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Chief Executive's Report

Introduction

Autumn brings with it the third quarter of the financial year and progress against all work areas continues at pace across the Agency.

The end of September saw Scotland’s Climate Week highlighting the importance and urgency of tackling climate change as well as celebrating all the positive climate action being taken across the country. As part of this I hosted the First Minister, John Swinney, at a successful visit to the Water Environment Fund’s River Leven project. Speaking on the day, the First Minister said ‘it is clear that this project has acted as a magnet for a whole variety of community, statutory and public authority involvement and crucially, it’s all been working in the same direction, with the same objective of regenerating the River Leven area, and making this, once again, a place of beauty that can be the subject of leisure and exercise and contributions to individuals well-being’. I am extremely proud of my colleagues at SEPA, and the huge variety of partners involved in this excellent example of collaborate place based working - public, private and public sector working seamlessly together, working with and delivering for communities, delivering for Scotland. More can be found on this partnership project later on in this report.

As part of Scotland’s Climate Week, within SEPA we detailed upcoming opportunities for colleagues to become carbon literate and a Net Zero Champion, had a Climate Week blog and heard about our external engagement opportunities when it comes to our Corporate Plan priorities. With Net Zero a key priority in both our Corporate Plan and Annual Operating Plan, it's vital we work together to help inspire further collective and transformative change in line with Scotland's net zero target by 2045.

We also focused on our Hybrid Working Policy. We are committed to developing a successful hybrid working framework across the organisation and to complement the policy already in place, we produced additional guidance to support colleagues to review their options and make the right decisions about how and where they work. We found that hybrid working had resulted in an overall reduction in emissions and that those associated with working from home and commuting were significantly less than those associated with commuting prior to its introduction.

On 28 September, I was privileged to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The event marked 25 years since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened and was attended by their Majesties, The King and The Queen. The event was attended by local heroes – constituents from Member of Parliament’s local areas who have made an extraordinary contribution to their communities. I represented both SEPA and public servants more generally for a wonderful day of celebration, of local heroes, of history and of song.

I am very pleased to note that our laboratories successfully maintained ISO 17025 accreditation. SEPA’s laboratories and sampling activities are accredited by UKAS, the National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom which demonstrates the competence, independence and performance capability of laboratories. Ensuring that our evidence is quality assured to the highest standards is very important to us, and all that we do. More details can be found on this later in the report.

As part of continuing to build on the strong relationship SEPA has with Environmental Standards Scotland, the Chair and I met with their Chair and CEO in October. This meeting was part of a regular engagement we have and gives the occasion to discuss current issues and opportunities.

I also attended the 42nd meeting of the Environment Protection Network in the Netherlands, hosted by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The network was established in 2003, has representation from 38 European countries, and is a great example of being able to exchange experiences at a strategic level.

In October, alongside Corporate Leadership Team colleagues, I virtually attended a meeting of the Chief Executives and Directors of the five environment agencies in the United Kingdom and Ireland – this includes Natural Resources Wales, the Environment Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland and the Northern Irish Environment Agency. The meeting was held over two days providing an excellent opportunity to discuss common themes and exchange knowledge around environmental policy, challenges and priorities facing the environment and to look for potential areas of future collaboration.

I chaired the Bi-Annual meeting of the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law virtually as they convened in Brussels on 30 October 2024.

A key achievement for the agency in this period was the full launch of the Satellite Emergency Mapping Service with partners from the UK Space Agency, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and the University of Stirling. The Satellite Emergency Mapping Service uses data from a variety of satellites to assist in a range of emergency situations such wildfires, flooding and industrial fires. Please read more on this in the “spotlight on” section later in the report.

This report features some highlights as our teams continue to deliver for Scotland.

For the future of our environment.

Collaboration and partnership

We recognise the impact of progressive partnerships and collaborative working across the public, private and third sectors, as well as with communities. We share service delivery so that we offer better outcomes more efficiently, and with a customer focus.

First Minister visits River Restoration project as part of Scotland's climate week

Our river restoration work as part of the Leven Programme was profiled on 25 September during a visit from the First Minister, John Swinney. As part of climate week, the First Minister heard how the Leven River restoration project is helping to reduce flooding in the area, encouraging biodiversity and wildlife. It also has a positive socioeconomic benefit for the local communities by providing educational and recreational benefits. SEPA has worked collaboratively with Fife Council and Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, with funding from the Water Environment Fund, to help change the area for the better.

SEPA’s Chief Executive hosted the First Minster along with our Restoration Specialist and provided the First Minister and invited guests with a presentation describing the project. The SEPA Chair and Chief Operating Officer (Regulation, Business and Environment) were also present.

