Facilities, structures, works, activities (IOTA)
Verified 04 August 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The facilities, structures, works and activities (IOTA) are the projects that have impacts or have hazards for the aquatic environment and water resources : samples, discharges, impacts on the aquatic environment, the marine environment, public safety, etc. For these reasons, IOTAs are subject to specific regulations.
Some IOTAs are also facilities classified for environmental protection (ICPE) or are included in ICPE. In this case, the legislation applicable to ICPE and IOTAs must be respected.
Declaration
The facilities, works, works and activities are IOTA if they lead to at least one of the following consequences:
- Dangers to public health and safety
- Impairment to free flow of water (change in level or flow mode)
- Reduction of water resources (withdrawals from surface or groundwater of at least 1000 m3, whether or not returned)
- Significant increase in flood risk
- Serious harm to the quality or diversity of the aquatic environment, including fish stocks (destruction of spawning grounds, areas of growth or feeding of fish fauna or spills)
- Direct or indirect, chronic or episodic flows, discharges or deposits, whether or not polluting
- Dewatering, waterproofing or backfilling of wetlands or marshes (nomenclature item 3.3.1.0)
- Discharge of stormwater into fresh surface water or to soil or subsoil (section 2.1.5.0.).
Facilities, structures, works and activities (IOTA) that are subject to declaration are those that are not likely to pose a danger to public health and safety. They must respect the general rules the preservation of the quality and distribution of surface, groundwater and sea water within territorial waters.
To determine whether IOTA is reportable, the company should consult the ICPE nomenclature (which incorporates the IOTA nomenclature). This is the IOTAs “ D ’:
Nomenclature of ICPE and IOTA
National Institute of Industrial Environment and Risk (Ineris)
Pour en savoir plus
Please note
Below the reporting threshold, the IOTA is said to be “ Unclassified (NC) and is subject to the mayor's police: it is the departmental health regulations that apply.
IOTAs located within the protection perimeter of a natural mineral water source declared to be in the public interest and involving sounding or underground work are systematically subject to authorization. That applies including whether they are supposed to be subject to reporting according to the nomenclature.
FYI
IOTAs that, after being regularly commissioned, are subject to notification can generally continue to operate without such notification, at the entitlement to acquired rights. The only condition is that the operator has already made himself known to the prefect or is made known to him within one year of this submission.
The following information shall be transmitted:
- Name and address of the operator or, failing that, of the owner
- Location of IOTA
- Nature, consistency, volume and purpose of the IOTA, and the entry(s) of the bill of materials in which they must be stored.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
The holder of the IOTA project must ensure that comply with the specific regulations applicable to its installation. This includes offshore renewable energy production facilities, research and mining, and licensed hydroelectric companies.
The IOTAs of items 5.1.1.0 to 5.2.3.0 of the nomenclature shall be subject to specific provisions and the reporting procedure applicable to them differs.
These are the following IOTA:
- Reinjection into the same water table of water taken for geothermal energy, mining and quarrying or during civil engineering works
- Research and development of small geothermal deposits
- Operations of underground radioactive waste disposal sites
- Hydraulic concessions
- Work decided by the land development commission.
Multiple IOTAs must be the subject of a single declaration where all of the following circumstances are present, whether they are carried out simultaneously or successively:
- They are carried out by the same person, the same farm or the same establishment.
- They concern the same aquatic environment.
- Taken individually, they are below the threshold provided for in the nomenclature of IOTAs subject to declaration.
- Their totality exceeds the threshold set by the nomenclature of IOTAs subject to declaration.
Warning
Work to prevent a serious and immediate danger may be undertaken without the submission of the declarations or authorizations to which they are subject. The operator must immediately inform the prefect.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
In France, water resources are managed by watershed. To manage this management, Agencies (in metropolis) and Water Boards (in the overseas departments and regions) have been created.
Water Agencies and Boards can help manufacturers, farmers, and other IOTA project holders in financing, supporting and promoting their projects and initiatives to act on health, the living environment, the preservation of water resources and biodiversity.
