Overview

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a procedure for considering the potential environmental effects of land use change. EIA helps to inform decision making and enables decisions on land use change to be taken with knowledge of the likely environmental consequences. The main aim is to protect land which has natural heritage, historical or environmental value or importance.

The regulations came into force in Scotland on 16 May 2017 and require that land managers should seek approval from the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division before carrying out certain projects (e.g. ploughing of unimproved land, drainage of wetlands or restructuring of agricultural land) if these projects are likely to have significant effects on the environment.

Advice on the types of projects covered by the regulations and criteria to be used in considering the environmental effects is set out in the EIA guidance.

If you are planning to undertake any operation covered by these regulations, you should submit a screening application form to your local Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) area office describing work proposals before they start. This will enable a screening decision to be made on whether the project can proceed as proposed, needs modification or would require an EIA.

RPID may then consult with NatureScot, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) before making decisions. Other public bodies, including Local Authorities, may be consulted as appropriate.

A full EIA report may be required depending on the outcome of the screening and scoping parts of the process. Where a full EIA report is required, details will be published in the Edinburgh Gazette and a local newspaper for public consultation. A formal decision on the project is then made and recorded in a public register and is available for examination at the relevant local RPID Office. Applicants can then appeal decisions by written representation, to the local RPID office in the first instance, within three months of the decision.

Comparable regulations exist in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Legislation governing EIA procedures for projects for the use of uncultivated land and semi-natural areas for intensive agricultural purposes has been in place since 2002. That has since been superseded to cover procedures for projects for the large scale restructuring and irrigation or drainage of rural land holdings. The regulations only deal with agricultural operations which do not fall within the Forestry or Local Authority planning/EIA regulations.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)