The First Minister met with members of the local community in Leven and learned about the positive impact of a river restoration project in building resilience to climate change. He then met with a wide range of partners involved in delivering the wider Leven programme before launching the Scottish National Adaptation Plan 3. Speaking on the day, the First Minister said ‘it is clear that this project has acted as a magnet for a whole variety of community, statutory and public authority involvement and crucially, it’s all been working in the same direction, with the same objective of regenerating the River Leven area, and making this, once again, a place of beauty that can be the subject of leisure and exercise and contributions to individuals well-being’.

The Shipment of Waste Enforcement Actions Project (SWEAP)

SEPA was the project leader for the SWEAP project from 2018-2024, which was part-funded by the European Commission’s LIFE fund with the IMPEL network (the European Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of EU Environmental Law)) as the Co-ordinating Beneficiary.

The project focused on enhancing inspection and enforcement capacity across Europe by intensifying international collaboration and joint enforcement operations. A suite of tools and training was provided, including an innovative Inspection and Reference application which enables inspectors to record, collect and share inspection data.

A SEPA team led the development of an interactive data visualisation tool. This tool identifies and analyses emerging patterns and trends using the inspection data. A total of 90,000 inspections were recorded in 32 countries during the project timescale, with waste being identified in 50% of cases and with a violation rate of almost 20%.

The 92nd Interpol General Assembly

Glasgow hosted the 92nd Interpol General Assembly this month at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) previously used as the location for COP 26, the UN Climate Change Conference. The General Assembly is Interpol’s highest governing body and the largest global gathering of senior law enforcement officials and heads of ministries.

Already a global leader in security and policing, hosting this event gave the UK a central role in one of the most important policing and public safety events in the world, bringing together Interpol’s 195 members in one common goal - to prevent global illicit activity, and to tackle criminal threats and risk worldwide. It is a key opportunity to drive innovation and leadership in international police cooperation to tackle major crime trends and security threats facing the world, including organised crime, counter-terrorism and fraud.

As a Category One responder our role in protecting the environment and human health is wide-ranging, including environmental regulation, mitigating, and adapting to climate change, monitoring, reporting on the state of our environment, raising awareness of environmental issues, and resolving environmental harms.

We also provided expertise through our Resilience Team (participation in the Event Control Room and led by a qualified Gold Commander), daily flood guidance statements and flood warnings as required, and dedicated working across several departments, teams, and specialisms provided the organisers with the right skills, knowledge, and expertise to ensure world class environmental protection for this prestigious event.

We also provided a notional Gold Commander for the duration of the event – Chief Officer Governance, Performance and Engagement, Kirsty Louise Campbell, that dealt with strategic issues - and the role of Silver Commanders was fulfilled by the attending Resilience Officers dealing with tactical issues.

SEPA’s involvement at this prestigious event contributed towards providing a safe and secure environment for all involved, whilst continuing to protect the communities of Scotland and ensuring that Scotland’s natural resources and services are used as sustainably as possible and contribute to sustainable economic growth.

SEPA/Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service collaboration

On 1 October 2024, SEPA welcomed partners from the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to collaborate on key strategic areas. A wide range of topics covered throughout the day allowed a great deal of discussion between partners and an ability to enhance our understanding of each others’ roles and responsibilities in key areas. We were also able to showcase our use of new and emerging technologies such as drones and satellite imagery, as part of our regulatory and investigation toolkit. This was the first time in several years that relevant SEPA and COPFS colleagues have come together in this way, and it was considered extremely beneficial by all those who attended. As a Specialist Reporting Agency, which submits reports to COPFS recommending prosecution in respect of environmental offences, SEPA’s relationship with COPFS is a key one.

Prosecutions are an important part of our Regulatory and enforcement toolkit which we use for our most significant environmental offending and in our efforts to tackle environmental crime.

Digital Interventions partner event for climate week

On 28 September 2024, SEPA officers joined Falkirk Council waste services colleagues at a community event hosted at Helix Park in Falkirk. The purpose of the event was to engage members of the public with various aspect of their waste services including changes to uplifts, a new web application for waste services, and to warn against waste crime and fly-tipping. We were invited to participate to provide advice and guidance to householders on keeping safe when engaging online waste collection services and how to avoid scam unregistered waste collectors that often ultimately leads to waste being illegally fly-tipped. Raising awareness is a key part of our ability to disrupt this growing trend, by preventing waste and money being given to unauthorised operators, and encouraging the public to carry out simple checks to make sure their waste is only being given to reputable, licensed operators.

