The government and regulators are facing court action for lawbreaking on sewage, after a groundbreaking report by the relatively new Office for Environmental Protection.
The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat now have two months to confirm whether they will take the steps the OEP says are need to put matters right.
If they fail to respond in that time, they may be dragged to court.
The OEP said sewage releases should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, such as during unusually heavy rainfall, but that “this has not always been the case”. Its investigation was launched in response to a complaint received two years ago from Salmon & Trout Conservation UK, now known as WildFish.
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According to the BBC, this organisation suggested that Defra, Ofwat and the EA were allowing excessive releases. It argued that according to the law sewage should only be released under “exceptional circumstances”, such as unusually heavy rain, rather than any wet weather. The BBC article states:
Untreated sewage contains chemicals which can be harmful to aquatic life and can lead to a build-up of algae which starves local wildlife of oxygen and produces toxins that are potentially fatal to pets and dangerous to people.
And the less rainfall there is to dilute the sewage the more harmful it could potentially be.
The organisation stated:
The OEP investigation has concluded that there have been three failures to comply with environmental law by Defra:
- Failing to take proper account of environmental law by:
- Drafting guidance for water companies and regulators which did not reflect the true legal extent of sewerage undertaker duties
- Failing to amend or replace the guidance after a relevant Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in 2012
- Misunderstanding its legal duty under environmental law to make enforcement order
- Failing to exercise its duty under environmental law to make enforcement orders
- Failing to discharge its duty to secure compliance with environmental law relating to emissions controls
The recommended steps to remedy, mitigate or prevent reoccurrence of the failures include revising the guidance, ensuring delegated responsibilities are carried out properly, agreeing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the EA and Ofwat and ensuring that permits for CSOs [combined sewer overflows] are amended appropriately.
In relation to the first failure identified above, the OEP acknowledges Defra’s recent consultation on updated guidance for regulators and water companies and awaits the outcome of this process. The OEP considers that the third failure listed above ended on 31 December 2020 following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.
The OEP investigation has concluded that there have been two failures to comply with environmental law by Ofwat:
- Failing to take proper account of environmental law with regards to duties on sewerage companies and its duty to make enforcement orders.
- Failing to exercise its duty under environmental law to make enforcement orders.
The recommended steps to remedy, mitigate or prevent reoccurrence of the failures include updating enforcement guidance, agreeing and publishing a new MoU with the EA, ensuring relevant responsibilities are carried out properly and making sure that appropriate assessments have been carried out on CSOs and time-bound plans are in place for any improvement schemes to be implemented.
The OEP considers that Ofwat’s approach now takes proper account of environmental law and that the first failure identified above is no longer ongoing. Regarding the second failure, the OEP acknowledges the draft enforcement orders proposed by Ofwat and awaits the outcome of its consultation process and ongoing investigations.
The OEP investigation has concluded that there have been three failures to comply with environmental law by the EA:
- Failing to take proper account of environmental law in devising guidance relating to permit conditions
- (As a result of the point above) setting permit conditions that were insufficient to comply with environmental laws
- Failing to exercise permit review functions in relation to discharges from CSOs
The recommended steps to remedy, mitigate or prevent reoccurrence of the failures include updating the Storm Overflow Assessment Framework and any guidance relating to CSO permit setting, agreeing MoUs with Defra and Ofwat, ensuring CSO permits comply with the appropriate regulations and assessment findings.
In relation to the first failure identified above, the OEP acknowledges the EA’s recent consultation on an updated SOAF and awaits the outcome of this process.
Defra and the EA are currently consulting on changes. Defra has already said that water companies would have to increase compensation for customers facing service failures such as water outages or pollution, providing automatic payments of up to £2,000 for water supply outages, sewer flooding or low water pressure.
If Defra and the EA decide to accept the finding in full, it could lead to changes to thousands of environmental permits – and water companies’ new five-year investment plans, which are due to be announced on Thursday, may need to be revised as it is possible they would not be sufficient to upgrade infrastructure to meet requirements.
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Government and regulators are facing court action for lawbreaking on sewage
The government and regulators are facing court action for lawbreaking on sewage, after a groundbreaking report by the relatively new Office for Environmental Protection.
The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat now have two months to confirm whether they will take the steps the OEP says are need to put matters right.
If they fail to respond in that time, they may be dragged to court.
The OEP said sewage releases should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, such as during unusually heavy rainfall, but that “this has not always been the case”. Its investigation was launched in response to a complaint received two years ago from Salmon & Trout Conservation UK, now known as WildFish.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
According to the BBC, this organisation suggested that Defra, Ofwat and the EA were allowing excessive releases. It argued that according to the law sewage should only be released under “exceptional circumstances”, such as unusually heavy rain, rather than any wet weather. The BBC article states:
The organisation stated:
Defra and the EA are currently consulting on changes. Defra has already said that water companies would have to increase compensation for customers facing service failures such as water outages or pollution, providing automatic payments of up to £2,000 for water supply outages, sewer flooding or low water pressure.
If Defra and the EA decide to accept the finding in full, it could lead to changes to thousands of environmental permits – and water companies’ new five-year investment plans, which are due to be announced on Thursday, may need to be revised as it is possible they would not be sufficient to upgrade infrastructure to meet requirements.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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