Three Year Corporate Plan April 2005

Three Year Corporate Plan
April 2005 - March 2008

Executive Summary

SEPA aims to provide an efficient and integrated environmental protection system for Scotland: a system that will both improve the environment and contribute to the Scottish Ministers’ goal of sustainable development. This corporate plan sets out our priorities and goals for the next three years; financial years 2005/06 to 2007/08. The plan shows how we intend to progress both our aim and our six long-term environmental outcomes:

minimised, recovered and well-managed waste;

good water environments;

good air quality;

good land quality;

a respected environment: protected, informed and engaged communities; and

economic wellbeing.

Key targets

The following table presents SEPA’s key targets for our six outcomes. These have been selected from the full suite of targets presented in each of the outcome sections throughout this plan.

Key targets	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08
All outcomes
Licence compliance with: Control of Pollution Act/ Controlled Activities Regulations	94%	95%	95%
Integrated Pollution Control and Air Pollution Control	92%	92%	92%
Waste Management Licences	90%	90%	90%
Radioactive Substances	No member of the public to receive radiation doses above dose limits*.
Minimised, recovered and well-managed waste
Minimised and recovered municipal solid waste	Implement monitoring and audit scheme for local authority landfill diversion targets.	Reduce biodegradable municipal solid waste going to landfill to 1.5 million tonnes and contribute to 25% recycling and composting target in 2006.	Reduce biodegradable municipal solid waste going to landfill to 1.44 million tonnes.
Minimised and recovered non-municipal waste	Complete the national framework for dealing with non-municipal waste.	Achieve milestones in the national framework for dealing with non-municipal waste.
Good water environments
Surface water quality	Improve surface water quality of 50km of rivers and 21km of coastal waters.	Improve surface water quality of 351km of rivers, 6.5km² of estuarine waters and 145km of coastal waters^†.	Work towards the delivery of the 2015 targets for improving the water environment.
Good air quality
Air quality	Reduce airborne emissions from SEPA regulated processes.
	Establish baseline for pollutants from regulated processes.	Develop long-term reduction targets.
Good land quality
Quality and monitoring	Develop land quality indicators. Implement soil monitoring strategy and report data.	Develop and use indicators to address pressures and impacts on land. Implement soil monitoring strategy and report data.
Diffuse agricultural pollution	Prepare and implement environment improvement plans to improve x catchments^§.	Promote good practice and compliance.
A respected environment: protected, informed and engaged communities
Protected communities	Strive to meet mandatory EC standards for designated bathing waters and investigate all failures.
Informed communities	Deliver effective Floodline service 365 days per year^¶ (Increase awareness to 48%).	Deliver effective Floodline service 365 days per year^¶ (Increase awareness to 51%).	Deliver effective Floodline service 366 days per year^¶ (Increase awareness to 54%).
	Achieve access to information requirements.
Economic wellbeing
Sustainability of industry	Cost of compliance for post-2003 licences benchmarked and equivalent to international costs.	Target to be developed following findings of benchmarking.
SEPA’s efficiency	Achieve 3% efficiency savings.
	Achieve 92% cost recovery^‡.	Move towards full cost recovery^‡.	Move towards full cost recovery^‡.
	Determine 72% complete licence applications within the statutory period without extension**.	Determine 72% complete licence applications within the statutory period without extension**.	Determine 72% complete licence applications within the statutory period without extension**.

* The dose limits are set out in Article 13 of the (96/29/Euratom) Basic Safety Standards (subject to the exclusions set out in Article 6(4))

† The 2006/07 water quality targets represent a cumulative seven year improvement target based upon the measured water quality class in 1999.

§ The number of catchments that will be improved has still to be determined.

¶ Effective service is deemed as 95% readiness of hydrology flood warning infrastructure with no scheme falling below 90%; 95% SEPA Communications Centre readiness (increasing to 97% by 2008/09); increase Floodline awareness of people living in flood risk areas; and 95% availability of SEPA Floodline website.

‡ Achievement of cost recovery is subject to SEPA’s proposed price increases being approved by the Scottish Executive.

**These targets will be reviewed during 2005/06. The target is measured against Pollution Prevention and Control Part B, Waste Management Licences, Groundwater authorisations, Radioactive Substances Act band B and C, and Control of Pollution Act consents. Pollution Prevention and Control Part A applications are not included as SEPA is still in the transition period for existing processes transferring into the regime and Radioactive Substances Act band A are not included due to the extensive consultation period involved in such applications.

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