In particular, they can support project leaders in:
- Consideration of the Master Plan for Water Management and Development (SDAGE) the basin in which IOTA will operate: guidelines, objectives, provisions, etc.
- Consideration of the Water Management and Development Scheme (WMS) of the locality in which IOTA will operate: guidelines, objectives, provisions, etc.
- Presentation of the financial aid to which the project is entitled.
The 6 Water Agencies are as follows:
- Adour-Garonne
- Artois-Picardie
- Loire-Bretagne
- Rhine-Meuse
- Rhône Mediterranean Corsica
- Seine-Normandy.
The 5 Water Boards are as follows:
- Guadeloupe
- French Guiana
- Martinique
- Meeting
- Mayotte (in the process of being created, contact the Committee on Water and Biodiversity).
Pre-declaration environmental assessment
The project can be subject to environmental assessment.
Where such an environmental assessment is mandatory, it must be carried out prior to the declaration of the project.
FYI
One fact sheet dedicated to environmental assessment details the projects concerned and the evaluation process.
Constitution of the file
The declarant can obtain information on the teleprocedure and on the preparation of the declaration file via the Guide to preparing the IOTA telereporting procedure.
Please note
The constitution of the file is complex. It is recommended to use a design office.
The holder of the project subject to declaration shall provide a folder with the following:
- Name and address of the declarant, as well as his Siret number or, failing that, his date of birth
- The location on which the IOTA is to be carried out, together with a document certifying that the declarant is the owner of the land or that he has the right to carry out his project or that a procedure is in progress which has the effect of conferring this right on him
- Nature, consistency, volume and purpose of the proposed IOTA and the entry(s) of the bill of materials in which they must be stored
- Non-technical summary
- Where the project has not been subject to an environmental assessment, a document shall:
- Indicating the reasons why the project was selected as an alternative
- Indicating the impacts of the project on the water resource, aquatic environment, water flow, level and quality, including runoff. These impacts must be specified according to the processes used, the methods of implementation and operation of the IOTAs, the nature, origin and volume of the water used or affected, and taking into account seasonal and climatic variations
- Justifying the compatibility of the project with the master plan or the water management and development plan and with the provisions of the flood risk management plan
- Justifying its contribution to the achievement of water resource conservation objectives, as well as water quality objectives
- If the project is concerned, including the assessment of the project's impact on one or more sites Natura 2000, in the light of the conservation objectives of those sites
- Specifying, where appropriate, the avoidance, reduction or compensatory measures envisaged
- Including, where appropriate, the request for specific requirements amending certain general requirements applicable to IOTAs, where this possibility is provided for in the General Requirements Order applicable to IOTA
- Indicating the means of monitoring or evaluation planned during the construction and operation phases, in particular with regard to sampling and spills.
- When the project has been submitted for environmental assessment, the required impact assessment replaces this document and contains the information
- Graphical elements, plans or maps useful for understanding the parts of the file
- Mention, if any, of applications for authorization or declarations already submitted for the IOTA project under other legislation, with the date of submission and the mention of the competent authority (e.g. the Prefect).
The file must be supplemented by other documents specified on Legifrance where the IOTA includes one of the following projects:
- Collective wastewater treatment systems in the sewerage agglomeration
- Non-collective sanitation facilities
- Spreading and storage for the purpose of spreading sludge produced in one or more collective sewerage systems and non-collective sewerage installations (section 2.1.3.0 of the bill of materials)
- Group operation of regular maintenance of a watercourse, canal or body of water
- Installations using hydraulic energy.
If the project is a facility subject to notification, registration or authorization under facilities classified for environmental protection (ICPE) and includes reportable IOTAs, the ICPE declaration, registration or authorization procedure is the only procedure to be carried out.
Several IOTA declarations that are planned to be made on the same site and by the same person may constitute a single declaration.
Several declarations relating to operations related to or under the same activity may be the subject of a common procedure where they are located in a sub-basin or grouping of sub-basins corresponding to a hydrographic unit or a coherent aquifer system.
