SEPA: EASR Standard Conditions Consultation

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) consulted on their proposed changes to the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR) in January 2024. According to their consultation analysis (REA briefing here), they will bring water, waste, and industrial activities under the Integrated Authorisation Framework (IAF).

As a part of this transition, SEPA is now consulting on proposed standard conditions for all registration-level activities. Read the full consultation document here and a summary of proposals below. This consultation closed on the 24th of November 2024. Read our response here, and contact us with any questions.

The consultation includes two draft guidance documents: one on waste storage and treatment activities and another to assist in creating a waste recovery plan for construction, restoration, reclamation, or land improvement projects, aimed at clarifying the requirements of the standard conditions.

Under the IAF, regulated activities will require a notification, registration or permit depending on risk. This consultation outlines proposed standard rules for all registration-level activities.

All registration-level waste management activities must:

• have a written management system for compliance;
• inspect all waste and remove unauthorised waste quickly;
• secure the site to prevent unauthorised access;
• label all storage areas with waste types and hazards;
• prevent/minimise odour, noise, dust, litter, and vermin;
• report environmental events to SEPA within 24 hours and submit a detailed report within 14 days;
• and keep accurate records for 6 years and submit annual data to SEPA.

There are also specific standard conditions for registration-level activities, described below. Use the links to read the standard conditions in detail or the rationales for the proposals.

Composting

Open windrow composters processing (≤) 500 tonnes of biowaste at any one time (75 tonnes per day) must:

• only accept the wastes listed in Table 1;
• not accept waste that contains significant contamination, animal by-products (except 02 01 06), treated wood, biocides, invasive species, waste that is mainly dust, powders, or loose fibres (except sawdust), pest-infested waste, or liquid waste (other than liquids produced by the treatment process);
• conduct all activities on impermeable surfaces that drain into sealed systems;
• store liquid waste in covered impermeable lagoons, sealed sumps, or containers that have secondary containment systems;
• process waste soon after receipt to prevent uncontrolled decomposition and anaerobic conditions;
• take reasonable measures to remove all contamination before processing;
• store oversized material to prevent overheating;
• and prevent anaerobic conditions in storage and treatment.

In Vessle Composters (IVC) must comply with all of the standard conditions above and treat each batch of waste to ensure it is stable and sanatised. The sanitisation of waste must take place in an enclosed system incorporating an emissions abatement system.

Anaerobic Digestion

All registration-level anaerobic digestion (AD) (waste and non-waste) operation must:

• store potentially odorous materials in closed or covered containers;
• use a sealed drainage system for feedstock, digestate, and effluent storage and processing
• maintain a liquid storage and management system for all liquid feedstock, digestate, and effluent;
• ensure the liquid storage system is adequately designed, constructed, maintained, and has sufficient capacity to prevent emissions;
• maintain a freeboard of at least 750mm for earth-walled lagoons and 300mm for liquid storage tanks;
• line earth-walled lagoons with impermeable material and protect the impermeable liner in mixing and filling zones with concrete;
• build leak detection into earth-walled lagoons;
• operate flares at a minimum temperature of 1,000ºC.;
• Prevent point source emissions to air from any activities other than the gas engine and/or CHP plant stack(s);
• collect and contain or recirculate biogas condensate back to the digester;
• maintain a system pressure below 3.2 millibar;
• link pressure relief valves to an alarm system with 24-hour telemetry for temperature and pressure monitoring;
• minimize emissions of unburned biogas and auxiliary flare operation and record activations of flares or pressure relief valves as environmental events;
• ensure stack heights comply with specified height criteria;
• continually monitor emissions according to specific limits for dust, nitrous oxides, sulpher dioxide, VOCs, and carbon monoxide (see Tables 2 and 3 for waste AD and Tables 1 and 2 for non-waste AD);
• and ensure releases are free from visible emissions during normal operation.

Waste AD operators can only accept wastes listed in Table 1. They must reject any waste that contains singificant contamination, treated wood, biocides, invasive species, and pest-infected  waste.

