Conversion of the decree on companies in crisis: more flexible environmental guarantees

Law 23 October 2026, n. 196 (26G00212) converted into law, with amendments, Decree-Law 28 August 2026, n. 154, published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series n. 249 of 26 October 2026. The coordinated text with the conversion law (26A05664) is published in the same Gazette, on page 27. The change is already evident in the title: no longer “urgent measures to ensure the operational continuity of plants of national strategic interest,” but of “companies in a state of insolvency.”

The decree-law appeared in the Official Gazette, General Series, n. 199 of 28 August 2026, presented by the President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni, the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, and the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin. The law was promulgated on 23 October 2026 by the President of the Republic Mattarella, with the visa of the Minister of Justice Nordio.

The core of the measure is a single letter of Article 208, paragraph 11, of Legislative Decree 3 April 2006, n. 152, the environmental code which regulates the single authorization for new waste disposal and recovery plants. The conversion intervenes on an economically sensitive point: whoever manages a plant must provide financial guarantees, and this burden can block the activity of a business complex already in insolvency proceedings.

Guarantees required only at plant startup

The new letter g) establishes that the required financial guarantees “must be provided only at the time of the actual start of the plant’s operation.” For landfill management, including the phase following closure, guarantees must be provided according to Article 14 of Legislative Decree 13 January 2003, n. 36.

The coordinated text sets a prohibition without exceptions: no landfill activity may be carried out in the absence of the financial guarantee.

Requirement for strategic plant removed

The annex with the amendments approved during the conversion process deletes, in subparagraph g), the words “that manage at least one plant declared of national strategic interest pursuant to Article 1 of Decree-Law 3 December 2012, n. 207, converted, with amendments, by Law 24 December 2012, n. 231.”

With the removal of that clause, the relief is no longer reserved for sites declared strategic. Consequently, the heading of Article 1 becomes “Provisions regarding companies in a state of insolvency” and in the title of the decree the words “of plants of national strategic interest” are replaced by “of companies in a state of insolvency.”

Extraordinary administration, year-by-year guarantees

For companies admitted to the extraordinary administration procedure pursuant to Decree-Law 23 December 2003, n. 347, converted by Law 18 February 2004, n. 39, guarantees may be provided for the duration of the procedure and until the transfer of the business complex to third parties.

• On an annual basis, with a duration in any case of not less than one year, even if the authorization or the authorized management period is longer.
• The guarantee thus provided is considered compliant with legal requirements for the period of effectiveness, without further contractual provisions regarding subsequent periods or methods of enforcement.
• The environmental constraint remains firm: the landfill cannot be operated without a guarantee.

The process in four steps

• Senate of the Republic, act n. 2023, assigned to the 9th Commission (Industry, Trade, Tourism, Agriculture) on 31 August 2026, examined in the Chamber on 6 October and approved on 7 October 2026.
• Chamber of Deputies, act n. 3131, assigned to the VIII Commission (Environment, Territory and Public Works) on 7 October 2026, examined on 13 and 14 October and definitively approved on 20 October 2026.
• Promulgation on 23 October 2026; publication in the Official Gazette on 26 October 2026.
• Entry into force on the day following publication; the conversion amendments are effective from the following day, pursuant to Article 15, paragraph 5, of Law 23 August 1988, n. 400.

For industrial plants under extraordinary administration that manage treatment plants and landfills, the change is concrete: guarantees are no longer measured against the entire duration of the authorization, but can be renewed annually until the sale of the business complex, preventing a multi-year financial requirement from interrupting operations and production continuity. The obligation for coverage for the closure and post-closure of the landfill remains intact, which no conversion can eliminate.

Official source: Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series n. 249 of 26 October 2026 — Law 23 October 2026, n. 196 (26G00212), p. 2, and coordinated text of Decree-Law 28 August 2026, n. 154 with the conversion law (26A05664), p. 27.