Department of Energy and Climate Change
Energy Development Unit
Offshore Environment and Decommissioning
Environmental Management Team
Atholl House
86-88 Guild Street
Aberdeen AB11 6AR
Tel: 01224 254045 / 254050
Email:
Website: https://www.og.berr.gov.uk/environment/index.htm
FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT (FEPA) 1985
PART II DEPOSITS IN THE SEA (AS AMENDED)
APPLICATION FOR LICENCE TO DISPOSE OF MATERIAL ARISING FROM OFFSHORE HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
OFF-SITE (INTER-FIELD) DISCHARGE AND/OR INJECTION OF DRILL CUTTINGS, PRODUCED WATER AND ASSOCIATED WASTE STREAMS
IMPORTANT: before you start to complete this form, please read these notes and the associated Explanatory Notes.
· This guidance is not intended to be definitive nor comprehensive, and applicants are advised to additionally consult the legislation (as amended) under which this application is made.
· Please answer all the questions. If any information is not available at the time of application please indicate at the appropriate section and submit the details separately as soon as possible. Any delay in forwarding details is likely to result in a delay in determining your application(s).
· Information should be provided about the anticipated duration of the entire project. DECC will normally write to the licence holder some three (3) months before the expiry date to determine whether renewal is required, and a further application may be necessary to renew a consent.
· Whenever possible, the completed application form should be submitted electronically, accompanied by any supporting documents. Under exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to separately forward copies of the location plan, descriptive drawing(s), and any supporting environmental assessment. In such cases you should provide four additional copies of all the relevant supporting documents.
· Applications should be submitted to the above email address at least eight (8) weeks before the licence is required. Some projects may raise matters that require a significantly longer time for consideration. This is most likely to be the case for large projects; for those taking place within or adjacent to a marine conservation area; and for those requiring an environmental statement under environmental impact assessment regulations. In such cases, applicants are advised to contact DECC as early as possible during the planning stage in order to minimise delays in the processing and determination of the application.
· A fee is payable in respect of an application under the Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) 1985, Part II Deposits in the Sea. You will be invoiced for the fee upon receipt of your application.
· It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain any other consents or authorisations that may be required under other legislation
1. APPLICANT DETAILS
Address
Name of Contact
Position within Company
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Company VAT Registration Number
2. PRODUCER DETAILS *
The Producer is anyone whose activities produce the material intended for disposal.
If the Producer is the Applicant shown at Section 1, please tick this box and move to Section 3 (Holder).Name of Company
Address
Name of Contact
Position within company
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Company VAT Registration Number
* Please complete a separate Section 2 for each ‘Producer’
3 HOLDER DETAILS *
The Holder is anyone who is in possession of the material prior to its disposal.
If the Holder is the Applicant shown at Section 1, please tick this boxand move to Section 4 (Agent).
If the Holder is a Producer shown at Section 2, please tick this box,
enter the Name (or Names) of the Company(s) and move to Section 4 (Agent).
Name of Company
Address
Name of Contact
Position within company
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Company VAT Registration Number
* Please complete a separate Section 3 for each ‘Holder’
4 AGENT DETAILS*
An Agent is anyone engaged to act under contract or other agreement on behalf of any party listed in Sections 2 – 4, having responsibility for the control, management, treatment or disposal of the material.
FunctionName of Company
Address
Name of Contact
Position within company
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Company VAT Registration Number
* Please complete a separate Section 4 for each ‘Agent’
5 DURATION OF THE DISPOSAL OPERATION
a) / When do you propose to begin the disposal operation?(At least 8 weeks are normally required to process the application)
b) / When do you expect to complete the disposal operation?
(Licenses will not normally be issued for a period exceeding 10 years)
6 METHOD STATEMENT
(a) A full method statement must be provided, including details of any treatment of the material prior to disposal (see Explanatory Note)
(b) A suitably scaled extract, or extracts, of an Admiralty Chart must be provided with the completed application form, to show:
• the location of the source(s) of the material in relation to the surrounding area;
• the location of the disposal site in relation to the surrounding area;
• any adjacent Marine Protected Areas, SAC, SPA, RAMSAR or similar conservation area boundary.
