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Monday, 10 December 2018 08:23

Brexit: Commons Committee warns over deteriorating water quality, nitrate pollution and inadequate monitoring

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has flagged up a raft of concerns over the possibility of deteriorating water quality, growing nitrate pollution and inadequate monitoring after the UK leaves the European Union.

keswickThe Committee’s warnings come in its report UK Progress on Reducing Nitrate Pollution – the EAC heard evidence from a wide range of experts, including water companies, British Geological Survey, The Rivers Trust, National Farmers Union , Soil Association and the Environment Agency.

The report says that it is “a cause for concern that 86% of English rivers did not reach good ecological status in 2016, which is lower than the EU average, and that the UK is also performing badly compared to many of its European neighbours in terms of the chemical status of its ground waters .“

It also describes as “particularly worrying” the prospect that the UK may not hit the 2027 target set in the Water Framework Directive for all water bodies to have a good ecological status.

“Disappointed” Government slow to address UK breaches of Urban Water Directive.."does not inspire inspire us with confidence"

The MPs said they were “disappointed” that the Government had been slow to address UK breaches of the Urban Water Directive in 2009 which led to a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling against the UK in 2017, commenting:

“The fact that the UK was slow to respond to these breaches even after the intervention of the European Commission and European Court of Justice does not inspire us with confidence about maintenance of water standards once the UK leaves their jurisdiction.”

“ This underlines why a powerful environmental watchdog will be needed after the UK leaves the EU and particularly in the event of leaving without a deal. This body will need to set, monitor and evaluate targets to reduce pollution incidents and improve water quality.”

The report points out that although there has been has been an improvement in the quality of UK bathing waters over the past 25–30 years, the UK is still 7th from the bottom of the scale.

The EAC also expressed its concern that while progress had been made in reducing nitrates in surface waters, levels were high in some areas, especially in parts of England, and the UK still lags behind a number of its European neighbours.

The report states:

“We are particularly disturbed to hear of the high levels of nitrate pollution in some of our groundwater sources, which supply nearly a third of our drinking water, which might not peak for another 60 years. Water companies are having to invest substantial sums of money in nitrate removal and water blending plants, the costs of which are being passed on to customers through water bills.”

According to the report, collaboration between stakeholders involved in river basin catchment management makes sense as it seeks to stop nitrate and other pollution at source and acknowledges that responsibility for better water quality lies with multiple actors.

A key part of this is investment from water companies and they have made a persuasive case for a longer-term approach to funding, the report says. However, the EAC said it had noted Secretary of State Michael Gove’s concern that water companies should invest more of their profits addressing environmental challenges, before passing their costs on to consumers.

Concerns over potential fall in water quality and lessening of regulatory standards when UK leaves EU

The EAC appears to be particularly concerned about a potential fall in water quality and lessening of regulatory standards when the UK leaves the EU.

The Committee is calling on the Government to ensure that various EU Directives and regulations are aligned and do not result in a siloed approach to individual pollutants but address them in their totality. It also wants the Government to consider whether it can better align policies on water, air and soil and the interaction between nitrogen in its various forms so that actions in one area do not have a negative impact in another.

For such a joined-up approach to work effectively after the UK leaves the EU, the report says “it is imperative that an independent overarching body can oversee these overlapping areas and enforce compliance,.” arguing that this further strengthens the EAC case for an Environmental Enforcement and Audit Office (EEAO).

The report reiterates the Committee’s call set out in its July report on the Government’s 25 Year Plan for the Environment to create an independent oversight body - the Environmental Enforcement and Audit Office (EEAO), that reports to Parliament.

Commenting on anaerobic digestion, the report says the technology offers an effective solution to managing sewage sludge and repurposing waste as a resource to be used as a renewable energy source and as a bio-fertiliser which can reduce the need for artificial fertiliser.

However, it goes on to point out that compliance is essential to realising the advantages of anaerobic digestion and calls on the Government to set out how it is monitoring anaerobic digestion and ensuring compliance and how this is supporting reductions in air, water and soil nitrate pollution.

