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Chief Executive’s Report

Summary

Agency Board Report Number: SEPA 24/23 - May 2023

This report provides an update for Board members on some of the work we are currently undertaking.

Introduction

Agency transformation took a substantial step forward with the launch of ‘One SEPA Modernisation’ at the first All Manager session in May, bringing clarity to our ambition under Public Sector Reform to modernise the Agency. It brings together a variety of work being undertaken by colleagues across the organisation to reset and refocus SEPA on delivery and further digitisation. Together with the launch of our Annual Operating Plan for 2023-2024 and the Strategic Approach to Our Workspaces, we enter an important time for the Agency in delivering a step change in our delivery for Scotland, and indeed how we better tell the story of our contribution.

Following a significant period of development of the Annual Operating Plan, development of the Corporate Plan has continued seamlessly. Shaping future delivery, aligning our outcomes and developing future performance measures will be key in the Plan for 2024-2027 and further Board and Senior Leadership team workshops are planned throughout the year.

Substantial work over this last period has been undertaken by teams to ensure our readiness to regulate against the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme together with further developing an Integrated Authorisation Framework (IAF), both launching in early 2024.

Protect Adapt Improve Our Approach to Regulation: developing a new vision for our journey to modern regulation ensuring the Agency continues to work with partners, stakeholders and industry to move to compliance, maximising the resources available to the Agency to deliver key outcomes and set a new vision for compliance. It sets out how we will support our people to deliver regulation for Scotland. It dovetails with the development of a new approach to compliance assessment – Environmental Performance Assessment. It will replace the Compliance Assessment Scheme.

Work meeting key stakeholders and partners has continued in earnest over this period. I also had the opportunity to address the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Scotland Conference on Flooding in April, and to deliver the keynote address at the Scotland Policy Conference on Next Steps for Biodiversity and Wildlife in May.

We move forward with Phase 2 of the restructuring of the Corporate Leadership Team, welcoming Kirsty Paterson to the team in August as our new Chief People Officer, bringing a wealth of experience to assist us in shaping the Agency going forward.

Again, against the rapidly changing environment within the Agency, this report demonstrates the very significant delivery for Scotland across a range of key services, including delivering enhanced water scarcity reporting to help advise consumers and businesses to plan ahead for increased scarcity events.

We have given evidence at the Rural Affairs and Islands Parliamentary Committee. With the Scottish Government’s Agriculture Bill expected in the second half of 2023, the committee has been undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny of future agriculture policy. Delivery on the ground is exemplified in this report with continued work on the Riverwoods & Leven Partnership and the Rottal Burn.

Nicole Paterson - CEO

Regulation

Undertaking our Duties (CLT Lead: Lin Bunten)

As a public body, we are committed to delivering high-quality public services for the people of Scotland.

We carry out our duties professionally and respectfully and expect those that we meet in the course of our duties do so too. Inappropriate behaviour from those we meet is not tolerated. We have safeguards in place for our staff, one of which is to be accompanied by the police, where required, while undertaking an investigation.

Staff were accompanied by police when investigating an alleged illegal waste site on 9 February 2022, where they experienced abusive behaviour from the person on site. This resulted in the police taking action, and on 4 April a Dounreay Crofter was convicted of a breach of the peace offence under Section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 at Wick Sheriff Court.

The accused was also fined £200 for the offence which involved shouting and swearing at a SEPA officer.

Enforcement Operation (CLT Lead: Lin Bunten)

On 20 February 2023, we held a multi-agency day of action supported by Police Scotland, HMRC, Revenue Scotland, and Scottish Power.

The day of action was followed by significant actions by all partners. We achieved the following outcomes:

• New information obtained to support ongoing investigation into illegal deposits.
• We issued a ‘do not disturb’ notice for an illegal deposit area.
• A detailed audit of an adjacent licenced site which identified significant non-compliance with licence.
• We issued a notice requiring payment of unpaid fees of around £26,000. We have now passed this to our debt collection process.

Enforcement Outcome

The operator of a skip hire and waste collection business pled guilty on 11 August 2021 to four charges relating to contravention of various conditions of their Waste Management Licence on dates ranging between 19 October 2016 and 6 May 2019. They also pled guilty to a fifth charge of knowingly permitting controlled waste to be deposited at their site without the authority of a waste management licence between 21 December 2016 and 13 January 2019.

