Licensing Navigation Dredging - Developing a Proportionate, Risk-Based Approach
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XX: "The Art of Dredging" - 2013, Brussels, Belgium
Authors:
Basford KE, Clay N, Birchenough AC
Abstract: In the UK, the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA) placed a requirement upon the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Welsh Government to license navigation dredging activity in tidal waters in England and Wales. This new regulatory regime consolidated the previous disparate regulation of dredging and expanded regulatory controls to cover all dredging activity. Recognising the potentially large number of dredging activities that this may encompass, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) carried out a risk assessment to consider how dredging activities could be managed with a ‘light touch’. This refinement of the approach has been under the spotlight due to the UK Government’s Red Tape Challenge, which is reviewing all regulation with a view to reducing any unnecessary regulatory burden. This paper explains the approach taken to understanding the number and type of licensable dredging activities; a national risk assessment approach to defining low risk criteria; and the essential role of strong relationships between stakeholders, regulators and industry in agreeing an acceptable approach. The rationale behind the following findings, set out below, will be explained:
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The smallest, de minimis, dredging activities, carried out predominantly by the recreational sector, could be exempted from requiring a marine licence.
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Relatively small scale dredging activities or larger activities that can demonstrate a low risk nature could be included in the fast track process.
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Dredging and disposal could be treated as ‘one project’, however it is not possible to exempt disposal at sea activities due to obligations under international conventions. Disposal at sea activities associated with both de minimis and low risk dredging operations would be processed through the fast track process.
Keywords: Licence, MMO, Exempt, Low risk