3. THE CONCEPT OF GENERAL BINDING RULES
The Water Framework Directive ( WFD) sets out a comprehensive programme for the achievement of good ecological quality within Europe's water environment by 2015. Measures to achieve compliance with the WFD must be in place by 2009 and they must be operational by 2012. River Basin Management Plans are required by 2009.
The introduction of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (the WEWS Act) and the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 ( CAR) were key steps in transposing the Water Framework Directive ( WFD) into Scots law.
In line with the WFD, the WEWS Act requires controls over both point and diffuse sources of pollution to be introduced. They are needed in order to secure good status for the rivers, lochs, groundwater and other water bodies in Scotland.
The CAR were made under section 20 of the WEWS Act and contribute to meeting the requirement for controls over certain activities, including those "activities liable to cause pollution of the water environment". All such activities are defined as controlled activities, and under CAR are permitted only if authorised. Under this new regime they may be authorised in one of three ways:
General binding rules ( GBRs),
Registration, or
Licensing.
The CAR provide for the control of the risks associated with the activities of abstraction, impoundment and building and engineering works in the vicinity of water. They also provide a means, through GBRs, for the control of point source pollution, including surface water discharges from buildings. Additional measures are required to address the impacts of pollution from diffuse sources. The GBRs proposed in this paper would be an integral part of the CAR regime.
General binding rules are a low impact means of regulating and are intended for activities which individually represent a small risk to the water environment. As diffuse pollution consists normally of small amounts of pollutant at any one point, but which may cumulatively be important, we propose national GBRs which we consider are straightforward and which provide basic protection of the water environment across Scotland.
Under GBRs authorisation is given without any registration or any fee being payable to the responsible authority ( SEPA). Implementation and compliance costs should be minimal. This keeps the burden on operators to a minimum, but if the rules are well designed adherence to them should bring significant benefits for the water environment.