Allan Wilson: ...bathing water under the Bathing Waters Directive (76/160/EEC) and there is no statutory requirement for it to meet the standards of that directive. Diffuse pollution and overflows from the sewage system, both resulting from the severely wet summer, contributed to the situation at Largs main this season. Enforcing compliance with discharge consents are operational matters for the Scottish...
Allan Wilson: ..., rightly or wrongly, and figures can be misleading or distorted. The reason why I could not support the Greens' amendment was that I thought that there was an unfair reference to the increase in sewage pollution that was identified in the Marine Conservation Society's report, which I think distorted the overall picture. The overall picture in the areas that were surveyed in Scotland is...
Allan Wilson: ...serious issues. I add my congratulations to Rosemary Byrne on securing tonight's debate, because the Executive acknowledges that the Parliament has taken a consistent interest in the disposal of sewage sludge and other organic waste. As has been mentioned, in the previous parliamentary session, the Transport and the Environment Committee and the Public Petitions Committee carried out...
Allan Wilson: Unlike his colleague, Adam Ingram made a balanced contribution to the debate and I was about to come to some of the points that he made. I repeat that, if sewage is treated such as to meet the regulatory requirements only partially, it may not be used. In Dalquhandy, the sludge is being spread, not sprayed. It is in pelletised rather than liquid form. The sludge is not untreated and it is...
Allan Wilson: ...sites to be restored than there is available sludge. The Green contribution on how we should deal with the matter in future was very balanced. There are some circumstances in which untreated sewage may be used. An exemption from the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 allows it to be used on non-agricultural land, such as forestry. Those activities are not uncontrolled. The...
Allan Wilson: That is why we have already tightened up the regulations for dealing with sewage sludge and other organic wastes and are about to tighten them still further. I assure members that no one should be in any doubt about the Executive's commitment to bring the way in which we deal with all wastes in Scotland into line with the best practices of the 21st century. I end by giving members on all...
Allan Wilson: No specific training instructions have been produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding this work. However, the HSE have published a leaflet entitled Working with sewage: the health hazards: a guide for employers . This leaflet deals with the protection of workers from risks to health and recommends a number of measures including guidance to management, provision of proper...
Allan Wilson: ...the conflicts that the planning regime poses for Scottish Water in places such as Largs, Arran, Helensburgh and elsewhere, where the requirement to get on with improving water quality and treating sewage can sometimes conflict with local concerns. As Mr Tosh will know well, those local concerns cannot be ridden roughshod over but must be taken account of. However, at the end of the day,...
Allan Wilson: ...it should be in one particular part of Scotland, we would certainly want to encourage it. Sustainable urban drainage systems are another way in which we can remove rainwater from drains that go to sewage treatment works, thus reducing the demand on them and reducing the likelihood of overflows. As Mark Ruskell said, I announced the awarding of a contract to pilot biogas on a number of...
Allan Wilson: ...person in sight. Unfortunately, we have had a problem meeting the standards of the bathing water directive at some beaches at some times in the past. Pollution reaches coastal waters either through sewage treatment works or as a result of agricultural run-off from farms. It is the unique combination of our climate, geology and geography, coupled with our livestock industry, that, in some...
Allan Wilson: ...fall within the scope of Waste Management Licensing (WML) under Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (PPC). Some sewage treatment works fall under WML. Others will transfer to PPC by 2007. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency enforces both regimes and is able to include conditions in licences or permits...
Allan Wilson: Discharge of sewage effluent to the water environment requires consent under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. It is an offence not to hold a consent for such a discharge. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency will take action to require dischargers to comply with their legal obligations, even if the discharge in question has been taking place for some time.
Allan Wilson: Discharge of sewage effluent to the water environment requires consent under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. I support the need for any such discharges that do not have consent to be brought into line with legal requirements.
Allan Wilson: ...regulated through the waste management licensing system, which applies the concept of "best available technique". The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is of the view that piping leachate to a sewage treatment works for treatment is a more environmentally friendly technique than tankering to a different site with a smaller capacity, which is the solution currently adopted. Scottish...
Allan Wilson: ...; - revised powers under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000; - tightening of powers for permitting landfill sites; - revised regulation of the spreading of treated sewage sludge to land; - tightening of exemptions under Waste Management Licence Regulations; - new powers to require polluters to carry out works to prevent or clean up water pollution; - a range...
Allan Wilson: I have given a straightforward, simple explanation to the question George Reid asked me. Sewage sludge is an important part of the issue. Scottish Water follows the safe sludge matrix, and work is continuing on related issues. The Executive continues to aim to issue consultations on amendments to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 by the end of November. Provided no...
Allan Wilson: ...-2002, the Scottish water authorities spent £407.5 million on coastal sewerage and wastewater treatment. Over the period 2002-06 Scottish Water is planning to spend £427.4 million on sewerage and sewage treatment, of which £50.9 million will be used to make improvements at bathing and other, non-identified, recreational and coastal waters. On 10 July 2002 the Scottish Executive...
Allan Wilson: ...bathing waters as sensitive areas, which will require the most stringent level of treatment to be applied. Achieving compliance is not, however, merely a matter of investment in sewerage and sewage treatment. We are sponsoring a major programme of research into all forms of potential pollution at bathing waters, including the particularly difficult issue of diffuse pollution. To achieve...
Allan Wilson: ...period 1999 to 2006, water authorities will spend in excess of £3 billion. There are other, more complex reasons for the diffuse pollution that affects bathing water quality. Those reasons include sewage, industrial points, source pollution, urban diffuse pollution, agricultural pollution and, of course, the public. Our strategy will address those issues.
Allan Wilson: The main problem for Ayrshire beaches is untreated sewage. Investment is under way by West of Scotland Water that will ensure the required improvements for the 2001 bathing season are made. Last year, the rural affairs department commissioned a study by the Scottish Agricultural College to assess the impact of agricultural pollution. The outcome of that study indicated that any potential risk...