The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025

Regulation 9(2)

SCHEDULE 10 NEW SCHEDULE 19 TO BE INSERTED INTO THE 2018 REGULATIONS

Regulation 6(1)

“SCHEDULE 19 INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONS ACTIVITIES

PART 1 Scope and interpretation

Scope

1.— (1) This schedule applies to industrial emissions activities.

(2) Paragraph 2 applies for the interpretation of—

(a) this schedule,

(b) schedules 20-24,

(c) the definition of industrial emissions activity.

2.— (1)  “Industrial emissions activity” does not include—

(a) research activities,

(b) development activities,

(c) the testing of new products and processes.

(2) The exception in sub-paragraph (1) does not apply where the activities in heads (a) to (c) involve the activity of incineration and co-incineration of liquid or solid waste at a waste incineration plant or co-incineration plant.

Interpretation: general

3.— (1) In this schedule and schedules 20-24—

“BAT reference document” means a document, resulting from the exchange of information organised for the purposes of Article 13 of the Industrial Emissions Directive, drawn up for defined activities and describing, in particular, applied techniques, present emissions and consumption levels, techniques considered for the determination of best available techniques as well as BAT conclusions and any emerging techniques, giving special consideration to the criteria listed in paragraph 5 of schedule 20,

“BAT conclusions” means—

(a)

a document annexed to a Decision establishing best available techniques which has been amended by the Air Quality (Miscellaneous Amendment and Revocation of Retained Direct EU Legislation) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018(1),

(b)

a document specified in regulations made in exercise of the power in regulation 9 of the Environment and Wildlife (Legislative Functions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019(2),

laying down the conclusions on best available techniques, their description, information to assess their applicability, the emission levels associated with the best available techniques, associated monitoring, associated consumption levels and, where appropriate, relevant site remediation measures,

“biomass” means any of the following—

(a)

products consisting of any vegetable matter from agriculture or forestry which can be used as a fuel for the purpose of recovering its energy content,

(b)

the following waste—

(i)

vegetable waste from agriculture and forestry,

(ii)

vegetable waste from the food processing industry, if the heat generated is recovered,

(iii)

fibrous vegetable waste from virgin pulp production and from production of paper from pulp, if it is co-incinerated at the place of production and the heat generated is recovered,

(iv)

cork waste,

(v)

wood waste with the exception of wood waste which may contain halogenated organic compounds or heavy metals as a result of treatment with wood preservatives or coating and which includes, in particular, such wood waste originating from construction and demolition waste,

“directly associated activity”—

(a)

in relation to a schedule 20 emissions activity, means an activity which—

(i)

has a technical connection with the schedule 20 emissions activity,

(ii)

is carried on at the same site,

(iii)

could have an effect on emissions and pollution,

(b)

in relation to a organic solvents emissions activity, means an activity which—

(i)

has a technical connection with the organic solvents emissions activity,

(ii)

is carried on at the same site,

(iii)

could have an effect on any discharge of volatile organic compounds into the environment,

“emerging techniques” means a novel technique for an industrial activity that, if commercially developed, could provide either—

(a)

a higher general level of protection of the environment, or

(b)

at least the same level of protection of the environment and higher cost savings,

than existing best available techniques,

“emission levels associated with BATs” means the range of emissions levels obtained under normal operating conditions using a BAT or a combination of BATs, as described in BAT conclusions, expressed as an average over a given period of time, under specified reference conditions,

“environmental inspection” means all actions taken by or on behalf of SEPA to check and promote compliance of installations with permit conditions and, where necessary, to monitor the environmental impact of activities carried out under a permit, including as required—

(a)

site visits,

(b)

monitoring of emissions and checks of internal reports and follow-up documents,

(c)

verification of self-monitoring,

(d)

checking the techniques used,

(e)

checking the adequacy of environmental management of the installation,

“environmental quality standard” means the set of requirements which must be complied with at any given time, in respect of a particular environment as set out in domestic law,

“Industrial Emissions Directive” means Directive 2010/75 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (Recast)(3),

“installation” means a stationary technical unit where one or more schedule 20 activities or organic solvents emissions activities are carried out and any other directly associated activities on the same site, and references to an installation include references to part of an installation,

“organic compound” means any compound containing at least the element carbon and one or more of hydrogen, halogens, oxygen, sulphur, phosphorous, silicon or nitrogen, with the exception of carbon oxides and inorganic carbonates and bicarbonates,

“organic solvent” means any volatile organic compound which is used alone or in combination with other agents, and without undergoing a chemical change, to dissolve raw materials, products or waste materials as a—

