SEPA Consideration of Dounreay Authorisations
Issued on 13 October 1998 - Ref 35/98

The Board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has approved the new authorisations that it is minded to grant for UKAEA’s operations at Dounreay. The new authorisations replace current ones which are significantly out of date and do not meet current expectations.

The authorisations set strict limits and controls for discharges to the environment through water, air and solid waste.

The SEPA decision marks the culmination of a protracted process of consideration of the new authorisations, which were applied for prior to SEPA’s establishment in 1996. In line with SEPA’s policy on openness the process involved an extensive public consultation exercise.

SEPA’s full reasoning behind the decision will be finalised in a decision document which will be issued at the time the authorisations are granted.

The authorisations SEPA is now minded to grant will be forwarded to the Secretary of State for Scotland as required by law, as part of the consultation process. SEPA will issue the authorisations once the consultation with the Secretary of State has taken place.

The main changes which have been made to the authorisations which were contained in the public consultation document are:

• the authorisations describe the processes allowed, and within which of the site facilities they can take place. Amongst other things this will bring greater transparency to the operations at Dounreay;

• following the government’s announcement of 5^th June that there will be no new commercial reprocessing contracts entered into at Dounreay, SEPA has included in the authorisations a schedule of overseas fuel that can be reprocessed under existing contracts. Should any further contracts be considered they would be subject to new applications and full public consultation, and at that point the need for a return of waste clause would be examined;

• in the case of Dounreay’s own spent fuel SEPA has required that there be a Best Practicable Environmental Option study for the treatment of the site’s own PFR fuels. Such a study could provide a useful input to any decision to replace the dissolver in building D1206; and

• SEPA has made it clear that it will not authorise disposals to an extension to the existing low level waste pits, which are potentially at risk from coastal erosion and which are therefore unsustainable and contrary to SEPA’s published guidance. UKAEA is coming forward with alternative proposals.

• Should UKAEA wish to submit any future proposals for a third reprocessing line (for instance in building D2670) SEPA would expect an application which would be subject in the normal way to full public consultation.

ENDS

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© SEPA 1998