Environmental Law · Sub-area
Defence in Environmental Sanction Proceedings
Environmental fines can reach €2,000,000. The deadline to submit objections is 10 to 15 business days from notification of the file. Every day counts.
The environmental sanction file
The administrative sanction procedure in environmental matters is governed by Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure (LPAC) and by sector-specific regulations: Law 26/2007 on Environmental Liability, Law 7/2022 on Waste, RDL 1/2001 on Water, Law 34/2007 on Air Quality, and their respective regional implementing rules.
The authorities hold significant powers of inspection and sanction, but the procedure is subject to strict procedural safeguards. Failure to observe these safeguards — defective notifications, lack of reasoning, breach of the expiry deadline, or incorrect classification — creates defects that can render the whole file null or voidable.
Dobarro y Asociados' experience defending environmental sanction files of every size — from €5,000 to over €1,000,000 — shows that a rigorous technical and legal defence from the initial objections stage is the single most decisive factor in the final outcome.
Common case types
Most frequently sanctioned infringements
Unauthorised discharges
Discharges to public watercourses, the sea or the subsoil without authorisation or exceeding set limits. Fines up to €1,000,000 (RDL 1/2001). Limitation period for very serious infringements: 3 years.
Air emissions
Exceeding the emission limit values (VLE) set in the integrated environmental permit or emissions authorisation. Special regime for installations covered by the Industrial Emissions Directive (DEI).
Unlawful waste management
Abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste, particularly hazardous waste. Fines up to €2,000,000 (Law 7/2022). Possible cessation of activity and closure of facilities.
Breach of integrated permit or EIA conditions
Operating without an integrated environmental permit or breaching its conditions. May result in an order to cease activity in addition to a financial penalty.
Damage to public domain assets
Unlawful occupation of the public hydraulic domain, the coastal maritime-terrestrial domain, or protected natural areas. The fine is added to the duty to restore the prior condition and to patrimonial liability.
HowTo: step by step
The sanction procedure in 9 phases
Under Law 39/2015 (LPAC) and sector-specific environmental regulations. Find out which phase your file is in and which deadlines are critical.
Inspection or complaint
The competent authority carries out an inspection visit or receives a third-party complaint. The inspector draws up a report recording the facts found. This document will be the basis of the entire file.
Order to open the file
The competent body issues an order opening the sanction procedure: it identifies the facts, the provisional classification and the maximum applicable fine.
Notification to the interested party
The opening order is notified to the alleged offender. From this point the limitation period is interrupted. Always check the notification date: it is the starting point for the defence deadlines.
Initial objections
First opportunity for defence. The interested party may submit objections, provide documents and request evidence. A solid defence at this stage can secure the file's closure or a significant reduction in the fine before the file advances further.
⏱ 10-15 business days from notification
Investigation and evidence
The investigating officer carries out the requested evidentiary proceedings: technical expert reports, additional inspections, reports from public bodies and supplementary documentation. This is the point to provide the investigating officer with the technical and legal arguments supporting the defence.
Draft resolution
The investigating officer draws up a draft resolution with the final classification of the infringement and the proposed fine. If it differs from the classification in the opening order on essential elements, that discrepancy is itself grounds for nullity.
Hearing stage
Second opportunity for defence. A new deadline to submit specific objections against the draft resolution. This is the last opportunity to introduce arguments before the file passes to the deciding authority.
⏱ 10-15 business days
Sanction resolution
The competent body issues its resolution. It is required to address all objections raised: failure to do so is grounds for annulment. Maximum period to resolve: 6 months from the opening order.
Appeals
An administrative appeal within 1 month or a contentious-administrative appeal within 2 months of notification. Filing the appeal does not automatically suspend the fine: if necessary, a precautionary suspension must be expressly requested.
⏱ Administrative appeal: 1 month · Contentious: 2 months
Legal defence
Most effective defence strategies
Procedural defects
Defective notifications, lack of competence of the investigating or deciding body, breach of the maximum resolution deadline (expiry), omission of essential steps, or insufficient reasoning in the draft resolution. Any of these defects can render the file null.
Challenging the classification
Challenging the legal classification: the facts do not fit the invoked offence, the objective element is missing (the conduct did not occur or did not produce the effect the authority claims), or there is an error in the rule allegedly breached.
Absence of culpability
The principle of culpability (art. 28 LPAC) requires intent or negligence to impose a sanction. If the company acted with due diligence — authorisations in order, operational control systems, circumstances beyond its control — sanctioning liability may be excluded.
Proportionality and graduation
The authorities must justify the amount of the fine according to the graduation criteria in art. 29 LPAC and sector-specific regulations: benefit obtained, harm caused, repeat offending, intent and the offender's financial capacity.
Limitation of the infringement
Checking that the limitation period has not elapsed and that notification of the opening order was valid and timely. For minor (6 months) and serious (2 years) infringements, limitation is frequently a viable defence.
Frequently asked questions about deadlines and sanctions
How long do I have to respond to an environmental sanction file?
The deadline to submit objections to the opening order of the sanction file is 10 to 15 business days from notification, as set by the applicable sector-specific regulations. The same deadline applies to the hearing stage prior to the final draft resolution. These deadlines cannot be extended except on reasoned request and express grant by the investigating officer.
When do environmental infringements become time-barred in Spain?
The limitation periods are: minor infringements, 6 months; serious infringements, 2 years; very serious infringements, 3 years. The period is counted from the commission of the act or, for continuing infringements, from its completion. Notification of the opening order interrupts the limitation period.
What is the deadline for the authorities to resolve a sanction file?
The maximum period to resolve a sanction procedure is 6 months from the opening order (art. 21 LPAC). If the authorities exceed that period without resolving, the procedure expires. Expiry does not imply the infringement is time-barred: the authorities may open a new file if the limitation period has not elapsed.
How long do I have to appeal an environmental fine?
The deadline to file an administrative appeal is 1 month from notification of the sanction resolution. If the resolution exhausts the administrative route, the deadline to go to the contentious-administrative courts is 2 months. These are strict deadlines: missing them makes the fine final.
Does an appeal suspend the obligation to pay the fine?
Not automatically. Filing an appeal does not suspend the enforceability of the fine. A precautionary suspension must be expressly requested, showing that enforcement would cause difficult or impossible to repair harm. In the contentious-administrative courts, the court may order suspension if the harm from enforcement outweighs the harm suspension would cause to the public interest.