Saneamento básico, dano ambiental e responsabilidade estatal por omissão

Abstract

The lack or precariousness of basic sanitation as an adequate cause of environmental damage is a determinant to establish State liability. In this context, the formulation of effective public policies becomes relevant, in this way leading to an efficient State management. For its importance as population’s health guarantor, basic sanitation has its fundamentality reaffirmed, demanding an active State stance from the conception to the assurance of the effectiveness of the policies it is responsible for. The failure of Brazilian State to fulfill adequately this role is disclosed by the fragility of the sanitary sewer system and sewage treatment in the country, as the assessment provided demonstrates. The fundamental right to a healthy environment imposes duties to the State and its agents, which are evident in the new constitutional atmosphere. The so-called fundamental rights relevance set limits to the acts of Administration, therefore limited in its discretionary power. The environmental diffuse nature comprehension demands a new reading of procedures rules in order to adapt it to the new constitutional atmosphere, thus allowing proper legal responsibilization, especially to define the State strict liability. The socio-environmental minimum insufficient protection on account of State omission, consequently in non-compliance with the constitutional precepts, is a direct cause of its strict liability. When the State neglects its appointed duty, and this leads to environmental damage, its liability is strict, so State negligence [culpability] does not have to be proved. It is appropriate and feasible to adopt objective criteria to assess the incidence of State strict liability due to its omission as cause of environmental damage.