In February 2023, the operator received a confiscation order for £215,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act in connection with these offences. Sentencing has been deferred to 7 July 2023 to allow the Operator a further opportunity to clear the site of all waste material. This is a great outcome so far and is a clear indication of how seriously the court system considers ongoing offending of this nature.

Permitting (CLT lead: Lin Bunten)

Glenord Distillery

We have granted authorisation for Glenord Distillery in Milton Duff to install a fish pass. This will open a significant stretch of the Allt Fionnaidh which has been inaccessible to fish for decades. We worked together with the distillery owner – Diageo - and the local District Salmon Fishery Board to find a suitable solution to this complex problem.

Mossmorran Air Quality Network Launch (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

Following a succession of flaring events at the Mossmorran Complex between April 2019 and November 2020, we received over 3,000 complaints from the community.

During these first flaring events, we responded with reactive monitoring. However, often the highest impacts were when the flare started up. To capture those initial flaring periods, we set up semi-permanent equipment in 2019 to monitor both air quality and noise.

In 2021, we held a series of community engagement meetings supported by Fife Council and the Health and Safety Executive. The communities fed back that they would like an improved air quality monitoring network, with live access to the data.

In response, we reviewed our monitoring approach and have widened our network of air quality analysers from four locations to a total of eight. These include one reference monitoring station and eight multi-pollutant air quality analysers which allow a wider range of pollutants to be measured.

The multi-pollutant air quality analysers were a new technology for us. They are relatively easy to install, provide a wider coverage of pollutants and, when used across a wide geographic area, provide a good indication of air quality changes.

We have developed a Spotfire tool to make the data available to the public in near to real time. We also worked with Fife National Health Service on how to make simple health statements.

Our Mossmorran Air Quality Network went live on 22 March, at the same time as a refresh of the Mossmorran Hub on our website. The local communities can now see in near-to-real time the air quality in their local environment. The approach we have taken to support the Mossmorran community is one that can be used for other locations should this be needed.

Engaging Stirling village communities on air quality – update on the Stirlingshire Villages Project (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

Air pollution has the potential to damage our health and environment, so it is important for us to consider the air quality in the areas in which we live. The Stirlingshire Village Project is a partnership between us, the University of Stirling, and Stirling Council. The project was launched in October, with workshops and air quality monitoring programmes run in Aberfoyle, Doune and Deanston, Fintry, Thornhill, and finishing next month in Kippen.

The university has run a series of workshops with each village, designed to empower local communities to take ownership of the air quality monitoring, information delivery and action within their local neighbourhoods.

Lamppost-based air quality sensors were set up across each of the villages for a minimum four-week monitoring period. At the same time, low-cost sensors were offered to the communities for deployment outside their homes. Along with the usual pollutants associated with commuter and village traffic, these sensors also picked up emissions from solid fuel heating, and local pollution spikes associated with individual events across the villages. These included: Deanston’s public bus service; bonfire night at Aberfoyle; road resurfacing at Thornhill and the local rugby match at Fintry. The data was fed back to the communities during the workshops. Participants were asked to use their local knowledge to explore the data and explain the possible trends and potential sources of pollutants. They were also asked to consider ways to reduce local emissions.

As part of this project, we have also developed a visualisation tool, allowing residents to look at data recorded in their village, exploring some of the potential causes and drivers of local pollution events.

Scottish Waste from All Sources (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

On 28 March, we published the Official Statistics report on Scottish waste from all sources. Our media statement was picked up as a headline in several waste sector publications. We highlighted a drop in overall waste generation in 2021 but also a decrease in the recycling rate, likely to have been caused by the impact of the pandemic on the construction industry.

The report is unique in the UK as it shows the whole picture - not only waste generation, but also its management and disposal, estimated across all sectors of the economy. It is the first full set of waste statistics that we have produced since the 2018 statistics were published in 2020. This follows work to rebuild the tools and models needed to process regulatory waste data returns. We have been able to report to the Scottish Government on long term progress against its waste targets.

Water Environment Fund – (CLT Lead: David Harley)

The Scottish Government provides us with a grant from the Water Environment Fund. We use this to directly commission the restoration of rivers. This can be through the removal or easement of redundant weirs, contributing towards a partnership with Local Authorities for the restoration of urban rivers and surrounding green spaces, and for compensation for landowners/managers for income forgone due to giving over productive land to river restoration.

This year, we are celebrating ten years of the Water Environment Fund and are about to embark on the most ambitious summer works programme yet. Six projects will go to groundworks this summer in collaboration with our project partners. There are three river restoration projects that will improve 3.7 km of river. This will bring access, flood mitigation as well as health and wellbeing benefits to communities around the Nith near New Cumnock, the Glazert Water in East Dunbartonshire, and the River Leven in Fife.

