National Contact Point for Renewable Energy Sources

In accordance with the provisions of the Water Law and its implementing regulations, if thermal waters from test borehole pumping are discharged to a watercourse or a surface water basin, a notification under the water legislation is required.

At the same time, waste geothermal waters can be discharged to groundwater provided that the authority competent for permits under the water legislation decides that this does not collide with the environmental objectives for the waters or with the quality requirements for the waters (Article 76(1)(5)). It should be noted that fees for discharging hot water are relatively high, and the introduction of used geothermal waters, as mentioned above, reduces the efficiency of the installation.

To guarantee a possibility of discharging the water from the geothermal system to a surface water body.

A notification under the water legislation must be submitted before the scheduled commencement date for the tasks, activities or water structures. 

A notification under the water legislation includes:

• the name, registered office and address of the notifying plant;
• the details of:

1. the purpose of the planned tasks, works or water structures;
2. the legal status of the real property where the tasks, works or water structures are to be performed;
3. the planned works in a descriptive way, the basic parameters characterising the planned;
4. the location of the tasks, works or water structures along with the name or number of the land precinct along with the number(s) of the plots and the coordinates;
5. the scheduled commencement date for the works or tasks.

The competent authority checks the application for content and for formal aspects. If it has no objections, the authority does not issue a decision, which is a sign of tacit approval of the application. This means that the investor may start the tasks, works or water structures covered by the notification if, within 30 days after receiving the notification, the authority competent for water legislation matters does no object by way of a decision but not later than 3 years after the commencement date stated in the notification.

• require a permit under the water legislation;
• violate the provisions of the documents mentioned in Article 296(1)(1) through Article 396(1)(7) of the Polish Water Law;
• fail to meet the requirements linked to the protection of human health, environmental protection and the protection of the cultural heritage listed in the register of historical monuments and any requirements arising from statutory or other regulations;
• infringe on the rights of third parties, including the owner of the water;
• threaten the environmental objectives for the waters (the objectives are defined and described in Articles 56, 57, 59 and 61 of the Water Law);
• have impacts beyond the boundaries of the real property where the project is to be implemented.

The tasks commence within 30 days after the notification is delivered to the authority unless the authority objects.

The competent authority is the water supervision manager of Polish Waters.

The notification expires 3 years after the date specified in the notification as the task commencement date.

The stamp duty for the notification under the water legislation is PLN 127.73 and it must be paid at the submission of the application.

The stamp duty for an authorisation is PLN 17.

The party may appeal within 14 days of receiving the decision to the Director of the Executive Board of the State Water Holding Polish Waters (Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie). Subsequent available remedies include a complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court and, as the next step, to the Supreme Administrative Court.

The application can be submitted online to the public administration body having jurisdiction over the matter on ePUAP.