Licences For Disposal Of Dredged Material
Licences for the disposal of dredged material are available and attract different rates of charge according to the type of material and tonnage licensed. (See also ‘beneficial use’ and ‘mitigating use’). Different charges apply according to whether the material is classified as being 'capital' dredgings or 'maintenance' material . The former generally involve significantly higher resource costs in processing licence applications since the dredging:
- is often associated with other works requiring liaison with other regulators
- generates material not previously characterised is likely to need more rigorous monitoring to validate dispersal predictions
- and/or environmental impact
- the quantities of arisings &/or physical characteristics of the sediment may
- require the designation of a new dumpsite, and
- there is frequently a requirement to consider whether components of the arisings can be used beneficially or to mitigate effects of the dredging.
Licences are also available in six size bands according to the tonnage of material to be disposed of, expressed as wet weight (ie as dredged):
Tonnes (Wet Weight)
Click here for Disposal Licence Charges
Band 1 0 - 9,999
Band 2 10,000 - 49,999 Band 3 50,000 - 99,999 Band 4 100,000 - 499,000
Band 5 500,000 - 999,999
Band 6 1,000,000 +
The majority of dredging is undertaken in discrete (rather than continuous) operations in localised areas where the variation in the nature and contaminant level of the sediment over time is not well characterised. Accordingly, standard disposal licences are valid for a period of twelve months.
A dredging operation may, due to extenuating circumstances, be delayed such that deposit of the spoil is not completed before expiry of the licence. In such an instance the Department / Assembly will, exceptionally, give consideration to the extension of the licence, up to a maximum of a further three months, with the proviso that the licensed tonnage is not increased by more than 10%. In the event a licence is extended, no further licence will normally be granted within 6 months of its expiry in respect of dredgings arising from the same location. A licence extension charge is payable.
Longer-term Disposal Licences:
Longer-term Disposal Licences: most dredging campaigns are only undertaken periodically and licence extensions are only granted in extenuating circumstances. However, in the case of on-going dredging operations, such as large-scale capital projects or where a broadly similar quantity of maintenance material arising from the same licensed area is to be disposed of on a regular annual basis, the Department / Assembly will consider licensing the operation on a longer term basis. However, the licensing authority will need to be satisfied that:
the material to be disposed is of a consistently uncontaminated nature
no practicable alternative disposal option or use of the material is likely to be available during validity of the licence such that some or all of the material could have been diverted from deposit in the sea, and
continued monitoring and inspection of the operation does not give cause for concern about its potential impact upon the marine environment or other uses of the sea.
Longer-term licences are available for a period not normally exceeding three years (in multiples of one year) provided that consideration is given at annual intervals during the licence to alternatives to depositing the material at sea with a view to reducing the quantity of material licensed and:
i) for disposal associated with capital dredging -
- the operation is scheduled to continue for longer than 12 months
or, ii) in the case of disposal of maintenance dredgings -
- the current and two previous licences were all issued in respect of the same dredged area with any variation in tonnage licensed for deposit not normally exceeding ±10%;
- the results of sample analysis and those obtained for the previous three licence applications showed contaminant levels all to be within values considered by the Department / Assembly to be acceptable and that the nature of the material and sensitivity of the disposal area does not give cause for special consideration, and
- there has been full compliance with the terms of the current licence and its conditions.
Licensees are advised upon issue of their licence whether they qualify under these arrangements for a longer-term licence. If not, a standard licence will be issued except where an application is refused.
All licences to dispose of sewage sludge at sea were terminated by 31 December 1998 in compliance with the requirements of the OSPAR Convention and the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
Construction licences (see construction) are required for the placement of materials or articles in tidal waters other than for the primary purpose of their disposal (see also ‘beneficial licences’ ). Construction is taken to include a wide range of activities including, the building of harbours, jetties, offshore structures, land reclamation, sea walls, outfalls, beach recharge schemes and other coast defences. Licences are not required for moorings or navigational aids laid by, or for which consent must be obtained from, either a Harbour or Lighthouse Authority. Pontoons, however, are normally licensable as construction works.
Four bands of licence are available according to the estimated gross capital cost of works seawards of MHWS - some attracting an environmental sensitivity supplement.
For minor works seawards of the Mean High Water Springs (ie those with an estimated capital cost less than £ 5,000) a miscellaneous licence will normally apply. (See also ‘maintenance works’ )
Construction Licence renewal: as with disposal licences, construction-related licence will normally be valid for a period of 12 months but may be renewed thereafter for a further 12 months for which a renewal charge will be payable.
Where works are expected to continue for longer than one year, for example, large development schemes or coast protection and flood defence works, the licensing authority will usually grant a licence (subject to annual review) not normally exceeding a total duration of 5 years to cover the length of a contract, the duration of a phase of the works or a number of years of periodic recharge for beach nourishment schemes. For such licences, the licence charge will be payable in annual instalments, the second and any subsequent amounts being at reduced rate. However, should a further licence be required for subsequent works (eg further periodic beach recharge) a new application will be necessary.
