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Introduction
The adoption since the early 90s of some innovative rules
relating to the local authorities code (National Law n. 142/90), the
administrative proceeding, the right to have access to administrative documents
(National Law n. 241/90) and the institution of Environmental Agencies (for the
Veneto, Regional Law n.32/96) have helped to establish some management tools
that enhance integration and coordination in action (not only in environmental
matters) between different institutional
levels and entities.
Services Conference
The Services Conference, introduced by National Law n.
241/90 and modified by National Law n. 340/00, is a procedural instrument
useful for coordinating and contextually evaluating all public interests
involved in specific proceedings, by means of the contemporaneous treatment of
the same topic by a plurality of public subjects.
It represents then an administrative instrument used to
simplify and concentrate the workings of different bodies so that these can
operate contextually in a single institutional location and thus avoid
pronouncing themselves separately.
The Services Conference is called by the pertinent
authorities in order to complete the proceedings that should normally be
concluded with an authorisation or an act for environmental approval.
The law has identified two different typologies of
services conferences:the preliminary conference (or
preparatory conference) and the decision-taking conference. The preliminary
conference is called by the Administration with the aim of examining public
interests in a particular procedure and directly acquiring knowledge elements.
It doesn’t immediately establish constitutive bodies nor does it try to modify
or annul pre-existent juridical elements. It merely represents a coordinating
measure, useful to successive phases of the proceedings.
While the decision-taking conference is called in
order to formulate agreements and concerted actions and obtain permissions or
approvals from other public administrations.
Besides the first two typologies there is the consultation
conference that refers to the possibility that a Services Conference,
relating to a private instance about who will support relative burdens, is
called to pronounce itself, in thirty days, on preliminary projects of
particular complexity, in order to preventively check that the conditions to
obtain the necessary agreements and acts are met. With the Conference on preliminary
projects the various public administrations can play the role of potential “institutional
advisor” for private firms.
Associative and
cooperative forms and Agreement Acts
Law n.241/90 forsees the possibility for Municipalities
and Provinces to carry out coordinated
and specific functions and services and adopt Conventions (cooperation
between Bodies) or institute Associations (association between Bodies).
While the Agreement Acts are introduced for works, interventions or plans which require definition and
implementation so that they can be fully enacted in an integrated and
coordinated manner with and between all
relevant municipalities, provinces, regions, state-wide administrations and
other public subjects.
Provincial
coordination Committee
As for specific environmental issues (see Regional Law
32/96, creating the Environmental
Regional Agency), every province institutes a provincial coordination committee
in order to ensure the coordination of the ARPAV provincial department actions
with those of the municipalities and other competent provincial offices, as
well as those of the Prevention Department of the local Health Authorities. The
whole is then also coordinated in parallel to the effective development of
planned activities in the various pertinent conventions, agreements and acts.
The Committee plays an advisory role and in particular:
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it
makes suggestions to the ARPAV General Director so as to help define the annual
actions;
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it checks planned activity results and trends and makes evaluations and
suggestions to the General Director of ARPAV.
It is composed of:
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the
provincial president or, if absent, the provincial chief advisor on
environmental affairs who, entrusted by the president, presides over the
committee;
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the
Province Environment Office Chief Advisor;
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the
Municipality Environment Office Chief Advisor (one of the provincial
Municipalities), entrusted by ANCI (the National Association of Italian
Municipalities);
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the
ARPAV Provincial Department General manager or his delegate;
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one member of the Health Prevention Departments entrusted by the
provincial Health Authorities General Managers. |