Gabriela de Ávila Machado
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
On July 16, 2020, Law No. 14.026, of July 15, 2020, was published, updating the legal framework for basic sanitation.
The Law amends several aspects of the old legislation, with the main aim of improving the structural conditions of basic sanitation in the country and encouraging the growth of investments in the sector and the improvement of coverage indicators for water and sewage services, through the opening of tenders for these services, authorizing the entry of the private sector into the concessions.
The main points raised are:
– The National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA) becomes the agency competent to issue reference standards for sanitation services;
– Amendment of Law 11.445/2007 to determine that contracts for the provision of sanitation services must include universalization targets of 99% coverage for water supply and 90% coverage and treatment of sewage by December 31, 2033;
– A ban on the signing of new Program Contracts (service provision agreements between federal entities, which can take place without bidding) for sanitation services – so that bidding will be mandatory from then on;
– Facilitating the privatization of state-owned companies;
– Increasing the deadline for the closure of waste dumps;
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes estimates that the Legal Framework will bring investments of up to R$700 billion and could generate around 1 million jobs in the country over the next few years.
