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Kirkcudbrightshire farmer served £600 civil penalty for illegally altering River Dee at Tongland

The Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) was issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to W R Wilson and Sons following an investigation by officers.  

SEPA became aware of the unauthorised engineering works following concerns raised by the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division who had visited the site on the bank of the River Dee in April 2023.  

During their investigation, SEPA officers attended the site, and it was determined that the work had been instructed by Mr R Wilson and carried out between 1 March 2023 and 30 June 2023.  

Engineering works conducted in the water environment, including riverbank reprofiling, can result in erosion of adjacent land and damage aquatic habitats, in turn affecting populations of invertebrates, plants, birds and mammals. This activity can also block the passage of migrating fish and damage spawning habitats. 

Water engineering activities that require authorisation by SEPA include the removal of sediment from rivers, lochs and wetlands, construction of bank protection, embankments or floodwall, river diversions and realignments and restoration and enhancement work. 

SEPA’s investigation concluded that the engineering works at Mayfield were controlled activities that required to be authorised by SEPA. Officers confirmed that W R Wilson and Sons had not obtained an authorisation for this work.  

Kirsty McHarg SEPA Unit Manager for Southwest Scotland, said: 

“River engineering can disrupt nature’s delicate balance, destroying aquatic habitats and causing or exacerbating erosion and flood risk. This civil penalty should act as warning to others that we will take action if you ignore Scotland’s environmental regulations. If you are considering any works near a watercourse you should get in touch with SEPA before you start. We can provide guidance to ensure that any activity is authorised, regulated and are not harmful to our environment. If you do the wrong thing, whether deliberately or through a lack of care, we will take appropriate enforcement action.”

Civil penalties

SEPA can issue FMPs for relevant offences - they are not available for all offences. FMPs are normally appropriate where an offence has not caused environmental harm or has caused minimal environmental harm with no lasting environmental effects or impacts on communities, for administrative offences and where little (if any) financial benefit arises from the offence.  

They sit alongside other enforcement tools available to SEPA staff, including advice and guidance, final warning letters, statutory enforcement notices, other civil penalties, including Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs) and reports to the Procurator Fiscal.   

SEPA’s enforcement action is designed to secure compliance with regulatory requirements, protecting and improving the environment. It aims to bring activity under regulatory control, stop offending, stop harm or reduce the risk of harm arising from non-compliance. It is also designed to ensure restoration or remediation of harm caused by regulatory non-compliance where appropriate.

Notes to Editors

• SEPA are satisfied that W R Wilson and Sons carried on a controlled activity, namely building or engineering works in inland water, without an authorisation between 1 April and 30 June 2023 on the River Dee at Tongland.  
• It is an offence under Regulation 44(1)(a) of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (CAR) for a person to contravene Regulation 4 of CAR. Regulation 4 of CAR prohibits the carrying on, or the causing or permitting of others to carry on, a controlled activity without authorisation. Controlled activities are listed in Regulation 3(1) of CAR, one of which is (d) carrying out building or engineering works in inland water (other than groundwater).  
• The level of FMPs is set out in The Environmental Regulation (Enforcement Measures) (Scotland) Order 2015 which provides SEPA with the power to issue penalties and accept undertakings for relevant environmental offences. 
• SEPA’s Enforcement policy and Guidance on the use of enforcement action underpins decision-making in relation to enforcement action. 
• The Lord Advocate’s guidelines to SEPA also supports enforcement decision making. Where SEPA is considering issuing monetary penalties or accepting a voluntary undertaking, the Guidelines provide a framework for deciding whether SEPA may take such action, or whether the case should instead be referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for consideration of prosecution. 
• Whilst penalties are initially paid to SEPA (which also undertakes debt recovery on unpaid penalties), article 12 of the Environmental Regulation (Enforcement Measures) (Scotland) Order 2015 provides that where SEPA receives such sums, they must be paid to the Scottish Ministers. It is understood that Scottish Ministers put such sums to the Scottish Consolidated Fund.