The chief executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan says that better regulation, not deregulation, is needed to protect the environment and boost the economy - but the EA is warning that it lacks both “powers and resources” to carry out its work.

The EA chief is calling for a modern approach to regulation in order to protect air, land, and water from future threats, including the climate emergency.

Sir James’ comments accompany the publication of the EA’s Regulating for People, Environment and Growth report (RPEG), its annual report for England covering data from the Agency’s regulatory activities in 2019.

The report says:

“But we lack the powers and resources to tackle this effectively. Cuts to our budget since 2010 have meant hard decisions, cutting or stopping some of our activities whilst taking on additional duties given to us. There is a high level of ambition from government on the environment, but to be successful this level of ambition needs to be matched by the resources to deliver it.”

Sir James says that better regulation is needed to allow companies to thrive while protecting nature and communities from the effects of climate change and other risks such as new technologies, commenting:

“The economic damage done by Coronavirus means we need rapid recovery and the kind of regulation to facilitate that. And after leaving the EU, the UK has the opportunity to set its own rules and modernise regulation.

“But we must avoid false choices. Better regulation isn’t code for deregulation. The test for any changes in legislation must be that they will deliver better environmental outcomes as well as being good for the economy.

“Good regulation isn’t complicated, bureaucratic, and costly; it is simple, impactful, and money-saving. The best regulation will stop environmental damage at the source, rather than the costly impact to the public purse and the environment of responding to damage after the event.

“We also need the right resources, funded by operators and by Government, to deliver the high ambitions we all have in enhancing our environment. Ultimately we will get the environment we are prepared to pay for.”

More investment needed in the environment

The report is calling for more investment in the environment, saying that the polluters should pay for the regulation necessary to prevent harm from their activities and that the government should fund the regulatory activities – monitoring the environment, enforcing the rules, responding to incidents – that individual operators do not.

Pointing out the Environment Agency’s resources come from both these sources, the report says:

“Long term success in enhancing nature will require more investment. Ultimately we will get the environment we are prepared to pay for.“

It also suggests that the opportunities of EU Exit should be seized now that the UK can determine the environmental levels of protection it deems appropriate. The report says:

“We should now have a debate about which parts of EU environmental law repatriated into UK legislation we should keep, reform or repeal. The test for any change should be simple: will it deliver better environmental outcomes?”

Of 467 serious pollution incidents in 2019, 11% were caused by water and sewerage companies. The report shows that serious pollution incidents caused by water and sewerage companies have continued to plateau. There were 52 in 2019, compared to 56 in 2018 and 52 in 2017.

EA lacks “powers and resources” - budget cuts since 2010 “have meant hard decisions”

However, the report is warning that where there is not a good regulatory framework or the resources to enforce it, things have got worse, saying that the EA lacks both the powers and resources to tackle this effectively.

According the EA, farming, particularly the dairy sector, continues to cause serious pollution incidents, as well as being a major emitter of greenhouse gases such as ammonia and methane.

Agricultural and rural land management practices are responsible for about 40% of water body failures. The vast majority of agricultural premises are largely unregulated.

The report says:

“But we lack the powers and resources to tackle this effectively. Cuts to our budget since 2010 have meant hard decisions, cutting or stopping some of our activities whilst taking on additional duties given to us. There is a high level of ambition from government on the environment, but to be successful this level of ambition needs to be matched by the resources to deliver it.”

The report draws attention to a 2019 study of the River Axe which found 95% of the 86 dairy farms visited by the Environment Agency were non-compliant with agricultural regulations. Of these, 49% were causing pollution at the time of the visit, and 33 new slurry stores were required to be built or substantially altered to meet legislative requirements.

This demonstrates “what we can do when we have the dedicated resources to look at farming incidents” the EA says, adding: “Our resource in this area has been shrinking since 2015.”

Water environment concerns

The EA is also highlighting its concerns over the condition of freshwaters in England, including surface waters and groundwaters, which are worth at least £40 billion to the economy.

Key findings include:

In 2019, 86% of river water bodies had not reached good ecological status. The main reasons for this are environmental impacts caused by agriculture and rural land management, the water industry, and urban and transport pressures.

In 2019 agriculture and rural land management continued to account for around 40% of water bodies not reaching good ecological status. “Diffuse pollution from and the impacts of agricultural activities not covered under permitting, where we lack the powers and resources to tackle this effectively, are an ongoing challenge.”

Only 45% of groundwater bodies, which supply around a third of the country’s drinking water, achieved good chemical status in 2019. Nitrates which enter groundwater from diffuse pollution on land (mainly water run-off from agricultural land) are a major issue and can cause exceedance of drinking water quality standards.

239 of the 485 surface water Drinking Water Protected Areas (49%) are ‘at risk’ of deterioration

127 of the 271 groundwater Drinking Water Protected Areas (47%) are ‘at risk’ of deterioration and 71 are not meeting good chemical status

Abstraction - currently too much water is being abstracted, and this is damaging the environment. Environment Agency modelling suggests that around 700 million litres of water per day comes from unsustainable abstractions and that these will need replacing by other means between 2025 and 2050

Current levels of abstraction are unsustainable in more than a quarter of groundwater bodies and up to one-fifth of surface waters, reducing water levels and damaging wildlife

Bathing water quality remains high following record results in 2016

However, the report strikes a positive note on bathing water quality, which has remained high following the record results in 2016, which showed bathing waters were the cleanest since records began.

Improvements in bathing water quality have been largely due to improvements in the sewerage infrastructure at, or near, a number of bathing waters. Between 1990 and 2020, the water industry will have invested over £2.5 billion in bathing waters improvement work, the report points out.

In 2019, bathing water quality was tested at 420 beaches and lakes - compliance with bathing water standards was 98.3%, with only 7 waters receiving the lowest classification of ‘poor’, while 300 bathing waters (71.4%) met the highest ‘excellent’ standard of the Bathing Water Directive.

Report shows regulation works – “but we must not allow the environment to be left behind”

Sir James concluded:

“This report shows that regulation works. And now we must look at how we use regulation to tackle the climate emergency – the biggest of all threats to our environment, our economy, and our planet.

“We are already playing a significant role through regulation, by enabling the technologies needed to decarbonise the UK economy, including nuclear, hydrogen, and carbon capture, and we have launched the new UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

“But as we and our world continue to change, we must not allow the environment to be left behind.”

Click here to access Regulating for People, Environment and Growth report