{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-environmental-authorisations-scotland-amendment-regulations-2025/schedule-9",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-environmental-authorisations-scotland-amendment-regulations-2025/schedule-9.json",
  "legislation": "sdsi/2025/9780111062319",
  "legislation_title": "The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-environmental-authorisations-scotland-amendment-regulations-2025",
  "path": "schedule/9",
  "kind": "schedule",
  "number": "9",
  "heading": "NEW SCHEDULE 18 TO BE INSERTED INTO THE 2018 REGULATIONS",
  "text": "“SCHEDULE 18\nRECOVERY OF WASTE BY APPLICATION TO LAND FOR THE PURPOSE OF SOIL IMPROVEMENT\nRegulation 6(1)\nPART 1\nScope and interpretation\nScope\n1. (1) This schedule applies to—\n(a) the recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement,\n(b) the temporary storage of waste at the place where it is to be used for the purpose in head (a).\n(2) Paragraphs 2 and 3 apply for the interpretation of—\n(a) this schedule,\n(b) the definition of recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement.\n2. (1) In this schedule “soil improvement” means any one or more of the following—\n(a) provision of required plant nutrients to the soil,\n(b) provision of organic matter to the soil,\n(c) improvement of the chemical properties of the soil,\n(d) improvement of the physical properties of the soil,\n(e) reduction of any soil moisture deficit,\nfor the purpose of enhancing plant growth.\n(2) “Soil improvement” does not include the creation of new soils as part of the restoration of former industrial land.\n3. For the purposes of this schedule, waste is applied to the land where it is added to the land by—\n(a) spreading it on the surface of the land,\n(b) injecting it into the land,\n(c) placing it below the surface of the land,\n(d) mixing it with the surface layers of the land.\nInterpretation: general\n4. In this schedule—\n“agriculture” means the growing of all types of commercial food crops, including for stock-rearing purposes and related expressions are to be construed accordingly,\n“conventionally treated sewage sludge” means sewage sludge which—\n(a) has been treated in a process which has been demonstrated to be capable of achieving at least a 99% reduction (a 2 log10 reduction) in pathogens, and\n(b) contains no more than 100, 000 Escherichia coli per gram dry solids,\n“enhanced treated sewage sludge” means sewage sludge which—\n(a) has been treated—\n(i) in a process which has been demonstrated to have achieved at least a 99.9999% reduction (a 6 log10 reduction) in pathogens, or\n(ii) where before treatment the sewage sludge had a mean concentration of less than 108Escherichia coli per gram dry solids, in a process which has achieved the requirements in sub-paragraphs (b) and (c),\n(b) contains no more than 1000 Escherichia coli per gram dry solids, and\n(c) is free from Salmonella,\n“plant” means living plants and the following living parts of plants—\n(a) seeds,\n(b) fruits,\n(c) vegetables,\n(d) tubers, corns, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, rootstocks, stolons,\n(e) shoots, stems, runners,\n(f) flowers,\n(g) trees,\n(h) leaves, foliage,\n(i) live pollen and spores,\n(j) buds, budwood, cutting, scions, grafts,\n“septic tank sludge” means residual sludge from septic tanks and other similar installations for the treatment of sewage,\n“sewage sludge” means residual sludge from sewage treatment works,\n“treated sewage sludge” means sewage sludge which has undergone biological, chemical or heat treatment, or any other appropriate process so as significantly to reduce its fermentability and the health hazards resulting from its use.\nPART 2\nAmendments to common framework provisions\nAuthorisations: general\n5. SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that—\n(a) waste applied to land has not been mixed with any material which does not itself provide soil improvement,\n(b) application of waste does not impair the quality of the soil, surface water and groundwater,\n(c) nutrient needs of plants are taken into account,\n(d) waste is not applied to any land where the application would result in the total nitrogen contained in waste applied in any 12 month period exceeding a rate of 250 kilograms per hectare,\n(e) waste is not applied in such amounts that the crop requirement for nitrogen is exceeded,\n(f) waste is not applied in excess of the amount required to maintain the soil phosphorus status at acceptable agronomic levels,\n(g) waste must not be applied to land where—\n(i) the pH value of the soil is less than 5 unless the exception in head (ii) applies,\n(ii) this head applies where the waste to be applied has a liming value to increase the pH of the soil to 5 or above,\n(h) the application of the waste to the land will not cause soil pH to fall below 5 even temporarily.\nAuthorisation conditions: soil concentrations\n6. (1) SEPA must, subject to sub-paragraph (2) ensure that an authorisation for recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that—\n(a) no waste is applied to any land for the improvement of the soil where the concentration in the soil of any of the potentially toxic elements listed in column 1 of Table 1 exceeds the limit specified in column 2 with reference to the specified pH values,\n(b) where the limit referred to in sub-paragraph (a) is not exceeded at the time of application, it must not be exceeded as a result of the application of waste,\n(c) no waste is applied to land for the improvement of soil where the average rate of addition to the land by means of the waste of any of the potentially toxic elements listed in column 1 of Table 1 exceeds the limit specified in column 3.