Defra has published a new policy statement setting out how the government’s Environment Bill will put the environment at the centre of policy making – including how it intends to deliver sustainable water resources.

The policy statement says the water measures in the Environment Bill will help to secure long-term, resilient water and wastewater services, including abstraction licensing reform.

The Bill enables the Environment Agency, the environmental regulator, to propose the variation or revocation of abstraction licences without liability for compensation. This is established based on two conditions: 1) if they are causing, or risk causing, considerable environmental damage and / or 2) if they consistently abstract less water than their licensed volume.

The Environment Bill also introduces additional requirements for water company planning for future water supply and wastewater and drainage networks, enabling more resilient solutions to drought and flooding.

In order to strengthen the economic water regulator Ofwat’s ability to improve the way water and sewerage companies operate to meet current and future demand for water, the Environment Bill amends the process for modifying the conditions of companies’ licences to operate.

The Environment Bill creates a power to update the lists of substances and their respective standards which are potentially harmful to surface waters and groundwater to ensure regulations protecting water quality are keeping pace with scientific and technical knowledge.

According to the policy statement, the Bill will enhance flood and coastal erosion risk management by addressing a current barrier to the expansion of existing, or creation of new, internal drainage boards.

Bill legally obliges policy-makers to have due regard to environmental principles policy statement

More broadly, the statement explains that the Bill legally obliges policy-makers to have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement when choosing policy options, for example by considering the policies which cause the least environmental harm.

The principles are:

1 Environmental protection should be integrated into policy-making principle

2 Preventative action to avert environmental damage principle

3 The precautionary principle

4 Environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source principle

5 The polluter pays principle.

The Government now plans to set new legally binding targets in four priority areas of the natural environment: air quality; waste and resource efficiency; water and nature. The EIPs and legally binding targets will be reviewed on a five-yearly basis and together they will drive action to significantly improve the natural environment and provide much-needed certainty for businesses and stakeholders.

New Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to replace role of European Commission

In order to strengthen environmental accountability, the Environment Bill will establish a new public body – the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) – as the UK’s own independent, domestic watchdog. Through its scrutiny and advice functions, the OEP will monitor progress in improving the natural environment in accordance with the government’s domestic environmental improvement plans and targets. It will be able to provide government with written advice on any proposed changes to environmental law.

Defra said that through its complaints and enforcement mechanisms the OEP will replace the role of the European Commission, taking a proportionate approach to managing compliance issues relating to environmental law.

Legal proceedings will only be taken as last resort or in truly urgent cases

Failures by public authorities to implement environmental law will no longer be considered through European enforcement processes and instead the OEP will engage with public authorities to reach a solution. Legal proceedings will only be taken as a last resort or in truly urgent cases.

The Government is bringing all climate change legislation (including carbon budgets) within the enforcement remit of the OEP, replacing the role of the European Commission, and to ensure there is no governance gap in relation to climate change legislation.

The statement says the OEP will work closely alongside the Committee on Climate Change on the issues, ensuring that their individual roles complement and reinforce each other.