The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) Charging
Scheme
Why charge?
Forty-five per cent of Scotland’s water environment is
potentially damaged by human activity, through the activities
controlled by our four regulatory regimes. SEPA is required by law
to operate a charging scheme, to recover the costs of regulation
and associated environmental monitoring and improvement. The scheme
was subject to full consultation and ministerial approval.
Broadly-speaking, the charges recover approximately half of our
costs and the remainder is provided by the Scottish Government.
About 60% of the money raised through charging is used in
monitoring, while the remaining 40% supports our regulatory
responsibilities. We carry out site visits, chemical monitoring of
discharges and assessment of data to ensure that operators comply
with the conditions set in the Controlled Activities Regulations
(CAR). By implementing this scheme, we will be able to ensure that
the environment does not deteriorate as a result of new
developments, and deliver environmental improvements to the benefit
of ecology habitats, amenities and commercial communities.
Activities are charged according to the level of environmental
risk. In turn, environmental risk directly influences the level of
assessment, inspection and monitoring that SEPA carries out in
relation to a regulated activity. Charges apply and, where ongoing
inspection and monitoring is required, subsistence (annual) fees
may apply. These charges replaced the Control of Pollution Act and
Groundwater charging schemes on 1 April 2006.
What do I need to do?
Please note: If at any point during the
application process you have a query, contact your local SEPA
office.
- First refer to the relevant chapter in the CAR Practical
Guide
(540k) to see if your activity
requires authorisation.
- If your activity falls under a General Binding Rule (GBR) you
will not have to do anything. If you require a registration or a
licence, however, you will need to apply.
- Application forms
- Use the charging scheme
guidance to determine the cost of the application and to
find out whether a subsistence (annual) fee applies.
- Use the charge calculator, found
here, to determine your fee, by filling in the details of
your activity. (Please note that multiple activities are eligible
for a reduced application fee, which the calculator
determines).
- If you carry out an abstraction you may be eligible for a
temporary exemption. There is also a
full list of all activities that do not require a charge in Annex
II of the charging scheme guidance.
- Write down the charges in the application form and fill in all
the other details. Then send it to your local
SEPA office.
Regulating SEPA
At SEPA, we aim to be as open and transparent as possible about
the work we do. The Water Environment Charging Scheme was therefore
developed in conjunction with SEPA’s Regulatory Stakeholder Group
and the Scottish Government. In 2005, we also engaged KPMG to carry
out an audit review on the development of the scheme and our
resource planning. A key part of this was assessing the approach we
have taken for the allocation of costs across the four regimes.
To ensure executive agencies operate efficiently and
effectively, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) and the Scottish Government also undertake reviews. Part of
this is looking at the financial management of the agency,
including the way charging schemes operate. In 2003 the (then)
Scottish Executive Policy and Financial Management Review (PFMR)
recommended that SEPA should compare its charges with the
Environment Agency and publicise the results in a benchmarking
report.
Other useful links and information