It is strongly advised to contact the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL) or the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT) to be accompanied upstream of the approach.
Who shall I contact
Please note
The prefect may oppose to the proposed operation if it appears that it:
- Is incompatible with the provisions of the master plan for water management or the master plan for water management and development
- Detrimental to water resources, public health or public safety of such a gravity that no prescription would allow it to be remedied.
Declaration
The IOTA declaration must be sent before the commissioning of the installation and the commencement of all associated necessary work.
Online
The declaration may be performed via an online service.
File an IOTA (Facilities, Works, Works and Activities) declaration
This online service allows you to simplifications and time savings throughout the investigation procedure, including:
- The declaration receipt is automatically issued if all mandatory documents are filed.
- There is no longer a request for an appointment at the ticket office for the completeness exam.
- Supplements and other procedural documents are also filed online.
- You are informed of the progress of the procedure.
These advantages are also specified in a brochure.
Following the statement, a proof of deposit the declaration shall be immediately issued electronically.
On site or by post
The request can also be sent in paper format (1 copy). It must then also be sent in electronic format.
The declaration file must be deposited or sent to the dedicated counter in prefecture (to DDT), in the department in which IOTA is to be established.
Upon receipt of the declaration, a proof of deposit.
Delay before the installation is commissioned
The declarant shall wait prior to commencing operation of the IOTA or associated work.
The prefect may, within 15 days and if no environmental assessment has been conducted, submit the facility to a environmental assessment case-by-case review.
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Case-by-case review
Environmental assessment required
The different stages of environmental assessment are as follows:
- Development of a environmental impact assessment report (impact assessment for projects, report on the environmental impact for plans and programs) by the project owner
- Completion of planned consultations, in particular consultation of the environmental authority (the prefecture), which delivers an opinion on the project, plan, program and on the environmental impact assessment report, and public consultation
- Examination information contained in the evaluation report and received in the course of the consultations.
The environmental assessment must be filed via an online service :
Consultation and submission of projects subject to impact assessment (Environmental Assessment)
Raw biodiversity data
Proponents of projects that have conducted an environmental assessment must transmit raw biodiversity data acquired during environmental impact assessment studies and monitoring measures, in particular those relating to avoidance, reduction or compensation measures.
The disbursement of raw biodiversity data, acquired in the course of evaluation studies shall be carried out:
- Prior to the start of the public participation procedure where required
- Or before the decision referred to in that paragraph, where no public participation procedure is required.
This payment takes place via projects-environment.gouv.fr or via the online service Depobio :
Depobio: platform for the legal deposit of biodiversity data
Please note
The capture or transfer of raw biodiversity data, acquired during environmental impact monitoring measures, must be completed within 6 months after the completion of each data acquisition campaign.
Once the environmental assessment has been completed, the notifier must forward the decision to the prefect by the reviewing authority on a case by case basis.
Metropolitan France (including Corsica)
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labor, Solidarity and Population Protection (DDETSPP):
Other ICPEs
Île-de-France
The department to be contacted is the Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Transport (DRIEAT):
Other regions
The service to be contacted is the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL):
Guadeloupe
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
Martinique
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
The Meeting
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
Mayotte
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
French Guiana
The service to be contacted is the General Directorate for Territories and the Sea (DGTM) of Guyana.
Who shall I contact
Following the evaluation, the prefect expressly opposes the declaration and submits the draft to the environmental authorization.
No environmental assessment
The declarant shall transmit to the prefect the decision of the examining authority case by case.
The prefect has a period of 2 months to oppose the declaration or impose specific requirements.
Metropolitan France (including Corsica)
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labor, Solidarity and Population Protection (DDETSPP):
Other ICPEs
Île-de-France
The department to be contacted is the Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Transport (DRIEAT):
Other regions
The service to be contacted is the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL):
Guadeloupe
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
Martinique
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
The Meeting
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
Mayotte
ICPE agricultural or agri-food sector
The department to be contacted is the Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (DAAF):
Other ICPEs
The department to be contacted is the Department of the Environment, Planning and Housing (DEAL):
French Guiana
The service to be contacted is the General Directorate for Territories and the Sea (DGTM) of Guyana.