“Concerned that a number of witnesses told us that the monitoring system for water quality was not fit for purpose"

The EAC has also set out its concerns over monitoring, enforcement and resourcing issues, saying:

“We are concerned that a number of witnesses told us that the monitoring system for water quality was not fit for purpose and that figures supplied by the Environment Agency show that the numbers of samples taken, tests carried out and funding have decreased in recent years.”

“Despite the Agency telling us that this is due to increased efficiency, we are troubled that this is occurring ahead of the UK leaving the EU and implementation of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, and before the 2018 New Farming Rules for Water have fully bedded in.”

The Committee is calling on the Environment Agency to publish the results of its Strategic Monitoring Review as soon as possible and provide evidence that its monitoring is comprehensive in terms of:

  • the range and number of sites;
  • the frequency of testing;
  • the amount of third party information it is using;
  • the full range of pollutants and their combined impact upon water quality;
  • the impact of farming practices and pollution mitigation strategies;
  • the correct balance between modelling and data.

 

In the EAC’s view, this is important as it provides the evidence base for policies and future investment decisions and “ensures that Government policies can be scrutinised and progress can be monitored.”

The report also says the EAC is “concerned that a number of witnesses suggested that the EA lacks the resources it needs to ensure compliance with the existing regime and rules” and does not believe that “30 FTE Inspectors to cover the whole of England is enough.”

The Committee is flagging up the danger of a “poorly regulated and ..poorly resourced and fragmented compliance regime” - which also risks public money- being misused. The Government needs to bring forward plans and costings to indicate that it has sufficient resources to enable effective enforcement and oversight, the report says.

Serious concerns over monitoring, compliance and enforcement after UK leaves the EU

According to the report, the EAC is also concerned that despite Ministerial assurances, the compliance regime for EU water quality and nitrate directives cannot be fully transposed into UK law and run the risk of ending up as ‘zombie’ legislation, saying:

“While we welcome the Secretary of State’s acknowledgement of the need for an environmental watchdog to fill the Commission-shaped hole and to replace the European Court of Justice, we are worried that his proposals do not provide an independent body with sufficient powers to ensure that statutory water quality and pollution reduction targets are met. We are also concerned that it will be more difficult to bring cases against the Government for breaches of nitrate pollution and water quality legislation.”

It also voices its concern that if the current system of monitoring, compliance and enforcement is currently under-resourced, ,regulators such as the Environment Agency will “struggle to take on responsibilities previously undertaken by EU institutions.”

The Committee wants the Government to ensure that its draft environmental bill includes a watchdog with sufficient powers to enforce compliance with statutory water quality targets, fine Government departments and public authorities for non-compliance, and allow complaints for breaches to be raised and dealt with by the courts.

The EAC described itself as “very disappointed” that the Water Framework Directive (WFD) target of ‘good status’ for all ground and surface waters in the EU by 2027 had not been retained within the 25 Year Environment Plan - despite being told by the Minister that the Government had “no intention of watering down commitments on reducing water pollution and improving water quality.”

“ The Plan’s aim to ensure that at least three quarters of our water will be close to their natural state as soon as is practicable is a significant watering-down of the aim in the Directive. This retreat seemed to be confirmed by the Secretary of State’s subsequent letter to the Chair concerning the challenging nature of the 2027 WFD target. “ the Committee says.

Targets and milestones needed to underpin legally binding targets on water quality

The report has also questioned the absence of targets and key milestones within the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, describing them as “vital stepping stones” to guide policy and measure progress.

The EAC has called on the Government to produce robust targets and milestones to underpin legally binding targets on water quality, saying that if there is any weakening of long-term and interim national, EU or international water quality targets, the Government needs to provide an explanation of where they are weaker and why.

“We look forward to seeing the metrics for nitrate and water pollution by the end of the year, which we hope will underpin clear targets in line with or exceeding those set out in the Water Framework Directive,” the report says.

Click here to download the full report.

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