Alongside sheep dip, the EA is also looking to change the application and annual subsistence costs of securing a permit for spreading pesticides, biocides, and disinfectants.
For each of these activities, the application charge is set to rise by 50%, resulting in permits costing £4,063, minor variations costing £1,219, normal variations costing £2,031, and substantial variations costing £3,657.
In addition, the consultation proposes a new charge of £2,035 when a habitats assessment is needed for the above activities and a charge of £1,546 for specific substances assessments for a groundwater activity.
In terms of the annual subsistence charge, there will be a 2% decrease for low volumes of sheep dip, while high volumes of sheep dip will see a 2% increase and any volume of pesticide, biocide, and disinfectant will face a 4% increase.
The EA also plans to increase permit charges for trade effluent, non-sewage effluent discharge, and rainfall-related discharges, though application fees for small sewage discharge applications from a domestic household will not change.
At this stage, the NFU is particularly concerned about the planned 50% increase to the application fee for a sheep dip spreading permit, given the poor performance of alternative treatments for scab and the short supply of contracting services.