ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF FLOOD RISKS REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 549.167

ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT

OF FLOOD RISKS REGULATIONS

4th May, 2010

LEGAL NOTICE 264 of 2010, as amended by Legal Notice 477 of 2011

and Act XVII of 2024.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Assessment and

Management of Flood Risks Regulations.

(2) The scope of these regulations is to tranpose Directive

2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23

October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks

(Text with EEA relevance) which establishes a framework for the

assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the reduction

of the adverse consequences for human health, the environment,

cultural heritage and economic activity associated with floods.

Regulation 6(3) - Flood Risk Management Plans

I.

Components of the first Flood Risk Management Plan

1. the conclusions of the preliminary flood risk assessment as required in terms

of these regulations in the form of a summary map of the water catchment district, or

the unit of management delineating the areas identified under regulation 4 which are

the subject of this Flood Risk Management Plan;

2. flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and the conclusions that can be

drawn from those maps;

3. a description of the appropriate objectives of flood risk management;

4. a summary of the measures and their prioritisation aiming to achieve the

appropriate objectives of flood risk management, including the measures taken in

accordance with regulation 6, and flood related measures taken under other

Community acts, including Council Directives 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the

assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment

and Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major accident

hazards involving dangerous substances, Directive 2001/42/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of

certain plans and programmes on the environment and Directive 2000/60/EC;

5. when available, for shared water catchments or sub-catchments, a

description of the methodology, of cost-benefit analysis used to assess measures

with transnational effects.

II.

Description of the implementation of the plan

1. a description of the prioritisation and the way in which progress in

implementing the plan will be monitored;

2. a summary of the public information and consultation measures taken;

3. a list of competent authorities and, as appropriate, a description of the

coordination process with Directive 2000/60/EC.

(1) Unless otherwise stated in these regulations, the

definitions in the Act shall apply.

(2)

In these regulations unless the context otherwise requires

"the Act" means the Environment Protection Act;

"the competent authority" means the Energy and Water Agency

established by the Energy and Water Agency (Establishment as an

Agency) Order;

"flood" means the temporary covering by water of land not

normally covered by water. This includes floods from rivers,

mountain torrents, Mediterranean ephemeral water courses, and

floods from the sea in coastal areas, and excludes floods from

sewerage systems;

"flood risk" means the combination of the probability of a flood

event and of the potential adverse consequences for human health,

the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity associated

with a flood event;

"river" means a body of inland water flowing for the most part on

the surface of the land but which may flow underground for part of

its course;

"sub-catchment" means the area of land from which all surface

run-off flows through a series of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes

to a particular point in a water course (normally a lake or a river

confluence);

"water catchment" means the area of land from which all surface

run-off flows through a sequence of streams, rivers and, possibly,

lakes into the sea at a single river mouth, estuary or delta;

"water catchment district" means the area of land and sea, made

up of one or more neighbouring water catchments together with

their associated groundwaters and coastal waters.

(3) For the purposes of these regulations, any reference to

Directives of the European Parliament and of the Council, shall be

read and construed as if reference is made to the provisions of the

regulations transposing the provisions of such directive into

Maltese law.

Regulation 9 (3) - Components of the subsequent update

of Flood Risk Management Plans

1. any changes or updates since the publication of the previous version of the

Flood Risk Management Plan, including a summary of the reviews carried out in

compliance with regulation 9;

2. an assessment of the progress made towards the achievement of the

objectives referred to in regulation 6(2);

3. a description of, and an explanation for, any measures foreseen in the earlier

version of the flood risk management plan which were planned to be undertaken and

have not been taken forward;

4. a description of any additional measures since the publication of the

previous version of the Flood Risk Management Plan.

(1) The competent authority shall undertake a preliminary

flood risk assessment for each water catchment district and unit of

management by 22 December 2011. This preliminary flood risk

assessment shall provide an assessment of potential risks and shall

be based on available or readily derivable information, such as

records and studies on long term developments, in particular the

impact of climate change on the occurrence of floods, and shall

include the information required in sub-regulation (2).

(2)

The preliminary flood risk assessment shall include at least

(a) maps of the water catchment district at the appropriate

scale including the borders of the water catchments,

sub-catchments, and where existing, coastal areas,

showing topography and land use;

(b) a description of the floods which have occurred in the

past and which have had significant adverse impacts

on human health, the environment, cultural heritage

and economic activity and for which the likelihood of

similar future events is still relevant, including the

flood extent and conveyance routes and an assessment

of the adverse impacts they have entailed;

(c) a description of the significant floods which have

occurred in the past, where significant adverse

consequences of similar future events might be

envisaged;

(3) The competent authority shall, where considered necessary,

in collaboration and with the contribution of the relevant competent

authorities undertake an assessment of the potential adverse

consequences of future floods for human health, the environment,

cultural heritage and economic activity, taking into account as far

a s p o s s i b l e i s s u e s s u c h a s t h e t o p o g r a p h y, t h e p o s i t i o n o f

watercourses and their general hydrological and geomorphological

characteristics, including floodplains as natural retention areas, the

effectiveness of existing manmade flood defence infrastructures,

the position of populated areas, areas of economic activity and

long-term developments including impacts of climate change on

the occurrence of floods.

