Charging schemes

The majority of SEPA's charging schemes are made under powers given in the Environment Act 1995 to charge for environmental licences, and to recover the costs of carrying out SEPA functions. In addition, powers to charge are contained within the relevant regulations, eg the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH).

The legal schemes provide details of the structure of the scheme and prices at the date the scheme came into force. To view these click on the ‘current legal schemes’ and ‘previous legal schemes’ buttons on the left menu.

The prices for all SEPA charging schemes will be updated annually in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) and a summary of the fees and charges for current and previous years can be found in our summary charging booklets (see menu on the left).

Fees and charges due to SEPA may be included in the regulations, in which case SEPA does not need to implement a separate charging scheme. Typically this happens in UK-wide legislation which involves cross-border activities, or where the timetable for implementation of regulations precludes the development of a SEPA charging scheme. Fees and charges can be superseded by new fees by either the amending of the original regulations or by a new SEPA charging scheme. Such changes would be subject to further public consultation and ministerial approval.

Use the buttons on the left to view fees and charges currently contained in regulations.

In the event that SEPA prices have to increase by more than the RPI, or a scheme requires other changes, a public consultation is held. This consultation brings any changes to the attention of anyone likely to be affected by them. All changes which have been the subject of consultation have to be approved by the Scottish Minister before SEPA can implement them.

To access the current charging schemes, click on 'Current charging schemes'.

To view SEPA's current fees and charges, click the ‘Summary charging booklets’ button on the left.

Click on the ‘Transparency’ button on the left for more information about charging schemes development.

This section contains a range of information about SEPA charging schemes including legal documents, current prices, background information and points of contact in the event of any queries.