Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018: Proposed changes to the Charging Scheme

This section details the changes to application and subsistence charges for existing waste management activities currently regulated under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (WML).

Waste management activities will see the biggest change to how they will be regulated under the Regulations. These changes will impact how we charge for these activities. 

Table 4: Charging changes to existing waste management activities lists:

• Current application and subsistence charge vs the new charges.
• Current charging activity description vs the new charging activity description. The new description will appear in the charging scheme and on a SEPA invoice once the amended Regulations have come into force.

In most cases, we have mapped waste management activities currently authorised by a WML or WML exemption to an equivalent authorisation level under the amended Regulations. The following sections detail specific changes for mobile plant and some activities previously regulated by waste management exemptions, which will see the biggest change.

2.4.1. Waste management previously regulated by Paragraph 7 and 8(2) exemptions

Activities previously regulated by paragraph 7 and 8(2) exemptions have been split into three separate descriptions and will be captured under the category: “Use of waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement”. These are:

1. “The use of waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement at a single location.”
   
   This activity will be authorised by a Registration. The application and annual subsistence fee will be the same as the application and renewal fees for activities currently regulated under a Paragraph 7 activity (initial 50 hectare block of land) (Reference 12720).
    
2. “The use of waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement at more than one location with a landbank of less than or equal to 1500 hectares.”
   
   This activity would have previously required multiple exemptions and charges (including reference 12720 Paragraph 7 activity (initial 50 hectare block of land) and possibly reference 12730 Paragraph 7 activity (further 50 hectare block of land) or reference 12740 Paragraph 8(2) activity). Under the new authorisation framework, it will be authorised by a Permit and subject to application and an annual subsistence charge.
    
3. “The use of waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement at more than one location with a landbank of more than 1500 hectares.”
   
   This activity would have previously required multiple exemptions and charges (including reference 12720 Paragraph 7 activity (initial 50 hectare block of land) and possibly reference 12730 Paragraph 7 activity (further 50 hectare block of land) or reference 12740 Paragraph 8(2) activity). Under the new authorisation framework, it will be authorised by a Permit and subject to application and an annual subsistence charge.

While the application charge will be the same for activities under points 2 and 3 above, the subsistence charge will be greater for point 3 due to the increased scale of the activity and potential risk to the environment. We will, therefore, be required to undertake additional regulatory activity. We expect the total charges for current exemption holders who operate activities under points 2 and 3 above will broadly remain the same.

The proposed charges for activities covered under the use of waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement category are included in Appendix 1, Table 4: Charging changes to existing waste management activities.

2.4.2. Waste management previously regulated by Paragraph 12 Exemption – Composting

We have revised our approach to the regulation of composting activities previously regulated by Paragraph 12 exemption. We will no longer require an authorisation for certain composting activities where waste is composted at the place it was produced. Therefore, there will be no associated charge. For example:

• Composting organic green waste or manure in open systems, for example, at farms, liveries, schools, parks, golf courses, and nature reserves.
• Composting less than, or equal to, 1 tonne of waste per day, including Animal By-Product waste, for example, mixed food waste, in an enclosed system. Such as at a hotel, hospital, college campus or market.

For other composting activities previously regulated by a Paragraph 12 exemption, we have increased the thresholds on the amount of waste that can be composted. Activities which exceed the new thresholds will require a permit which will fall into one of four charging categories (references 12620, 12630, 12640 and 12510), mirroring the current situation where activities which exceed the Paragraph 12 limits require a Waste Management Licence or PPC Permit. The more waste that is composted, the bigger the potential risk to the environment, and therefore, additional regulatory activity required by SEPA, resulting in higher charges.

We have included the proposed composting activity charges in Appendix 1, Table 4: Charging changes to existing waste management activities.

2.4.3. Waste management previously regulated by Paragraph 9 and 19 Exemptions

Under the new Regulations and authorisation framework, waste management activities currently regulated by a Paragraph 9 or Paragraph 19 exemption have been combined and simplified.

We have summarised this as follows:

• The threshold for the lowest, non-chargeable tier has increased from a maximum of 150 tonnes in total to 300 tonnes within a 12-month period. This will remove the charge for some waste activities that are currently using more than 150 tonnes.
• The threshold for waste activities up to 1,500 tonnes of waste has been increased to 15,000 tonnes.
• A new threshold has been introduced for activities that use more than 100,000 tonnes of waste for reclamation, restoration, and land improvement projects. To reflect our increased regulatory effort, these activities will now require a permit and incur a higher charge.

The proposed charges for these activities are included in Appendix 1, Table 4: Charging changes to existing waste management activities.

2.4.4. Waste mobile plant licence

Mobile plant licences are generally used to treat contaminated soils. They are unique in how they are currently authorised under WML, as they are not based at one specific site. The licence can also be surrendered anytime without any assessment or surrender application charge.

Often, mobile plant operators apply for a waste management licence without knowing the locations where the plant will be used. Work in this sector is also sporadic, with some mobile plants being deployed and used at several sites within a year, whilst others will not be deployed at all. 

We charge the same application and subsistence charges for Mobile plant licences, regardless of the number of deployments. Some licences incur an additional environmental charge due to the tonnage of material used. 

When operators do not use the mobile plant for more than six months, they can apply for a reduced (mothball) charge. This charge is equivalent to 15% of the full subsistence charge. If an operator subsequently wins a contract and wishes to reactivate their licence, they will be subject to the full subsistence fee for the mothballed period. Operators have expressed their frustrations regarding what they see as an inappropriate charging system. Our consultation on proposed types of authorisations set out how we intend to regulate this activity under the new framework. We have summarised the proposed charges based on those changes below.

To accommodate changes in site location, we will require the submission of a deployment plan for each location where a mobile plant is deployed. We will assess these plans, which will either be approved or rejected within 28 days.

We propose introducing a charging structure that reflects the work undertaken by the sector. We have based this on how and when the mobile plant is used, our regulatory activity, and the potential environmental risk. This proposed charging structure will: 

• Reduce the application charge from £5,676 to £2,838
• Reduce the annual subsistence charge from £5,852 to £1,706. The reduction takes account of the fact that operators can no longer apply to mothball their licence.
• Remove the environmental component charge.
• Introduce a deployment charge for each time the mobile plant is deployed. The charge will depend on the scale of the deployment.
  
  1. Standard scale deployment, which uses less than 10,000 tonnes of material, will incur a charge of £4,137 per deployment.
  
  2. Large scale deployment, which uses 10,000 tonnes or more of material, will incur a charge of £7,034 per deployment.