SEPA-
GUIDANCE ON ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT ON GROUNDWATER ABSTRACTIONS – August 2024
In August 2024 SEPA provided new and specific guidance for assessing impacts of developments upon private water supplies (PWS).
This is very welcome and long overdue. It will be very relevant to the more than 100,000 PWS in Scotland, many of which are threatened by, or have already been affected by on shore renewable developments in rural areas, including windfarms, individual turbines, solar ‘parks’, green hydrogen factories, pylons, underground cabling and BESS.
This is a document which is aimed at planning and consenting authorities (such as DPEA, ECU, and Scottish Ministers). However, I am already aware of several consents this year which have not adhered to SEPA’s guidance set out here. So it’s important that the public and those who rely on PWS are aware of this guidance so that local and National planning authorities can be held to account.
There are a few important take home messages rom this guidance:
1. It is the developer’s responsibility to identify all groundwater abstractions whether in or around the development site.
1. It is the developer’s responsibility to identify all groundwater abstractions whether in or around the development site.
2. It is critical that the water source of the abstraction is accurately located and mapped. (Emboldened in the guidance) A holding tank or pipe where water emerges is not a water source. It is not the responsibility of a local authority to provide this information unless this is for a large or commercial PWS.
3. SEPA is sticking to its safe buffer zone distances of up to 250m from any infrastructure more than 1 metre deep ( SEPA Land Use Planning Guidance 31) referred to as gospel by wind farm developers, when there are many examples of PWS being seriously affected outside this 250m buffer. ( This was also said in evidence at the Sneddon Law windfarm inquiry 2018 by environmental consultants Natural Power).
The scientific data used to determine that SEPA defined ‘safe’ buffer zone was not developed with the very deep excavations required for industrial wind turbines and does not take into account either differing geological conditions and differing groundwater vulnerability across Scotland or even topography (ie whether a water source is up or downgradient from deep excavations)
The scientific data used to determine that SEPA defined ‘safe’ buffer zone was not developed with the very deep excavations required for industrial wind turbines and does not take into account either differing geological conditions and differing groundwater vulnerability across Scotland or even topography (ie whether a water source is up or downgradient from deep excavations)
4. For the first time, there is guidance on what is required in terms of monitoring both the quantity and quality of groundwater, although in view of the appearance of recognized toxic chemicals in groundwater during Whitelee windfarm construction and hydrocarbons in groundwater during Clyde windfarm construction, I think SEPA are being minimalistic about the monitoring parameters.
Local authorities and other consenting authorities are responsible for setting planning conditions, so PWS owners should lobby these authorities to ensure more comprehensive testing parameters occur in potable water from PWS.
5. PWS owners/operators (stakeholders) are acknowledged in this document as having rights of representation if they believe the PWS assessment to be wrong. Those stakeholders must also agree to any mitigation measures (eg replacement borehole or public water supply) should their PWS be affected. (Mitigation measures cannot simply be agreed between local authority and the developer)
Local authorities and other consenting authorities are responsible for setting planning conditions, so PWS owners should lobby these authorities to ensure more comprehensive testing parameters occur in potable water from PWS.
5. PWS owners/operators (stakeholders) are acknowledged in this document as having rights of representation if they believe the PWS assessment to be wrong. Those stakeholders must also agree to any mitigation measures (eg replacement borehole or public water supply) should their PWS be affected. (Mitigation measures cannot simply be agreed between local authority and the developer)
Please do read and share this guidance to make sure that a developer’s PWS assessment is accurate, meets SEPA guidance at the very least, and that any consent and planning conditions encompass this SEPA guidance. More information can be found on the SEPA website.
0 Comments