On September 12, the National Assembly of Armenia introduced amendments in the Code of Administrative Violations in the first reading.
Armenian Minister of Nature Protection Aram Haroutyunyan said that the document aims to enhance the efficiency of the use of water resources and to prevent violations. The individuals violating the service rules will pay a penalty 100 times as much as their wages (instead of the current penalty, which is 80 times as much as their wages), and officials will pay a penalty 300 times as much their wages (instead of the current penalty which is 150 times as much as their wages). As soon as the amendments are adopted, nearly 1,000 artesian boreholes in Ararat Valley will be decommissioned and this will lead to more effective use of the surface water resources. The settlement of this problem needs financial resources, part of which will be raised due to the toughened penalties. For this purpose, a special Fund will be set up at the Finance Ministry.
Since 2009, the Ministry has been conducting a monitoring on efficient use of water resources. Nearly 30 cases are annually submitted to the law-enforcement structures.