Strategic issues - Scotland

The article discusses how a second stage consultation has now been issued by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) with the Scottish Government. A three-tier approach to consents is proposed to allow proportionality, using general binding rules (GBR), registration and permits as the terminology. This is closest to the current regime for water, which is also the most recently introduced and probably the most coherent of the four regimes. Proportionate and targeted enforcement is the most interesting and probably the most controversial part of the proposal. It makes a number of suggestions to increase the tools and sanctions at SEPA's disposal and in principle these seem helpful, including the rationalization of statutory notices. There is also a proposal for enforcement undertakings, such as under the Reservoirs (Scotland) Act 2011, and these seem less problematic, although payments to restore environmental damage raise some similar issues.