Who shall I contact
No review or assessment conducted
If, 15 days after receipt of the declaration, the project is not subject to a case-by-case review or environmental assessment, the procedure continues.
Within a period of 15 days from receipt of the declaration, the applicant shall receive a reply:
- Where the declaration is incomplete, an acknowledgement of receipt indicating the missing parts and invites the declarant to provide them within a time limit set by the prefect, less than 3 months. If the declarant does not submit all the documents or information indicated within the time limit set for him, the declaration of IOTA shall be considered as refused (tacit opposition).
- Where the declaration is complete, a declaration receipt stating:
- Or the date on which, in the absence of opposition, the proposed transaction may be company
- Or the absence of opposition that allows to undertake this operation without delay when the prefect does not submit the project to environmental assessment. A copy of the applicable general requirements.
Please note
In the 2 months after receiving the complete file, the prefect may issue additional requirements to avoid potential impacts on the environment or to oppose the declaration. This period is interrupted when the prefect submits the project to a case-by-case review under the environmental assessment.
IOTA can then be completed or commissioned :
- Or on the date indicated by the prefect at the time of his decision not to oppose the declaration
- Immediately following the prefect's decision not to object to the declaration and not to submit a case-by-case environmental assessment for review
- Or, unless otherwise specified by the prefect, at the expiry of a period of 2 months after receipt of the complete declaration file by the prefect. This time limit excludes the time allocated, if the project is concerned, to the case-by-case examination.
Period of validity of the declaration
Once the IOTA has been declared and commissioned in accordance with the regulations, the declaration is not limited in time. As long as the IOTA is not modified or stopped, the declaration remains valid.
Warning
Where the IOTA has ceased to be in operation for at least 2 years, a declaration must be made to the prefecture.
No commissioning
Except in cases of force majeure or a justified and accepted request for an extension of time, the validity of the declaration shall end when the IOTA has not been put into service or completed within a period of time:
- Be fixed by a prefectural decree of particular prescriptions
- Either of 3 years.
This period is suspended in the event of an appeal to a court, for example in relation to the project's building permit or the declaration receipt.
Compliance with requirements
The operator shall comply with general risk prevention requirements. They are specified in prefectural decrees and decrees of the Ministry of the Environment. The project must also respect the characteristics transmitted in the declaration dossier. If there are, it must also respect the special requirements indicated by the prefect.
The National Institute for the Industrial Environment and Risks (Ineris) proposes a thematic regulatory aid providing access to the main regulatory texts that may concern a given project:
Access to AIDA's thematic regulatory support
Ineris also lists the ministerial prescriptions orders applicable to IOTAs:
List of IOTA General Prescription Orders
National Institute of Industrial Environment and Risk (Ineris)
Pour en savoir plus
Please note
The requirements applicable to IOTA may be modified :
- At the operator's request to the prefect, from the end of the period within which the prefect can oppose the declaration (generally, 2 months). If this request has not been answered after 3 months, it is considered rejected.
- By order of the prefect binding on the operator, of which the operator must be aware at least 15 days before its publication.
Appropriate means of measurement or evaluation
Facilities for carrying out direct debits in surface water or spills and groundwater pumping facilities must have appropriate and approved means of measurement or evaluation.
Their operators or, if there are no operators, their owners must ensure their installation and operation.
Some measures must be carried out and recorded in a register each month. The information to be mentioned is as follows:
- Volumes sampled
- If relevant, number of pumping hours
- Usage and conditions of use
- Any variations in quality that may have been observed
- Conditions for discharge of the sampled water
- Changes in water regime
- Incidents occurring in the operation of the installation or in the counting of samples and in particular pumping stoppages.
This register must be kept for 3 years. When water is taken by pumping, the measurement is carried out by means of a water meter.
This record must be provided at the request of the administration (e.g. inspection of classified facilities).
