Pollution control

What is pollution control?

The Water Environment and Water Services Act (WEWS) requires any activity likely to cause pollution to be authorised. SEPA currently uses this act to control discharges to the environment.

Point source discharge means a release of effluent or other matter to the water environment or land, via a fixed installation, pipe, outlet or otherwise. This includes:

  • sewage and trade effluent;
  • surface water discharges from urban areas;
  • abandoned mine discharges.

Typically, discharges will be made directly to water. However, the regime also includes disposals to land, such as waste sheep dip and pesticides, which cause groundwater pollution.

Diffuse pollution is the release of potential pollutants from a range of activities that individually may have no effect on the water environment, but at the scale of a catchment can have a significant impact. Diffuse pollution arises from land use and management and includes livestock grazing, cultivation of land, run-off from urban areas and forestry activities.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) have been included as a controlled activity and authorised under general binding rules (GBRs) for the control of pollution within the urban environment. Therefore, it is a general* requirement for new developments with surface water drainage systems discharging to the water environment that such discharges will pass through SUDS.

Please note: In addition to CAR, regulatory controls on the storage of oil also exist. The Water Environment (Oil Storage) (Scotland) Regulations came into force in 2006. The storage of oil is a controlled activity authorised under a general binding rule (GBR).

Do the regulations apply to me?

If your activity involves any of the following, you will require some form of authorisation from SEPA:

  • Sewage and organic effluents.
  • Fish farms.
  • Inorganic effluents.
  • Thermal effluents.
  • Surface water drainage.
  • Waste sheep dip and waste pesticides.
  • Storage and application of fertilisers;
  • Keeping of livestock;
  • Cultivation of land;
  • Discharge of surface water run-off;
  • Construction and maintenance of roads and tracks;
  • Application of pesticide;
  • Operation of sheep dipping facilities.

Point source discharges from vessels in coastal or transitional waters are not regulated by SEPA – these will continue to be controlled by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as set out in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

Why does it have to be regulated?

Because pollution from wastewater and run-off is mostly concentrated near populated areas, it poses a risk to humans and habitat. Wastewater containing bacteria and viruses, for example, could impact on the recreational and amenity value of water environments, as well as public water supplies.

Discharges from fish farming (including marine cage farms and freshwater farms) pose a range of potential adverse impacts to the local habitat, the food chain and the quality of recreational activities.

Pollution is also associated with mining, where ferruginous (iron contaminated) discharges to water that can kill most animal life.   

Pollution from rural land use activities such as farming and forestry can result in nutrient enrichment and subsequent impacts on ecology, the silting of fish spawning grounds and the quality of drinking and recreational waters through pesticide, bacteria and viruses.

Levels of authorisation

There are three levels of authorisation:

  • General binding rule (GBR): Low risk activities are covered by a GBR. You will not have to contact SEPA or incur a charge, though you will have to follow a set of rules.

  • Registration: These cover small-scale activities that individually pose a small environmental risk, but cumulatively can result in environmental harm. Operators must apply to SEPA to register these activities (a single application fee applies) and comply with the terms of the application.

  • Licence: Activities that require specific conditions to provide environmental protection will require either a simple licence or – for activities that need a more complicated environmental assessment – a complex licence. A licence depends on the identification of a ‘responsible person’ who must ensure compliance with the conditions of the licence. In both cases, an application charge will apply, and the activity may also be subject to an annual subsistence charge.
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.)

  1. First refer to the relevant chapter in the CAR Practical Guide pdf link (540k) to see if your activity requires authorisation.

  2. If your activity falls under a GBR you will not have to do anything, other than comply with the rules of the GBR. If you require a registration or a licence, however, you will need to apply.

    - Application forms


    Guidance on rural land use can be found on the Scotland’s Environmental and Rural Services (SEARS) website external link

  3. 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 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.)

    - Charging scheme guidance pdf link (256k)

  4. Write down the charges in the application form and fill in all the other details. Then send it to your local SEPA office.
Changes to your authorisation

If your activity requires a registration or a licence, you may also expect to do the following:

  • Have your authorisation revoked: SEPA has powers to withdraw your authorisation if you fail to meet its conditions.

  • Vary it: If you want to change the conditions of your licence, you can apply for a variation.

For licence holders only:

  • Transfer it: You can partially or fully transfer your authorisation to another responsible person.

  • Surrender it: You will continue to pay subsistence charges for a licence, even if you are not carrying out an activity, until you notify SEPA. To cease paying, you have to surrender the licence by completing an application form.

Use the appropriate application form (where available) to make each of these actions.

Other useful links and information