Scottish Landfill Communities Fund

Landfill operators are able to contribute to the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund (SLCF) in return for tax breaks on their Scottish Landfill Tax liability. SEPA has regulated this fund on behalf of Revenue Scotland since its inception in 2015. During this time £54 million has been given to local community projects across Scotland. The successful impact of environmental levers such as landfill tax continuing to rise and the bio-degradable municipal waste (BMW) ban set for December 2025 is resulting in reduced volumes of waste going to landfill. This decline is expected to continue.

SEPA regulate and maintain the Registration of Approved Bodies for the facilitation of this fund. This requires SEPA to confirm that the Approved Bodies are operating in compliance with regulations and legislation. This is achieved by auditing and inspecting the Approved Bodies and individual projects to ensure funding has been spent appropriately. Since 2020 approved body and individual project compliance inspections have been carried out virtually, with 11 approved body and 20 individual project inspections completed in the 2023-2024 tax year.

The Scottish Landfill Communities Fund has funded a £47,644 upgrade of Inverness bike park.

The Scottish Landfill Communities Fund has funded a £46,850 installation of BioHaven floating wetlands at three lochs at the Seven Lochs Wetland Park in Gartcosh. The photograph to the left shows the Seven Lochs Wetland Park.

The fund has also provided £82,250 to the Falkirk Town Heritage initiative for the restoration of war memorials and interpretation slabs.

Scottish Flood Forecasting Service Symposium

The Scottish Flood Forecasting Service is a powerful collaboration between SEPA and the Met Office. It forms the basis of SEPA’s 24/7 flood forecasting and warning service. The key products are the flood guidance statement for partners and our 3-day flood forecast for the public.

A recent symposium during Scotland’s climate week brought together colleagues from both agencies alongside key external speakers and guests. It was an inspiring day, focused on understanding user needs and science priorities to deliver forecasting capabilities for a changing climate.

Dr Hayley Fowler, Newcastle University, set the scene by presenting her research on climate change. This indicates that we can expect more severe changes to rainfall patterns and intensity than estimated.

We explored user needs with the responder community, including Network Rail, the BBC and local authorities. They interpret our products and translate them into response on the ground and communication to the public. Looking to the future, we considered improvements to Scotland’s coastal wave buoy network, impact-based forecasting and Met Eireann’s approach.

Break-out sessions facilitated the discussion of topics, including decision making under pressure and warning fatigue. The outputs will inform improvements and developments to the service. This will ultimately better support responders and communities.

During his closing remarks, SEPA’s Chief Operating Officer Data, Evidence and Innovation, Alex Flucker, highlighted that the day strengthened our connections, deepened our understanding and gave us a renewed sense of purpose.

SEPA's Domestic Abuse and Gender-Based Violence Policy

SEPA has introduced a new Domestic Abuse and Gender-Based Violence Policy, reinforcing its zero-tolerance stance on violence and discrimination. In collaboration with Unison and Scottish Women’s Aid, we are providing comprehensive training to colleagues to recognise and support colleagues affected by domestic abuse and gender-based violence.

This new policy aims to equip all employees with the necessary tools and knowledge to address these issues effectively, fostering a safe and inclusive work environment. The training sessions are designed to raise awareness and build confidence among staff in handling such sensitive matters.

SEPA’s Chief Officer People, Workspaces and Development, Kirsty Paterson, emphasised the importance of collective action in changing harmful cultural behaviours and ensuring a supportive workplace. The policy is part of SEPA’s broader commitment to equality, following the successful implementation of its Menopause and Periods Policy and Transgender Equality Policy. This policy highlights SEPA’s dedication to creating an equitable society and encouraging other organisations to adopt similar measures. By addressing domestic abuse and gender- based violence, we aim to contribute to a safer and more inclusive society for all.

Public Sector Reform

As a public service, we continue to respond effectively to the increasing pace of change, and we are committed to considering the best models for delivery of all our services. SEPA continues to lead and engage with a range of initiatives to further the objectives of public sector reform (PSR).

Interim Public Register

From 28 August 2024, we began making available to the public licence level authorisations that have been issued by SEPA since 2021 under water, waste and pollution prevention and control regimes. In addition, from 2 September 2024 onwards, all newly issued licence level authorisations under those regimes will be available to the public the next day, thanks to the completion of an automated system. This is a major step forward in our aim to create a more customer facing Public Register.

Early careers - Regulations

In the September report we gave an update on the launch of early careers programmes across Regulation and Flooding. The regulatory programme offers structured training which will provide our trainees with the skills and experience to be fully competent Regulatory Officers after two years.

We had a fantastic response to the launch, with almost 700 applicants, 50 of whom were invited for further assessment during September and with places on the programme offered to 13 successful candidates.

Focus now turns to delivering an excellent training experience for our trainees who joined the organisation at the end of October.

