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The purpose of the Infrastructure and Environment Operations Programme is to improve the investing attraction existing in Poland and its regions, by developing technical infrastructure in conjunction with protecting and improving the state of the environment, health, maintaining culture identity and developing territorial cohesion. Consistent with the National Strategic Reference Network, the Programme also approved by the European Commission,, constituting one of the operational programmes which are fundamental instruments to achieve the goals they specify with the use of the Cohesion Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. It is also a significant instrument used by Poland to implement the renewed Lisbon Strategy (expenditure for EU priority goals amounting to 66.23% of all programme expenses from EU means).
Sectors received means to implement the programme as follows: environment EUR 4.8 bln, transport – EUR – 19.4 bln, energy generation – EUR 1.7 bln, culture – EUR 490.0 mln, health – EUR 350.0 mln, higher education – EUR 500.0 mln. An additional EUR 581.3 is to go on technical aid. It must be stressed however, that many projects implemented in other sectors will have a positive influence on the environment.
There will be 15 priorities implemented within the programme, the Intermediary Institutions responsible for their introduction being the Ministries of the Environment, Infrastructure, Economy, Culture and National Heritage, Health, Science and Higher Education.
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On the 1 February 2008, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, minister of regional development published a verified list of individual projects for the Infrastructure and Environment Operations Programme comprising 226 undertakings with a total estimated value of PLN 152.03 bln: 174 basic projects of PLN 118.63 bln value and 52 reserve projects (PLN 33.4 bln). Following verification, the total number of individual projects on the Programme’s basic list was slimmed by 45% from 318 to 174 projects, which resulted in 13% of EU allocations to be released, i.e. PLN 10.90 bln of the amount which has been allocated for individual projects on the basic list. Those means will be mainly earmarked for projects selected by competition.
The Minister of Regional Development on the 6 March 2008 published an announcement concerning the list of individual projects for the Infrastructure and Environment Operations Programme 2007-2013. 226 large (basic and reserve) projects were mentioned in the enclosure which, consistent with art. 39 of ordination 1083/2006 of the Council, establishing general regulations concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund consist of all projects of a total cost exceeding EUR 25 mln in the case of the natural environment or EUR 50 mln in the case of other fields.
However, the more advanced the investment process, the greater the headaches suffered by the beneficiary due to the non-conformance of Polish regulations in assessing impact on the environment. The greatest problems are encountered by beneficiaries who have begun investments based on environment decisions inconsistent with EU directives. But in some such cases, a possibility exists either to quash or amend the decision or to reopen the procedure from the very beginning.
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Ministry of Regional Development guidelines on procedures to assess effects on the environment, accepted by the European Commission on the 3 June this year are to remain valid only till the act on the rights of society in protecting the environment and on assessing effects on the environment come into force. The Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers is to deal with the bill, drawn up by the environment ministry on society’s rights in protecting the environment and on assessing effects on the environment. The ultimate act is to streamline and accelerate environment procedures which are among the longest, lasting from anywhere between a few and well above ten months and, in the most complex investments, even several years. Appointing a Directorate-General for Environment Protection, dealing with assessment of effects of the environment and also overseeing investments implemented in the field of Natura 2000 is major element of this act. For smaller projects decisions will be delivered by landscape park workers. Officials of the environment ministry, province assembly offices and province nature preservers will be members of the Directorate-General, to start work this autumn


Among the 25 projects planned for implementation within the Priority I Water Supply and Sewage Removal Management, the greatest value (In PLN millions) have: the Comprehensive Protection of Subterranean Water in Kiielce Agglomeration (545.49), Extension and Modernisation of the Water supply and Sewage Removal System in Lublin (488.72), Sewage Treatment in Żywiec regions – Stage II (473.98), Drainage System in “Puszcza Zielonka” Landscape Park and surrounding (334.55), Integrated Water and Sewage Management in Parsęta River catchment area, - stage II (302.75), Modernisation and Extension of the Water and Sewage Management System in Nowy Sącz city with neighbouring communes land (230.49).
The most costly projects in priority II “Waste management and land surface protection” (15 projects) are: Programme of communal waste management in Kraków (539.03), System of waste management for the Tricity metropolis (539.03), System of waste management for the Silesia agglomeration – construction of waste management centre in Ruda Śląska (539.03), System of waste management in Katowice (539.03), Solutions of waste management problems in Warsaw (533.42), and Management of communal waste in Łódż – stage II (413.25). And priority III, “Managing resources and counteracting dangers to the environment” (5 projects): Ecological security of the Wlocławek stage of fall: construction of a stage of fall or a permanent river bar, improving anti-flooding security and counteracting erosion on Vistula River from Nieszawa to Toruń., modernising the Włocławek stage of fall (1850.65), comprehensive anti-flooding security Żuławy, modernising the Gdańsk Water Junction (Radunia Canal, storm overflow pumping station on Odpływ Motława, anti-flooding embankments, Rozwójka gates and others), improving anti-flooding security from Vistula River on Żulawy section (lead-in pier on outlet, river regulation structures, anti-flooding embankments, modernising hydraulic engineering devices); improving flooding security from the Bay of Vistula ( gates and pumping station on Tuga, anti-flooding embankments, modernisation of devices on Nogat river) and security improvement (539.03), also construction of the Raciborz anti-flooding dam (392.77).