Following a review of the current regulatory regime for sludge treatment, storage and use, in 2021 the Agency intends to bring sludge and septic tank sludge into the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR). The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations (SUiAR) will no longer be needed.

Introducing the strategy, the EA said that it wants sludge to continue to be used as a beneficial resource and that in most circumstances, the most sustainable option is to recycle it to agricultural land as organic manure.

According to the regulator, the changes are needed because:

• many current sludge practices do not fit with SUiAR
• the current regulatory regime is complex
• there have been changes to the supply chain
• there have been changes to treatment processes, with a greater focus on the energy value of sludge
• new hazards are emerging
• there have been complaints, pollution incidents and poor management practices involving septic tank sludge

However, the Agency intends to keep the most effective and useful parts of SUiAR and the current EPR mobile plant permit regime to develop the new framework.

The 3 main principles of the strategy are:

• Modernise and clarify the regulatory framework.
• Develop a consistent approach with the water and waste industry.
• Identify and assess emerging risks.
• Modernise and clarify the regulatory framework

The EA is aiming to develop a consistent approach with the water and waste industry via the strategy in order to:

• harmonise the regulatory framework for operators who treat, supply, store and use waste organic manures
• create consistency across the waste and water industries
• provide clarity on the use of sludge in England
• have a charge funded approach and apply the ‘polluter pays’ principles
• align with water industry funding cycles
• ensure coordination with Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland

According to the regulator, the strategy will provide consistency across the bioresources sector, remove barriers to co-treatment, enable industry innovation and allows for flexible regulatory intervention along the supply chain, from the sludge producer to the final user.

The Environment Agency will continue to work with Defra, Water UK, the waste industry and others to develop the strategy in 2020 to 2021 with a view to to submitting a request for legislative change in mid-2021 to revoke SUiAR.

The Agency has accepted water industry concerns that an immediate transfer to the current mobile plant permitting and deployment system would present challenges for the water industry. The EA said these include concerns that the current mobile plant permitting regime is too rigid and does not give the water companies enough flexibility to manage farmer relationships for sludge to land operations.

The EA said it is committed to reviewing and evolving the permitting regime to create a more flexible scheme which will account for the operational needs of all operators and provide the required level of control to manage potential environmental risks.

The strategy says the new regime must be flexible and the Agency will make sure it allows commercial innovation and the exploitation of new markets to satisfy OFWAT.

Bioresources sector is now more commercially viable

The strategy says the bioresources sector is now more commercially viable but points out that the supply chain is no longer short and linear.

From where the sludge is treated to where it is spread, can now involve long distances and third party contractors. The contractors, who can also be sludge producers or waste management companies, may handle, treat, store and spread the sludge that is produced by others.

Treatment processes have also evolved. There is now a focus on the energy value of sludge via the production of gas through anaerobic digestion.

In addition, water company treatment operations have evolved and some are now "incorporating activities that are challenging the SUiAR definitions of residual sludge and treated sludge", according to the EA.

The strategy says:

“Water industry interests include co-treatment of sludge with other waste streams. This can improve gas production or take advantage of commercial opportunities. Third party non-water company operators are also showing increased interest in the sludge market.”

Next steps - working groups to progress the strategy 

To progress the strategy the EA intends to establish the following four groups to work together from 2020 to 2021

• EPR and SUiAR review and revise group.
• Legislative change group.
• Assurance scheme group.
• Septic tank group.

Proposed activities will include:

• review and evolve the mobile plant permitting regime
• look at which parts of SUiAR can be used
• provide the necessary evidence for Defra to change the legislation and revoke SUiAR
• work with industry to develop an assurance scheme
• aim to better understand septic tank sludge and propose recommendations for improved sludge management

Membership of the EPR and SUiAR review and revise group, which will review the EPR framework and SUiAR, will include technical experts from Water UK and a trade group from the bioresources sector.

Click here to access the full strategy document