Transformation

To deliver effectively for Scotland, we need to transform areas of our organisation and embed a customer and delivery focus in everything we do. Doing so will mean we can design and offer better, more resilient services that meet the needs of our customers.

Enhancing customer experience

A key area for SEPA reform and transformation is focused on customer experience. As Scotland’s national environmental regulatory and category one responder under civil contingencies legislation, SEPA has a range of customer needs to consider and balance effectively.

A full review of customer experience and contact has been undertaken covering our service provision, nature and volume of contact and how we can best understand and improve the customer experience.

Implementation of the review is now underway with key areas of focus for improvement as follows:

• Enhanced and streamlined customer experience: this involves re-designing customer journeys, enhancing the information we provide via our web pages and focusing on providing a great customer experience.
• Operational efficiency and effectiveness: optimising the use of our existing systems to enhance our responses and focus on getting the right outcome first time.
• Digital transformation: moving towards digital first, with the right considerations around accessibility. This involves optimising the use of our existing systems, redesigning forms and content to better meet customer needs and adding functionality such as web chat.
• Organisational design: our customer hub has been redesigned to provide customer focused services that better meet the needs of those who contact us.
• Colleague engagement: as the new structure is embedded a programme of engagement, enhanced training and development will be underway.
• Culture shift: we are embedding customer-centric processes and new key performance indicators moving from a manual, reactive culture to one that is proactive and service-driven.

This is an important area of transformation for SEPA which is also delivering both financial and resource capacity savings.

The new service model launches in December 2024 and to track our impact we will also commence a customer experience survey aligned to our developing performance framework. The results of this and our follow up actions will be reported quarterly in our performance reports.

Focused on delivery

SEPA is Scotland’s principal environmental regulator, and our purpose is to protect and improve Scotland’s environment. Our approach to deliver for Scotland focuses on what we do and our corporate plan priorities. We also continue to develop our approaches to communicate and engage effectively with all our customers, the public and communities.

Protect

SEPA's support for the National Adaption Plan

Scotland’s Climate Week (23-29 September 2024) saw Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney MSP, visit the SEPA led River Leven Restoration Programme to launch the Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3) for 2024-2029.

The plan outlines over 200 actions to manage climate change impacts. The plan addresses the increasing frequency of extreme weather events like flooding, water scarcity, and heatwaves, which threaten Scotland’s environment, infrastructure, and communities. Key initiatives include £5.5 million for Community Climate Action Hubs, £400 million for railway infrastructure, and support for businesses and public services to adapt to climate change.

The plan’s launch during Scotland’s Climate Week underscores the collective effort needed to protect communities and the environment from climate change impacts. This comprehensive approach aims to build a more resilient Scotland, prepared to face the challenges posed by a changing climate.

The River Leven Restoration Project, funded by the Water Environment Fund, celebrated the end of works and completion of the project in October. Working in partnership with Fife Council and the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, the project has improved the river’s ecology, eased fish passage on 2 historic redundant weirs and improved biodiversity on the surrounding greenspace. We have re-connected the river to its floodplain, softened hard engineered riverbanks, placed large wood structures in the river to mimic natural processes, created wildlife scrapes, wet woodland habitat and planted approximately 650 native trees and over 4,000 wetland plants.

Net zero principles were used in both the design and construction phrases. For example, the nature rock ramp built on Kirkland dam to ease fish passage was designed without the need for any concrete (which has a high carbon footprint) and all materials were sourced within an eight-mile radius of the project.

Levern Water project shortlisted for Net Zero award

The Levern Water project (funded by the Water Environment Fund) in Barrhead was shortlisted for the Climate Action Awards in the Net Zero Nature category. This award celebrates nature-focused projects, organisations or groups who can clearly demonstrate how they are delivering for net zero. The project was a well-deserved runner up alongside Peatland Restoration at Scale by Caledonian Climate Partners. The winner was the Ethical Dairy by J Finlay and Son.

Davington Weir removal works complete

Davington Weir, on Davington Burn in Dumfries and Galloway, was successfully removed in October using the Water Environment Fund. This results in 5km of additional habitat being available to migratory fish and the burn reaching its objective of good status for fish passage in the River Basin Management Plan for Scotland. The Water Environment Fund appointed Ayrshire Rivers Trust (ART) to remove the concrete crest, leaving behind the natural bedrock step. The project was unique in that the Water Environment Fund directly commissioned and supervised the work for the first time which reduced time and cost of the project. The cost of removal, which was completed in a week, was £23K. The trust also used a method, never tried before in a Scottish river, where an expanding chemical was poured into holes drilled in the concrete. This cracked and weakened the concrete making it easier to remove with an excavator. SEPA and ART learned a huge amount from this lower impact, lower carbon approach compared to using heavier machinery. It is ideal for sites where access for machinery is constrained and WEF is already considering other RBMP priority weirs where this technique would work well.

