Novo Marco Legal do Saneamento Básico – Diretrizes Nacionais (Parte II)

The New Legal Framework (Law No. 14,026 / 2020) provided significant changes in the sphere of formulating public policies for basic sanitation, thus establishing a collegiate body responsible for implementing these initiatives.

The New Legal Framework (Law No. 14,026 / 2020) provided significant changes in the sphere of formulating public policies for basic sanitation, thus establishing a collegiate body responsible for implementing these initiatives. These normative changes also encompass a framework that will support the definition of policies, projects, planning and actions aimed at the goal of universalization.

The Interministerial Committee on Basic Sanitation (CISB), a collegiate body instituted by the New Legal Framework (art. 53-A, Law nº 11.445 / 2007), is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the federal basic sanitation policy. To this end, it is competent to coordinate, at the federal level, the National Basic Sanitation Plan, to prepare technical studies to support decisions regarding the allocation of federal resources and to promote compliance with the reference standards issued by the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency ( Article 53-B, Law No. 11,445 / 2007 and Articles 2 and 3, Decree No. 10,430 / 2020).

The federal sanitation policy is divided into guidelines (art. 48, Law 11,445 / 2007) and objectives (art. 49, Law 11,445 / 2007). The former are based on long-term perspectives, such as social and territorial equity in the population’s access to these services, sustainable, urban and regional development, improvement in the quality of life, environmental conditions and public health. It also aims to guide regulatory and governance activities (standardization, dissemination of best practices, promotion of legal certainty, reduction of regulatory risks) and to stimulate Research and Development.

In the area of ​​public policies, the guidelines set standards to be used during their formulation, such as epidemiological and social development indicators; objective eligibility and priority criteria with an exemplary role; reference unit corresponding to the hydrographic basin; cooperation mechanisms between federated entities; and priority for policies aimed at expanding services.

The objectives of federal policy added by the New Legal Framework concern the promotion of competition, technical training of the segment, regionalization of services, environmental education and health, reduction of water consumption and contribution to national development added to related purposes.

The National Basic Sanitation Plan (art. 52, Law nº 11.445 / 2007), in turn, has a minimum content provided by law covering objectives and targets for universalization, proposition and planning of programs, projects and actions, together with its systematic evaluation . Thus, it exemplifies priority areas for the Union’s actions, determining that the planning involved in the preparation of these documents consider the perspective of twenty years, and should be evaluated annually and reviewed every four years.

To meet the objectives related to regionalization, the elaboration of regional plans in conjunction with states and municipalities and support from public bodies and entities, as well as service providers, in order to optimize planning and basic sanitation services is stipulated.

To achieve this scope, the legislation determines that the CISB accompanies the allocation of federal resources, according to the guidelines and objectives previously mentioned, evaluating and approving the guidelines for its application (art. 50, Law nº 11.445 / 2007). Therefore, it must guarantee in these simplified and standardized procedures the rationality aimed at the universalization and expansion of public and private investments in the sector, the maximization of the benefit-cost ratio and the greater reach for the population, always observing the efficiency and transparency in the use of public resources (art. 3, Decree nº 10.430 / 2020).

Finally, it should be stressed the possibilities brought by the New Legal Framework regarding the control exercised by society aimed at monitoring public policies and the provision of sanitation services. Examples of this are the forecasts for participation in national collegiate bodies of an advisory nature (art. 47, caput, Law nº 11.445 / 2007) and that the public information of the National Basic Sanitation Information System (SINISA) will be in open data format (art. 53, § 1, Law No. 11,445 / 2007).

By: Wilson Sales Belchior