The National Water and Sanitation Agency (ANA) submitted to public consultation a proposal to establish a set of national indicators and quality standards for the effective and efficient provision of water and sanitation services in Brazil.
Public Consultation n.º 1/2022 from the National Water and Sanitation Agency (ANA) intends to collect public contributions on a new reference normative act concerning a set of national indicators and quality standards for the effective and efficient provision of water and sanitation services in Brazil. It stems from the new legal framework for sanitation (Law n.º 14.026/2020, see more in the 16th edition of the Regulatory Report), which determines the universalization of water and sanitation public service provision by 2033 and allows service provision through concessionaires.
According to the public consultation’s regulatory impact analysis, the proposed reference normative act seeks to not only address the poor general quality in water and sanitation services but also correct the lack of tangible criteria for local (subnational) regulatory agencies to oversee their provision. Therefore, ANA opted for a regulatory solution that establishes common national quality indicators and standards and enables the adaptation of regulation to local conditions. This will, in turn, lead to better monitoring mechanisms and regulatory quality.
The draft normative act defines seven components to the performance assessment framework (national standards) concerning the provision of water and sanitation services (article 5):
- Accessibility and Quality Indicators (articles 7 to 12);
- Efficiency and Sustainability Indicators (articles 13 to 18);
- “Context Indicators” (articles 19 to 23);
- Reference Standards (articles 24 and 25);
- Performance Targets (articles 26 to 37);
- Conformity assessment standards (articles 38 to 48); and
- Performance Assessment Report (articles 49 to 52).
According to ANA, the reference normative act aims at guaranteeing the economic and financial sustainability of service provision while improving its quality.
Public contributions can be submitted until February 17 through ANA’s website, where the draft normative act and the regulatory impact analysis are available. Note that a Brazilian Individual Taxpayers Registry (CPF) is necessary to submit contributions.