Davington Burn and the downstream White Esk (d/s Rae Burn) can now be classified as Good Ecological Status in Scotland’s River Basin Management Plan. 5 km of additional upstream habitat is now available to migratory fish. The pre-works fish rescue showed healthy populations of salmon, sea trout and eel below the weir, with much reduced numbers above. It is hugely encouraging that now the burn is back to its natural state, that newly accessible habitat will be put to good use.

Further environmental improvements are planned with tree planting around the site. This will provide shading for fish, increase biodiversity, and contribute to Scotland’s climate actions.

SEPA's efforts to combat illegal waste deposits

Public intelligence led SEPA to uncover and halt illegal waste activities at two sites in South West Scotland. SEPA’s swift response, prompted by reports from partner agencies and the public, has prevented further environmental harm. Investigations are ongoing, and several Waste Management Exemptions have been removed as the activities did not comply with legal requirements. Illegal waste deposits can pose significant environmental risks, including the release of harmful gases and liquids. SEPA’s proactive measures highlight the importance of community involvement in identifying and reporting environmental crimes.

SEPA’s Enforcement Operations Senior Manager, emphasised the crucial role of public vigilance in identifying waste crime. He urged the public to report suspicious activities and highlighted the legal obligations of waste producers and carriers. SEPA also warned against unregistered waste carriers offering cheap disposal services, which often lead to illegal dumping. SEPA can take various types of enforcement action against those involved in waste crime, including imposing significant financial penalties, to protect the environment, communities and legitimate businesses. This collaborative approach aims to deter illegal activities and promote responsible waste management practices.

Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) published for 2023

SPRI provides a valuable picture of the amounts of pollutants released in Scotland from SEPA-regulated industrial sites. It's a publicly accessible electronic database and aims to provide information for policy makers, academics and the public about the pressure Scottish industry puts on the environment through greenhouse gas and other emissions. SPRI does not assess or state the compliance of the facilities or the health and environmental impact of the releases.

The 2023 statistics show the global warming potential of greenhouse gas emissions, measured in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) went down by 13.5%, 1.51 megatonnes (Mt) CO2e, between 2022 and 2023. Information reported by some operators indicated that changes in production for the major emitters this year have contributed to a decrease in emissions therefore it would not be appropriate to draw conclusions from the decrease seen in 2023 with regards to long-term trends.

The energy sector remains the highest emitter of greenhouse gases in Scotland, accounting for 40.0% of the overall total. The sector reported a 22.9% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 due to changes to production outputs. The largest changes in greenhouse gas emissions were at the Peterhead Power Station, operated by Scottish and Southern Energy, with a 54.3% decrease and at the Grangemouth Refinery site, operated by Petroineos Manufacturing Scotland Limited, with a 27.6% decrease. The changes at these sites reflected site-specific production requirements and site outages and represent 68% of the overall decrease in Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions between 2022 and 2023.

The SPRI report is published annually as an Official Government Statistic. The accompanying press release are available on our website.

New Cumnock - concerns raised in relation to land reclamation activities

Concerns have been raised by members of the community in relation to the restoration of three former opencast coal sites, surrounding the area of New Cumnock, Ayrshire.

The overall aim of the restoration is to bring the land into productive use, in this case commercial forestry, and the sites each held an authorisation from SEPA for the improvement of land using sewage sludge. Sewage sludge is a very good source of both nutrients and organic matter and its use makes restoration of these very large sites possible.

From the beginning of August 2024, SEPA received complaints relating to various aspects of the restoration activities.

We have worked with the local authority (East Ayrshire Council) and the site operator and, following some changes to working to practice, have found the sites to be compliant.

SEPA received a number of enquiries from Members of the Scottish Parliament and provided information on our regulation of these activities.

Variable Monetary Penalty issued to Scottish Water

In July 2022 SEPA were alerted to reports of untreated sewage entering the Crossford Burn near Dunfermline. Despite efforts to have the pollution stopped, the impacts persisted for seven days and resulted in ecological impacts, including dead fish. SEPA undertook a full investigation with various teams working together.

On 1 July 2024, a variable monetary penalty (VMP) was imposed on Scottish Water in order to change behaviour and drive improvements in Scottish Water processes, ensuring that infrastructure is inspected and maintained to facilitate timely responses to pollution incidents.

Scottish Water accepted the penalty and recently paid the amount of £7,800.

