What we don't do

What we don't do

SEPA often receives environmental event notifications for issues for which are the statutory responsibility of other organisations. To help you get to the right place quickly the table below provides a quick guide to a number of issues, together with how you can contact the right organisation.  

Responsibilities by topic

Responsibilities Organisations
Abandoned vehicles
Animal and plant health

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA):

  • Identifying and controlling endemic and exotic diseases and pests in animals, plants and bees
  • Surveillance of new diseases
  • Protecting endangered wildlife
  • Regulating the safe disposal of animal by-products
Air pollution from vehicles, household areas (eg bonfires), small businesses and small industries
Aquaculture
Beaches and bathing water
Canals
Coastal pollutions
Coastal protection
Conservation (including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation, etc)
Contaminated land
Dogs: fouling and noise
Drinking water
Environmental issues in England
Environmental issues in Northern Ireland
Environmental issues in Wales
Flooding
Fly-tipping
Food hygiene
Food safety
Forestry
Gas leaks
Genetically modified organisms
Government policy and legislation affecting the environment (England and Wales)
Government policy and legislation affecting the environment (Scotland)
Harbour pollution
  • Your local harbour authority(SEPA works with harbour authorities to investigate pollution from onshore sources. SEPA also regulates many of the activities carried out within harbour areas.)
Historic buildings, landscape and heritage
Light pollution
Litter
National parks

Nature conservation (through local biodiversity action plans) 

Noise
  • Your local authority(except for noise from sites, or parts of sites, that have a Part A Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permit from SEPA.)
Offshore oil and gas industry (except radioactivity)
Ozone depleting substances
Pest control
Planning permission
Radioactivity
Road obstructions
Safety at major industrial sites (COMAH - Control of Major Accident Hazards)
Septic tanks and sewage disposal (including sewage treatment works or land spreading activities)
Shipping
Smells/odours
Smoke
Sustainable development
Trade effluent discharges
Waste
Water

See separate listings above for:

  • Aquaculture
  • Beaches and bathing water
  • Canals
  • Coastal pollution/protection
  • Drinking water
  • Flooding
  • Harbour pollution
  • Septic tanks/Sewage
  • Shipping