BETWEEN REGULATORY UPDATING AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CONAMA RESOLUTION NO. 498/2020 ON THE AGRICULTURAL USE OF BIOSOLIDS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63330/aurumpub.065-002Keywords:
Emerging Contaminants, Environmental Regression, Precautionary Principle, SustainabilityAbstract
The proper management of biosolids generated at wastewater treatment plants poses a challenge for public policies regarding sanitation and environmental protection. CONAMA Resolution No. 498/2020 updated Brazilian regulations on the agricultural use of these materials, partially replacing the regulatory framework established by Resolutions No. 375/2006 and No. 380/2006. This study critically analyzed the changes introduced by the new rule, examining its technical foundations, regulatory implications, and compatibility with the precautionary principle and the prohibition against environmental regression. The research is qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary in nature, based on a comparative analysis of the resolutions, technical documents produced during the regulatory review process by CONAMA and ABES, and scientific literature on biosolids, environmental governance, and environmental law. The documentary analysis indicates that the update was grounded in microbiological risk assessment studies conducted after 2006—particularly regarding Class B biosolids, the scope of whose agricultural application was expanded based on the "dual-barrier" protection approach. However, the revision took place without the effective implementation of the permanent monitoring mechanism provided for in Resolution No. 375/2006, thereby undermining the institutionalization of a continuous process for regulatory updates. Gaps regarding emerging contaminants also persist. The study concludes that Resolution No. 498/2020 does not, in itself, constitute environmental regression, highlighting that the primary limitation of Brazilian regulation lies in the absence of permanent institutional mechanisms for monitoring and scientific updating.
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