Specific provisions for works located in the bed of a watercourse
Any structure to be built in the bed of a watercourse must include devices maintaining a minimum flow rate in this bed. These must guarantee the life, circulation and reproduction of the species living in the water at the time of installation of the structure and of the devices preventing the penetration of the fish into the supply and escape channels.
This does not apply to the Rhine or to the international parts of shared watercourses.
This minimum throughput shall not be less than 10% the module of the watercourse immediately downstream or at the right of the structure corresponding to the average inter-annual flow, evaluated on the basis of available information relating to a minimum period of 5 years, or to the flow immediately upstream of the structure, if the latter is lower.
This minimum throughput shall not be less than 20% from the module of the watercourse immediately downstream or at the right of the structure evaluated under the same conditions or at the flow immediately upstream of the structure:
- For rivers or parts of rivers with a modulus greater than 80 m3 per second
- Or for structures that contribute, by their modulation capacity, to the production of electricity during peak consumption periods.
However, the minimum flow rate may be set at a lower value for watercourses or sections of watercourses with an atypical operation making it irrelevant to set a minimum flow rate under the conditions laid down above.
A watercourse with an atypical functioning is a watercourse entering into one of the following cases:
- Its minor bed has geological characteristics that are responsible for the disappearance of a significant part of natural flows at certain times of the year
- Its immediate downstream, from a dam with a height greater than or equal to 20 meters or for hydroelectric use with a power greater than 20 megawatts, is drowned by the eddy of the body of water of another dam also meeting one of these two criteria
- Species belonging to the following groups are absent: phytoplankton, macrophytes and phytobenthos, benthic invertebrate fauna, ichthyofauna
- It is a Mediterranean watercourse with an interannual average of the lowest natural monthly flow below 10è of the module. Mediterranean watercourses are understood to mean watercourses located in Corsica and, for those falling within the Rhone-Mediterranean basin, their parts located in the departments of Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, Gard, Hérault, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Drôme, Ardèche or Lozère.
The operator of the structure shall ensure operation and maintenance devices guaranteeing these minimum flows in the stream bed.
The regulations may be different depending on the watercourse in question. It is advisable to inquire about the waterways on which the work will have to be settled with the prefecture.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
Please note
Hydraulic structures are subject to specific safety and security provisions.
Any incident or accident in the context of the implementation of an IOTA and likely to harm health, public safety or the environment must be declared to the prefect and to the mayor or president of theEPCI: titleContent.
The person causing the incident or accident and the operator or, if there is no operator, the owner shall, as soon as they become aware of it, take or cause to be taken all possible measures for:
- Ending the cause of danger or harm to the aquatic environment
- Assess the consequences of the incident or accident
- Address the consequences of the incident or accident.
The prefect may prescribe the measures to be taken to put an end to the damage found or to limit its severity and, in particular, the analyses to be carried out.
In the event of a deficiency, and if there is a risk of pollution or destruction of the natural environment, or for public health and the supply of drinking water, the prefect may take or enforce the necessary measures at the expense and risk of the persons responsible.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
The prefect may decide that the return to service of an IOTA temporarily out of use for an accidental reason, will be subject to a new authorization or a new declaration :
- If the return to service results in changes to the IOTA or changes to its operation or operation
- Or if the accident reveals risks that are not taken into account sufficiently initially.
Following the incident or accident, the operator must ensure the monitoring of:
- IOTA
- The flow of water
- The conservation and subsequent disposal of the polluting materials in his custody or in the accumulation of which he contributed and which are likely to be carried by water.
The modification of activities and the change of beneficiary of the declaration are subject to specific regulations.
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Changes
Any changes provided by the operator to the IOTA shall be notified to the prefect before its realization.
This concerns changes related to:
- The work or installation
- How it is used
- The carrying out of the work or the resulting development or the carrying out of the activity or in their vicinity, likely to cause a significant change in the elements of the initial declaration file.
The prefect may require a new declaration.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
Change of beneficiary
Where the benefit of the declaration is passed on to a person other than that mentioned in the declaration file, the new beneficiary makes the declaration to the prefect within 3 months which follow the taking over of the IOTA or the beginning of the exercise of its activity.
