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nuclear industry We regulate the management of radioactive substances, including those from the nuclear industry. This page provides information on the regulation of the nuclear industry. What is the nuclear industry? The nuclear industry includes power stations that generate electricity from a nuclear reactor, nuclear sites undergoing decommissioning and some defence activities. How do we regulate the nuclear ind

A special site is contaminated land which meets one of the descriptions in the regulations: for example, land on which a process subject to Integrated Pollution Control is, or has been, operated. Special sites do not necessarily represent the most heavily contaminated land: special site designation is the responsibility of local authorities, who are required to seek advice from us. As part of the requirements of Part IIA, we are obliged to maintain a public register containing details of special sites. Public registers of land identified as statutorily contaminated are maintained by local authorities, who should be contacted for information on contaminated land other than special sites. A special site is contaminated land which meets one of the descriptions in the regulation

Further technical guidance This page brings together a number of ancillary guidance documents and previous email bulletin information relating to modelling of marine fish-farms for CAR licence applications. Auxiliary biomass sampling transect In areas where the tidal residual current is weak, the auxiliary transect (site-specific sampling 2) may be aligned along a bearing reciprocal to the primary

What is an elevated building? A building where structures such as pillars or stilts are used to raise it above the expected flood water level. The ground below the building remains at risk of flooding and allows for the free flow of water. Context for this position statement This position statement constitutes part of ‘relevant SEPA advice’ as referred to in criterion a) iv of the National Plannin

Information regarding water bodies designated as protected areas. A significant number of the water bodies in Scotland are designated as protected areas. This is because of their importance for special purposes such as wildlife conservation, drinking water supply, shellfish harvesting or bathing. These designated areas are vital to ensure that the diverse ecosystems and cultural and economic benefits contained within them are safeguarded. Protected areas are als

User experience survey Our planning webpages are being updated later this year. We welcome feedback from all stakeholders who use the planning webpages to access relevant planning information. You can respond to this survey online. This should only take about 5 minutes. Responses should be submitted to us by 9 March 2026. Planning webpages - user experience survey What we do SEPA have various stat

Waste from all sources Discover Data toolLast updated: 15th July 2025 Household Waste Discover Data toolLast updated: 28th October 2025 This page presents data and information on the types and quantities of waste generated and managed across Scotland. The Scotland’s Environment Waste Discover Data tool presents waste from all sources, i.e. from households, the construction and demolition sector, a

The majority of dams will require an authorisation from SEPA under "The Water Environment (Controlled Activities)(Scotland) Regulations 2011 (CAR). This authorisation number will start CAR/.../... If you don't have a CAR authorisation for your dam, then you should contact your local SEPA team to discuss this. You can find more advice on impoundments and water resources authorisations on our Enviro