(a)

cleaning agent to dissolve contaminants,

(b)

dissolver,

(c)

dispersion medium,

(d)

viscosity adjuster,

(e)

surface tension adjuster,

(f)

plasticiser,

(g)

preservative,

“poultry” means a bird reared or kept in captivity for the production of meat or eggs for consumption, or other products, for restocking supplies of game or for the purposes of any breeding programme for the production of such categories of birds,

“schedule 20 emissions activity” means an activity listed in Part 4 of schedule 20 where the installed capacity is at or above the applicable threshold in that schedule, whether or not the activity is carried on below the threshold,

“small isolated system (SIS)” means any system with consumption of less than 3000 GWh in the year 1996, where less than 5% of annual consumption is obtained through interconnection with other systems,

“soil” means the top layer of the earth’s crust situated between the bedrock and the surface, the soil is composed of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms,

“Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive” means Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment(4),

“volatile organic compound (“VOC”) means any organic compound as well as the fraction of creosote, having at 293.15K a vapour pressure of 0.01kPa or more, or having a corresponding volatility under the particular conditions of use,

“waste incineration plant” means any stationary or mobile technical unit and equipment dedicated to the thermal treatment of waste, with or without recovery of the combustion heat generated, through the incineration by oxidation of waste as well as other thermal treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma process, if the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated,

“waste co-incineration plant” means any stationary or mobile technical unit whose main purpose is the generation of energy or production of material products and which uses waste as a regular or additional fuel or in which waste is thermally treated for the purpose of disposal through the incineration process by oxidation of waste as well as other thermal treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma process, if the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated,

(2) In this schedule, and schedules 20-24, “substance” does not include—

(a) radioactive substances as defined in paragraph 4 of schedule 8,

(b) genetically modified micro-organisms as defined in Article 2(b) of Directive 2009/41/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 6 May 2009 on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms(5),

(c) genetically modified organisms as defined in point 2 of Article 2 of Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms(6).

Interpretation: substantial change

4.— (1) In this schedule and schedules 20 – 24, “substantial change” means—

(a) a change in the nature or functioning, or an extension, of an installation or combustion plant, waste incineration or waste co-incineration plant which SEPA considers may—

(i) have significant negative effect on human health or the environment, or

(ii) which in itself constitutes the carrying on of an activity to which any of schedules 20-24 apply, that reaches any threshold capacity specified in those schedules and includes the activities in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3),

(b) the carrying on of a organic solvents emissions activities—

(i) where there is a change of the nominal capacity leading to an increase in emissions of volatile organic compounds of more than 10 percent, unless sub-head (ii) applies,

(ii) this sub-head applies where a organic solvents emissions activities—

(aa) falls within the lower threshold band of items 1, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 or 17 of Table 2 in schedule 23, or

(bb) falls under one of the other items of table 2 in schedule 23 and has a solvent consumption of less than 10 tonnes per year.

(iii) where sub-head (ii) applies, where there is a change of the nominal capacity leading to an increase in emissions of volatile organic compounds of more than 25 percent,

(c) a change in the operation of a waste incineration plant or waste co-incineration plant in an installation which involves the incineration and co-incineration for the first time of hazardous waste.

(2) In this paragraph—

“nominal capacity” means the maximum mass input of organic solvents at the installation averaged over one day, if that installation is operated at its design output under conditions other than start up and shut down operations or relating to the maintenance of equipment.

Interpretation: threshold values

5.   For the purposes of this schedule and schedule 20—

(a) threshold values generally refer to production capacities or outputs,

(b) where an activity is described by reference to a threshold value, the threshold value refers to the installed capacity or output, whether or not the activity is carried on below the threshold,

(c) where several activities falling under the same activity description containing a threshold are operated in the same installation, the capacities of those activities are to be added together in order to determine whether a threshold is met,

(d) for the waste management activities in paragraphs 23 and 25(1) and (2) of Chapter 5 of Part 4 of schedule 20, the calculation in sub-paragraph (c) applies at the level specified for each of those activities in that schedule.

Interpretation: baseline and site reports

6.   In this schedule and schedules 20 and 23—

(a) “baseline report” means a report on the state of soil and groundwater contamination by hazardous substances which contains at least the following—

(i) information on the present use and, where available, on past uses of the site unless already provided as part of a site report for an existing site,

(ii) where available, existing information on soil and groundwater measurements that reflect the state at the time the report is drawn up or, alternatively, new soil and groundwater measurements having regard to the possibility of soil and groundwater contamination by those hazardous substances to be used, produced or released by the installation,

(b) “site report” means a report that describes the condition of the site of the installation, and in particular it must—

(i) describe any soil and groundwater contamination at the site,

(ii) identify any pollutants in or on the land other than as described in head (i),

(iii) provide information on the present use of the site, and

(iv) provide any available information on past uses of the site.

