Get authorisation for a water activity in Scotland (EASR)

If your business operates in Scotland and its activities affect surface water or groundwater, you need authorisation from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). On 1 November 2025 water activities moved from the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 ("CAR") into the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR), by amendment regulations made in 2025 (SSI 2025/165). It remains an integrated regime: one framework covers abstraction, impoundment, engineering in or near a water body, and discharges to water or groundwater. Existing CAR authorisations transitioned to the corresponding EASR tier.

Carrying out a regulated water activity without authorisation is a criminal offence. On summary conviction the fine is capped at £40,000 (with up to 12 months' imprisonment); on indictment the fine is unlimited and imprisonment can reach five years. SEPA also has civil sanctions (Fixed and Variable Monetary Penalties) under the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.

The four authorisation tiers

EASR uses a risk-based four-tier system. The tier that applies to your activity depends on SEPA's assessment of its environmental risk — not on your choice. Work out which tier applies before you design the activity, because higher tiers need more evidence and longer lead times. (Under the pre-November 2025 CAR framework the upper tiers were called "Simple Licence" and "Complex Licence"; these are now permits under EASR.)

Tier 1 — General Binding Rules (GBR)

Low-risk activities are authorised automatically provided you follow the relevant General Binding Rule. You do not apply; you remain legally bound. Examples include the diffuse pollution rules for land management (GBRs 18 to 24, covering activities such as the storage and application of fertiliser, keeping of livestock, cultivation of land and application of pesticides) and GBRs for small abstractions below specified volumes.

Tier 2 — Notification

Slightly higher-risk activities require you to notify SEPA before starting. SEPA acknowledges the notification; you must carry out the activity as notified.

Tier 3 — Registration

Moderate-risk activities need a Registration with SEPA. You submit a short application, pay a registration fee, and SEPA confirms the registration if the activity meets the criteria.

Tier 4 — Permit

The highest-risk activities — major abstractions, impoundments, large discharges, significant engineering — need a permit with tailored conditions, plus an annual subsistence charge. Expect to provide a full environmental assessment, modelling of impacts, and a monitoring plan. Determination typically takes four months, often extended for major projects.

How SEPA applies the Water Framework Directive

EASR water authorisations are the primary vehicle by which SEPA delivers WFD objectives in Scotland. Every authorisation decision applies the no-deterioration test and the environmental objectives set in the river basin management plan for your catchment. SEPA will check the current ecological and chemical classification of the affected water body on the Water Environment Hub before setting conditions.

For discharges, Priority Substance Environmental Quality Standards (set in the EQSD as retained and the Priority Substances Directive) drive emission limit values. For abstractions, catchment water availability and hands-off-flow thresholds apply.

Fees and timescales at a glance

Enforcement and civil sanctions

SEPA has a graduated enforcement toolkit:

• Compliance and warning letters for minor, fixable breaches.
• Fixed Monetary Penalties (FMP) — set amounts of £300, £600 or £1,000 for specified minor offences under the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
• Variable Monetary Penalties (VMP) — scaled to the harm and culpability, capped at £40,000.
• Enforcement undertakings — voluntary offers of restoration and improvement accepted as an alternative to prosecution.
• Prosecution — unauthorised water activity offences carry, on summary conviction, a fine of up to £40,000 and/or up to 12 months' imprisonment; on indictment, an unlimited fine and/or up to 5 years' imprisonment.