy security, including diversification of energy sources – 1 693.2 million euro (including 974.3 million euro ERDF);
11. Culture and cultural heritage – 576.4 million euro (including 490.0 million euro ERDF);
12. Health security and improvement in efficiency of the healthcare system – 411.8 million euro (including 350.0 million euro ERDF);
13. Infrastructure for higher education – 588.2 million euro (including 500.0 million euro ERDF);
14. Technical assistance - European Regional Development Fund – 220.9 million euro (including 187.8 million euro ERDF);
15. Technical assistance - Cohesion Fund – 462.9 million euro (including 393.5 million euro CF).

The quantity of the resources allocated for water management projects is following:

Management of the Operational Programme

The activities aimed at preparation of the „Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme are coordinated by  Ministry of Regional Development, which, while acting in capacity of the Programme Managing Authority (MA), is responsible for management of and in the further perspective for supervision over and control of its implementation process. Ministry of the Environment, as the Programme Intermediate Body (IB), is responsible for management of environmental projects. The IB, in turn, has the right to transferring of a part of its responsibilities to an institution which will directly deal with implementation of the Programme.

The 3rd Priority Axis of the „Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme

On 26 June 2007, Mr. Mariusz Gajda, President of the National Board for Water Management, and Mr. Jan Szyszko, Minister of the Environment, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the „Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for its 3rd Priority Axis, i.e. „Resource management and prevention of environmental risks”.

That means the National Board for Water Management has been entrusted with the responsibilities of the Implementing Institution (the name of which is identical as that of the 2nd stage Intermediate Body). New Department of the UE and Foreign Funds was established with the National Board to provide for the proper implementation of this process. This new Department took over the majority of the responsibilities under the Memorandum of Understanding. Some responsibilities were entrusted to other organisational entities of the National Board, e.g. the Financial Management and Clearance Section was set up with the Finance and Budget Bureau. The inputs to be contributed by particular organisational entities in course of the IEOP implementation is shown in the organisation chart of the National Board for Water Management being the Programme Implementing Institution.

The objectives of the 3rd Priority Axis „Resource management and prevention of environmental risks”

The overall objective of this priority axis is to:
Provide appropriate quantities of water resources to satisfy both the needs of the public and the demand of the national economy, minimise any negative effects of natural disasters and serious accidents, ensure good status of coastal waters, as well as strengthen the decision making processes by provision of reliable information on the state of the environment, as acquired under environmental monitoring system.

Specific objectives of the priority axis are to:

• expand the quantity of disposable resources required to satisfy the needs of the public and the demands of the national economy, and enhance the flood control rate and that of counteracting the drought effects,
• expand natural retention in river valleys with preservation of their good ecological status,
• enhance the protection against natural risk impacts and counteract serious accidents, remove the effects thereof and restore the environment to its adequate status, and strengthen selected components of environmental management system,
• improve both the environmental monitoring system and the access to environmental information with the aim of strengthening the environmental decision making processes.

The objectives of this priority axis will be implemented through:

• Enhancement of the protection against natural risk impacts by means of adequate maintenance of existing flood control facilities, construction of polders, dry reservoirs, redevelopment and modification of the flood embankments,
• Prevention of serious accidents and improvement in the technical safety conditions of existing facilities, including water reservoirs and stages of fall, as well as other facilities for periodical water damming,
• Construction and modification of the infrastructure which serves for rainwater and meltwater treatment and discharge into sea,
• Modification and construction of new multi-purpose water damming reservoirs (following the Commission’s guidance),
• Enhancement of natural retention in river valleys with preservation of the river good ecological and technical through, amongst others, the restoration of old river-beds, afforestation and bush planting, the use of the retention capabilities of natural flood plains and wetlands, as through the activities being the components of large projects,
• Prepare planning documents – water management plans and activity programmes, and the flood management plans – under the Water Law Act, the Framework Water Directive, and Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks,
• Strengthening, by means of improvements to be made in environmental monitoring system, concerning generation and provision of environmental information required for good performance of environmental decision making processes.

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries of Measure 3.1 “Water retention and provision of flood control” include:

1. Regional Water Management Boards,
2. The Voivodship Boards for Water Equipment and Melioration,
3. Territorial Self-Governmental Authorities and their associations,
4. The „State Forests” National Holding and its structural organisational entities,
5. The entities which provide services in the scope of the statutory activity profile of the Territorial Self-Governmental Authorities.

Beneficiaries of Measure 3.2: “Prevention and reduction of the natural risk impacts and counteracting serious accidents” include:

1. Chief Commandant and the Voivodship Commandants of the State Fire Service,
2. Chief Inspectorate and the Voivodship Inspectorates of Environmental Protection,
3. The „State Forests” National Holding and its structural organisational entities,
4. Maritime Offices,
5. Maritime Search and Rescue Service.

Beneficiaries of Measure 3.3: “Environmental monitoring” include

1. Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection,
2. The Voivodship Inspectorates for Environmental Protection,
3. Regional Boards for Water Management,
4. The „State Forests” National Holding and its structural organisational entities.