INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SPATIAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS

SPATIAL INFORMATION

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 552.31

INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SPATIAL

INFORMATION REGULATIONS

22nd June, 2021

LEGAL NOTICE 268 of 2021.

The title of these regulations is Infrastructure for Spatial

Information Regulations.

(Regulations 2, 3 and 6)

SPATIAL DATA THEMES

1. Coordinate reference systems.

Systems for uniquely referencing spatial information in

space as a set of coordinates (x, y, z) and, or latitude and

longitude and height, based on a geodetic horizontal and

vertical datum.

2. Geographical grid systems.

Harmonised multi-resolution grid with a common point

of origin and standardised location and size of grid cells.

3. Geographical names.

Names of areas, regions, localities, cities, suburbs, towns

or other settlements, or any geographical or

topographical feature of public or historical interest.

4. Administrative units.

Units of administration, dividing areas where Member

States have and, or exercise jurisdictional rights, for

local, regional and national governance, separated by

administrative boundaries.

5. Addresses.

Location of properties based on address identifiers,

usually by road name, house number, postal code.

6. Cadastral parcels.

Areas defined by cadastral registers or equivalent.

7. Transport networks.

Road, rail, air and water transport networks and related

infrastructure. Includes links between different networks.

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Also includes the trans-European transport network as

defined in Decision No. 1692/96/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on

Community Guidelines for the development of the trans-

European transport network (*) and future revisions of that

Decision.

8. Hydrography.

Hydro-graphic elements, including marine areas and all

other water bodies and items related to them, including

river basins and sub-basins. Where appropriate, according

to the definitions set out in Directive 2000/60/EC of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 23

October2000 establishing a framework for Community

action in the field of water policy (†) and in the form of

networks.

9. Protected sites.

Area designated or managed within a framework of

international, Community and Member States’ legislation

to achieve specific conservation objectives.

For the purpose of these regulations and unless the

context otherwise requires

"the competent authority" means the Planning Authority;

"Directive" means the Directive 2007/2/EC of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 14th March, 2007

establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the

European Community (INSPIRE) and includes any other

European Union rules and regulations implementing the

Directive;

"infrastructure for spatial information" means meta-data,

spatial data sets and spatial data services; network services and

technologies; agreements on sharing, access and use; and

coordination and monitoring mechanisms, processes and

procedures established, operated or made available in

accordance with these regulations;

"INSPIRE Geo-portal" means an internet site, or

equivalent, providing access to the services referred to in these

regulations;

"interoperability" means the possibility for spatial data

sets to be combined, and for services to interact, without

repetitive manual intervention, in such a way that the result is

coherent and the added value of the data sets and services is

enhanced;

"meta-data" means information describing spatial data

sets and spatial data services and making it possible to discover,

inventory and use them;

"public authority" means

(a)

any government or other public

administration, including public advisory bodies, at

national, regional or local level;

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(b)

any natural or legal person performing

public administrative functions under national law,

including specific duties, activities or services in relation

to the environment; and

(c)

any natural or legal person having public

responsibilities or functions, or providing public services

relating to the environment under the control of a body or

person falling within paragraphs (a) or (b)

Provided that when bodies or institutions are

acting in a judicial or legislative capacity, they shall not be

regarded as a public authority for the purposes of these

regulations;

"spatial data" means any data with a direct or indirect

reference to a specific location or geographical area;

"spatial data services" means operations which may be

performed, by invoking a computer application on the spatial

data contained in spatial data sets or on the related meta-data.

These regulations shall also cover spatial data services related to

the spatial data sets covered by these regulations;

"spatial data set" means an identifiable collection of

spatial data which

(a)

are in electronic format;

(b)

relate to one (1) or more of the themes listed

in the First, Second and Third Schedules;

(c)

are held by or on behalf of a public

authority;

(d)

relate to Maltese territory, including

territorial waters, or adjacent marine areas; and

(e)

are held by public authorities provided that

their collection or dissemination falls within the scope of

its public tasks

Provided that, spatial data sets not held by public

authorities, but which meet the requirements of a spatial data

set, shall be covered by these regulations if the national geo-

portal has been made available to the holder of such data

Provided further that, public authorities may only

take action regarding spatial data sets on which a third party

holds intellectual property rights with the consent of that third

party

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Provided also that, in cases where multiple

identical copies of the same spatial data set are held by or on

behalf of several different public authorities, these regulations

shall only cover the reference version from which copies are

derived;

"spatial object" means an abstract representation of a

real-word phenomenon related to a specific location or

geographical area;

"third party" means any natural or legal person other than

a public authority.

(Regulations 2, 3 and 6)

SPATIAL DATA THEMES

1. Elevation.

Digital elevation models for land, ice and ocean surface.

Includes terrestrial elevation, bathymetry and shoreline.

2. Land cover.

Physical and biological cover of the earth’s surface

including artificial surfaces, agricultural areas, forests,

(semi-)natural areas, wetlands, water bodies.

3. Orthoimagery.

Geo-referenced image data of the earth's surface, from

either satellite or airborne sensors.

* OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No

1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1).

† OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1. Directive as amended by Decision No 2455/2001/EC (OJ

L 331, 15.12.2001, p.1).