7 DETAILS OF THE SOURCE(S) OF THE MATERIAL AND OF THE PROPOSED DISPOSAL SITE
Name of field and platform/rig
/ Latitude and Longitude Co-ordinates(degrees, minutes and seconds to 2 decimal places) / Datum
A / N / W/E
B / N / W/E
C / N / W/E
Disposal Site / N / W/E
If necessary please extend this table for additional sources (separate applications are required for additional disposal sites)
8 DETAILS OF THE MATERIAL SCHEDULED FOR DISPOSAL
For each of the sources identified above, please give the following information ensuring that a separate entry is made for each waste type.
Source /Type of Material(e.g. drill cuttings and associated muds, produced water, produced water sludges, etc)
/ Maximum Quantity proposed per year(metric tonnes) / Maximum quantity over the period of the project (metric tonnes)
A
B
C
If necessary please extend this table for additional materials
9 ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF DISPOSAL (SEE EXPLANATORY NOTE)
Section 8(2) of the FEPA 1985 Part II requires the licensing authority to have regard to the practical availability of alternative means of disposal when determining whether to issue a licence. To enable the licensing authority to fulfill its responsibilities, please state below the results of your investigations to compare alternative means of disposal or beneficial uses of the material, together with costs of all the options. The comparative assessment should clearly demonstrate that the selected option represents Best Available Technique (BAT) and Best Environmental Practice.
10 CONSERVATION BODIES
The Licensing Authority has a duty to ensure that any off-site disposal will not have a significant adverse environmental impact, particularly upon designated or candidate, conservation areas such as Marine Protected Areas, SACs, SPAs, RAMSARs or similar areas, including areas that are currently being considered as potential offshore conservation sites. If the applicant has been in consultation with the appropriate nature conservation body, it may hasten the processing of your application if copies of all relevant correspondence are submitted with the application (particularly if the nature conservation bodies have statutory powers for consenting aspects of the works). Where the views of the appropriate nature conservation body are not known, DECC may undertake consultation with that body.
Please indicate below whether there has been any consultation, and whether copies of any relevant correspondence have been submitted to support the application.
11 MARINE PROTECTED AREAS, SAC, SPA, RAMSAR OR SIMILAR CONSERVATION AREAS
Are any of the sources of the material, or the proposed disposal site located:
Please tick appropriate box
· within the boundary of a designated or candidate conservation area, or within an area being considered as a potential offshore site? / Yes / No· If “No”, but the boundary of the nearest designated, candidate or potential conservation area is within 5km of any source or disposal site, please indicate the approximate distance from that site to the boundary. / kms
12 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Has an environmental assessment been undertaken to support this application?(If an assessment has been undertaken, a copy must be included with the application) / Yes / No
Has a related environmental assessment been submitted to DECC that includes reference to the disposal operation (either an Environmental Statement or a PON15)? / Yes / No
If ‘Yes’, please provide the relevant DECC reference number(s)
(Copies of the related environmental assessments can be obtained from DECC, quoting the reference numbers provided)
13 PUBLIC REGISTER
Under Section 14 of the Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) 1985, as amended by Section 147 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, all information contained within or provided in support of this application will be placed on the Public Register unless the Secretary of State approves the applicant's reasons for withholding all or part.
Is there any information contained within or provided in support of this application that you consider should not be included on the Public Register on the grounds that its disclosure:
Yes / Noa) / would be contrary to the interests of national security; or
b) / would prejudice to an unreasonable degree your or some
other person's commercial interests or those of a third party?
Please tick appropriate box
If YES, to either (a) or (b), please provide full justification as to why all or part of the information you have provided should be withheld.
14 DECLARATION
It is an offence under Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) 1985 to fail to disclose information or to provide false or misleading information. Applicants should therefore carefully check the information provided prior to submission of the application, to ensure that the details provided are correct. Applicants should also ensure that they have attached or appended all relevant enclosures referred to in the application.
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