ROME – New guidelines continue to be drafted at the Palazzo Chigi, essential for the over 7000 works planned on a national scale for preventing and addressing hydrogeological instability.

Structural operations

Operations for concreting over and constricting river banks, or the covering of rivers and streams with increased rainfall and flooding, will be completely prohibited. However, in line with earlier prescriptions, structural operations will be authorised, such as laminate tanks and new works prescribed as mandatory by Italy’s release from its “River Contracts”, for the redevelopment and re-landscaping of stretches of river.

The new guidelines

“This is to change a history of bad planning – explains Mauro Grassi, director of #italiasicura – which has often led us to being slow and inefficient in the way we spend the resources allocated. New guidelines will need to be adopted for each project along our rivers, on the slopes and on the coast, with a proper evaluation of the different alternative interventions and through accurate cost/benefit analyses, as supported by the EU in the Floods Directive. The new guidelines will be an important step for quality planning, sustained by the new 100 million Revolving Fund for planning, provided for in the CIPE decision in February. This will prepare the National Plan against hydrogeological instability, which envisages over 7000 works, still very much in the initial planning stage”.

The opinions of the geologists

“We are in the process of advancing quickly with the analysis of all the documents gathered and suggestions made – explained Gian Vito Graziano, President of the Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi (Italian National Council of Geologists) and coordinator of the work on the #italiasicura guidelines – in September, we will have the final document with the new guidelines. The objective is a more streamlined format for easier application and great attention to the regions, new technology, monitoring procedures and risk evaluation, at the level of maintenance and within the legal framework”.

by editorial staff