This statement mentions:
- If it is a person physical, the surname, forenames and address of the new beneficiary
- If it is a person moralits name or business name, its legal form, the address of its registered office and the status of the signatory of the declaration.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
Please note
In the case of installations or structures mentioned in sections 3.2.5.0 and 3.2.6.0 or installations using hydraulic energy, this declaration shall be made previously the change of beneficiary.
It must be accompanied by documents proving the technical and financial capacity of the transferee. The prefect shall give notice of this or notify his reasoned refusal within 2 months.
The cessation of activity of an IOTA for a period of more than 2 years, including if it is final, shall be subject to a declaration by the operator, or, failing that, by the owner, to the prefect within one month of:
- Either the permanent cessation
- Either the shutdown for 2 consecutive years.
The declaration of cessation of operation for more than 2 years shall be accompanied by a note explaining the reasons for this discontinuation and the expected date of resumption of this exploitation. The prefect may issue protective prescriptions in order to protect health, public safety or the environment during this period of shutdown.
Specific rules shall apply to the hydraulic companies granted.
FYI
Following the cessation of activity, the operator must monitor the IOTA, the flow of water, the conservation, and the disposal of polluting materials in its custody or in the accumulation of which it has contributed and which are liable to be carried by water.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
When an IOTA is permanently discontinued, the operator or, failing that, the owner restores the site to a state where no damage can be done the objective of balanced water resource management, public health or public safety.
It informs the prefecture of the cessation of activity and the measures taken.
The service to contact is:
- Either the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL), or the DRIEAT in Île-de-France
Who shall I contact
- Either the water police department of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT)
- Or the Water Agency
Who shall I contact
Please note
In the overseas departments and regions (Drom), the Water Agency is replaced by a Water Board.
Judicial police officers and officers and environmental inspectors are empowered to investigate and detect infringements of the IOTA regulations.
This is also the case for many other State agents, such as coastguards and State agentsNFB: titleContent.
Please note
With regard to IOTAs, theOFB: titleContent is in charge of judicial police and the DDT: titleContent in charge of the administrative police water.
Administrative penalties
In case of non-compliance with the regulations applicable to IATOs (ICPE, IOTA, etc.), the competent administrative authority (the prefect) formal notice the operator of the IATO or, failing that, the owner of the land, within a period to be determined by the Commission. The operator may make representations.
In the event of an emergency, the Prefect shall, by the same act or by a separate act, lay down the necessary measures to prevent serious and imminent hazards to health, public safety or the environment.
If, at the expiry of the time limit, the person served with formal notice has not implemented the prescribed measures, one or more of the following administrative penalties may apply:
- Require the person served with formal notice to pay in the hands of a public accountant before a specified date of payment of an amount corresponding to the amount of work or transactions to be carried out
- Impose, on behalf of the person served with formal notice and at his own expense, the execution of the prescribed measures. The amounts recorded are used to pay for the expenses incurred.
- Suspend the operation of the IATO until the conditions imposed have been fully complied with and take the necessary precautionary measures, at the expense of the person served with formal notice
- Order payment of a administrative fine at most equal to €45,000, and a daily penalty payment at most equal to €4,500 applicable from the date of notification of the decision fixing it until the formal notice or the measure ordered has been satisfied.
Fines and periodic penalty payments shall be proportionate to the seriousness of the infringements found and shall take into account, in particular, the extent of the disturbance caused to the environment.
The fine may not be pronounced beyond a period of 3 years as from the finding of non-compliance.
These sanctions may be published on the website of the prefecture of the department, for a period of between 2 months and 5 years.
Criminal sanctions
Penal sanctions may be accompanied by additional penalties.
Lack of authorization, registration or declaration
Operating or implementing an IOTA (ICPE, IOTA, etc.) without authorization, registration, the approval, approval or certification required shall be punishable byone year in prison and €75,000 fine (natural person) or €375,000 fine (legal person).