We will also begin works on three fish barriers at Gairlogie Dam in Aberdeenshire, Crossmill Weir near Barrhead and Davington Weir in Dumfries and Galloway. The removal of these barriers will open around 74 km of river to migratory fish species.

The Rottal Burn was recently awarded the 2023 River Restoration Centre “Project Scale Prize”. This project was funded by our restoration fund in 2012 – this was the predecessor to the Water Environment Fund. Abertay University has been monitoring the site over the last ten years and it has been a huge success for nature.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee – (CLT Lead: David Harley)

We gave evidence at the 19 May session of the Rural Affairs and Islands Parliamentary Committee. With the Scottish Government’s Agriculture Bill expected in the second half of 2023, the committee has been undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny of future agriculture policy. The Scottish Government’s proposals are centred on replacing the Common Agricultural Policy payment scheme.

We put forward these key points:

• Meeting Scotland’s water quality, biodiversity, and climate change objectives requires urgent transformation in how agricultural land is managed. A new agricultural payment scheme is central to achieving that.
• We recommend a step change improvement in soil management, the management of slurry and fertiliser, and the provision of more space for rivers by increasing the use of trees, shrubs and other plants between the river and other land.
• Improvements such as those above will secure multiple benefits, including a sustainable future for farming and food provision.
• Payments which apply to all farmers need to incorporate conditionality with statutory requirements. Targeted payments should be truly incentivising, be applied at landscape or catchment scale, and be well-supported by farmer-focussed advice and facilitated cooperation.

Further information about the Scottish Government’s proposals for future agriculture policy is set out in its consultation paper.

Riverwoods Partnership (CLT Lead: Bridget Marshall)

We are a key partner of the Riverwoods Partnership, an initiative led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The partnership aims to create a network of riverside woodlands to support healthy river systems throughout Scotland. This will deliver a range of benefits including flood protection, improved water quality and improvements for salmon fisheries, as well as helping to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

We were recently part of a panel which selected two projects to receive investment readiness support and funding. The panel also included the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The project proposals are the Upper Tay Catchment Communities and The River Ericht Catchment Regeneration Initiative.

Going forward, we will support Riverwoods projects where they align to delivery of our priorities. We will also continue to influence and drive riverside woodland planting through our day-to-day work.

River Leven Parks project (CLT Lead: Bridget Marshall)

As part of the Leven Programme partnership, Green Action Trust secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. They will use this to develop and design various features which will create an accessible and biodiverse public park along the River Leven in Levenmouth, Fife.

This River Leven Park will run alongside the section of the river being restored by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust on behalf of Fife Council through the Water Environment Fund. It also maximises on the improved access for walking, wheeling and cycling which is being delivered by the ambitious Sustrans funded Levenmouth Connectivity Project. The ambition of this project is to reconnect local people to their natural environment and their rich heritage, while also creating a destination location between the two new rail stations in Leven and Cameronbridge to bring visitors into the area.

As the leading partner of the Leven Programme, and recognising the significant social, environmental and economic value this package of projects can bring, we contributed £20,000 towards the design of river boardwalks and walkways within the River Leven Park. This will provide people with safe access to the restored river for recreational use, leading to health and wellbeing benefits and a renewed appreciation for Scotland’s environment.

Medium Combustion Plant Directive (CLT Lead: Lin Bunten)

The Medium Combustion Plant Directive is designed to improve air quality by setting emission limits for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust. Its requirements are implemented in Scotland through the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012. Implementation of its requirements is being introduced in stages.

All new boilers, engines and generators (known as combustion plant) in operation since 20 December 2018 should already have a permit. Those that started before that date are classed as existing plant and must now apply if they meet the criteria and are not already permitted.

All combustion plants with a net rated thermal input of between 1 and 50 Megawatts will need a permit by 1 January 2029. We estimate that between 30,000 and 35,000 of these plants are operating in the UK, with approximately 2,000 of them (7.5%) located in Scotland.

All plants between 5 and 20 Megawatts must be authorised by 31 December 2023 with applications submitted by the end of June 2023. In the first phase, we estimate that approximately 250 applications will be made by sites we did not previously regulate [footnote] under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

We estimate that a further 250 affected operators are on a site that already has a permit under those regulations. We will send them a notice to obtain information that will allow us to vary their permit to include relevant conditions.

