Co-authored by Agustín Walker
On January 15th, Resolution DGA N° 3,438 was published. It
contains a list of water rights subject to the payment of a fine
for lack of use.
The fine must be paid during the month of March, 2015. The term to
contest such resolution is 30 days, as counted from the date of
publishing.
To review the list of water rights affected by the payment of fines
for non-use click here.
The water regulation calls use the payment of a fine by the owner
of the water right that is not being effectively or partially used.
The Water Bureau (DGA) publishes a resolution every January 15th
that contains a list of every water right that is affected to the
payment of the respective fine, establishing the amount that must
be paid.
In the determination of the amount to pay for each right, the
following criteria are relevant:
- Geographical location;
- Flow;
- Consumptive or non-consumptive;
- Permanent or eventually exercisable;
- Height (in the case of not consumptive water rights)
- Years that have passed in which the water right has not been used.
On the basis of these elements, the law establishes a
mathematical formula used by the DGA to calculate the amount of the
fine.
The payment must be done during the month of March of every year,
in any bank or institution authorized to collect taxes. If an owner
of a water right does not pay the fine within the indicated term, a
judicial procedure will begin to force its payment, which could end
up with the auction of those rights.
It is advisable to made an exhaustive review of the list, since it
is very common that water rights that are effectively being used
are included, or the information contained is not updated or
contains errors.
Given this situation, the law allows every owner of a water right
to file reconsideration before the DGA within a term of 30 days as
from January 15th and also a claim before the respective Court of
Appeals.
Originally published on February 4, 2015
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.