Introduction
The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 established a broad framework for the future management of our rivers, lochs, coasts and groundwater. It gives Ministers powers to make regulations to control activities that impact on the water environment. In 2005, Scottish Ministers introduced the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 ('CAR') to control activities such as discharges, abstraction and impoundment, and building and engineering works impacting on the water environment.
CAR is designed to ensure that the level of regulatory control, and hence the burden on water users and the regulator, is proportionate to the risk to the water environment. Accordingly, CAR established a requirement for authorisation of a range of activities that have the potential to adversely affect the water environment but provided for three levels of authorisation, depending on the environmental risk. The three levels of authorisation are 'general binding rules', 'registration' and 'licensing'.
Activities posing the lowest environmental risk are authorised directly under CAR provided that they are carried out in accordance with specified general binding rules. The activities currently authorised in this way are set out in Column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 3 of CAR together with the relevant general binding rules. Those undertaking, or intending to undertake, any of these activities need not apply to SEPA for authorisation provided they undertake the activity in accordance with the relevant general binding rules.
The Executive has published two consultation papers on Diffuse Water Pollution from Rural Land Use:
- in December 2005 a strategy document and
- in October 2006 a proposed set of General Binding Rules
The responses from the strategy document were taken into consideration in drafting the GBRs consultation document. The responses to the October 2006 consultation, which was generally welcomed, have resulted in some alterations to the wording of the GBRs.
This consultation paper sets out Ministers' proposals for the authorisation under general binding rules of a number of activities that have the potential to impact on the water environment. They follow on from the rules made in 2005 under CAR.
Details of the previous consultations can be found at:
Diffuse Water Pollution from Rural Land Use: December 2005
Diffuse Water Pollution from Rural Land Use: October 2006
In compliance with the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, we now submit these GBRs to final consultation. This will allow stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the revised proposals prior to the regulations being laid in the Scottish Parliament