Consultation on UK Emissions Trading Scheme charging

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) is a cap-and-trade regime that uses market mechanisms to drive greenhouse gas emission reductions from its energy intensive participants. SEPA is the regulator for all Scottish installations and aviation operators (~100 in total).

An amendment to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme charging scheme has gone to consultation which concluded on 4 November. The amendment introduces a charge for our assessment of Activity Level Change reports which are fundamental to the fair allocation of allowances under ETS.  Reports are submitted annually by regulated installations The consultation also relates to an expansion of the activities that we may cost recover via an hourly charge for infrequent large tasks such as the four-yearly Data Collection exercise in 2025.  SEPA ran a webinar in October to engage operators to hear their views on the proposed charging amendments. New charges are intended to come into force on 1 April 2025. 

Submissions received under the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme

The Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) is a UK wide policy. Its purpose is to help large enterprises, in both the private and public sectors, identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption and emissions. By conducting mandatory energy assessments of their buildings, industrial processes and transport, companies can identify cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency, which can lead to lower emissions, costs and increased competitiveness.

SEPA is responsible for administering ESOS in Scotland. There are around 380 obligated organisations based in Scotland who report to SEPA every four years with the most recent deadline being 6 August 2024.

ESOS plays a significant role in the UK’s journey towards achieving Net Zero emissions. By identifying opportunities to reduce energy consumption, ESOS helps businesses lower their carbon footprint, which is crucial for meeting Net Zero targets. Recent updates to ESOS have integrated Net Zero considerations into energy audits. This includes assessing greenhouse gas emissions alongside energy use.

Regulation of Fluorinated Gases

SEPA is responsible for regulating the use of Fluorinated Gases (F Gases) in Scotland. A quota on the total amount of F Gases in the UK is set by DEFRA and implemented to reduce the availability of F Gases over time.

As part of SEPA’s routine investigations into F Gas breaches, we have issued nine enforcement notices since September 2024 to operators who have failed to carry out leak checks or keep records as required by the regulations.

Radioactive Iodine

SEPA authorises the use of medical treatments that use radioactive substances for both humans and animals. To enable treatments and the associated radioactive waste to be managed appropriately, procedures are in place to control the waste. Following the detection of radioactive iodine in cat litter within domestic waste, we responded to ensure that the waste was safely managed. Although there was no risk to the public, workers or the environment, SEPA has reminded authorised parties of their responsibilities and procedures to ensure that no further such incidents occur.

Ministry of Defence Rosyth

SEPA regulates the disposal of radioactive substances within Scotland; we do this through the issuing of permits. These permits regulate the quantity and activity of gaseous and aqueous radioactive waste which may be disposed of to the environment.

Rosyth Royal Dockyard Limited are decommissioning the laid-up submarines that are held at the Rosyth Business Park in accordance with their radioactive substances permit. On 19 September SEPA launched a consultation on a variation application for Rosyth Dockyard. The variation has been requested to allow the complete dismantling of the seven redundant nuclear-powered submarines currently berthed at Rosyth.

UK Best Available Techniques (UK BAT)

Best available techniques (BAT) are one of the mechanisms which SEPA uses to work with operators to reduce environmental harm, achieve compliance and improve existing activities. Industrial installations undertaking specific activities must use BAT to prevent and reduce emissions to air, water and land.

SEPA are continuing to work on the transition from EU BAT to UK BAT and are working with the final two sectors: Food, Drink and Milk sector and Surface Treatment of Solvents to implement EU BAT conclusions.

Following EU Exit, the UK BAT system is now the mechanism by which statutory reference points are determined including emission limits and associated monitoring (UK BAT Conclusions). These are used to set permit conditions and issue operating permits for industrial installations in the UK.

The UK has developed four draft UK BAT documents to date for the following sectors: textiles; formed metals; fused metals; and waste gases (chemical sector). These documents established under Tranche 1 of this new UK process will be published as UK Statutory Instruments.

Tranche 2 is now underway and will focus on the following sectors: Smitheries and Foundries, slaughterhouses and animal by-products, ceramics manufacturing, surface treatment of metals and plastics and large volume inorganic chemicals.

SEPA staff and relevant Scottish operators are engaged in UK technical working groups.

Collaborative working to reduce community noise impact

SEPA received multiple noise complaints from residents in the vicinity of a Pollution Prevention and Control Part A plant in the Borders manufacturing food casings following damage caused by Storm Arwen in November 2021 and expansion of the site to house a new paper machine in early 2022.

The site operator’s investigations to identify and mitigate the noise sources involved hiring noise consultants who identified more than forty noise sources across the site and several tonal noise sources. Repairs and upgrades were carried out by the operator, however, noise complaints continued, leading to frustration within the local community.

