Decree 197 rewrites the rules on industrial emissions and livestock farming

The Government has rewritten the Italian regulations on industrial emissions with Legislative Decree no. 197 of September 28, 2026, which transposes Directive (EU) 2024/1785 and amends Title III-bis of Part Two of Legislative Decree no. 152 of April 3, 2006. The text, issued by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella upon the proposal of the Minister for European Affairs Tommaso Foti and the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, is published in the Official Gazette, General Series no. 251 of October 28, 2026, with the reference 26G00213. The new rules concern companies subject to integrated environmental authorization and, for the first time in a dedicated title, poultry and pig farms.

The measure implements the delegation of Law no. 91 of June 13, 2025 (2024 European delegation law) and concludes a process started with the preliminary resolution of the Council of Ministers on June 22, 2026, continued with the opinion of the Unified Conference on September 10, 2026, and concluded with the executive’s deliberation on September 24, 2026. The transposed directive, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on April 24, 2024, amends Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions and Directive 1999/31/EC on landfills. The decree consists of 45 articles and closes with a financial invariance clause.

The Investigating Commission: 23 experts and five additions

Article 5 rewrites Article 8-bis of the consolidated text and redesigns the Investigating Commission for Integrated Environmental Authorization-IPPC, which is called upon to provide scientific support to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and to express a final investigating opinion on each application.

• Composition of 23 experts from the public and private sectors, of whom at least three are chosen from ordinary, administrative, and accounting magistrates.
• President identified among experts of high technical-scientific qualification.
• Integration, within three months, with an additional five members designated by the Ministry of Health who are experts in interactions between environment and health.
• Appointment for four years, renewable only once, with nomination without a competition but with a reasoned determination and respect for gender balance.
• Compensation paid 50 percent at the start of the investigation and the remaining 50 percent after the issuance or denial of the authorization.
• Option for the competent region, province, and municipality to designate their own expert within fifteen days of the start of the procedure.

Digital authorizations by 2035 and registration regime

The new paragraph 4-ter of article 9 requires the competent authority to digitize and automate the submission of applications, the conduct of proceedings, the issuance of measures, and the management of authorizations, ensuring the full development of electronic systems by December 31, 2035, including for large combustion plants not subject to integrated environmental authorization and utilizing the services of the SUAP. The same deadline is set by article 30 for electronic procedures in the incinerator sector.

Alongside authorization, there is registration, defined as an alternative procedure that enables the operator to operate the installation after a communication in which they undertake commitments compliant with the requirements. Title III-ter establishes that no livestock installation shall be operated without authorization or registration, and the regions must define the relative procedures; ministerial decrees may also establish general requirements valid in place of the prescriptions of the individual authorization.

Livestock farming: thresholds in livestock units and transformation plan

The new Annex VIII-bis identifies the livestock activities subject to the rules:

• pig farming from 350 LSU;
• farming of laying hens only from 300 LSU, or other poultry from 280 LSU;
• farming of any combination of pigs and poultry from 380 LSU, excluding organic regimes and pastures under 2 LSU per hectare.

Pending regional procedures, intensive farms with more than 40,000 places for poultry, more than 2,000 places for production pigs over 30 kg, and more than 750 places for sows remain subject to integrated environmental authorization. Every operator must implement an environmental management system by July 1, 2030, with an audit at least every three years, and an indicative transformation plan by June 30, 2030, the compliance of which must be evaluated by June 30, 2031.

The transitional regime provides for the application of the new provisions for farms from 600 LSU four years after the entry into force of the European operational rules, from 400 LSU after five years, and for all others after six. Derogations granted before July 1, 2026, remain valid until the new evaluation, to be carried out no later than July 1, 2030; until the decrees on administrative fees are updated, the latter are increased by 20 percent.

Controls, sanctions and compensation for damages

The decree strengthens the guarantee of compliance: in the event of a persistent violation that endangers human health or causes serious repercussions on the environment, the competent authority shall suspend operations; for essential public services, including the integrated water service, the risks resulting from the interruption must be taken into account. The new Article 33-bis recognizes the right of damaged persons to compensation for health damage caused by violations of authorization conditions, pursuant to Article 2043 of the civil code. Furthermore, Annex X to Part Two, Article 10 of the regulation referred to in D.P.R. 14 May 2007, n. 90, and certain 2008 provisions regarding simplification are repealed.

For interested readers, the impact is twofold: companies must adapt authorizations, environmental management systems, and transformation plans within staggered deadlines up to 2036, while regions, provinces, and municipalities are called upon to reorganize preliminary investigations, tariffs, and controls. The decree allocates 300,000 euros per year starting from 2026 to information exchange activities and declares the absence of new burdens on public finances.

Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series n. 251 of 28 October 2026 — legislative decree 28 September 2026, n. 197 (26G00213).