The Office for Environmental (OEP) has announced that it is to carry out an investigation into the roles of Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Defra Secretary of State in the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in England.

The investigation is a Statutory Investigation under s 33 Environment Act 2021. Under s 33 Environment Act 2021, OEP has powers to carry out an Investigation into whether a public authority has complied with environmental law.

The aims of the investigation are to determine whether these authorities have failed to comply with their respective duties in relation to the regulation, including the monitoring and enforcement, of water companies’ own duties to manage sewage.

Public bodies, including the Secretary of State, have a statutory duty to cooperate with OEP and provide it with such reasonably assistance as it requests - an investigation may lead to enforcement action by OEP.  

The OEP said it would seek to clarify the respective duties of the regulators in the course of the investigation. If there are found to be failures, the OEP’s objective will be to improve regulation, leading to long term improvement in water quality.

Unsatisfactory water quality - an important, longstanding, systemic issue & and one of most pressing environmental concerns at this time

Helen Venn Chief Regulatory Officer at the OEP said:

“Unsatisfactory water quality is an important, longstanding, systemic issue and one of the most pressing environmental concerns at this time.  

“This is a complex area and there is already a great deal of work underway to try and tackle the problem of untreated sewage in our rivers. Our investigation will contribute to that work by providing clarity about the legal responsibilities of the different bodies involved to ensure measures to tackle the problems can be targeted and effective. 

“We clearly do not know at this point what our findings will be or where the investigation will take us. It is possible that it could result in enforcement activity and / or in broader actions to improve the legal and / or regulatory systems. Our priority throughout will be to protect and improve the environment.”

STC - pollution in English rivers is "direct and inevitable result of appallingly soft touch regulation over many years"

The investigation follows a complaint submitted to the Interim OEP by Salmon & Trout Conservation UK. 

Responding to the OPE announcement, Nick Measham, CEO of S&TC said:

“We have all the law we need to prevent water companies dumping raw sewage in our rivers. What we currently lack is a Secretary of State, an Ofwat and an EA prepared to enforce the law. We hope this investigation, on the back of our complaint, corrects that failure.”

Guy Linley-Adams, solicitor to S&TC, who submitted the detailed complaint, added:

“We are delighted that the OEP is to launch this investigation.We have been saying for years that Ofwat and the Environment Agency, with the political backing of the Secretary of State, needed to get tough with water companies.

“We were given endless reassurances that things were fine and that pollution would be curtailed.

“Recent sewage pollution data shows that that is simply not the case.

“Make no mistake, the pollution we see today in English rivers is the direct and inevitable result of the appallingly soft touch regulation applied to the water companies by both the Environment Agency and Ofwat over many years.”

EAC Chair says OEP probe is “latest step in long line of moves to get sewage pollution under control”

Reacting to the announcement by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) that it is to investigate the regulation of combined sewer overflows, Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said:

“The OEP’s announcement that it will accept our recommendation to investigate the regulation of combined sewer overflows is the latest step in a long line of moves to get sewage pollution under control. Just last week, in front of the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, I questioned the effectiveness of the regulators policing pollution in our rivers. As a result of political pressure, public outcry and lobbying by environmentalists, Parliament has legislated and there now appears to be more impetus than ever before to crack down properly on a major cause of river pollution.

“The largest and most profitable water companies in England are overseeing illegal sewage discharges, and over the weekend the Chief Medical Officer warned of the serious public health concern should recreational river users ingest the harmful bacteria in such discharges. The water companies have been giving their assurances and saying all the right things to clean up their act, but it is for the regulators and the enforcement regime to judge whether they are taking enough action to protect our environment.

“Our Committee’s report considering water quality in rivers raised concerns over monitoring and enforcement of a range of pollutants coursing through our rivers, including sewage discharges from combined sewer overflows. We invited the OEP to reflect on our conclusions and recommendations within our report, and to use the powers granted by Parliament to drive improvement of the regulation and enforcement regimes which govern the state of England’s rivers.”