For IATOs subject to declaration, exploitation without declaration shall be punishable by €1,500 fine (natural person) or €7,500 fine (legal person). To continue this exploitation after a formal notice is sanctioned by a year of imprisonment and €15,000 fine (natural person) or €75,000 fine (legal person).
When the health, safety of people or the environment have been severely degraded, these penalties shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €150,000 fine (natural person) or €750,000 fine (legal person).
When it creates a immediate risk of serious harm and sustainable to the environment, these penalties shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €250,000 fine (natural person) or €1 250 000 a fine (legal person), which may be increased up to three times the advantage derived from the commission of the infringement.
Non-compliance with technical requirements
Operating or implementing an IOTA without complying with general rules and technical requirements set by the administrative authority shall be punished by €1,500 fine (natural person) or €7,500 fine (legal person). This also applies to requirements related to cessation of activity.
When it has seriously endangering the health or safety of persons or causing substantial environmental degradation, the operation or implementation of an IOTA without complying with requirements set by the administrative authority shall be punished by 2 years imprisonment and €75,000 fine (natural person) or €375,000 fine (legal person),
Non-compliance with a formal notice
Operating or implementing an IATT without complying with a formal notice enacted by the prefect is punishable by 2 years imprisonment and €100,000 fine (natural person) or €500,000 fine (legal person).
When it creates a immediate risk of serious harm and sustainable to the environment, the penalty shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €250,000 fine (natural person) or €1 250 000 a fine (legal person), which may be increased up to three times the advantage derived from the commission of the infringement.
When the health, safety of people or the environment have been severely degraded, the penalty shall be increased to 5 years imprisonment and €300,000 fine (natural person) or €1 500 000 fine (legal person).
Failure to comply with a formal notice to permanently discontinue an ICPE shall be punishable by 2 years imprisonment and €150,000 fine (natural person) or €750,000 (legal person).
Other regulatory violations
Failure to inform the Prefect in the event of a substantial change in the technical and financial capacities of the operator of an authorized ICPE shall be punishable by 6 months imprisonment and €75,000 fine (natural person) or €375,000 fine (legal person).
Failure to notify the prefect in the event of a modification of an ICPE shall be punished by €1,500 (natural person) or €7,500 (legal person).
A sentence of 2 years imprisonment and €100,000 fine (natural person) or €500,000 a fine (legal person) is provided for in the event of a breach of:
- Decision to oppose a declaration or to refuse authorization
- Measure to withdraw an authorization, registration, approval or certification
- Measure of closure, removal or suspension of an installation or structure
- Order of arrest, suspension or prohibition issued by the court
- Order of formal notice issued by the administrative authority (the prefect)
- Obligation to rehabilitate or monitor measures prescribed by the administrative authority.
When the health, safety of people or the environment have been severely degraded, the penalty shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €150,000 fine (natural person) or €750,000 fine (legal person).
When it creates a immediate risk of serious harm and sustainable to the environment, the penalty shall be increased to 3 years imprisonment and €250,000 fine (natural person) or €1 250 000 a fine (legal person), which may be increased up to three times the advantage derived from the commission of the infringement.
Authorization
The facilities, works, works and activities are IOTA if they lead to at least one of the following consequences:
- Samples from surface or groundwater of at least 1 000 m3 per year, whether or not returned
- A change in the water level or flow pattern
- Destruction of spawning grounds, growth or feeding areas for fish or spills
- Direct or indirect, chronic or episodic, even non-polluting, discharges, or deposits, any discharge of domestic wastewater with a gross organic pollution load of at least 1.2 kg of BOD5.
Facilities, structures, works and activities (IOTA) which may pose a danger to public health and safety, including the taking of water for irrigation in favor of a single organism, are subject to authorization.
FYI
One sheet dedicated to environmental authorization details the regulation of IOTAs subject to authorization.
To check whether IOTA is subject to authorization, the company should consult the ICPE nomenclature (which incorporates the IOTA nomenclature). This is the IOTAs “ A ’:
Nomenclature of ICPE and IOTA
National Institute of Industrial Environment and Risk (Ineris)
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