1 State - People - Authorities - 15 Authorities - 152 Council of State and Cantonal Administration - Section 1: General Provisions (OR-DRU)

The Department of Territorial Development and Environment (DDTE; hereinafter: the department) assumes the tasks assigned to the State in the fields of territorial planning, mobility and hydrographic networks, energy, agriculture, viticulture, environmental protection, nature, forests, wildlife, economic supply, as well as in matters of consumption, veterinary affairs, cadastre, land registry, land policy, climate policy, and sustainability.

1. The department has a general secretariat.

2. It includes the following services

g) the geomatics and land registry service.

3. It is responsible for relations with the following entities

a) the cantonal office for motor vehicles and navigation (SCAN);

b) Neuchâtel - Institution for the Sustainability of Highway Infrastructures (NEVIA).

1. The head of the department regularly meets with the heads of the services and other entities, either in a general or individual meeting format.

2. The secretary general participates in these meetings and ensures liaison between the head of the department and the services.

3. The secretariat for the meetings is provided by the services.

1 The responsibilities of the services are established by the present regulation.

2. The assignment of special tasks or mandates is reserved.

1. The field of activity for the land use planning service includes

a) the development, management, and revision of cantonal land planning through the cantonal master plan, sector-specific master plans, and cantonal zoning plans;

b) the application of legislation concerning land use planning, reserved water areas, and information management, including the operation of the land observatory;

c) the management of agricultural land reserves and the administration of activity zones;

d) the leadership of the Working Community for Land Use Planning (CTAT);

e) the circulation of building permit files within the relevant services, and if necessary, the public inquiry of building permit applications;

f) the synthesis and communication of notices during the procedure of revising planning, detailed planning, and granting building permits;

g) high-level oversight concerning construction policing;

h) the operational management of the building permit management computer application (SATAC);

i) the management of mineral material exploitation files;

j) advice to public authorities and private individuals.

2. The coordination of the land unit is attached here. It assumes the organization of work regarding the State's land and real estate policies.

The scope of activity of the Department of Bridges and Highways includes

a) the study and management of all construction works on roads and bridges as well as other structural works of the cantonal road network;

b) the routine maintenance of roads, bridges, and structural works, and their operation;

c) the study and management of correction, development, revitalization, and maintenance works for waterways, the constructive maintenance of the shores of public domain lakes within the canton, the monitoring of storage structures, the use of water, and the management of hydraulic concessions;

d) the development and promotion of sustainable mobility;

e) the high-level supervision of roads, waterways, and lake shores, including the use of lake beaches and waterways that are part of the State’s domain;

f) the cantonal management and coordination regarding natural hazards related to water and geology;

g) the collection and monitoring of cantonal geological data, the management of mineral resource exploitation, the high-level supervision of mines and quarries operated underground, the geological monitoring of State-led projects, and advice in geology.

The Energy and Environment Service's area of activity in the field of energy includes

a) planning for the needs and supply of energy;

b) monitoring energy-producing and distributing installations and large energy consumers;

c) monitoring the rational use of energy in buildings and supporting municipalities that have been delegated this responsibility;

d) promoting renewable energies and overall energy efficiency;

e) managing potential subsidy programs;

f) coordinating energy and economic supply measures for the canton;

g) providing information on energy matters.

2. In the area of environmental protection, its fields of activity include

a) enforcing legislation related to the protection of ecological balance, soil, water, air, against non-ionizing radiation, exposure to radon, noise control, waste management, polluted sites, and substances hazardous to the environment;

b) collecting relevant information on the state of the environmental milieu (air, water, and soil);

c) ensuring environmentally respectful development (building zones, constructions) and resource use (hydroelectricity, water pumping, material and heat extraction);

d) limiting existing emissions (notably in air, wastewater discharge, waste, non-ionizing radiation, noise, etc.) from all sources (in particular housing, agriculture, industry, fixed installations, traffic, polluted sites, etc.) that may harm human health and the environment;

e) preventing accidental events that could lead to acute air, water, and soil pollution;

f) ensuring integrated water management, including the implementation of efficient and safe equipment for water supply, evacuation, and treatment;

g) ensuring the implementation of equipment and operations that promote effective waste management;

h) monitoring and supervising installations, construction sites, and businesses from an environmental perspective;

i) developing and implementing measures that encourage the voluntary adoption of decisions and actions favorable to the environment and sustainable development;

j) raising awareness and disseminating information in all areas of its competence.

