The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 Fairer Scotland Duty Impact Assessment Screening

Rationale for decision

The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 (the 2025 Regulations)

The 2025 regulations will amend the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR), to bring waste, water, pollution prevention and control (PPC) and landfill authorisation regimes into the integrated authorisation framework provided by those regulations. This will simplify and streamline how the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) undertakes its regulatory functions regarding those activities.

The 2025 regulations are required primarily to enable this standardisation, simplification and streamlining of the process of complying with environmental protection legislation in Scotland, contributing to Scottish Ministers’ goal to have the best possible environmental standards for Scotland.

All socio-economic groups living in Scotland will be affected, or potentially affected, by these as the environment is common to all.

Within each of the current regulatory regimes (waste, water, pollution prevention and control (PPC) and landfill), the regulated activities are defined and these will be transposed into EASR, which presently applies only to radioactive substances activities. Each of these regulatory regimes have established regulatory mechanisms for matters such as the application for, and granting of authorisations, differing levels of authorisation, enforcement and offences, appeals and publicity requirements. These matters will all now be addressed by way of the integrated authorisation framework provided by EASR, which whilst providing for a single regime for these activities, provides for similar regulatory mechanisms.

EASR requires that in exercising a relevant function, SEPA must take the general aims into account. The general aims are that all appropriate measures are taken in the continuation, or following cessation, of the regulated activity to: prevent or, where that is not practicable, to minimise environmental harm; to prevent and to limit the consequences of accidents which could have an impact on the environment; and to use resources in a sustainable way.

EASR regulates environmental activities and ensures that appropriate standards are applied to protect the environment and human health. These regulations will also expand the number of regulated activities to include carbon capture, generators and non- waste anaerobic digestion measures. There will also be changes to the way that the use of sewage sludge is regulated. These measures will reduce harmful emissions and waste, actions which are potentially beneficial to any socio-economic group close to these activities.

The location of new and current activities regulated by the 2025 Regulations is influenced by many factors (e.g. planning legislation) outwith this framework. However the EASR does set a regulatory framework that requires appropriate measures to be taken to prevent harm to human health or to the environment. Many emission limit values are provided for within the 2025 Regulations (such as the Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference documents (BRefs) and their associated BAT conclusions (BATc)), for other emissions activities where the 2025 Regulations do not specify an emission limit value then SEPA has more flexibility to take into account appropriate guidance. This ensures that the appropriate levels of protection are used on each activity, as the environment is common to all.

Whilst the 2025 Regulations will simplify and streamline how SEPA undertakes its regulatory functions regarding environmental activities it is likely to have no or minimal effect on the inequalities experienced by socio-economic disadvantaged groups, since regulatory aims and mechanisms will be similar to the current regimes.

A Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment is not required. There are no discernible negative impacts. The benefits brought about by improving, simplifying and streamlining the process of environmental regulation in Scotland should have important, indirect benefits to all socio-economic groups, but cannot yet be categorised as discernible progress for their rights or wellbeing.