Over the last six months, we have been working to design a streamlined application process, develop a communications strategy, and produce template documents and technical guidance. We have had good external engagement with the UK regulation group and industry bodies.

We launched the communications strategy in April. It includes a new webpage, social media content, a media release, and information updates to key partners.

Permitting Large Scale Wind Turbine Recycling Project (CLT Lead: Lin Bunten)

We have been in discussions with Mainstream Renewables and Strathclyde University about the possibility of a pilot plant in Aberdeen for recovering glass reinforced plastic. This is mostly from end-of-life wind turbine blades.

Flooding

Flood Risk Management Local Advisory Groups (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, we have organised and delivered in-person stakeholder Local Advisory Groups. These took place around Scotland in March and April. These groups are the backbone of our partnership working and following two years of online meetings and e-mail updates, returning to these in real life is a really important moment.

The meetings provide an effective place to share knowledge and make connections. We also carried out site case study visits. Feedback from the ten events has been extremely positive, and their return has been welcomed.

Building Resilience In Communities - Social Innovation for Climate Resilience conference (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

We attended a conference for the conclusion of the two-year Building Resilience in Communities project between the UK (England) and France. This showcased eight different programmes developed in this time, all of which sought to engage with local communities in preparing for, managing, and recovering from flooding.

The event included details of some in-person and digital work by practitioners, using some methods and tactics we have previously employed. We gained insight into other valuable areas of learning. Many of the projects tackled the challenge through creating space for listening. This could be through:

• facilitated forums between the public and project stakeholders such as local councils, services and businesses;
• storytelling, mapping and embodied walking exercises in which people shared their experiences; or
• creative, visualising activities.

Opportunities for communities to meet and contribute to collective memory with photography projects through Thames 21’s Canvey Island pilot and to have their emotions heard (Authie Valley, France), as well as celebrate their communities in local festivals in (Plymouth, UK and Aulne Valley, France) were powerful examples of what is meaningful to communities who have experienced flooding and are looking to heal and strengthen their resilience.

Scottish Community Development Centre (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

We recently met with the Scottish Community Development Centre. This is the lead body for community development in Scotland who co-created the National Standards for Community Engagement. They work directly with:

• community groups and organisations;
• community development practitioners;
• government and other policy makers; and
• local partnerships and agencies across Scotland who want to involve communities in their work.

We are exploring what opportunities there may be to add value to their work. This could be through collaboration or the inclusion of our flooding products and services in their activities, particularly supporting resilience groups within communities, as part of community capacity building.

Community Map Scotland (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

We recently engaged with Community Map Scotland, a new initiative which follows development elsewhere in the UK of Parish Online. This mapping software is used by thousands of local councils in England and Wales and is being adapted for the Community Map Scotland project.

Their aim is to provide an easy, accessible, low-cost planning and place-making tool for local community councils and community groups. This will assist them in building up any local place plan, helping to get a community together to agree on what's important, and mapping it.

Through working with the Improvement Service, some of our data is already available through their spatial hub, which feeds into what’s available to Parish Online. We’re exploring how more of the flooding-related datasets already published on our data hub might be made available through Community Map Scotland.

Resilient Communities Conference 2023 (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

We were an active collaborator, presenter, facilitator, and participant at this year’s Scottish Government Resilient Communities Conference.

Local community-led activities responding to emergency situations often focus on the most immediate impacts of climate change-related events. In the same communities there will be groups with a shared interest and focus on the longer-term work on adapting to climate change. Building stronger connections between the community resilience and climate change adaptation cohorts, from community level to national strategy, is extremely important.

The conference explored community resilience and climate change. This included building connections and partnerships across community-led emergency response and long-term adaptation topics. It aimed to raise awareness of the tools and resources available to support resilience practitioners. It also explored what is needed to either update that material, or what more might be needed.

For instance, access to and use of our Flood Warning Services was discussed. Audiences reacted well to a presentation on the recently introduced Scottish Flood Forecast.

Participants included a diverse geographic and sector mix. This ranged from Category 1 & 2 and voluntary sector responders to community councils, and both national and local support organisations.

Coastal flood mapping (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

Flood maps and associated information is the evidence that supports flood risk management and adaptation to climate change in Scotland. It enables us, other public authorities, communities, businesses and emergency responders to make decisions and take action to reduce the impact of flooding in Scotland.