The licensing authority has a statutory duty to consider what practical alternative disposal options are available before granting a disposal licence. The policy of the Department / Assembly is to encourage licensees to make maximum use of dredged material, for example, in the recharge of beaches, enhancement of mudflats and salt marsh, or the creation of habitat. A separate licence category is provided for licences in respect of operations involving the beneficial use of material, more than 50% of which has been derived from dredging activity and which would otherwise have been disposed of at sea.
(See guide to potential beneficial uses and ‘Mitigating Use of Dredgings’ )
Where dredging operations are undertaken in or adjacent to a European site designated under the Conservation Regulations, it may be necessary to redeposit dredged material in such a way as mitigate the adverse impact of the dredging operation to the satisfaction of the relevant competent authorities with the support of English Nature/Countryside Council for Wales. Where such deposits are subject to licence control, a beneficial use charge will normally apply.
Miscellaneous Activities for which a Licence is Required
Licences are also required for a range of other activities, including the use of tracer dyes or marine biocides (where deposited below the mean high water mark from a vehicle or vessel, aircraft etc), rock dumping on certain pipelines and the burial at sea of human remains. See also minor works.
Certain activities are exempted from licensing control by virtue of the Deposits in the Sea (Exemption) Order 1985, including the "Deposit of any article or substance in the maintenance of harbour, coast protection (other than beach replenishment), drainage or flood control works, if made on the site of the works" .
Paragraph 20 of the Schedule to the Exemptions Order allows for the "Deposit of any articles or substances in the maintenance of harbour, coast protection (other than beach replenishment), drainage or flood control works, if made on the site of the works". The licensing authority normally applies this exemption where the work is to be undertaken on an existing structure or facility to refurbish or replace parts of it with materials or articles of a similar nature (essentially "like with like") so as to extend the serviceability or continue the purpose of that structure. The exemption will not normally be taken to apply where it is proposed to extend, alter, or to significantly enhance existing works including the construction of additional temporary works adjacent to the existing site of the works. In any case of doubt, advice should be sought of the MCEU.
Pre-Sweep / Profiling Operations and
Deposits Associated with Well / Pipeline Abandonment
Works associated with the emplacement of subsea pipelines and associated structures are exempt from control if subject to a works authorisation from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). A "pre-sweep" licence is required where activities are to be undertaken that will result in the redeposition of material, other than at an existing designated disposal site. The charge for such licences assumes that the quantities of material involved are typically expected to be equivalent to those which would apply to a band 4 (or larger) disposal licence to which a factor is added to take account of the additional site assessment work and ad hoc monitoring arrangements likely to be required.
Although deposits made in the sea in respect of the installation or service maintenance of pipelines after enactment of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipelines Act 1975 (now superceded by the Petroleum Act 1998) are exempted from FEPA control, any works on pipelines which were installed prior to the coming into force of the PSPA are licensable. Moreover, the deposit of material, for example, to seal a well / pipe; rock dumping to prevent scour or to minimise the hazard to others, once a pipeline or associated structure is decommissioned is also licensable.
Although fish and fish waste returned to the sea from a fishing vessel taken from the sea by the vessel in the course of normal fishing operations is exempt from licence control, such waste is licensable if taken back to sea for disposal or deposited into the sea after it has been landed.
A licence is required (for which no charge is made) where it is proposed to bury a body at sea. Such a burial must be undertaken in accordance with instructions (a separate note is available from the licensing authority) which are designed to minimise the risk of the body moving from its place of interment and to minimise any impact on the marine environment. No such licence is needed for the scattering of cremation ashes. Click here for detailed guidance.
Disposal at Sea of Disused Offshore Installations and Scuttling of Vessels
The disposal at sea of disused offshore installations is now very circumscribed following the adoption by the UK of OSPAR Decision 98/3. Essentially, only the following may be considered:
the leaving in place of the footings of steel installations (weighing more than 10,000 tonnes in air) emplaced before 9 February 1999, and
the leaving in place or dumping of concrete gravity-based installations, floating concrete installations or concrete anchor bases.
Similarly, the Government is committed under the OSPAR Convention to phase out the disposal of vessels by means of scuttling by 31st December 2004 and currently only permits scuttling in exceptional circumstances. In such cases, a detailed assessment would be undertaken before agreeing to license any disposal of offshore installations in the sea / scuttling. Such assessment is liable to vary considerably according to the nature of the operation, its location, the proposed disposal site and what alternative options are available. The charge for this type of licence application will, therefore be calculated on an individual basis in consultation with the applicant.
In accordance with its obligations under the OSPAR Convention, the Licensing Authority no longer permits incineration at sea.
The Use of Tracer Dyes, Biocides and other such Materials
A FEPA licence is required where it is proposed to use a tracer dye, biocide or similar substance where this involves the material being deposited directly from a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, marine structure etc anywhere below the mean high water spring tide mark. No such consent is necessary if the deposit is to be effected by other means - such as spraying from a backpack. However, other controls - such a those exercised by the Environment Agency - may apply.