SPATIAL INFORMATION

4. Geology.

Geology characterised according to composition and

structure. Includes bedrock, aquifers and geomorphology.

(1)

Public authorities shall create meta-data for the

spatial data sets or spatial data services corresponding to the spatial

data themes listed in the First, Second and Third Schedules. Meta-data

shall be kept up to date.

(2)

The competent authority shall establish guidelines on the

information which meta-data shall include and on the updating of the

meta-data and also on technical arrangements of the interoperability

and harmonization of spatial data sets and spatial data services

reflecting

(a)

conformity of spatial data sets with implementing

rules referred to in Article 5(4) of the Directive;

(b)

conditions applying to access to, and use of,

spatial data sets and services and, where applicable,

corresponding fees;

(c)

the quality and validity of spatial data sets;

(d)

the public authorities responsible for the

establishment, management, maintenance and distribution of

spatial data sets and services;

(e)

limitations on public access and the reasons for

such limitations.

(Regulations 2, 3 and 6)

SPATIAL DATA THEMES

1. Statistical units.

Units for dissemination or use of statistical information.

2. Buildings.

Geographical location of buildings.

3. Soil.

Soils and subsoil characterised according to depth,

texture, structure and content of particles and organic

material, stoniness, erosion, where appropriate mean

slope and anticipated water storage capacity.

4. Land use.

Territory characterised according to its current and future

planned functional dimension or socio-economic purpose

(e.g. residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural,

forestry, recreational).

5. Human health and safety.

Geographical distribution of dominance of pathologies

(allergies, cancers, respiratory diseases, etc.), information

indicating the effect on health (biomarkers, decline of

fertility, epidemics) or well-being of humans (fatigue,

stress, etc.) linked directly (air pollution, chemicals,

depletion of the ozone layer, noise, etc.) or indirectly

(food, genetically modified organisms, etc.) to the quality

of the environment.

6. Utility and governmental services.

Includes utility facilities such as sewage, waste

management, energy supply and water supply,

administrative and social governmental services such as

public administrations, civil protection sites, schools and

SPATIAL INFORMATION

hospitals.

7. Environmental monitoring facilities.

Location and operation of environmental monitoring

facilities includes observation and measurement of

emissions, of the state of environmental media and of

other ecosystem parameters (biodiversity, ecological

conditions of vegetation, etc.) by or on behalf of public

authorities.

8. Production and industrial facilities.

Industrial production sites, including installations covered

by Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996

concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (*)

and water abstraction facilities, mining, storage sites.

9. Agricultural and aquaculture facilities.

Farming equipment and production facilities (including

irrigation systems, greenhouses and stables).

10. Population distribution – demography.

Geographical distribution of people, including population

characteristics and activity levels, aggregated by grid,

region, administrative unit or other analytical unit.

(1)

The competent authority shall establish and

operate the following services on the internet through the INSPIRE

Geo-portal

(a)

discovery services making it possible to search for

spatial data sets and spatial data services on the basis of the

content of the correspondence meta-data and to display the

content of the meta-data;

(b)

view services making it possible, as a minimum,

to display, navigate, zoom in/out, pan, or overlay viewable

SPATIAL INFORMATION

special data sets and to display legend information and any

relevant content of meta-data;

(c)

download services, enabling copies of spatial data

sets, or parts of such sets, to be downloaded from the Internet

and, where practicable, accessed directly;

(d)

transformation services, enabling spatial data sets

to be transformed with a view to achieving interoperability.

These transformation services shall be combined with the other

services mentioned in this sub-regulation in such a way as to

enable all those services that shall be operated in conformity

with the provisions on technical arrangements for

interoperability and harmonization of spatial data sets and

spatial data services;

(e)

services allowing spatial data services to be

invoked.

(2)

For the purposes of the services mentioned in sub-

regulation (1), the following search criteria shall be implemented

(a)

keywords;

(b)

classification of spatial data and spatial data

services;

(c)

the quality and validity of spatial data;

(d)

degree of conformity with the provisions on

interoperability and harmonization of spatial data sets and

spatial data services;

(e)

geographical location;

(f)

conditions applying to the access and use of spatial

data sets and spatial data services;

(g)

the public authorities responsible for the

establishment, management, maintenance and distribution of

spatial data sets and spatial data services.

(1)

Public authorities shall link their spatial data sets

and spatial data services to the INSPIRE Geo-portal in accordance with

the provisions of regulation 4.

(2)

Holders of spatial data sets and spatial data services

which are in accordance with the provisions of these regulations and

the provisions on meta-data, network services and interoperability

stipulated by the Commission according to the Directive may, upon

request to the competent authority, link their spatial data sets and

SPATIAL INFORMATION

spatial data services to the INSPIRE Geo-portal.

(1)

Subject to the provisions of regulation 7 of the

Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment Regulations,

any person shall have access via the INSPIRE Geo-portal to spatial

data sets and spatial data services relating to environmental

information or themes listed in the First, Second and Third Schedules.

Access to search for spatial data sets and spatial data services on the

basis of the content of the corresponding meta-data and to display the

content of the meta-data, via the discovery services mentioned in

regulation 4, shall only be limited with regard to international

interests, public security and national defence.

