Water & Energy Nexus: Smart Investments to Help Realize Human Rights. Side Event - World Water Week in Stockholm 1 September 2014

Transcription

1 Water & Energy Nexus: Smart Investments to Help Realize Human Rights Side Event - World Water Week in Stockholm 1 September 2014 Wastewater Reuse for Energy Production Suggestions For Enabling Legal Frameworks Dr., Reader, Law School, University of Aberdeen; Member of Waterlex 1

2 1. Definition Suggestions For Enabling Legal Frameworks - Wastewater as liquid waste discharged from homes, commercial premises and similar sources see Aspects of general legal water management framework - Monopoly element of water services - Distinguish ownership of water/wastewater (including infrastructure); of sewage plants/sludge - Infrastructure run publicly (public utility/service) or transferred to private companies (ownership/licensing) - Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) : Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) and Build Operate Transfer (BOT) - Great variety of water rights (can be land based, community based, private, use based, riparian, appropriation), difference between civil and common law systems 2

3 3. Emphazising the human rights perspective - Suggests that individual ownership of wastewater or at least use options should be emphasized - Access to energy from waste water reuse can help realize human rights to water, sanitation, adequate standard of living, health, including healthy enviroment, etc - Potential analogies to procedural guarantees (access to information, participation) regarding international river commissions - Largely untackled rights dimension of ownership of energy directly generated from the human body, as entailed in excreta (to be distinguished from externally generated energy) 3

4 4. Suggestions on ownership/licensing - Reducing monopolization of water rights to spur competition (splitting up ownership, allowing for transfer of ownership/licenses in line with public interest) - Issuing time-limited licensing contracts to be able to react to dynamic technological development - Framing/interpreting contracts to address energy generation (specific permissions, effects on water prices, public interest concerns, opt-outs, etc.) - Using market based mechanisms (e.g. auctioning, trading system to enhance transparency and efficiency, but maintaing strict public health and environmental standards - Integrating licensing requirements (one stop shop, incuding sustainability/public participation issues) - Using experimental clauses in legislation to spur development of best practices 4

5 5. Suggestions on cost allocation and pricing, setting incentives - Cap water prices for households due to revenue made from reusing the water (UN Water: to secure water and energy at the lowest prices ) - Require companies/municipalities to feed back some of the generated energy back into the households for free/preferential prices - Set legal incentives for energy production from wastewater (e.g. renewable obligations, contracts for difference, feed-in tariffs, i.e. allowing for preferential prices for energy from water reuse, tax breaks) - Strengthen local reuse systems, guiding principle: use energy from water where the energy is generated and for the water itself (circulation), hence reducing (transaction) costs 5

6 6. Suggestions on restrictions for public health and environment - Policy intervention for energy efficiency, not just low prices - Carry out water and energy audits of industry - Best practices, guidelines, codes of conduct and non-binding standards (also to promote investment) - Set sustainability standards for licensing and monitoring of plants - Carry out integrated Environmental Impact Assessments (maybe except smaller local plants) - Issue air emission licences for WTPs depending on energy recovery level - Link with corporate social responsibility (CSR), also serving as incentive for companies (labelling) 6

7 7. Suggestions on enforcement mechanism: - Administrative legal procedures regarding planning/licensing - Access to justice (court system) for concerned citizens and for NGOs - Potentially Ombudsperson system - regular review of licenses - flexible amendment of standards in light of technological status quo (eg. matrix developed by IWA) 8. Suggestions on disposal of sludge: - Relates back to ownership of WTPs; to be dealt with by WTP operators themselves, but public supervision and strict legal requirements 9. Suggestions on institutional arrangements/interface: - To be attached to local water authorities, specific sub-bodies that deal with relevant energy issues - Maybe ombudsperson system or municipal body with public particiation, taking into account local issues 7

8 10. Suggestions on conflict management - Early participation, compensation; public fund; liability issues; access to justice - Integrating all stages of water management - Addressing conflicts with other forms of wastewater use by favouring multiple use options and by prioritizing, e.g. (1) drinking purposes, (2) energy generation, (3) agriculture, (4) cooling device, (5) recharge of aquifers, (6) rehabilitation of ecosystems 8

9 11. Some regulatory examples: Suggestions For Enabling Legal Frameworks (1) France (UN Water 2014, p. 21): RT 2020 Sustainable Energy Framework: aim for buildings to produce more energy then they consume by 2020 (2) Germany: Renewable Energies Act, various model projects for energy production from sludge (3) USA: No federal legislation concerning wastewater recycling; federal (EPA)/state guidelines for non-potable reuse; water rights clarified through legislation or court decisions; most advanced California (California Water Code); EPA launched programme combining heat and power in various fields including local WTPs; EPA Environmental Technology Verification Program: testing options for energy recovery; ex. Minnesota: WTPs get air emission lisence depending on their energy recovery level (4) Canada: use/disposal or biosolids regulated at provincial level, e.g Ontario: for electricity production from anaerobic digester gas below 25 MW no environmental assessment necessary MRD 9