The Service for Wildlife, Forests, and Nature has the following areas of activity

a) the coordinated implementation of legislation concerning wildlife, forests, and nature protection and their implementing provisions;

b) the monitoring of the application of these legislations within the cantonal territory;

c) the conservation of natural aquatic and terrestrial spaces, notably forests, in terms of their extent, diversity, and distribution;

d) the conservation of wildlife and flora, particularly rare and endangered species, as well as their habitats;

e) the creation of a network for biodiversity;

f) the sustainable management of renewable natural resources under its responsibility, whether they are of economic value or provide public utility services;

g) the management of public forests and other real estate serving the interests of wildlife, forests, and nature;

h) collaboration with landowners and operators affected by the application of wildlife, forest, and nature legislation;

i) the organization of training for actors involved in the service's area of activity;

j) liaison with private organizations interested in wildlife, forests, and nature;

k) collaboration with federal, cantonal, and communal authorities operating within the territory, particularly in the fields of agriculture, environment, and spatial planning;

l) providing information to the public and authorities on issues related to wildlife, forests, and nature;

m) the performance of other tasks provided by the relevant legislation, notably the prevention and compensation of damage caused by wildlife, protection against natural geological hazards in forest areas, the promotion of the use of indigenous wood and the forest-wood sector, forest disaster management, and the establishment of surveys and statistics;

n) assistance with the management of nationally significant parks.

1 The Agriculture Service has the following areas of activity

a) the implementation of legislation concerning structural improvements and agricultural law;

b) providing advice and subsidies for farm construction and equipment, managing agricultural credit, and supporting peasant farming operations;

c) enforcing federal legislation on direct and ecological payments;

d) enforcing federal and cantonal legislation on plant protection;

e) contributing to the enforcement of legislation on rural land rights and agricultural leasing;

f) enforcing federal and cantonal legislation on viticulture production and controlling the grape harvest;

g) promoting quality designations, especially protected designations of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indications (PGI);

h) protecting water resources in agriculture;

i) managing and administering the state's agricultural lands and estates;

j) managing and administering the State’s Viticulture Station and Cellars, which are tasked with vineyard arrangement and reconstruction, dissemination and trials in viticulture and winemaking, vineyard management, and sales of state wines;

k) providing high-level oversight of Evologia, which aims to promote social and professional reintegration, cultural events, education, and awareness of sustainable agriculture, nature, and biodiversity.

2. It serves as the Neuchâtel branch of the inter-cantonal BE-FR-NE consulting service in cheese economy (Casei).

1. The Consumer and Veterinary Affairs Service has the following areas of activity

a) Protection of consumers in the fields of food safety, tobacco products, bathing waters, weight and measure verification, trade regulation, and the control of zoonoses;

b) Protection of animals in the areas of animal health and animal welfare;

c) Public safety in the field of dangerous dogs;

d) Trade regulation (activities subject to authorization or notification, public establishments, opening hours, price indication);

e) Granting of authorizations for sports events.

2. It is the cantonal coordinating body for inspections in agricultural operations.

a) The capture, updating, and management of basic geodata;

b) The definition of basic cantonal legal geodata and, in collaboration with municipalities, those of municipal law;

c) Accessibility of basic geodata to the public and ensuring that they can be used by all;

d) Management of the Neuchâtel territorial information system (SITN) as a cantonal geodata infrastructure and the cantonal geoportal;

e) Management of the cadastre of public law restrictions;

f) Issuance of certified extracts from the cadastre of public law restrictions on property ownership;

g) Advising public entities during the acquisition of geodata and the implementation of geoservices;

h) Collaboration in the exchange of geodata as well as coordination of their capture, updating, and management;

i) Distribution and implementation of the underground cadastre in its digital form to achieve cantonal coverage;

j) Management and verification of the elements of official surveying as well as their updating, improvement, and renewal;

k) The development of implementation plans serving as the basis for concluding program agreements and monitoring their execution;

l) Coordination between official surveying and other cantonal projects;

m) Proper management of land registry rights, preservation of supporting documents, in accordance with legal requirements;

n) Steering the introduction of the federal land registry;

o) Execution, within land improvement unions, of tasks related to the land registry, excluding any other task, especially accounting;

p) Recording easements and annotations in case of cadastral changes.

2. It assumes the secretariat of the cantonal commission for the sanction of property acquisitions by foreigners (COMACQ) and the commission for the sale of rented apartments (CVAL).

1. The Cantonal Office for Automotive and Navigation Services (SCAN), an autonomous public law institution with legal personality, is responsible for enforcing legislation on road traffic and inland navigation.

2. Its organization is governed by a special law.

1 NEVIA – Neuchâtel Establishment for the Viability of Highway Infrastructures, an autonomous public law establishment endowed with legal personality, aims to enable the Canton of Neuchâtel to participate in routine maintenance and minor maintenance work on national roads that traverse its territory.

2. Its organization is the subject of a special law and its implementing regulations.

**The Department May Establish Specific Provisions Regarding the Tasks and Internal Organization of the Services**

The department may establish specific provisions concerning the tasks and the internal organization of the services.

The Regulation on the Organization of the Department of Territorial Development and Environment (RO-DDTE), dated July 5, 2021, is repealed.

1. This regulation comes into effect immediately.

2. It will be published in the Official Gazette and inserted into the Neuchâtel Legislation Compilation.