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FEPA Part II
Anyone wishing to deposit anything in the sea or under the seabed in UK waters requires a licence under Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA).
For the majority of deposits in the waters adjacent to Scotland, the licensing authority is the Scottish Ministers, and the policy responsibility lies with the Marine Management Division of the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government.
The Fisheries Research Services (FRS) Role
Licence determination, the description of licence conditions, licence issue, the requirement for monitoring and any enforcement activity are undertaken by the Fisheries Research Services (FRS) Environment Protection Group (EPG) on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.
| In addition, EPG staff undertake a range of 'check' monitoring and enforcement duties designed to confirm both compliance with licence conditions, and that activities are not having long-term detrimental impacts on waters adjacent to Scotland. In particular, 'check' monitoring cruises to licensed dredged material sea disposal sites are conducted to confirm the spatial extent of the impact on the sea floor. |
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Dredger in Aberdeen harbour. Courtesy Aberdeen Harbour Board |
Specific Monitoring Exercises
On occasion, targeted monitoring exercises such as that at the Beaufort's Dyke (see Munitions dumping at Beaufort's Dyke) munitions disposal site off the Galloway coast are conducted.
Other Activities
The EPG collates the advice requested by departments and groups responsible for other coastal zone legislative and management processes (for example, Coast Protection Act 1949; Control of Pollution Act 1974), as well as any FRS advice sought on general marine conservation and pollution issues.
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