AN ANALYTICAL SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION TO PROTECT GROUNDWATER

Abstract

Despite the importance of groundwater in relation to socioeconomic and environmental aspects, the Brazilian legal texts do not deal with the detail needed regarding your protection. Otherwise, the countries of the European Community and the United States have laws that deal with the protection of groundwater, in which are defined guidelines and criteria for delimitation of perimeter protection, with the establishment of restrictions and control of land use. It is reported briefly in this article an analysis of legislation concerning the protection of groundwater, with focus to the laws of the Brazilian states. Among the main findings, it was found that only six states have specific laws on this issue while five others regard only in their water policies.