The Rivers Trust has criticised last night’s amendment in the House of Commons to the Environment Bill intended to address the issue of the discharge of untreated sewage.

In response to the public outcry at the Government’s opposition to the Duke of Wellington’s Amendment in the House of Lords, which sought a ‘progressive reductions in the harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage,’ the government promised a new amendment that would deliver the wishes of the public and be true to the intentions of the Duke’s amendment.

The Rivers Trust commented:

“Unfortunately, the wording of the government’s amendment 45B is weaker, with too much room for broad interpretation and does not go far enough.

“ In the little time made available for scrutiny in today’s Consideration of Lords Message to the Environment Bill, legal commentators have already highlighted significant loopholes. At a time when public trust in politicians has once again been shaken, we hope MPs will stand firm and insist on clarity and action by Ministers to create a pathway out of pollution.”...

“Without regulation, investment and enforcement anything agreed by Parliament on Monday 8th of November will not yield the scale or pace of change that is demanded or required. It is time for meaningful action, and we urge MPs to seek clear assurances from Ministers before deciding how to vote on the amendment.”

The Duke of Wellington's elements of Lords Amendment 45 would place a new duty on sewerage undertakers in England and Wales to make improvements to their sewerage systems and demonstrate progressive reductions in the harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage.

It would also require the Secretary of State, the Director of Ofwat (the economic regulator) and the Environment Agency to ensure compliance with the duty through the exercise of their respective functions.

he Government’s Amendment

According to the Rivers Trust, the government’s version weaker for the following reasons:

It is confined to storm overflows and not the sewerage system as a whole

There is no specific duty on OFWAT or the EA to ensure compliance

It refers to ‘adverse impacts’ rather than ‘reductions in harm’ - the Trust says this gives the water companies “plenty of wriggle room to keep polluting”

In the Trust’s view, a “fudge in the form of a few pilot projects” could be construed as complying with the amendment.

“There is little prospect that on this amendment will see anything other than minor improvements to some storm overflows.”

The Rivers Trust is calling on the Secretary of State to confirm that he will do three things:

Tell the EA to immediately start to set tougher permits for sewage works and CSOs and monitor, inspect and enforce against them, under the EPR. The Secretary of State could do this by way of Ministerial Direction.

Tell OFWAT that it has a central role to play in cleaning up sewage and must enforce section 94(1)(b) of the WIA 1991 – the OFWAT should also be made accountable to Parliament on an annual basis by reporting directly to the EFRA and/or EAC select committees on progress in reducing sewage discharges.

Strengthen the current draft Strategic Policy Statement for water to generate clear investment plans backed by resources to begin eliminating the worst and most damaging sewage pollution.

The Trust continued:

“While we welcome the belated acceptance by Ministers that action is needed now to tackle the scandal of untreated sewage pouring into our rivers and coastlines their amendment is weak and will achieve very little on its own.

“This will require strong direction from Ministers to both the water companies and to their two regulators - Ofwat and the Environment Agency.”

According to The Rivers Trust, Ofwat must be “forced to consider” the environmental impacts of all decisions and be held to account on an annual basis. It also want to see the water sector regulator given the strongest possible instruction via the current SPS to release the investment necessary to overhaul what it describes as “woefully inadequate wastewater infrastructure.”