§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the position with respect to derogations under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive in Scotland. [HL3376]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office (Lord Sewel)The Government have decided to withdraw the designation of 12 High Natural Dispersion Areas around the Scottish Coast as set out in the table below. This means that water authorities will provide secondary treatment at all discharges in these locations for population equivalents of greater than 10,000. This is a major step towards improving the quality of Scottish coastal waters and beaches.
As part of this, the Government have also decided to withdraw the derogation request for the Aberdeen discharge under Article 8.5 of the Directive. It has become apparent that it would be more appropriate for the North of Scotland Water Authority to provide secondary treatment at Aberdeen. This is a significant move towards further improving the quality of North Sea waters and the decision will also ensure that the project can be commissioned in sufficient time to meet the Directive's deadlines.
List of high natural dispersion areas to be withdrawn Water authority area Name of designation East Firth of Forth—Coastal East Firth of Forth—Estuary East Firth of Tay North Angus Coast—South North Angus Coast—North North Kincardine Coast North Peterhead Coast North Fraserburgh Coast North Banff Coast North Buckie Coast North Moray Firth West Clyde Coast (Irvine/Ayr Bays)