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Belgium

The Flemish Environment Agency (VMM)

The VMM is an internally independent agency with powers of jurisdiction. The mission of VMM is to contribute to the realisation of the objectives of the environmental policy by:

• preventing, limiting and eliminating the harmful effects to water systems and the atmosphere;
• reporting on the state of the environment;
• the realisation of the objectives of integrated water management.

Moreover, the Flemish Environment Agency has an important role in motivating and stimulating a more environmentally friendly behaviour of the general public, industry and agricultural sector representatives. VMM also participates in international environmental policy.

The extensive series of tasks include:

Water

• Drawing up the water emissions register.
• Monitoring the quality of surface water, sediments and wastewater, as well as monitoring the bacteriological quality of bathing water, both for coastal and inland waters.
• Monitoring the quality and quantity of ground water.
• Developing policy instruments and elaborating measures to prevent and limit the pollution of water systems.
• Coordination of the integrated water policy: chair and secretariat of the Flemish Coordination Commission for Integrated Water Policy.
• Drafting investment programmes for waste water treatment (i.e. regional waste water collectors and treatment plants).
• Developing investment programmes for the construction or improvement of municipal sewer systems, as well as small-scale treatment plants, and preparation of municipal subsidy programmes.
• Ecological and economical supervision of waste water treatment.
• Advising on the granting of environmental permits and on the water test (urban planning).
• Levying taxes on industrial water pollution and groundwater abstraction.
• Supervising the ecological aspects of water intended for human consumption.
• Managing unnavigable waterways of first category in Flanders: safety measures (flood prevention), measures to maintain and improve the ecological quality of waterways (investments, rodent control), on-line flood forecasting system.
  
  For more information: http://www.overstromingsvoorspeller.be/

Air

• Monitoring ambient air quality.
• On-line ozone, NOx and PM monitoring and forecasting.
• Drawing up the air emissions register.
• Advising on the granting of environmental permits.

MIRA (Flemish State of the Environment Reporting)

The Flemish Environmental Report (MIRA) deals with all aspects of environmental issues.The environmental reporting includes:

• a description, analysis and evaluation of the existing condition of the environment (MIRA-T);
• a description, analysis and evaluation of the currently applied environmental policy (MIRA-PE);
• a description of the expected development of the environment, subject to an unchanged policy, an adapted policy and for a number of relevant scenarios (MIRA-S).
  
  For more information: http://www.milieurapport.be/en/home

Contacts

Flemish Environment Agency (VMM)

A. Van de Maelestraat 96  •  9320 Erembodegem         Belgium

 To see location on map click here

Tel. + 32 53 72 64 45  •  Fax + 32 53 71 10 78

info@vmm.be 
Website: www.vmm.be

Organisation:

	Belgium Country profile_logo_gif
	Belgium Logo_gif
	Belgium organisation chart
	Flemish Environment Agency (VMM)
	organogram_eng sept 2008