SEPA undertook noise investigations in 2022 and 2023 and established the two main tonal noise sources affecting nearby residents. This independent evidence allowed SEPA to push the site to make significant investment in acoustic enclosure technology and upgrades.

Following installation, a further programme of monitoring has been undertaken which found that the improvements have addressed the main tonal noise issues. The success of the upgrade has been confirmed in feedback from local residents.

This work represents significant improvement to the local community and is an example of how SEPA can work to resolve a long-term and technically challenging noise issue which also involved considerations such as planning, political interest, media enquiries, and a change of site management as well as the challenges of COVID and Storm. The case study has been shared with regulatory officers and science colleagues through internal training and awareness presentations, and has been made available for future reference and staff development.

ISO 17025 accreditation successfully maintained

SEPA’s laboratories and sampling activities are accredited by UKAS, the National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom. Following the successful surveillance visit by UKAS earlier this year our accreditation to ISO 17025 has been successfully maintained.

The UKAS assessment visit was very positive, and SEPA was highly commended for the excellent standard of work and the open spirit of the assessment. Our own internal audit process was highlighted as providing a robust programme of good scope and breadth to cover the varied work we do, and to provide the assurance we need. It was also noted that all staff were fully committed to producing good quality data, and are knowledgeable about the methods, instruments and samples they receive.

The next visit from UKAS will be in November 2024, when they will visit our refurbished Aberdeen laboratories to assess our application to extend the Chemistry analytical methods for which we can claim accreditation and is an important step in extending our monitoring programme.

Improve

Local air quality

Under the Environment Act 1995 and associated regulations, all Scottish local authorities are required to regularly review air quality in their areas against objectives for several pollutants of particular concern for human health. If this work indicates that any objective will not be achieved by the due date, the local authority concerned must declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and produce an action plan setting out how it will tackle the issues identified.

In 2005, Falkirk Council declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) associated with the refinery activities in the area. An Air Quality Working group of key stakeholders including Falkirk Council, SEPA, the Scottish Government and the refinery plant operators was formed. The council developed an action plan of measures to improve local air quality which was agreed and implemented.

Emissions of SO2 have shown a significant downward trend meaning legal levels for air quality have been met in the area for enough years to allow the AQMA to be revoked on 27 September 2024. Scotland currently has 26 AQMAs still in place, with over half of these now in the process of being revoked, showing the improving trends of local air quality across the country.

Adapt

Climate change adaptation at high hazard sites

Industrial regulations are developing in response to changes to our climate, ensuring that operators take the steps necessary to adapt. There are about 200 high hazard sites in Scotland regulated under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH). The regulations require the site operator to assess the risks associated with the activities undertaken and substances stored at the site to prevent major accidents occurring.

Risk assessments by COMAH obligated sites need to be updated to reflect the evolving climate change risks and plan appropriate adaptations to prevent accidents and mitigate the consequences of any that do occur. SEPA have worked with other UK regulators and industry to develop guidance Climate Change Adaption Risk Assessment Guide – Revision 1 to support the risk assessments. Following a baseline survey of all COMAH regulated sites in 2023, a guide for SEPA inspectors has also been written, and inspections will start in 2025 to understand which sites have the highest risk associated with a changing climate, and whether the operators have plans for the necessary adaptations that will be required in future years.

Flooding Potentially Vulnerable Areas and Local Plan Districts

Under the requirements of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (FRM Act), SEPA submitted documents to the Scottish Government including:

• The consultation outcome report for Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVA’s) which includes a description of modifications and a map of PVA’s in the Annex.
• The consultation outcome report for Local Plan Districts which includes a map of Local Plan Districts in the Annex.

This follows a review of the Potentially Vulnerable Areas and Local Plan Districts for the next cycle of flood risk management planning and successful consultations carried out between March and June 2024. A summary of responses is as follows:

• In total, SEPA received 410 responses, 331 from members of the public/interest or community groups. The previous PVA consultation held in 2018 received a total of 263 responses, with 197 coming from individual members of the public or community groups. The increase in the number of responses received from the public, from 197 to 331, is welcomed.
• There was support with 64% of respondents agreeing with the approach taken to review the PVAs, 10% disagreeing and 25% neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
• There was also support for SEPA’s proposed move to community scale, with 71% of respondents agreeing, 6% disagreeing and 21% neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
• 52% of responders agreed with the PVA status of their community, while 33% disagreed and 14% neither agreed nor disagreed. Those who agreed with their community being identified as a PVA had experienced flooding during their time living in the community. Those who agreed with their community not being identified as a PVA believed that their community is not at flood risk.

