4.5.1 Legal&institutional arrangeme...
Operators of hydr o-electric schemes shoul d ensure that t hey have processes in place to ensure co mpliance with all relevant laws,policies,per mits,agreements and codes of practice f or t he jurisdictions in which t hey operate.
These may include,but are not li mited to:
Electricity supply industr y legislation;
Water management legislation and policies,incl uding licences,water management plans and water quality standar ds;
Environ ment protection legislation and associated regulatory standar ds and per mits;
Conser vation and t hreatened species legislation;
Cultural heritage and indigenous rights legislation;
Resettlement and co mpensation regulations and/or agreements;
Occupational health and safety legislation;(https://www.daowen.com)
National,regional and local gover n ment policies;
International agreements and protocols;
Cor porate law requiring financial and envir on mental reporting;
Relevant inter national laws,conventions and protocols;and
Vol untar y co mmit ments and signed agreements.
Hydro-power operators should undertake an analysis of legal risks with the ai m of developing appr opriate response strategies,identif ying activities t hat need to be managed,and deter mining priorities.
For a power scheme operator,co mplex jurisdictional issues can be difficult to manage.Decisions on how water is allocated for ur ban water supplies,industry,irrigation f or agricult ure and power generation,not to mention t he maintenance of environ mental flows,becomes a competitive task when the resource is finite and there are multiple interests.Conflicts can occur,and unless t he legal and ad ministrative framewor k f or resolving these competing needs is adequate the power scheme operator is left in an untenable situation.
Investors in major long-ter m projects such as hydro-power develop ments need a reasonable degree of certainty regar ding t he on-going viability of t heir invest ments.Adj ust ments to operations may be required as new inf or mation becomes available and the results of monitoring pr ograms are assessed.If gover n ments intr oduce new environ mental or resource usage objectives they should consider the i mpacts on the econo mic viability of hydr o-electric power schemes,as well as other econo mic and social i mplications,and co mpensate accordingly.