The Catalogue of Water Permits
The permit side of water use is resolved by the catalogue of permit types in the licensing law, and in that catalogue three types are provided for surface-water objects: the permit for the abstraction of water from a surface-water object; the permit for the discharge of water into a surface-water object; and the combined permit for the use of a surface-water object. These three types reflect precisely the three possible relations with a water object — abstraction, discharge, and both together. An important detail: these norms enter into force from 1 September 2027 — in the current period, activities affecting water are resolved through the environmental-decision regime, and the transition to the permit catalogue is a planned change. This transitional period must be shown openly: the page describes both the current frame and the prospective types.
The Application and Documentation
A permit seeker submits to the issuer a written application, submitted under the procedure established by the General Administrative Code; the application contains an indication of the desired permit type and a list of attached documents. A private-law legal entity and an individual entrepreneur attach extracts from the public registry; a natural person — copies of identification documents; a public-law legal entity — certified copies of founding documents. The application is accompanied by proof of payment of the permit fee, whose amount is determined by the separate law on fees. Additional permit conditions are established by law or, on its basis, by a normative act of the government or a decision of a municipality’s representative organ.
The procedural deadlines are likewise statutory: to establish the factual circumstances within another organ’s competence, the issuer transmits copies of the application no later than 3 days; the other organ adopts a decision no later than 15 days from the submission of the copies, with extension possible by motion no later than 5 days from receipt; the decision is sent to the issuer no later than 17 days. If within the term neither confirmation nor refusal occurs, the additional conditions are deemed satisfied. Upon a change of data the holder must notify within 7 days.
The General Issuance Rule
The issuer adopts its decision under the simple administrative proceeding — apart from the separately described exceptions. This means no public familiarisation or hearing is held, and the procedure is comparatively fast.