The Scottish Setting Safety Company (SEPA) says it’s searching for views on proposed adjustments to how environmental actions are regulated in Scotland.
Earlier this 12 months, SEPA consulted on how a brand new framework could be applied to streamline and simplify the regulation of actions throughout the 4 principal regulatory regimes: water, waste administration, radioactive substances and industrial actions, at the moment generally known as air pollution, prevention and management (PPC). Total, round 84% of respondents agreed to the proposed method on the kind, tier and wording of the actions and authorisations.
Now, regulated companies, commerce associations and different stakeholders are being inspired to have their say on proposed adjustments to utility and subsistence prices and the authorisation circumstances utilized to actions regulated utilizing a registration-level authorisation.
SEPA’s two new consultations will inform the subsequent steps for implementing the Built-in Authorisation Framework for regulation of waste administration, water and industrial actions. The framework, established by the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Laws 2018 (EASR 2018), goals to offer a less complicated, built-in system for environmental regulation that’s simpler for companies and people to grasp.
Sandra Robust, Head of Allowing at SEPA, mentioned: “Our newest consultations on regulatory charging and normal circumstances current a possibility for companies to have their say and assist us guarantee environmental regulation stays truthful and proportionate.
“We need to hear from the companies and organisations that we regulate, trade our bodies, and different people within the setting. Your views will assist us develop an efficient and constant regulatory framework to raised shield the setting whereas supporting companies to make knowledgeable selections about finishing up regulated actions and bettering the transparency of how we regulate.”
Updating prices and introducing normal circumstances
Whereas most prices will stay the identical underneath the brand new framework, there could also be a rise or lower in utility and/or subsistence prices for some regulated actions the place there are proposed adjustments to authorisation stage or regulatory effort.
SEPA’s charging session outlines the proposed adjustments and explains the reasoning behind the introduction of any new prices, reminiscent of the place a brand new exercise is being regulated. It additionally highlights different adjustments to regulatory charging that might be launched underneath EASR 2018, together with adjustments to charging descriptions to make it simpler to grasp the costs that apply to a selected exercise.
The session on normal circumstances units out the proposed guidelines that operators should adjust to underneath the brand new framework for actions regulated utilizing a registration stage authorisation. The usage of normal circumstances helps take away inconsistencies in how companies are regulated, benefiting operators by making a stage enjoying area and serving to SEPA help companies make knowledgeable selections whereas guaranteeing the setting is protected.
stakeholders are invited to hitch SEPA at a sequence of on-line session info occasions, starting 12 September 2024.
You possibly can reply to the consultations on-line through SEPA’s Session Hub. The session on charging closes on 13 October and normal circumstances closes on 24 November.