Materials to Land

Anyone using waste on land for the purpose of soil improvement (on a single farm or site) must:

• only accept the wastes listed in Table 1, ensuring they fall within the specified Waste Codes and descriptions for the stated land use;
• ensure that all waste soil is accompanied by a written assessment detailing potential pollutants, hazardous properties, and confirmation of the appropriate waste code;
• ensure that the maximum storage limit of 3,000 tonnes is not exceeded at any time;
• avoid storing waste within 10 meters of any watercourse, loch, or wetland;
• avoid storing waste within 50 metres of any spring, well, or borehole not capped to prevent water ingress;
• avoid sotring waste on waterlogged land, land with shallow soil, or sloping land unless runoff is intercepted;
• keep waste storage systems in good condition to prevent any waste from escaping;
• take reasonable steps to prevent spills or leaks when transferring liquid waste to storage or spreading equipment;
• not store waste for more than 6 months before application;
• confirm that all waste used results in soil improvement and is not mixed with any materials that do not provide such benefit;
• ensure that sewage sludge is not applied in areas growing or harvesting certain crops (e.g., fruit and vegetable crops other than fruit trees) and that it is deep injected or ploughed down when used on grazing land;
• avoid applying waste in amounts that exceed nitrogen limits or necessary phosphorous levels, and ensure that the soil pH is suitable for application;
• test and analyze soil every five years for parameters such as pH, extractable nutrients, and potentially toxic elements;
• and test sewage sludge and other types of waste every six months for key parameters before application.

There is additional guidance for the use of ≤100,000 tonnes of waste for recovery in construction, reclamation, restoration, or improvement of land projects. Read more here. 

Other Activities

If you’re transporting your own waste, there are no extra conditions. If transporting others’ waste, you must inspect it according to the transfer note, and provide the authorisation reference to both the sender and receiver. This reference should also be in any ads for waste transport services.

When acting as a broker or dealer of waste, you must include your authorisation reference in any advertisements and provide it to those involved in the transfer. Keep accurate records of all parties for whom waste is arranged, bought, or sold, and ensure this information is kept for six years and provided to SEPA upon request.

If you’re incenerating 50 kg to 3,000 kg of biomass per hour, you can only incinerate the waste types listed in Table 1 and must minimize emissions during start-up and shut-down. Do not incinerate biomass during start-up, store bottom ash in enclosed containers to prevent dust escape, and ensure complete combustion of all biomass. You cannot segregate mixed waste wood from civic amenity sites or skip hire operators. Emissions should only come from the biomass incinerator and must meet stack height requirements. Ensure emissions do not exceed the values in Table 2 and are not diluted with air. Any other emissions must not harm the environment. Monitoring should follow Table 3 guidelines, with properly installed sample points, and the first emissions monitoring must occur within four months of starting operations.

For direct capture and physical carbon capture and storage methods, at least 80% of the carbon must be captured and the captured carbon dioxide (CO2) must meet reuse standards. No chemicals should be used as absorbents, and incoming gas streams must be free from harmful contaminants. It’s important to minimize CO2 venting, and the stored carbon volume should not exceed 150 tonnes at the authorized site. Additionally, efforts should be made to reduce fugitive emissions and leaks of CO2, as well as to minimize heat emissions from the activities.

Additional standard conditions are proposed for the storage and treatment of:

• ≤10,000 tonnes of metal waste for recovery at any one time
• ≤1,000 tonnes of segregated wood waste for recovery at any one time
• ≤25 cubic metres of waste cooking oil for biodiesel manufacturing
• ≤100,000 cubic metres of waste in 12 months within the boundary of a water treatment works or a wastewater treatment works (including the sludge treatment facility)
• ≤ 20,000 tonnes of inert & excavation waste at any one time for the manufacture of construction aggregates
• ≤500 tonnes of segregated non-hazardous waste for recycling at once (except when the Code of Practice on Sampling and Reporting at Materials Facilities applies)
• ≤35 tonnes of WEEE at any one time

And the:

• Storage of Asbestos Waste
• Storage of ≤2,500 tonnes of waste per year for recovery
• Storage and preparation for reuse of waste (not including WEEE)
• Use of ≤300 tonnes of waste per year in construction
• Generators of electricity aggregating to 1 megawatt thermal (MWth) or more

The consultation also includes standard conditions for registration-level water activities and industrial activities. Use the links provided for more information on these activities.

If you have any questions about this briefing or this consultation, please contact Claire at [email protected].