(2)

Data made available through the view services referred

to in regulation 4 may be in a form preventing its re-use for

commercial purposes.

(3)

Decisions relating to the provisions of sub-regulations

(1) and (2) shall be made by the authority holding the spatial data sets

and the spatial data services. Decisions of the said authority shall be

construed as decisions of the competent authority under the provisions

of the Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment

Regulations, and the provisions of the said regulations shall apply

mutatis mutandis to these regulations.

(1)

The discovery and view services mentioned in

regulation 4 shall be available to the public free of charge.

(2)

Public authorities supplying other services mentioned in

regulation 4 may do so at a charge and may also be covered by

disclaimers or licences

Provided that, the service shall be offered through e-

commerce.

(1)

A public authority shall make spatial data sets and

spatial data services available in a manner which precludes any

restrictions likely to create practical obstacles, occurring at the point of

use by public authorities requiring this in the execution of their public

tasks.

(2)

For the purposes of public tasks that may have an impact

on the environment, spatial data sets and spatial data services shall be

made available to EU institutions or EU bodies and to public

authorities of other EU Member States.

(3)

A public authority may license or require payment from

other public authorities that, pursuant to sub-regulations (1) and (2),

use the spatial data sets or spatial data services of the relevant

authority.

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(4)

Spatial data sets and spatial data services made available

to EU institutions or EU bodies required for the fulfilment of reporting

obligations pursuant to EU regulations related to the environment shall

not be subject to any payment.

(5)

For the purposes of public tasks that may have an impact

on the environment, spatial data sets and spatial data services shall be

made available to bodies established by international agreements to

which the EU and EU Member States are parties. The provisions of

sub-regulation (3) shall apply.

(6)

Access to make spatial data sets and spatial data services

may be limited by the competent authority holding the spatial data set

or the spatial data service for the purpose of the process of justice,

international interests, public security or national defence.

(7)

The competent authority may, after consultation with the

relevant parties, decide whether spatial data sets or spatial data services

shall be made available and impose conditions, including conditions

regulating use, which it may deem fit and appropriate in accordance

with law.

(1)

The competent authority shall monitor the

implementation and use of the infrastructures for spatial information

and make the results accessible to the Commission and the public on a

permanent basis.

(2)

No later than 31 March every year the competent

authority shall update, if necessary, and publish a summary report.

Those reports, which shall be made public by the Commission services

assisted by the European Environment Agency, shall include summary

descriptions of

(a)

how public sector providers and users of spatial

data sets and services and intermediary bodies are coordinated,

and of the relationship with third parties and of the organisation

of quality assurance;

(b)

the contribution made by public authorities or third

parties to the function in and coordination of the infrastructure

for spatial information;

(c)

information on the use of the infrastructure for

spatial information;

(d)

data-sharing

agreements

between

public

authorities;

(e)

the costs and benefits of implementing the

Directive.

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(3)

The competent authority shall adopt implementation

rules for this purpose.

The Infrastructure for Spatial Information Regulations

Repeal.

are hereby repealed without prejudice to anything done or omitted to

be done thereunder.

Area management/restriction/regulation

zones

and

reporting units.

Areas managed, regulated or used for reporting at

international, European, national, regional and local

levels. Includes dumping sites, restricted areas around

drinking water sources, nitrate-vulnerable zones,

regulated fairways at sea or large inland waters, areas for

the dumping of waste, noise restriction zones, prospecting

and mining permit areas, river basin districts, relevant

reporting units and coastal zone management areas.

Natural risk zones.

Vulnerable areas characterised according to natural

hazards (all atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic, volcanic

and wildfire phenomena that, because of their location,

severity and frequency, have the potential to seriously

affect society) e.g. floods, landslides and subsidence,

* OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 166/

2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 1).

SPATIAL INFORMATION

avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.

Atmospheric conditions.

Physical conditions in the atmosphere. Includes spatial

data based on measurements, on models or on a

combination thereof and includes measurement locations.

Meteorological geographical features.

Weather

conditions

and

their

measurements;

precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, wind

speed and direction.

Oceanographic geographical features.

Physical conditions of oceans (currents, salinity, wave

heights, etc.).

Sea regions.

Physical conditions of seas and saline water bodies

divided into regions and sub-regions with common

characteristics.

Bio-geographical regions.

Areas of relatively homogeneous ecological conditions

with common characteristics.

Habitats and biotopes.

Geographical areas characterised by specific ecological

conditions, processes, structure, and (life support)

functions that physically support the organisms that live

there. Includes terrestrial and aquatic areas distinguished

by geographical, abiotic and biotic features, whether

entirely natural or semi-natural.

Species distribution.

Geographical distribution of occurrence of animal and

plant species aggregated by grid, region, administrative

unit or other analytical unit.

Energy resources.

Energy resources including hydrocarbons, hydropower,

bio-energy, solar, wind, etc., where relevant including

depth, height information on the extent of the resource.

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Mineral resources.

Mineral resources including metal ores, industrial

minerals, etc., where relevant including depth, height

information on the extent of the resource.