The percentage of site operators in Scotland which met the conditions of their licence in 2014 fell to 88% in 2014, the latest data published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) shows.

SEPA said it was “disappointed” in the 2% drop in the number of operators achieving a rating of ‘excellent’, ‘good’ or ‘broadly compliant’ compared to the Compliance Assessment Scheme (CAS) data from 2013, as it means that its 91% target for last year has not been met.

Of the 5,305 licensed activities assessed in Scotland as part of the 2014 scheme, 3,876 (73%) were rated ‘excellent’, 726 (14%) as ‘good’ and 64 (1%) as ‘broadly compliant’.

However, the remaining activities were classed ‘at risk’ (268 or 5%), ‘poor’ (311 or 6%) and ‘very poor’ (60 or 1%).

Data

SEPA said one of the primary issues found among non-compliance across various sectors arose from the quality and quantity of data return submitted by operators.

Also, for the first time the Scheme data includes 1,187 water resource licences, which account for roughly 3% of the overall non-compliance figure for 2014.

Introduced in 2009, the CAS covers operators with Pollution Prevention and Control Part A and Part B permits, Waste Management Licences, Controlled Activity Regulations discharges and sites licensed under the Radioactive Substances Act.