Committee
Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee 03 June 2015
03 Jun 2015 · S4 · Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (Modification of Part 1) Regulations 2015 [Draft]
The Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (Aileen McLeod)
Watch on SPTV
Yes, I do. Thank you very much, convener. Good morning. I am pleased to be here to support the committee’s consideration of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (Modification of Part 1) Regulations 2015. The regulations are primarily technical. They embed the overarching requirements of three recent European directives—the priority substances directive 2013, the groundwater directive 2014 and the biological monitoring directive 2014—into primary legislation that transposes the water framework directive. The requirements of the priority substances directive 2013 must be transposed by 14 September this year. Although the groundwater directive 2014 and biological monitoring directive 2014 are not required to be transposed until the summer of 2016, we are taking the opportunity to transpose the three directives together in the interest of reducing the number of changes to our legislative framework. I assure the committee that the early transposition of the 2016 requirements will have no adverse implications for Scottish interests, as the directives reflect, in essence, the latest international best practice in monitoring and assessment practices, and we already apply those practices in Scotland. On first reading, the requirements of the priority substances directive are potentially more challenging. It requires certain hazardous substances to be banned or phased out with the aim of significantly reducing their harmful effects on our freshwater and marine environments, and it places a strong emphasis on product control rather than increased treatment at waste water treatment plants. The good news is that many of the substances have already been banned at a European or United Kingdom level. The use of others is already declining and less harmful products have emerged on to the market. We will continue to press the European Commission and UK Government, as appropriate, to take action to ban the remaining substances. Meanwhile, I have tasked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Water to work together to identify any pollution hotspots that are caused by the residual effects of the substances and to consider where additional waste water treatment may be necessary, feasible and proportionate to prevent them from causing, or at least to limit, any further harm to our precious freshwater and marine environments. I ask the committee to recommend approval of the regulations.
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
The second item on the agenda is to consider the draft Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (Modification of Part 1) Regulations 2015. Th...
The Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (Aileen McLeod)
Yes, I do. Thank you very much, convener. Good morning. I am pleased to be here to support the committee’s consideration of the Water Environment and Water ...
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
Good morning, minister, and thank you for your introductory remarks. The policy note that we have been given says: “All 3 Directives introduce revised moni...
Aileen McLeod
Yes, I give you that assurance. The impact of the changes will be fairly limited in Scotland because, as I said in my opening remarks, many of the substances...
Alex Fergusson
Con
Thank you for that explanation.
Michael Russell (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
SNP
Let me follow that up a little. Inevitably, any list of substances will include one or two that people do not think much about but suddenly discover have a u...
Neil Ritchie (Scottish Government)
That is a good point. Two or three years ago there was an extensive period of negotiation on the priority substances directive through European Commission wo...
Michael Russell
SNP
How many substances are there?
Aileen McLeod
There are 20 on the list.
Michael Russell
SNP
Would it be possible, without adding greatly to your regulatory burden, to have a list of the substances and their uses? The committee might want to consider...
Aileen McLeod
I would be happy to supply that. The substances in the current list include pesticides, industrial combustion products, biocides, and products for metal and ...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Thank you convener. Good morning minister. My question has the same sort of ethos as the previous two. It is important to have pristine water for all sorts o...
Neil Ritchie
The priority substances are kept under regular review at European level, and I understand that reviews of potential impacts are carried out before new produc...
Jim Hume (South Scotland) (LD)
LD
Good morning minister. You mentioned 20 substances, some of which are used in toilets or shipbuilding or as pesticides. You said that there are no adverse im...
Neil Ritchie
First, it is worth reiterating that the Scottish Government did not identify the substances; they were proposed by the European Commission. During the passag...
Aileen McLeod
One of the responsible authorities that we consulted was Scottish Water, and it was content with our proposed approach. 09:45
The Convener
SNP
As there are no further questions, we move to item 3, which is consideration of motion S4M-13314, that the committee recommends approval of the affirmative i...
The Convener
SNP
We thank Aileen McLeod and her official.