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West Linton farmer served £600 penalty for unauthorised river engineering on Tarth Water

G S Howieson, of Millside Farm, West Linton, was served the Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) after the regulator found they had carried out unauthorised works on the Tarth Water.

After receiving a report about reprofiling activity conducted on the banks of the Tarth Water, SEPA officers visited the site on 19 April 2024 and observed completed works. Mr Howieson was interviewed by SEPA and admitted to instructing a third party to carry out the river engineering works without the required authorisation. Mr Howieson had not realised that such authorisation was required.

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.

Wate engineering activities that require authorisation from 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 works.

Peter Wright, Unit Manager of SEPA’s Water Industry and Rural Economy team, said:

“River engineering can disrupt nature’s delicate balance, destroying aquatic habitats and causing or exacerbating erosion and flood risk. Subsequent riverbank erosion can also result in loss of productive land and damage to fencing, tracks and other infrastructure.

“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 first before you start.

“SEPA can provide guidance ensuring that any activity is authorised, regulated and not harmful to our environment. If you act in breach of regulations, 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 G S Howieson of Millside Farm, West Linton, acted in breach of Regulation 4 of The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (as amended) (CAR 2011). Regulation 4 states that no person shall carry on, or shall cause or permit others to carry on, any controlled activity except insofar as it is authorised under CAR 2011 and carried on in accordance with that authorisation.

A “controlled activity” is defined by CAR 2011 as any activity referred to in Regulation 3(1) and includes carrying out building or engineering works in inland water (other than groundwater) or wetlands (Regulation 3(1)(d)(i)).

Find out more about water engineering authorisations on SEPA’s website.

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.