The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Third Party Representations etc) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (S.S.I. 2005/348) (“the 2005 Regulations”).

They amend the 2005 Regulations so as to insert a new regulation 15A. This requires SEPA to notify third parties who have made representations in respect of applications for authorisations or their variation or surrender under the 2005 Regulations of its proposed decision. Third parties may then notify their objection to the proposed decision to the Scottish Ministers (regulation 2(5)). The Scottish Ministers may direct SEPA to refer applications to them for determination under regulation 17 of the 2005 Regulations. Regulation 2(7) extends the application of the Scottish Ministers' powers under regulation 17 to applications for variation and surrender of authorisations.

They also provide for–

(a) the lifting of a suspension of an authorisation by SEPA (regulation 2(11));

(b) for a right of appeal to the Scottish Ministers against a partial refusal of a request for a variation of authorisation, and against the conditions imposed in such a variation (regulation 2(12);

(c) the noting of the cessation of an authorised activity in the Register maintained by SEPA under regulation 33 of the 2005 Regulations (regulation 2(13);

(d) consequential and supplementary amendments to regulations 13 (advertisement of application), 14 (further information), 15 (determination of application), 16 (time-limits for determining applications), 17 (determinations of applications by the Scottish Ministers), 20 (procedure for variation), 21 (request for variation) and 25 (determination of applications for surrender) of the 2005 Regulations (regulation 2(2) to (4), (6) and (8) to (10)); and

(e) amending paragraph 27 of Schedule 9 to the 2005 Regulations to require the Scottish Ministers to send copies of certain documents to SEPA and to those persons who made representations in an appeal (regulation 2(14)).