On the basis of the preliminary flood risk assessment, the

competent authority shall identify those areas where a potential

significant flood risk exists or might be considered likely to occur.

(1) The competent authority shall prepare flood hazard

maps and flood risk maps for the areas identified in terms of

regulation 4.

(2) Flood hazard maps shall cover the geographical areas

which could be flooded according to the following scenarios

(a) floods with a low probability, or extreme event

scenarios;

(b) floods with a medium probability having a likely

return period of more than one hundred years;

(c) floods with a high probability, where appropriate.

(3) For each scenario referred to in sub-regulation (2), the

following shall be shown

(a) the flood extent;

(b) water depths or water level, as appropriate;

(c) where appropriate, the flow velocity or the relevant

water flow.

(4) Flood risk maps shall show the potential adverse

consequences associated with flood scenarios referred to in sub-

regulation (2) and shall be expressed in terms of

(a) the indicative number of inhabitants potentially

affected;

(b) type of economic activity of the area potentially

affected;

(c) installations as referred to in Annex I of Council

Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning

integrated pollution prevention and control which may

cause accidental pollution in case of flooding and

potentially affected protected areas identified in

Annex IV (1)(i), (iii) and (v) to Directive 200/60/EC;

(d) other information which the competent authority

considers useful, such as the indication of areas where

floods with a high content of transported sediments

and debris floods can occur and information on other

significant sources of pollution.

(5) For coastal areas and areas where flooding is from

groundwater sources the preparation of flood hazard maps shall be

limited to floods with a low probability or extreme event scenarios

Provided that for coastal areas the Authority shall establish

criteria for determining whether an adequate level of protection is in

place.

(6) The flood hazard maps and flood risk maps shall be

completed by 22 December 2013.

(1) The competent authority shall draw up Flood Risk

Management Plans on the basis of the flood risk maps for each of

the areas identified in terms of regulation 4.

(2) The Flood Risk Management Plan shall incorporate

objectives for each of those areas identified in terms of regulation

4, focusing on the reduction of potential adverse consequences of

flooding for human health, the environment, cultural heritage and

economic activity and where appropriate on non-structural

initiatives or on the reduction of the likelihood of flooding.

(3)

The Flood Risk Management Plan shall include measures

for achieving the objectives established in accordance with sub-

regulation (2) as well as the elements listed in the First Schedule and

shall take into account relevant aspects such as costs and benefits,

flood extent and flood conveyance routes and areas which have the

potential to retain flood water, such as natural floodplains, the

environmental objectives of Article 4 of Directive 2000/60/EC, soil

and water management, spatial planning, land use, nature

conservation, navigation and port infrastructure.

(4) Flood risk management plans shall address all aspects of

flood risk management focusing on prevention, protection,

preparedness, including flood forecasts and early warning systems

and taking into account the characteristics of the particular water

catchment or sub-catchment as well as the promotion of sustainable

land use practices, improvement of water retention as well as the

controlled flooding of certain areas in the case of a flood event.

(5) Flood risk management plans shall be completed and

published by 22 December 2015.

The implementation of these regulations shall be effected

in consistency with the Water Framework Policy Regulations, and

shall focus on opportunities for improving efficiency, information

exchange and for achieving common synergies and benefits having

regard to the environmental objectives laid down in such

regulations, in particular

(a) the development of the first flood hazard maps and

flood risk maps and their subsequent reviews shall be

carried out in such a way that the information they

contain is consistent with relevant information

pertaining to the Water Framework Policy Regulations

and shall be coordinated with, and may be integrated

into, the reviews provided for in regulation 5(2) of the

said Water Policy Framework Regulations;

(b) the development of the first flood risk management

plans and their subsequent reviews shall be carried out

in coordination with, and may be integrated into, the

reviews of the water catchment management plans

provided for in the Water Framework Policy

Regulations;

(c) the active involvement of all interested parties as

required by regulation 8 shall be coordinated with the

active involvement of parties under the Water

Framework Regulations.

(1) The competent authority shall make available to the

public the preliminary flood risk assessment, the flood hazard

maps, the flood risk maps and the Flood risk management plans.

(2) Interested parties shall be encouraged to participate

actively in the production, review and updating of the Flood risk

management plans.

(1) The preliminary flood risk assessment shall be

reviewed and if necessary updated by 22 December 2018 and every

six years thereafter, taking into account the likely impact of climate

change on the occurrence of floods.

(2) The flood hazard maps and the flood risk maps shall be

reviewed and if necessary updated, by 22 December 2019, and

every six years thereafter.

(3) The Flood risk management plans shall be reviewed and, if

necessary, updated, including the elements set out in the Second

Sched ule b y th e 22n d D ecem ber 202 1, and ev ery si x y ears

thereafter, taking into account the likely impact of climate change

on the occurrence of floods.

ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF FLOOD RISKS