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Controlled Activities Regulations

CHAPTER 3: TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

3.1 Timetable

We propose that the new regimes should be phased in over two years from 1 April 2005. The process of applying for authorisation under the new regimes should begin from that date.

There will be a transitional period for existing operators to submit their applications and for SEPA to process these. The transitional process will be split into two tranches, the first tranche of applications being made up of higher risk activities. Applications should be submitted to SEPA by 31 July 2005, to enable these to be processed by the time the new regime comes into force on 1 October 2005. The second tranche will cover the remainder of controlled activities over the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.

Different arrangements will be put in place as follows:

Transfer of existing consents – existing conditions will be transferred to the new regime on the basis of current operational practice.

Activities commencing on or after 1 October 2005 – applications will be assessed on the principle of ‘no deterioration’. As explained in the Introduction, this does not mean that any deterioration, however minimal, would be forbidden (otherwise no new activities could be authorised) but rather that a proposed activity would be assessed on whether it was likely to cause the ecological status of the relevant water body to deteriorate from one category to the next (for example, from good status to moderate).

From October 2005, SEPA will review the authorisations and begin to identify the requirements that operators will be required to meet by 2012. These requirements will then be varied into the relevant authorisation, giving an operator a set of conditions that apply until 2012, and a further set that will apply from 2012. The aim of this process is to give operators as much time as possible to plan the investments necessary to meet those requirements.

Detailed proposals for the transitional arrangements for each regime are set out below.

3.2 Point source discharges

In summary, the relevant dates when the Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) would come into force and CoPA would fall away are as follows:

Activities consented under CoPA for which SEPA charges as at 1 April 2005

In practice this would operate as follows:

• Consent holders will be sent application forms along with their invoices as at 1 April 2005.
• Where an application is made within the period, CoPA continues to apply to the discharge while the application is with SEPA. The Controlled Activities Regulations apply to the discharge from 1 October 2005.
• It is proposed that there would be an incentive to apply within the allotted period by setting a level of fee which increases as the application period goes on.
• Where the application is not made within the period, the Controlled Activities Regulations come into effect and the CoPA consent falls on 1 October 2005. SEPA will take action to obtain the necessary information and will impose an authorisation if appropriate.

Activities consented under CoPA or the Groundwater Regulations but not falling under the

CoPA charging scheme as at 1 April 2005

In practice this will work as follows:

• Holders of consents must apply for transfer to CAR authorisation between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2007.
• CoPA continues to apply to these discharges until the determination date or 1 April 2007, as set out below.
• If an application is made within this period, CoPA continues to apply to the discharge while the application is with SEPA. These Regulations apply, and CoPA ceases to apply, to the discharge from the date of grant of the CAR authorisation.
• If an application is not made within this period, these Regulations apply, and the CoPA consent falls away on 1 April 2007. SEPA will take action to obtain the necessary information and will impose an authorisation if appropriate.

New discharges

These Regulations apply from 1 October 2005. An application that is made shortly before then the activity could be considered as for a CAR authorisation if it does not need to be granted before 1 October 2005. Otherwise a CoPA consent will be required for the meantime. In practice, for such applications SEPA will issue both a CoPA consent and a CAR authorisation: the former will cease on 1 October and the latter will take effect.

3.3 Abstraction and impoundment

In summary, dates that Controlled Activities Regulations come into force:

3.4 Building and engineering works

The regime will come into force for any building, engineering or other works begun on or after 1 December 2005, which do not have all other necessary permissions (i.e. planning, building control) as at 30 November 2005.

Existing structures will not require authorisation under the controls for this regime; neither will ongoing or fully permitted works at 30 November 2005 require to be authorised. There is therefore no need for transitional provisions.

We would welcome your comments on the proposed transitional arrangements.

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