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1 Introduction

This document outlines the Strategic Environmental Assessment ( SEA) Process in relation to the Scotland Rural Development Programme ( SRDP) 2007-2013. Under the provisions of the EU Rural Development Regulation ¹ (1698/2005), which sets out how support for rural development will be planned and implemented, there is a requirement for each member state to submit a National Strategic Plan. In the UK, four different Rural Development Programmes are being developed, one each for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Scotland) Regulations 2004) ² which implement the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive ((2001/42/EC), ('the SEA Directive'), requires that an SEA of the SRDP be undertaken.

DTZ Pieda Consulting Ltd, in conjunction with Royal Haskoning, was awarded the contract to undertake the ex-ante evaluation of the SRDP 2007-2013 with Royal Haskoning being responsible for undertaking the SEA.

1.1 Key Facts relating to the SRDPSEA

This SEA, which commenced at the beginning of February 2006, has been undertaken under the provisions of The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Table 1.1 below shows the key facts relating to this SEA for the SRDP.

Table 1.1: Key facts relating to the SEA

1.2 Strategic Environmental Assessment Process

A SEA is the process of evaluating the environmental impacts of any proposed plan/programme likely to have significant effects on the environment, and as stated in section 1.1 stems from an EU Directive (Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (2001/42/EC) which was transposed into Scottish Legislation (Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Scotland) Regulations (2004)). The 2004 Regulations were repealed by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005. The SEA process helps to inform the decision making process and the final plan/programme with the aim of improving the final policy/programme in order to promote sustainable development. In addition, the SEA process aims to increase public involvement in environmental decision making, with consultation at various stages in the SEA process being a requirement of the Directive.

The SEA process and its requirements are discussed in detail in UK guidance produced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ³ and also by the Scottish Executive ⁴ in 2005. During the undertaking of this SEA, both sets of guidance have been referred to. The five main steps required as part of the SEA processes are shown in Table 1.2 below. The first three steps, which are required as part of the ex-ante evaluation process, are explained in more detail in sections 1.1.1 - 1.1.3 inclusive

Table 1.1: Table showing key stages in the SEA process

1.2.1 Issues relating to Screening

The first stage in the SEA process is to undertake screening to determine whether or not an SEA is required. As part of the screening process the Responsible Authorities should consult with the Consultation Authorities, particularly if it is the view of the Responsible Authorities that that an SEA may not be required. The terms 'Responsible Authority' and 'Consultation Authority' are laid down in the SEA Directive ⁵ and transposed into the Scottish Regulations ⁶. The Responsible Authority is the authority responsible for implementing the Plan or Programme on which the SEA is being undertaken, in this instances the Scottish Executive ( SEERAD) and the Consultation Authorities are those authority's who, under the legislation require to be consulted during the undertaking of the SEA. In Scotland, the Consultation Authorities are Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA), Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH) and Historic Scotland ( HS)). The guidelines do not specify the format, or amount of detail required for screening and the results of the screening determination must be made available to the public.

However, the Scottish Executive took the decision that as the SRDP relates to a land use policy/programme the need for an SEA was mandatory, and therefore screening has effectively been undertaken within this decision and no wider consultation was undertaken during the screening process.

1.2.2 Issues relating to Scoping

Under the provisions of the SEA Directive, a scoping report is required to be produced and in summary, the preparation of the scoping report involves:

• the collection of the baseline environmental data;
• the identification of the environmental problems; and
• the development of the SEA objectives before consulting on the scope of the SEA.

A Scoping report ⁷ was prepared and sent to the Consultation Authorities ( SEPA, SNH and Historic Scotland) by the Scottish Executive's SEA Gateway on 4 ^th April 2006 with a deadline some five weeks later on 9 ^th May 2006. The responses to this consultation were used to inform the subsequent undertaking of the SEA and the production of the Environment Report and reference is made to the Consultation Authorities comments throughout the report to highlight where their views were incorporated into the SEA process.

1.2.3 Issues relating to the preparation of the Environmental Report

Guidance indicates that "the Environmental Report must be made available at the same time as the draft plan or programme, as an integral part of the consultation process, and the relationship between the two documents clearly stated". In this instance, the SRDP Environmental Report has been produced as a separate document and a copy of both the SRDP Consultation Document and the SRDP Environmental Report can be found on the Scottish Executive's web site ⁸.

The consultation period for the SRDP Environmental Report will run for 6 weeks starting on 18 May 2006 and ending on 29 June 2006 to fit in with the consultation planned for the draft SRDP. The timeframe was agreed by the Consultation Authorities in their response to the Scoping report (see section 1.1.2 above.

1.3 Structure of Report

The structure of the Environmental Report has been developed following consideration of the structures of the Environmental Report suggested in ODPM (2005) and Scottish Executive (2005) ⁹. The SRDP Environmental Report structure is detailed below and, while it varies slightly from those proposed in the guidance, it contains all the information required. The main reason for the change in structure is the scale of the SRDPSEA, covering as it does the whole of rural Scotland, some 89% of Scotland's land mass. The information relating to the environmental baseline, the key environmental issues and the assessment as well as the mitigation required meant that each section was longer than may currently be the case when completing an SEA and therefore the information was split into section. The SRDPSEA contains the following sections:

• Non-technical summary;
• Glossary of abbreviations;
• Section 1 - Introduction (overview of the SEA and its purpose; and layout of report);
• Section 2 - The SRDP and its Context (brief description of rural Scotland, information relating to the current SRDP and a summary of the new SRDP);
• Section 3 - Methodology (identification of main options; approach taken, who has been consulted, and when);
• Section 4 - Baseline environmental information and trends; and limitations of data
• Section 5 - SEA objectives and context (links to other plans/programmes; ,key environmental issues, relevant environmental objectives and criteria and likely environmental implications without the SEA);.
• Section 6 - Assessment of environmental effects and proposed mitigation (assessment of main options considered, potential mitigation measures and environmental implications of other aspects of the SRDP);
• Section 7 - Monitoring requirements and potential indicators (consideration of potential monitoring required and potential indicators); and
• Section 8 - Next steps in the process

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