\n(2) SEPA may grant an exemption to the limit specified in column 2 of Table 1 for cadmium so as to allow the application of enhanced treated sewage sludge to land where the following conditions are met—\n(a) the naturally-occurring levels of cadmium in the soil exceed the limit set out in column 2 of Table 1,\n(b) the land is located on an island,\n(c) the land is grassland.\n(3) In this paragraph, “grassland” means land on which the vegetation consists predominantly of grass species.\nTable 1: Maximum permissible concentrations and addition rates of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) in soil (mg/kg dry soil)\nPTE\nMaximum permissible concentration of PTE in soil (mg/kg dry solid)\nMaximum permissible annual rate of PTE addition (kg//ha)\npH\n5.0 - <5.5\npH\n5.5 - <6.0\npH\n6.0 – 7.0\npH (1)\n>7.0\nCopper\n80\n100\n135\n200\n7.5\nNickel\n50\n60\n75\n110\n3\nCadmium\n0.5\n0.5\n1\n1.5\n0.15\npH\n5.0 and above\nZinc\n200\n15\nLead\n300\n15\nMercury\n1\n0.1\nAuthorisation conditions: sewage sludge\n7. SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for recovery of waste by application to agricultural land for the purpose of soil improvement includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure—\n(a) no sewage sludge other than conventionally treated sewage sludge or enhanced treated sewage sludge is to be applied to any land for the improvement of soil,\n(b) no sewage sludge, other than enhanced treated sewage sludge is to be applied to any land used for the growing and harvesting of fruit or horticultural crops,\n(c) no fruit crops, salad crops, vegetable crops or horticultural crops, other than fruit trees, are growing or being harvested in the soil at the time of application of sewage sludge,\n(d) conventionally treated sewage sludge must be deep injected or ploughed down when applied to land to be used for grazing.\nAuthorisation conditions: soil sampling\n8. SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for the recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that soil is tested and analysed in accordance with the following conditions—\n(a) soil is tested and analysed—–\n(i) for all the parameters specified in columns (1) and (2) of Table 2 no more than one year prior to the first application to that land,\n(ii) for all subsequent applications, for the parameters and at the frequencies specified in columns (1) and (2) of Table 2,\n(b) for each unit of land (not exceeding 5 hectares) on which waste is to be applied, a representative soil sample is obtained by mixing together 25 core samples, each taken to the depth of the topsoil or 15 centimetres, whichever is deeper,\n(c) soil sampling, handling and testing is conducted in accordance with technical guidance produced by SEPA under regulation 66(2),\n(d) the analysis requisite to ascertain the concentration of metals in samples is carried out following strong acid digestion and the limit of detection for each metal must not exceed 10% of the appropriate limit value set out in Table 1.\nTable 2\nSoil sampling frequencies\nEvery 5 years\nEvery 10 years\nSoil pH,\nExtractable P,\nExtractable K,\nSoil texture,\nExtractable Mg (mg/l dw) if claimed to be of benefit,\nAny PTE (mg/kg dw) that in previous analysis has shown to exceed 90% of the limit.\nTotal carbon or organic matter,\nCadmium,\nCopper,\nMercury,\nNickel,\nLead,\nZinc.\nAuthorisation conditions: waste sampling\n9. SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for the recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement include such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that—\n(a) sewage sludge is sampled or tested—\n(i) at intervals of not more than six months, and in any event where changes occur in the characteristics of the wastewater being treated,\n(ii) representative samples of sewage sludge intended to be applied to agricultural land are taken after processing, but prior to delivery to the user,\n(iii) samples are analysed so as to determine—\n(aa) pH value,\n(bb) percentage content of dry matter, organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus,\n(cc) concentration in milligrams per kilogram of dry matter of chromium and each of the elements listed in column 1 of Table 1 above,\n(b) waste other than sewage sludge produced and supplied for the purpose of application to land is sampled and tested—\n(i) not more than 2 years before application to land,\n(ii) in accordance with SEPA guidance.\nAuthorisation conditions: records\n10. (1) SEPA must ensure that an authorisation for the recovery of waste by application to land for the purpose of soil improvement includes such conditions as it considers appropriate to ensure that records of the following information are kept and provided to SEPA at such time as SEPA may request—\n(a) the quantities of waste produced, and the quantities supplied for use in agriculture,\n(b) the composition and properties of the soil in relation to the parameters referred to in Table 1,\n(c) the composition and properties of the waste in relation to the parameters referred to in Table 2,\n(d) the type of treatment carried out in relation to any treated sewage sludge,\n(e) the names and addresses of the recipients of the waste and the place where the waste is to be applied to land.\n(2) Records of information under sub-paragraph (1) are to be kept for a period of 6 years or as otherwise specified by SEPA.”",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2025/9780111062319/schedule/9",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:28:44.917910+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}