Industrial sites failing to comply with environmental rules

Both BP’s Kinneil Terminal and Petroineos at Gragemouth were rated “poor” in addition to two sites at Dounreay.

A further 51 farming sites were rated as being at risk, poor or very poor.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said that compliance was “non negotiable”.

The figures indicate how well sites are adhering to their operating licence terms and show that compliance in the waste sector has increased to 90.35 per cent in 2016 as compared with 72.48 per cent in 2009.

But compliance has dropped from 90.94 per cent in 2010 to 88.28 per cent in 2016 among food and drink manufacturers.

Scotland Food and Drink said it wants to go “beyond compliance and embrace world class standards” as a sector and insisted that companies which do not comply “have little future in our sector”.

SEPA chief executive Terry A’Hearn said: “We’re clear, environmental compliance is non-negotiable.

“Every Scottish business will comply with the law, and we’ll work to ensure as many as possible will go even further.

“This latest report card on the environmental performance of Scottish regulated businesses is encouraging, with significant outcomes achieved for Scottish communities. It’s a reminder that we’ll work positively with those who want to do the right thing by Scotland’s environment, and a wake-up call to those that don’t.

“It’s also an indicator of where we next need to focus our attention and why we’re changing, creating a world-class environment protection agency fit for the challenges of tomorrow.”