DGA approves Manual of Administrative Procedures for Auditing and Sanctions

The purpose of the manual is to make transparent the guidelines and principles used by the DGA in the exercise of its authority.

On August 16, 2024, Exempt Resolution No. 2,118 of the General Water Directorate (DGA) was published in the Official Gazette, approving the Manual of Administrative Procedures for Inspection and Sanctions.

The need to approve a new manual is mainly due to the reform of the Water Code in 2022 and the jurisprudence related to Law No. 21,064, which introduces modifications to the regulatory framework governing water in terms of control and sanctions.

In both instances, the focus was to establish a more solid water sanctioning system, guaranteeing the protection of legal assets (water resources, life, health and property of the population, among others) and establishing various guarantees and rights for violators.

This translates into a more detailed regulation with greater sanctioning powers for the DGA, and with a more abundant inspection and sanctioning procedure, which constitutes a positive step forward for water regulation and management in Chile.

This regulatory change also strengthens the DGA’s supervisory and sanctioning powers. In this way, a double functionality is sought:

1. To guide the exercise of the DGA’s control and sanctioning powers at the national level: Especially aimed at the substantiation of the determinations adopted in sanctioning matters, constituting an analytical tool that serves to ensure coherence, consistency and proportionality in the application of sanctions, enhancing their dissuasive effect.
2. Write the procedural stages that enable the exercise of the control and sanctioning powers: This with the objective of making them known to interested parties, thus making transparent the guidelines and principles that the DGA uses in the exercise of its authority.

In conclusion, the Manual also improves the transparency of the standards of the agency itself at the time of exercising the aforementioned powers granted, which undoubtedly strengthens the position of those administered vis-à-vis the institution.

For more information on these issues, please contact our Public Law and Regulated Markets group:

Antonio Rubilar | Partner | arubilar@az.cl

María José Campeny | Senior Associate | mcampeny@az.cl

Claudia Delgado | Associate | cdelgado@az.cl

Fernanda Del Canto | fdelcanto@az.cl

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