Authorisation of Installations, Works and Activities (IOTA) having an impact on water

Installations, works and activities that are likely to :

• present dangers for public health and safety,
• interfere with the free flow of water, reduce water resources,
• significantly increase the risk of flooding,
• seriously affect the quality or diversity of the aquatic environment, particularly fish populations.

Projects subject to authorisation are defined in the "water" nomenclature appended to Article R. 214-1 of the Environmental Code.

The following are excluded from the IOTA nomenclature :

• installations subject to the regime of classified installations for the protection of the environment;
• domestic uses.

Water legislation regulates installations, works and activities (IOTA), carried out for non-domestic purposes by public or private persons and which involve water abstraction or discharge, impacts on the aquatic environment or on public safety, or impacts on the marine environment.

A specific nomenclature identifies these 'IOTAs' and their regime: authorisation (A), declaration (D), or not classified.

The authorisation regime concerns projects and activities with the greatest impact (see the thresholds set out in the table annexed to Article R. 214-1 of the Environment Code).

The authorisation is issued under the conditions set out in the single chapter of Title VIII of Book I of the Environmental Code (single environmental authorisation procedure).

Note that :

• If the above-mentioned 'water' nomenclature makes it possible to know which IOTAs are subject to authorisation under the Water Act, the project subject to environmental authorisation may have a wider scope. In application of Article L.181-1 of the Environmental Code, the environmental authorisation may include works or other activities and equipment in the vicinity of the planned IOTA or which are necessary for its implementation or operation.
• If the authorisation threshold set in the 'water' nomenclature is exceeded, the project developer must resort to the environmental authorisation procedure. However, this will include other regulatory procedures (e.g. protected species exemption, land clearance authorisation, ICPE declaration). The project perimeter must therefore be well defined in order to take these procedures into account in the same file.