Delta Programme Steering Group discusses 2014 Delta Programme
On Wednesday 29 May, the Delta Programme Steering Group put the finishing touches to the Delta Programme 2014 (DP2014) which will be presented on Prinsjesdag (the state opening of parliament).
The steps that will now be taken are: cabinet debate and debate with the Association of Regional Water Authorities, the Association of Provinces of the Netherlands (IPO) and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities in the National Administrative Consultation Platform (NBO) meeting chaired by the Minister of I&M. There was great appreciation for the hard work that has been done by all parties involved in the Delta Programme.
New water safety standards
The transition to the new water safety standards was a major topic of discussion. We will be able to capitalise on and embed our knowledge in a new water-safety policy that not only covers the risk of flooding but also the possible consequences of flooding (known as a risk-based approach). We agreed on the best way of moving towards 2017 (when the new legislation will go into effect) so that the new standards can already be borne in mind when working on strengthening flood defences within the new High Water Protection programme. This means that after the Delta Decisions in 2015, it will already be possible to apply the new standards. Emphasis was placed on the need for clear communication regarding the approach.
The water safety standards take into account a certain degree of evacuation which the safety regions must assess administratively. Another important issue is people’s perspective for action. This will be discussed at a meeting of the Veiligheidsberaad (Safety Council) on 31 May.
Areas outside the dikes
The situation in the areas outside the dikes was also discussed. The Minister of I&M set down the policy for these areas in 2011. The question is whether or not this policy needs to be amended now that the approach to the standards has been chosen. The policy allows room for regional authorities – provinces, municipalities and water authorities – to apply the risk-based approach to areas outside the dikes as well, and to implement customised measures. This will be run through with the Minister at the NBO meeting. In addition, it was agreed that multi-layered safety (prevention, spatial planning, disaster management) will now be applied in practice in several pilots in which either significant social interests are involved or the cost of strengthening the dikes is too high. The lessons learned in the pilots will be used to effectively embed multi-layered safety at the administrative level.
Freshwater provision levels
For freshwater, the agreements (on water distribution and water use) for
arriving at provision levels were confirmed. Furthermore, there was a discussion
on the financing of freshwater measures for which proper substantiation is
needed in the upcoming phase, including in terms of benefits and costs. Once
there is greater clarity in this regard, work on elaborating the new policy can
progress further at the regional level.
The Delta Commissioner can complete his proposal for the DP2014 with the
constructive results of the Steering Group meeting. This means that the final
administrative fine-tuning can take place at the NBO meeting on 27 June.