We are updating our published coastal flood hazard maps in a phased, region-by-region basis to better represent flooding from the sea. We reached an important milestone with the award of specialist coastal flood modelling work to JBA. This is in respect of improving our understanding of coastal processes and flood hazard mapping in southeast Scotland.

Crucially, this work will support improvements to our coastal flood warning service and will provide a better understanding of the challenges that lie ahead as a result of sea level rise. Work on updating our coastal maps for northeast Scotland, Orkney and Eilean Siar, the first region in our phased approach, is on track to deliver published maps by the end of the financial year.

Implementation of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4): Flooding Policy (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

The fourth National Planning Framework came into effect in February. It includes updated flooding policy which makes the inclusion of an allowance for climate change mandatory when avoiding flood risk for all new development in Scotland.

One of the elements of work we must do to implement the framework is to update all our existing published guidance. We use published guidance to ensure that advice and evidence on avoiding flooding is accessible, so people can make good decisions at the earliest possible stage. It also allows us to focus site-specific advice on the sites which are most complex and highest risk.

We are making good progress with that work, and have now published new versions of our climate change allowances guidance and the future flood maps explanatory note. These publications ensure that those involved in planning and design have access to the best available information on climate change and can apply it directly to their sites. We are continuing to work on other guidance we publish on flooding and are engaging externally with key stakeholders as we do that.

Water scarcity update (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

We produced a seasonal report on the water scarcity situation across Scotland at the start of March. This assessed conditions over autumn and winter. It showed that autumn had been wetter than average, and winter had been drier than average. Since then, spring has been relatively wet in the East and South West
of the country.

We have been producing a fortnightly water scarcity report since 27 April. Current conditions show the North West of the country has been drier than average for the time of year. The fortnightly report can be found on our water scarcity page.

Following on from last year’s drought event, we will publish a regulatory position for 2023. Later this year a new consultation will take place on updates to the National Water Scarcity Plan, taking on board lessons learnt from 2022.

Organisation

Carbon Literacy Training - (CLT Lead: Bridget Marshall)

On 12 April, we launched a carbon literacy training course for staff. The course has been developed specifically for our staff. It provides general background understanding and awareness about climate change issues and opportunities for action.

It is relevant to all SEPA staff, across all grades and roles, and has been accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project. This means that all staff who complete it can apply for carbon literacy certification.

The training takes around eight hours, through a mixture of online learning and virtual workshops with colleagues. All learners have to complete the course within the month and the online assessment within 10 days of finishing the course.

Currently, we are able to offer 40 places on the course each month and staff are able to book their learning six months in advance. As more staff become certified as carbon literate, they will be able to choose to help with rollout and we will be able to increase our delivery capacity.

Organisation Development (CLT Lead: Jennifer Russell)

We have created a Workforce Strategy for the organisation which was approved by the Agency Board on 25 April. The strategy will help to inform decision-making on the resource and skills we need in the future.

The strategy has an accompanying action plan which will be updated yearly to reflect our Annual Operating Plan. These actions show the work that needs to be done each year so that we transition towards the future state detailed in the strategy.

Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023 (CLT Lead: Angela Milloy)

Following feedback from our External Audit and the Audit and Risk Committee on the 2021-2022 Annual Report and Accounts, we have begun to implement a fresh new design. We plan to share a first draft of the new format with Audit and Risk Committee and Board in September for comment, prior to the main year end audit which commences in mid-October, to meet the deadline of final sign off taking place in December.

Annual invoicing run (CLT Lead: Angela Milloy)

Annual invoices were issued during the week commencing 24 April. We get over half of our income from charges and the annual billing run accounts for the majority of this at around £40 million. The remainder of charging income comes from applications and other invoices issued throughout the year.

To reduce paper use and improve efficiency, we have been working with operators to encourage them to make use of our online and BACS payment options to reduce the number of posted invoices. As a result, the number of posted invoices is steadily decreasing.

Update on IT Systems (CLT Lead: David Pirie)

We have made significant progress in streamlining our technology infrastructure through successful procurement efforts for Azure services and our Office 365 estate. This work has ensured that we get the
best value from our cloud assets. It also serves as the foundation for us to increase the use of cloud-based products, which promises to help optimise our operations and better serve the people of Scotland.

Additionally, we have been working on the development of an even more robust, responsive, and dependable cloud-based environment that is well supported with clear operational responsibilities.

In anticipation of future technological advancements, we have also been actively exploring the potential applications of Artificial Intelligence. By prioritising innovation and adaptability, we are ensuring that we are equipped to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving digital landscape.