French Public Health Code
In forceI.-As an exception to the provisions of Book I of the Code de l'expropriation pour cause d'utilité publique and Chapter III of Title II of Book I of the Code de l'environnement, the simplified public enquiry procedure provided for in article L. 1321-2-2 of the present code is carried out under the conditions defined in the present article, prior to the order for minor modifications to the protection perimeter or related easements, issued in application of article R. 1321-12.
II.-The minor modifications to the protection perimeters or related easements mentioned in I consist of :
1° Removal of easements that have become irrelevant, or that the administration has recognised as unnecessary or inapplicable;
2° Removal or addition of one or more plots from the close protection perimeter or the remote protection perimeter, provided that the area concerned does not exceed 10% of the initial total area of the protection perimeter concerned;
3° The removal of one or more plots from the immediate protection perimeter, provided that the area concerned does not exceed 10% of the initial total area of the immediate protection perimeter.
III - The public enquiry is opened and organised by order of the Prefect of the department affected by the proposed changes. When the operation is to take place in the territory of one or more departments or another region, the public enquiry is opened by joint order of the competent prefects. In this case, the prefect of the department principally concerned is appointed to coordinate the organisation of the enquiry and to centralise the results.
The order referred to in the previous paragraph specifies in particular:
1° The subject of the request to amend the act declaring the project to be in the public interest;
2° The name and address of the authority that opened the enquiry;
3° The opening date of the enquiry, its duration and terms and conditions;
4° The address of the website where the file can be consulted and the enquiry register filled in;
5° The places, days and times when the enquiry commissioner will be available to receive comments from the public;
6° The location(s) open to the public and the access times where the public enquiry file can be consulted, free of charge, on a computer workstation;
7° The address to which the public can send their observations and proposals to the investigating commissioner by post during the enquiry period.
The investigating commissioner is appointed under the conditions laid down inarticle R. 123-5 of the Environment Code. The investigating commissioner is compensated in accordance with articles R. 123-25 to R. 123-27 of the same code.
IV.The file submitted to the public enquiry includes at least:
1° An explanatory note indicating the purpose of the operation and the reasons why, among the options considered, the project submitted to the enquiry has been selected, particularly from the point of view of its integration into the environment;
2° A site plan;
3° The main characteristics of the most important works.
When the modifications concern the immediate protection perimeter, the file also includes a general plan of the works and a summary assessment of the costs.
When, in view of the flow rate of the catchment, an impact study is required in application ofarticle R. 122-1 of the Environment Code, this is updated or, failing this, carried out to take account only of the consequences resulting from changes made to the protection perimeters or related easements.
By way of derogation from the same article R. 122-1, the file does not include an impact study when the modifications result in an increase in the close or remote protection perimeter(s) while encompassing the previous perimeter(s).
The file is available on the website of the State services in the département for the duration of the enquiry. It can be consulted on a computer in a place open to the public. At the request of any interested party, the file may also be consulted on paper under the conditions set out in article D. 123-46-2 of the same code.
When the volume or characteristics of the file do not allow it to be made available electronically, the Prefect shall specify, in the order opening the public enquiry, the places, days and times when the entire file may be consulted on paper.
V.-The public enquiry takes place either at the departmental prefecture or at the town hall of the town or towns affected by the proposed amendment. When the modification is to be carried out on the territory of several départements, the public enquiry is opened at the prefecture of the département principally concerned.
The duration of the public enquiry is set by the prefect and may not be less than fifteen days.
VI - At least fifteen days before the opening of the enquiry and during the enquiry itself, the prefect informs the public by electronic means and by posting in the town hall and at the location(s) concerned by the enquiry. This notice includes the information mentioned in III.
VII.-For the duration of the enquiry, members of the public may record their comments and proposals on the online register or send them by post to the investigating commissioner.
The investigating commissioner will also receive comments and proposals from members of the public at the places, on the days and at the times set and announced in accordance with the conditions set out in III.
Comments and proposals from members of the public sent by electronic means may be consulted on the online register, and those sent by post at the enquiry headquarters.
VIII.At the end of the enquiry period, the enquiry register is made available to the investigating commissioner.
The investigating commissioner draws up a report setting out his reasoned conclusions, specifying whether or not they are in favour of the planned modification.
Within one month of the expiry of the enquiry period, the investigating commissioner sends the enquiry file, together with the register and attached documents, his report and reasoned conclusions, as appropriate, to the prefect who issued the opening order or to the prefect responsible for centralising the results of the enquiry.
A copy of the report setting out the reasoned conclusions is deposited at the town hall of the municipality in which the enquiry took place and, where applicable, of each municipality whose territory is affected by the proposed modification to the protection perimeter and the related easements.
