Program Agreement for the Remediation

The need to simplify and speed up procedures for remediation of the National Site of Interest of Venice has been identified as one of the necessary actions to encourage conversion and re-industrialization of the Industrial and Port Area of Venice.

In 2010, the JNCC – Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee (with the name of “Permanent round table for Porto Marghera”) identified the technical and administrative criticalities that were necessary to remove, in order to achieve, with fixed times and costs, the rehabilitation of the areas included in the Site of National Interest.

On 19 November 2010, the proposals drawn up by the JNCC, including those relating to the remediation, were illustrated and delivered to the representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Environment.

On 5 May 2011, the Ministry of Economic Development ratifies the recognition of "Area of Complex Industrial Crisis", meaning, in this way, to aknowledge the need to launch an integrated and coordinated activity for the re-industrialization.

On 16 April 2012, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure signed the “Programmatic Agreement for the Remediation and environmental restoration of the Site of National Interest of Venice and surrounding areas” proposed by the JNCC.

The Programmatic Agreement is the first example, at national level, of concerted action between Institutions for the conversion and recovery of a productive strategic area, it accelerates and simplifies the remediation of the Site of National Interest in Venice, not in derogation of any of the regulations.

The Agreement

• sets out the administrative procedures that allow to speed up the time of examination of the reclamation projects of the areas with the Site of National Interest, the principles and the detailed content of the technical documents of the projects;
• stipulates that the PIF system to be used for the remediatin of the water and the treatment of industrial waste water, with payment of the relevant fee by the users of the system;
• establishes a revolving fund for the remediation of the areas included in the drainage basin into the lagoon;
• defines the criteria under which the soil can be used in the presence of contaminated groundwater;
• defines the criteria for the return of the legitimate use of non-contaminated areas;
• defines the manner in which the City of Venice issues the permits to build;

On 21 January 2013, in Venice, the Minister of Environment has signed the operational protocols of the Agreement.