PART 2 Amendments to common framework provisions

Authorisations: general

7.— (1) An industrial emissions activity may only be authorised by a permit or registration.

(2) An industrial emissions activity which is carried out from time to time does not cease to require an authorisation in respect of the activity during those times when the activity is not carried out.

Authorisations: multiple installations and multiple authorised persons

8.— (1) Where there is more than one authorised person in relation to a single authorisation for an installation, the authorisation must specify the responsibilities of each authorised person.

(2) An authorisation may cover two or more installations operated by the same authorised person on the same site.

(3) Where an authorisation covers two or more installations, the authorisation must contain conditions to ensure that each installation complies with the requirements of this schedule.

Authorisations: incidents, accidents and non-compliance

9.— (1) SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for an industrial emissions activity includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that in the event of an incident or accident that significantly affects the environment, the authorised person must—

(a) inform SEPA immediately,

(b) immediately take measures to limit the environmental consequences of the incident or accident,

(c) prevent further possible incidents or accidents.

(2) SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for an industrial emissions activity includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that in the event of a breach of conditions, the authorised person must—

(a) immediately inform SEPA,

(b) immediately take necessary measures to ensure that compliance is restored as soon as possible,

(c) immediately cease operation of an installation or plant in the event of a breach of conditions that poses an immediate danger to human health or threatens to cause an immediate significant adverse effect upon the environment, until compliance is restored.

Authorisations: greenhouse gas emissions

10.— (1) SEPA must not include an emission limit value in an authorisation in respect of direct emissions of a greenhouse gas where emissions of that greenhouse gas from an installation are subject to conditions imposed in a greenhouse gas emissions permit under article 26(1) of the 2020 Order (a “greenhouse gas emissions permit”), unless SEPA considers the emission limit value is necessary to ensure that no significant environmental harm is caused locally.

(2) SEPA may impose authorisation conditions requiring that decarbonisation measures be implemented.

(3) SEPA may choose not to impose energy efficiency requirements in respect of combustion units or other units emitting carbon dioxide in relation to an installation for which there is a greenhouse gas emissions permit.

(4) Where an authorisation contains an emission limit value in respect of direct emissions of a greenhouse gas and emissions of that greenhouse gas have, since the granting of the authorisation, become subject to conditions imposed in a greenhouse gas emissions permit, that emission limit value ceases for the duration of the period in which it is subject to conditions imposed in the greenhouse gas emissions permit unless SEPA considers that the emission limit value is necessary to ensure that no significant environmental harm is caused locally.

(5) In this paragraph, “the 2020 Order” means the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020(7).

PART 3 Duties of SEPA

Duties relating to best available techniques

11.— (1) SEPA must ensure that it follows or is informed of—

(a) developments in best available techniques,

(b) publication of any new or updated BAT conclusions.

(2) SEPA must make the information referred to in sub-paragraph (1) available to the public.

(3) SEPA must where appropriate exercise its functions so as to encourage the development and application of emerging techniques, in particular for any technique identified in BAT reference documents or BAT conclusions.

Duties related to environmental impact assessments

12.   SEPA must consider, in determining an application for an authorisation for a new installation, or a variation to an existing authorisation as a result of a substantial change, any relevant information obtained or conclusion arrived at in relation to an environmental impact assessment conducted under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017(8).”

(1)

S.I. 2018/1407, relevantly amended by S.I. 2020/1313.

(2)

S.I. 2019/473, to which there are no relevant amendments.

(3)

OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17, as corrected by Corrigendum (OJ L 158, 19.6.2012, p. 25).

(4)

OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40 as amended by Directive 98/15/EC (OJ L 67, 7.3.1998, p. 29), Regulation 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1), Regulation 1137/2008 (OJ L 311, 21.11.2008, p. 1) and Directive 2013/64 (OJ L 353, 28.12.2013, p. 8).

(5)

OJ L 125, 21.5.2009, p. 75.

(6)

OJ L 106, 17.4.2001, p. 1.

(7)

S.I. 2020/1265, relevantly amended by S.I. 2020/1557, S.I. 2021/1455 and S.I. 2024/192.

(8)

S.S.I. 2017/102, relevantly amended by S.S.I. 2017/168, S.S.I. 2018/219, S.S.I. 2019/80, S.S.I. 2020/310 and S.S.I. 2023/374.