Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Lead Contact Details

Name: SEPA
Email: enquiries@sepa.org.uk
Tel: 03000 99 66 99

Status

Non-Departmental Public Body of the Scottish Government

Geography Area Covered

Scotland-wide remit

Membership Details

The partnership governance groups this organisation is represented on are:

• Management Partnership
• Steering Group

Marine Protected Areas

SEPA operates, or has management which influence, on the following inshore marine protected areas between Fast Castle Head and the River Tyne:

• St Abbs Head to Fast Castle SPA
• Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC
• Tweed Estuary SAC (located outside of SEPA’s geographic area but potential upstream influence in the wider Tweed catchment)

Responsibilites

Management Actions

SEPA has the following management measures in place to ensure its functions and regulatory powers are carried out in a manner that achieves the conservation objectives for the inshore marine protected areas in which it operates:

1. SEPA is a key partner in the delivery of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and has developed a Delivery Agreement with the Scottish Government which sets out how they will contribute to the delivery of Scotland’s biodiversity targets
2. Before issuing any environmental permits, SEPA adopts the following procedure:

• identify any designated nature conservation sites within the relevant activity-specific screening distance of the proposed activity;
• assess, for all designated sites identified, the likely impact of the proposed licensed activity;
• identify any conditions that may be required in order to grant permission;
• decide whether permission must be refused on the basis of adverse effects on the integrity of any Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protection Area (SPA), or damage to any Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) features;
• formally consult Scottish Natural Heritage at appropriate points in the process

3. Work with the Environment Agency (EA) to ensure cross-border issues related to the River Tweed are identified and managed
4. Ensure designated marine sites are considered when developing River Basin and River Catchment management plans by undertaking an Appropriate Assessment of the plans
5. SEPA will use its Water Environment Fund to support projects which improve the condition of the water environment
6. Use the National Marine Plan interactive map as a screening tool for marine and coastal planning, and provide advice through the planning process on mitigation measures to achieve marine ecosystem objectives
7. Through membership of Tweed Forum and participation in the Tweed Catchment Management Plan

Data, Information and Mapping

SEPA  holds the following data that could be of interest to other partners who are responsible for managing marine areas:

Water Classification Data – The classification of surface waters, ground waters and protected areas, classified under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) scheme