The consultations used an innovative map-based platform to display and engage on spatial data, which also allowed SEPA to gather evidence from members of the public to use in our future flood risk management planning work. In line with the requirements under the FRM Act, the Potentially Vulnerable Areas will be published in December 2024. The Local Plan Districts are unchanged as a result of the consultation and remain available to view and download on SEPA’s website.

This is a major milestone on the way to delivering a key Corporate Plan and Annual Operating Plan target under Climate Resilience to “Consult on and publish an updated set of Potentially Vulnerable Areas.”

Avoid

Pluvial flood hazard map updates

As we continue to develop and improve our Flood Risk information, SEPA is keen to ensure that the data and evidence we publish helps people make informed decisions about how they can help themselves to become more resilient to flooding. Recent feedback made us aware that customers find some of the information contained within products, such as our well used Check your Flood Risk website which had around 158,000 visitors in the last year, hard to understand.

In November we began a project to look at accessibility and usability testing of the products we use to share our flooding data, which will provide us with recommendations on where we need to change and improve. Going forward we will use this valuable information to help us redesign our products in time for the launch our new updated surface water maps in early 2025. We want to make sure our products and services work for those who use them.

This is a major milestone on the way to delivering a key Corporate Plan and Annual Operating Plan target under Climate Resilience to “Publish updated surface water flood hazard maps.”

Warn

SEPA's Wave Buoy Deployment for Flood Forecasting

Scotland’s Climate Week 2024 also saw SEPA enhance its flood risk management with the public launch of the deployment of Scotland’s first public “near-shore” wave buoys near Arbroath and Eyemouth. These buoys, part of the UK-wide WaveNet network coordinated by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), collect data on wave height, frequency, and direction. This information is crucial for developing accurate flood risk maps and improving the monitoring, forecasting, and warning of coastal flooding events.

The data from these wave buoys provides a detailed understanding of how coastal areas are affected by waves and storm surges, allowing SEPA to refine flood forecasting and provide timely warnings to at-risk communities. This real-time data integration helps identify areas most vulnerable to flooding and enhances the accuracy of flood risk models. Additionally, the wave buoys offer valuable insights into long-term trends in wave behaviour, which is essential for assessing the impacts of climate change on Scotland’s coastlines and guiding future mitigation and adaptation efforts. This initiative represents a significant advancement in SEPA’s capabilities to safeguard coastal communities.

Flood forecasting model improvement

Milestones have been reached on two key projects to improve the accuracy of flood forecasting models in the face of climate change. Both are part of longer-term projects to deliver a Climate Resilience Corporate Plan commitment to “Innovate to improve the accessibility, resilience, quality and efficiency of our flood warning services in light of our changing climate”.

• The Borders river model recalibration project: a schematisation report has been delivered, where our contractor set out how they wish to revise our flood forecasting models. The project team is reviewing this currently before the project moves onto the next stage of model calibration and reviewing flood warning thresholds and flood warning areas. The project will be completed by late Spring to early Summer 2025.
• The Firths of Forth and Tay Coastal Improvements project has been progressing well. The project team have undertaken engagement with internal colleagues, external partners and potential suppliers. A data review has been conducted of all data and models relevant to the project area. We are working towards issuing an invitation to tender at the end of October, with an estimated project completion in Spring 2026.

Spotlight on...

Full launch of Satellite Emergency Mapping Service (SEMS)

SEPA attended the Space-Comm Expo Scotland event in Glasgow to fully launch the Satellite Emergency Mapping Service alongside partners from the UK Space Agency, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and the University of Stirling. The service was formally launched by presentations from SEPA colleagues and Dr Sarah-Jane Gill (Chief of Staff, UK Space Agency) and was followed by a question and answer with the audience. The service is now fully live and is covered 24 hours a day by SEPA on an on-call rota.

It is anticipated that the service will be able to assist in a range of scenarios such as flooding, landslides, wildfires, chemical or industrial fires or oil spills. When activated, the emergency services responding to an event will be able to utilise SEMS to call on data from a suite of over 250 satellites in near real time to help provide additional information to better inform the on-the-ground decision making process. Access to this data will give responders the ability to see the full extent and potential impact of an emergency event.

The session was very well attended with standing room only and there was extensive media coverage of the event on the BBC (Radio Interviews & ‘The Nine’, both 11/09/2024) and STV (extensive item on 24/09/2024) as well as in various written articles online and in print. We have calculated that the total potential reach of the coverage of the event was in excess of one and a half million people. SEPA also used its own Social Media channels to spread information about the launch.

This report represents an overview of SEPA's delivery activity across the period.

Nicole Paterson
Chief Executive, November 2024