the french mix between regulation and other drivers

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www.partenarait-francais-eau.fr

WWF5 Istanbul session 4.2.2

p. 1

• Mr Dominique LEFEBVREMayor of CERGY, president ofComunity of cities of CERGY PONTOISE

• Mr Sylvain ROTILLONONEMA (National agency for water and aquatic environments)

The French mix between regulation and other drivers

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p. 2

The French mix between regulation and other drivers

• Regulation: French legal framework water specific– Responsible bodies (RBs): the municipalities

• France: 63.2 M inhab (2006) • DW supply and WW services: a legal obligation for the mayor• Possibility to cooperate transfer of competence to various forms of

cooperation

• 12 400 DW utilities and 16 700 WW utilities• a very « low territorial level » for RBs

– advantages : decison makers very close to users, high degree of accountability and democracy

– inconveniences: poor degree of mutualisation ? not the technical / managerial optimal size ?

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p. 3

French regulation: general frameworkGeogrlevel

International

RegionalFederal(eg: EU)

Statenat. govt& agencies

BObasin org

Sub national(Regions,Department)

Regulation- mandatory requirts-compliance checking

governancesocialPPPsstructure of tarifs

Compliancechecking

NO unique water regulator

EU laws lay down most of the mandatory requirements on quality issues:Water framework dir., DW dir., Urban WW treatment dir

French laws and regulations set the general legal frame for the organisation and the management ofwater utilities

Several State Depts in charge:Environment, Health, Interior, Finance,…and a new national agency (ONEMA) for data collection, benchmarking and reporting

6 public basin authorities (Water agencies)Promote integrated water resources managt.Develop basin masterplans and objectivesPerceive taxes and give subsidies

100 « Prefets » (State representants)Regional public accounting chambers

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p. 4

French regulation (water specific) (1)• differents tools for efficiency improvement

– A system of mandatory reports and PIs : SISPEA• annal public report from the head of responsible body• a set of mandatory performance indicators (PIs)• See below p.

– Possibility for the RB to introduce direct competition through PPP contracting (p.5)

– mandatory mechanisms for transparency and accountability (p. 6)

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p. 5

French regulation (water specific) (2)

• Legal mandatory provisions for tarification– In France all connections to DW network are metered– Tarifs must take into account metered volumes

• NO fixed charge for unlimited consumption,

– « Fixed blocks » are limited to part of total charge– Accountability: « mayor’s report » (see p. Y) must

include a « virtual » bill for 120 m3 / connexion/yin order to facilitate comparisons

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p. 6

French regulation (water specific) (3)

• Possibility for the RBs to contract PPPs– NOT an obligation– A public, transparent and inclusive procedure

(laid down by « Sapin Law » 1993)– a procedure in 2 steps in the « municipal council »

• A first public debate and decision on the principle of contractinfg or not a PPP for the management of utility

• A transparent procedure of consultation, selection and finalisation of PPP, with a specific commission including the political minority

– Key issues of PPPs are legally regulated : duration, some financial items, transfer of employees,

• average current duration ~ 11 years, – Tarifs (prices) are not the only criteria for assessing offers

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p. 7

transparency and accountability• Whatever the type of management

direct (« régie ») or contracted with PPP• Head of RB (mayor…) must present and publish an

annual report about the price and quality of the service provided

• Head of RB must install a consultative committee dedicated to local public services CCSPL

• « mayor’s report » discussed with CCSPL together with objectives and strategy of the water utility

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p. 8

Regulation, drivers and transparency: the French mix

Geogrlevel

International

RegionalFederal(eg: EU)

Statenat. govt& agencies

BObasin org

Sub national(Department)

Municipalities

Regulation- mandatory requirts-compliance checking

waterutilities

resp.bodies

RBs

recomm.guidelinesstandardsPIs (perf ind)

benchmark

Financial-incentives-aids-penalties

Users’Involvement-policy-monitoring

Quality(EU directives:WFD, DWD, UWTD)

governancesocialPPPsstructure of tarifs

Compliancechecking CCSPL

BasinComm

CNECCSISPEANF-P-15 900

WHO guidelinesISO 2451x

SISPEA(Nat syst of Pis)

« Mayor’s report »

Basin Water agenciesTaxes

subsidies

FR laws

« Départements »subsidies

29 000 RBs (DW / WW)

the french mix between regulation and other drivers

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