Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Official Report 553KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017 (SSI 2017/451)

Item 3 is subordinate legislation. Further details on this negative instrument can be found in paper 3.

Are there any comments on the regulations?

I do not want to significantly delay the regulations passing through Parliament, but there are a number of questions to be asked and a degree of clarity required about the change, particularly in terms of how a significant adverse effect is dealt with in the environmental assessment process.

I understand that the minister has indicated his intention to come to the committee to answer questions. Therefore, I look to you, convener, to see what options there are for us to get more clarity about what the statutory instrument is intended to do, how the EIA process works and what we are talking about in relation to changes to offshore wind farm consents that might be considered under the proposed simplified regulatory process.

We are talking about four large-scale offshore wind farm projects that received consent in October 2014 and faced various serious delays because of judicial review. In his letter, Paul Wheelhouse says:

“I want to make clear that I regret the necessity to breach the 28 day rule, which ordinarily gives time for the Committee to consider the instrument.”

He also acknowledges that the situation is “far from ideal”. Maybe we should, as Mark Ruskell suggests, ask the minister to come along for a discussion at some point. Still, I support the instrument.

It is worth saying for the record that the minister wrote to the committee to make that offer. We may want to avail ourselves of the opportunity.

I support what Mark Ruskell said. In the interests of sustainable development in our marine environment, it would be helpful if the minister could come before the committee as he has offered to do. The issue is the balance and appropriateness of environmental protection and its analysis coupled with how we pursue our climate change targets through offshore wind. It is an important issue and there is public interest in it, so it would be helpful if the minister came to the committee, but I do not want to delay the regulations in any way.

I am getting the sense that the committee wants to invite the minister along to answer the valid questions that have been raised here today but that we do not wish to make any recommendations on the regulations. Is that the case?

Members indicated agreement.

At our next meeting, on 30 January, we expect to consider oral evidence from the Scottish Association for Marine Science on its report on the environmental impact of salmon farming.

12:23 Meeting continued in private until 12:59.